#i do love to have meaningful discussion tho

[delulustuff]

Skz love language

acts of service:

Chan, Minho & Seungmin

You would receive the absolute princess treatment !!

For them act of service is about more than doing household chores..

It's really about going after a much more emotionally subtle feeling where they give you the feeling that you can trust them to have your back for the small and the big things.

• "You want breakfast" ? Already done.

• You’re cold ? No problem, they’ll give you their jacket/sweater.

• Too exhausted from school/work ? Don’t worry they got you.

physical touch:

Felix, Changbin & Chan

no explanation needed hehe.

The literal cuddle bears in skz !!

Kissing, hugging, holding hands, and sex are all ways of showing love through the physical touch love language.

• You’re out in public? You will always have an arms around your waist or shoulder

• They’d cuddle you to sleep

•Clingyyyy

gift giving:

Hyunjin, Felix & I.N

Hear me out they would SPOIL you !!!

They would pay special attention on big events like birthdays or anniversaries as well as gifting you little things at random times just to see your cute smile again.

•They‘d remember the little things you once mentioned just to gift it to you the next day..

•would surprise you with a trip to a place you’ve always wanted to go.

•Alsooo we’re talking about Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen & Versache Ambassadors here.. I‘m pretty sure they’d gift you some of the freebie’s and little presents they receive every few times.

words of affirmation:

I.N, Han & Hyunjin

For them I just feel like they would sleepily whisper sweet nothings to you in bed before falling asleep and as well would enjoy receiving some praises and affirmations back.

on busy schedules or before comebacks they would leave behind cute letters for you on how much they love and miss you.

•"I‘m so greatful, you’re mine"

•little love notes 💌

•cute random text messages to make you smile throughout the day

quality time:

Seungmin, I.N, Felix, Hyunjin & Minho

(literally all of them tho😭)

For them it’s important to live in the moment and to enjoy the presence.

When you're with them, they’d appreciate it, if you put your phone down and focus on them.

They would also invite you to regular date nights, and spend the day with meaningful activities.

•deeptalks & stargazing

•cooking together

•making cute memories & discussing future plans

[labyrynth]

okay but i do think shen jiu would do well in higher education.

he’s probably not thrilled by having to teach undergrad classes, but he can tolerate it as long as the TAs handle most of the direct student interaction.

i think he would really thrive in graduate programs tho. students mostly directing their own work and research? getting to tell people what they’re doing wrong and how to fix their shit? that’s his jam. i think he’d LOVE teeny weeny seminars—heated discussion and and quibbling over details? as his JOB? he is here for it.

the best part is that he’s finally hit a level of academia where meaningful criticism is hard to find, so everyone flocks to him for it. is he super harsh? absolutely. has he made people cry? without a doubt. but he’s never wrong. nobody ever gets useless feedback from shen jiu.

and also once he’s tenured and no longer terrified of losing his position…i’m just saying he’d probably chill out a bit. or a lot. the wonders of feeling secure!

anyway. i just think he’d thrive as a high level pure academic.

[stupidlovergirl]

Levi! The Babygirl Otaku Shut-in!

A small collection of blurbs/headcannons of what it's like to date Levi!

not edited

Leviathan, who streams for money. He’s introverted and a little shy, but when he is live streaming feels different. He is pretty popular too, and people think his expressiveness is pretty funny. He plays all different kinds, but everyone can tell he has a soft spot for indie games and dating simulators. After you guys start dating, he accidentally slips up and mentions you while playing one. It was a simple “Oh! Me and my s/o did something like this the other day lololol.” Chat went absolutely FERAL. Shut-in otaku Levi!?!? WITH A LOVER?!?!?! They were demanding for a reveal. He discussed if you were comfortable or not. If you said yes he would be absolutely ECSTATIC, he would be ok with a no tho, he gets it can be pretty stressful. If you  would just like to be on call, no face that's cool! He gets so happy if you say you are fine with a full reveal, face and all!! Brags about you so much, his chat clowns him so hard. They stop calling him by his name and just call him your boyfriend. Ever since then you sometimes play games with him, your choice! The chat loves you two!!! They call you two couple goals when you start making fun of each other. 

Levi really likes to visit the beach when he gets out of the house. Hope you can drive, he cannot. If you can’t, better start preparing those puppy dog eyes to convince Mammon to take you two to the beach. He really likes collecting seashells for Henry’s tank on the seashore with you. I think Levi would be really good at surfing!! He heard about it from the human world, and really wanted to give it a shot. He kills it!! He also likes having picnics there too. Cute foods or leftovers are all fine with him, he just thinks it's fun. He’s a sap.

He makes mixtapes for you. He knows people make playlists now, but he thinks having a physical one is a little more meaningful. He draws cute hearts and a picture of the two of you on the CD. Are there a lot of anime songs on there? Yes. Your point? Miku didn’t make these to go to WASTE!!!! Also includes songs that remind him of you, and songs you mentioned that made you think of him.

Levi is a little bit more weird on how he shows affection. He never really had a long term relationship (maybe not even short term ones…). He doesn’t always get it. Show him you love him though your ways and he’ll show you how he loves. Making couples cosplay to even outfits you said you wanted but they didn’t have the correct sizes or lengths. He likes when you wear these, as they leave marks of him on you. He also likes giving you items he owns to wear. Bracelets, pins, shirts, whatever you want you can have!! Levi gets a little possessive, especially since he doesn’t attend class in person a lot. He also might bring back fossils. He just thinks they're neat. Also, stuffed animals are a must. He gets them for you on instinct. They're cute like you, and are good for nests! (I like to think demons nest. That is what Levi's bathtub bed doubles as since hardly anyone comes into his room)

Continuing his strange affection streak: physical affection. He bites softly on your cheeks or arms, cuddles almost look like he’s killing you because he wraps around you like a snake, just funny little things that make you laugh sometimes. He also like to cuddle because he is naturally a little colder, because he is a reptile based demon. Will surprise you with his cold hands and laugh at your misery. Kiss him in public and he shuts up. I bet he is so ticklish from lack of touch hnrgh. Tickle him till he cries!!! His laugh becomes so ugly and he snorts and starts crying and it looks so CUTE!!!! He is just a touch starved cutie please give him all the lovings! Do expect revenge for this though, he is not a merciful demon. 

I think he glows in the dark. Bio-luminescent sea creature my dudes(gender neutral)!!!! Night light boyfriend!!! He likes it when you kiss those marks, because for a long time he was insecure of them. Honestly? Loving any part of his demon form makes him feel better, because he still hates them. He has made an uneasy peace with a lot of it, but sometimes he still feels intensely disgusted by them. Ask him permission and Touch! His! Horns! Tell them how it reminds of coral (I think they might be based off of fire coral specifically?). Pet his tail!! He appreciates it, even if you sometimes have to chase it because he gets excited and it starts to wag. You feel like you're fighting a beast trying to catch it some days.

These ones are a little more serious. Please remember he has bad anxiety!! Depression also comes hard on him too. You can notice because his hygiene starts to slip first. Levi might be a shut in, but he doesn’t like to smell. He escapes for little showers, or at least takes rag baths. Please encourage him to shower, sometimes that means being in the bathroom with him, not always necessarily in the bath with him though. He just likes your presence, you never feel overwhelming to him. He might ask you to wash his hair at these times. Speaking might be too much in these times too. Just turn on Ruri-chan or the TSL movies. They’re his comfort shows. Let him take his time. He’ll tell you soon enough.

Back to light-hearted ones now!! Levi really likes terms of endearments. His favorite ones to call you is Henry, Player 2, and when he’s being really cringe “his Waifu/Husbando”. He also really likes calling you “his”, not in a toxic way.  He just sometimes likes knowing that you are his like he is yours. Just calling you “his s/o” makes his heart flutter. Levi likes any name you give him! Obviously there are the ones that are the matching one to it, like “Lord of Shadows” and “Player 1”. Please babygirl him, he loses his mind. He CANNOT believe he’s your babygirl! HIM! He doesn’t like when you say it in public, he can only take so much!!!! Much more prefers being called it in private. He really likes any softer pet names, he’s a soft guy!

[ethrinenexus]

𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚'𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩

✭ 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 ⋆ 𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙚; ✭ 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚 ⋆ 𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛, 𝙚𝙨𝙩. 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨; ✭ 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 ⋆ 𝙜.𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡!𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙭 𝙝𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚; ✭ 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 ⋆ 1483;

⭑ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒

✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩ 𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙜 ✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩

⭑ let's say that you two have been dating for a few months now, and you thought it wasn't yet the right moment to let him know what you do for a living.

⭑ you had revealed that you make tattoos to sunoo first( he definitely did not threaten you to spill it <.<) and then jake( he happened to be there when you were being threatened by sunoo)

⭑ tho the cat was out of the bag in the same day you told those two , when they were discussing about the newest tattoo of your collection. unfortunately the boys were loud enough to drive a wild heeseung out of his room as he heard them shouting their lungs out from the excitement through his headset.

⭑ and boy was he surprised when he found out, his seemingly cutie pie of a significant other is a tattoo artist???!!

⭑ tho he is surprised, he'd be enthusiastic as hell, because who wouldn't when you were such a wonderful and amazing being who knew how to fill up an empty canvas of a body?

⭑ he'd be like, "babe?!! why was I left out!!!??" with the biggest and most adorable pout you've ever seen in your life. but he'd also be lowkey offended and jealous cause you left him out from the fun?(like 'how dare you?!' and cross his arms).

⭑ you'd literally have to chase after him for three whole days, begging for forgiveness( and maybe bring him to your work shop sometime on the weekend), soothing him.

⭑ asides from him being a little jealous, he is amazed at how you make such realistic yet beautiful designs and, boy is he proud of you. he'd literally claim you're the best on the whole continent if not the world after you show him the rest of your work.

⭑ plus occasional visits at your work with take outs and coffee at random times, mostly on weekends. he'd have this big blanket with your face on it at your work place and drape them over his body whenever you have to work for a long period of time on a client, waiting for you on his phone. and spend the weekends at your work shop.

⭑ also, since his s/o makes such a magnificent body art he'd also want a tattoo on his body. the tattoos he wants will probably be very meaningful and something that will remind him of you. moreover, he will want it on a visible area, like his forearms or the back of his hands( tho you'd have to refuse his antics unfortunately as it can possibly ruin his career).

⭑ all in all, a 10/10 experience with heebaby</333

✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩ 𝙟𝙖𝙮 ✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩

⭒ the way jay found out that you were a tattoo artist was when one of the artists he respects had mentioned you on a live, showing off his newly tattooed forearm to the audience.

⭒ at first he'd be like 'there's no way that y/n makes tattoos' and 'they've never mentioned it to me before, so it must be a coincidence' to 'what if they never mentioned it to me because they weren't comfortable enough with me', like he'd overthink for hours until you come home that night.

⭒ when you arrive, he'd be suspiciously quiet, since he is normally very loud and excited at your arrival. tho you weren't sure of it yet, there was something wrong with your lovely boyfriend. so you sat him down in your kitchen and asked , 'what's wrong love? did I do something to upset you?' to which he replies frantically , 'what?! no. of course not!. it's just that...do you feel comfortable being with me? I me-', 'love. you're rambling again and of course I feel comfortable being with you. why else would I move in with you?, 'well, it's just that a/n was mentioning on live that you tattooed his arms and stuff. and I thought you weren't ready to open up yet..and I got a bit anxious about it', ' of course not love, well we've never talked about before because you never asked silly! and, if anything it's not because I feel uncomfortable talking about it. and thanks for being honest love'

⭒ and god was jay happy to hear those words coming from you. & on forth, he has been visiting on his off day at your work place, even his parents have came to know about it and his dad was super positive about getting a tattoo from you!(no wonder jay's such a gentleman)

⭒ also, since you make tattoos, he also wanted to learn how to do it. safe to say that he's talented in anything he does. just after a few weeks of practice he was able to work in you shop for small sized tattoos & boy were the clients to happy have such a handsome man serving them >.>

✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩ 𝙟𝙖𝙠𝙚 ✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩

⭒ over hyped puppy vibes literally. I mean what'd you expect from such an enthusiastic boy?

⭒ when you two first went on a date you had told him you made body arts for a living and that it was your passion to wipe off the stereotype of tattooists from people's mind.

⭒ puppy was amazed at the sight of you confidently expressing what you love and the reason for it. gosh, he became infatuated with you at that exact moment( who wouldn't?).

⭒ and, he was asking you on a second date that evening. 'hi y/n, it's jake from this noon. if you're okay with it, I'd like to invite you on a date again this week. please tell me when you're free and would it also be possible to see you work sometime? I mean, only if you're cool with that hehehe'. 'it's just that your words left an impression on me and I won't lie to you, I like how passionate you are about the things you love and how you treated me at that cafe and I think you are such an amazing person, so I hope that you will give me the chance to prove that our second date won't be disappointment to you'

⭒ like okay comfort boy?? ;(((, (I'd literally cry on the spot if he said that to me).

⭒ on the second date, you two went to your work shop and you showed how to tattoo on a real body by working on a client(dw, it was a small one so you took only two hour or so) and let him practice on a tattoo dummy whilst you did so.

⭒ and, now he literally boasts to the rest of the boys and engenes that he learnt how to make tattoos and show them the dummy he worked on grinning cutely on live.

⭒ propose & get married already!(gotta push this agenda cuz, we wanna see them flustered .v.)

✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩ 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙣 ✩ ⭑ ✩ ⭑ ✩

⭒ I just know for a fact that the baby would be a bit scared at first but then he'll eventually come around and get a small tattoo on his pinky, like literally( I see the v, y'know)

⭒ so, let's say that you and him just met in a coffee shop, but there's a twist. you have big tattoos on your body and when the clumsy hoon splashes his iced coffee at you, you quickly take off your shirt(dw, you have a t-shirt inside) and boom, the tattoos are revealed. hoon is like' oh my god, I'm so sorry, let m-..........' and the words he were saying gets stuck in his throat because, who is this tattoo god descending upon the mortal realm? and, why have you never showed up until now???!!

⭒ gosh, he'd be so shy since he most likely never ran into people with big tattoos like that. like, he'd be blushing & all while looking at you. and as it looked like he'd be staring at you for a whole day, you took the reign, 'don't you think taking a pic would last longer?' you asked snapping the boy back to reality. 'oh god, I'm so so so sorry, would you like me to get you a new shirt or should we go to a laundry place or something?', 'well your number and a date sounds pretty nice at the moment', 'I-'.

⭒ gosh the rizz is boiling. also, you two went the nearest shop and he bought a new shirt and on forth, hoon had called jay over because everyone needs a jay to function<<3

⭒ he legit won't get closer to you without jay by his side, such a dramatic baby he is. but then, after seeing your displays of work at the body shop, jay is willing to get a tattoo from you?!!, tho it doesn't work( jay legitimately has to persuade hoon that you're not some deity descending upon earth).

⭒ and, with jay's help hoon had managed to score a date with you. safe to say hoon was looking forward to the date</3333

⭑ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒ 𝖊𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖊 ⭒

© 𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘴, ₂₀₂₃

[nahualnextdoor]

Character Analysis for Shitpost's Sake (long post; tw suicide discussion):

A funny haha, a whimsy silly image. Something I did in like 10 minutes...

Well behind the scenes I spent an entire night dissecting every episode and book paragraph in my head just to see what box fits what character (I take my silly guys very seriously and my shitposts should represent their characterizations accurately otherwise I'll kill myself).

So, here we go.

Active suicide risk: (literally anyone except Cleo and Six)

-Resus: Pretty obvious and intuitive in my opinion. Our favorite trans allegory emo boy that literally sleeps in a coffin. Hates pretty much every aspect of his life, thinks he's a disappointment to his family simply for existing (and sadly kinda is), and is pretty much fine with death as a whole (most of his friends already went trough it, after all).

-Luke: This one was also pretty obvious in my opinion. While not as clear cut or active as Resus, there was this one time where he decided to banish himself to the Underlands, no hesitation, as soon as he found out (or rather was made to believe) he attacked his parent. He's very often ostracizing himself over his lycanthropy hurting those around him, and for the major part of the book series he believed himself to be a burden for his parents. (Also he has like. Zero sense of self-preservation, at least in the tv show).

-Luella: Oh boy. Where do I begin with you girl. Just her living situation alone is sad enough, add in her attachment issues, her lack of control over her emotions, her crush on a guy that treats her... horribly, and her lack of any meaningful friendship in her life up until she became bffs with Cleo in s2. Honestly I'm just glad that by the end of s2 she's mostly content with her life the way it is, but still... at least on the episodes before she got her shit together, I'd say she's kinda worrying.

-Dixon: Yeah this guy's life is just hell lol. I'm not really getting any suicidal vibes out of him, but it is more than plausible.

10/10:

-Cleo: She's just... I love her 🙏🙏 Badass, one of the most interesting characters of the tv show in my opinion, autistic as fuck (they all are, but she's the one I relate to the most), curses the entire town in order to fix her problems and is pretty much happy despite being in an eternal sisyphean cycle.

Needs to retake the am I gay quiz:

-Resus: self explanatory I think. He really needs to get his shit together because I just cannot tolerate when he's all over Luella "oh luella I need your help with this spell and also brain drain dumped me in a wet cardboard box and killed my grandma 🥺🥺" and then going "well thanks for nothing, fuck u and ur stupid useless magic, also even tho we're nothing I will get all possessive over u at the slightest possibility of u liking Luke hey can we kiss to save the world btw" She deserves so much better than him omg. Boy you're queer!!! Leave her alone and just stay with the werewolf!!!

Cannibalised first in plane crash scenario:

-Resus: I just thought this was funny lol

Adderal prescription ASAP:

-Luke: Also pretty self explanatory. Lycantrophy is the magical equivalent of autism and adhd in this universe, I don't make the rules. Both in the books and in the show he's shown having a hard time focusing on class, finding it easier to just focus on his videogames. He spends hours playing on his console, to the point of ignoring his baisc needs, and is pretty hyperactive in my opinion, at least in the show. Really I wish they'd bring back the idea of Eeafa (or maybe even Luella) figuring out a potion or spell to help him manage his wild side, wich, to me at least, is not only his wolf self, but all of his neurodivergent tendencies in general (basically it would be magical meds that makes you have more control over the wolf form on top helping you study).

Missing person:

-Pretty much all the other kids from the books but I choose Kian because he's kinda the one that has the most relevance and the only one with an available image on the internet that is not a 3 pixels wide scan on the Internet Archive (still love them tho). He could potentially be on active suicide risk once he gets old enough to understand what happened to his parents tho, but thinking about that for more than 5 seconds makes me cry so I prefer not to.

And that is basically it! Thank you for listening to my ramblings and analysis of these silly little guys that keep rotating on my head like rotisserie chicken ballerinas. Next will probably be my still pending character analysis for why I assigned the slimes I did on my slime rancher post.

[thewritingcoroner]

I done got frustrated

My desire to keep my opinions to myself managed to last most of the day. New record tbh.

So like I wrote this big long rant a couple of weeks ago and decided against sharing it while I was still frustrated. But I do feel like maybe there is a larger discussion to be had! I think it's important that we as a writeblr community really take a look at why so many of us are getting so frustrated so often and how we as a community and as individuals can work towards an actually community vs a corner of social media. @blind-the-winds did an excellent job of explaining some of what I'm seeing as well in relation to why a lot of positivity and support posts and such ring hollow to so many of us. I wanted to bring a slightly different perspective to things coming from a marketing/social media marketing background. Under the cut out of respect for everyone's dashboards lol

This is going to get INCREDIBLY LONG. So I have a read more here. Behold, the bitchfest.

So this started today when I was chatting with an irl friend and expressing my frustrations about writeblr in general as a community. And what I've recognized now is this: writeblr isn't really much of a community, and it is very rare to find other creators and writers who are willing to treat you (the hypothetical writer) as another human being with a love for the same craft they do. Those people who do treat you like people are some of the loveliest people I've found on the internet, but they are hard to find.

Now, to be clear, I don't think the problem is completely writeblr's fault, nor do I believe it is any one or two or five hundred individual's fault. The problem comes from a number of different sources, and my friend did a great job of helping me see the problem from a number of different perspectives.

The problem being this: it is impossible to get engagement on posts that feature original long-form writing, and it is exceedingly difficult to effectively foster meaningful connections with other writers.

Some disclaimers: it's not impossible, and the people who successfully receive engagement on their long-form writing tend to be the people who are the exceptions proving the rule. Also, by "engagement" I mean any interaction that serves to both consume the content and spread the content. "Original" writing refers to writing that is not fandom related, and "long-form" means 1k words or more.

Do you think 1k words is a little short for "long-form" writing? Me too. I'll get to that.

I'll start my explanation here with what catalyzed these revelations in my little head. Over night, I got quite a few new followers, all directly coming from a post that got mildly popular here on writeblr. So, I looked at what other posts of mine have been popular, and I started to notice a trend.

My most popular posts tend to fit into one of three categories: memes, tag games, and boost posts/recommendations. Memes tend to be popular because they're funny and easy to spread, and as long as they fit the theme, they don't ruin a blog's aesthetic. Tag games get more interaction because I am directly tagging people to see the post. But the popularity for those posts tend to stop at the half dozen to a dozen people tagged in each given post (the person or people tagging me, and the several people I tag to continue the game). The last category is most interesting to me, the boost posts and recommendations.

Here's the thing, I only boost or rec other writers and blogs if I have invested interest and care into the person behind the blog and their content. AKA, I only really boost friends and writers I admire/like their content. It's great to see that those posts get popular with people outside my circle, but out of those three categories, none of them feature my own content.

Why is that?

It seems like every day I see a new post with a few thousand notes at least complaining about a lack of interaction on writeblr and the importance of reblogs and blah blah I rarely stop to read those let alone spread them. And a few dots connected, I think.

If my content isn't getting interaction, and your content isn't getting interaction, then what is? And I think the answer is this: memes, advice, and boosts.

Memes and advice are self-explanatory. But boosts are interesting because you will see everyone hop on to rec other people or more frequently market themselves, but they stop there. And I see my greatest influx of interaction and new followers when I boost other people's works or blogs.

My conclusion is that many people are using writeblr as a hustle and not a community. In a community we engage with each other, talk to each other, enjoy each other's company. And I've found many mutuals to be very lovely people who I do enjoy and who I love to engage with and who I like to genuinely call my friends. I like a lot of yall for different reasons too! Some of you are great hype buddies, some of yall are all about that accountability buddy system, and I really love when I get to have intellectual conversations about the craft and different concepts with different members of writeblr too.

But largely, I find that a lot of people who engage once with my blog, usually on those boost posts, or who ask for engagement more frequently than when frustration strikes, tend to be the people who think of writeblr as a hustle. They see that I (and many other writers) will boost and rec our friends, and jump on that bandwagon, but instead of putting in the effort to get to know us and our work, they say what needs to be said, hop on trends, and avoid any genuine connection.

So what gives?

It's not the individual writers, I think. It's the nature of social media, marketing, and the medium.

Listen, I work in marketing, and long-form writing is a dying art that is very difficult to market. I genuinely think the concept of "tldr" really ruined a lot of people's ability to engage with longer form writing. Whether that be nonfiction opinion posts or actual fiction. Tumblr is one of the only places I can think of where long-form writing is a feasible medium to post at all, let alone gain a following for.

Think about it: instagram is best suited for images, videos, and short-form aestheticized poetry. Twitter has a character limit that requires long threads of individual tweets or images to get your message across. Pitch events are well-suited for twitter because your pitch by definition needs to be short. But sharing actual summaries, snippets, or excerpts? Not really possible. Tiktok is for videos, which as we know can be utilized, but is not the most efficient method of marketing written word. Ao3 is an archive with an excellent tagging system, but to get readers, outside marketing is required. Facebook requires a real name, and isn't really well suited for content creation either. Wattpad, Royal Road, and others are great for posting actual works, but they don't necessarily have well-functioning tag systems that help the author find their audience. That really just leaves Tumblr. Pillowfort is also an option, though it's still so in the beginning phase of development that it's pretty difficult to get started there.

It's well known in marketing that images and videos catch attention and long paragraphs of text (AKA what most prose looks like) tend to be scrolled past. The very nature of the long-form writing medium is against most marketing techniques. Marketing long-form writing needs to look different from any other medium.

All that being said: the culture of social media engagement has shifted, and this is a conversation that fandom has been having and I think has actually been doing well discussing the different facets of how the culture has shifted. Fandom (and content creation in general) is seen as a commodity to be consumed. Consumers want to see the content, maybe save it for later, and then move on to the next piece. This is easily done with visual mediums, but writing mediums are especially vulnerable to this culture shift because it does require so much time and energy to consume, let alone engage.

Creators don't see their work as a commodity to be consumed, but it is now. When consumers view a piece of visual media, they view the image (consume it) and then move to the next, some will spread it to others by engaging with the picture through reblogs or sending the post to someone else. But most often, there will be a "like" to tell the creator good job, and then scroll to the next. This is harder to do with written media unless one has the time and energy to read the piece. There's the extra step of critical thought.

To put it a different way, the market is flooded with content and creators. With so much to choose from, the consumer now does not have to participate in the community to ensure continued creation. There will be another creator tomorrow. The consumer no longer feels connected to a community of their interests, it is simply being sold to them.

So back to writeblr, this is where I am at a crossroads. I am tired of creating content to be consumed, I want community. But also, I have nowhere else to turn. I can either completely withdraw from what sliver of community I have found, or I can keep trucking along, create my stuff, play the games we play, chat with the people I do like and do care about, and hope that I don't get too frustrated one day and leave for good.

[majorproblems77]

Recalled update! So I am here to yell about it for 30 minutes thanks :)

*Scrambling to escape the void that has consumed me over the last few weeks.*

HI, ITS ME

Okay, so we've got a recalled update! Im very excited and have been pouring over this update for a while.

Uni is consuming my life haha.

they are headed towards the castle while having some very important discussions. Mainly, what on earth do we call you all. (Which in its own right I find amusing haha. )

Okay, time for the important things! Recalled and all panels belong to @recalled11 and its wonderful artist @l3ominor. Go check it out!

You can find the comic page here!

Now lets get started because if i dont scream about my blorbo in approximately 5 seconds I'm gonna die

I love group photos of any Calabar, it's awesome to see them all together. And watching fabrics flow is detail that I am obsessed with thank you.

ALSO HIS WIFE AHHHHHHH I LOVE THEM

Its the blorbo, look at hims.

Also i love how chill he is about this. Like, 'oh more problems? Awesome, I needed something to do today' kind of vibe I love it.

Sky's walking stick! I love how inclusive of all sorts of things this AU is i thoroughly enjoy it. He gives me the I can kill you with this walking stick, but also have you met my wife vibes and i love him.

Time and Malon running off like this brings me great joy i love them.

And, sky. Are we talking about your journey or something else cause that's pretty ominous there. foreshadowing? Are we gonna get more about the past of these heroes at one point I'd love to know more about them.

It is a massive Hyrule, espically when you think about just how long it takes to get across each of them in-game. Wild's game it actually takes so long to get across even just Hyrule field.

Time please step back from the edge you're giving me anxiety.

Also backgrounds my beloved. Beautiful i love them.

PFFFFFFT

OMG

When i tell you i was laughing at this for a few minutes i mean it oh my god this is wonderful.

And Malon?! OMG

I find this so damn funny. Its wonderful.

Im so glad everyone is confused it makes this 10x funnier.

(You think when they get to know each other better he'll let Sky/Sun have a go? I would love to see that so much.)

Also seeing Wild smile, Like really smile. The boy deserves the world.

Im glad he's having fun. Its also great to see Zonai tech being used after the events of the 2nd game like this.

Yes, let's step into the wooden box of who knows what together? It'll be fun! :D

Flower, you gotta remember that these people have never seen this sort of thing, please explain.

Like you're doing right now flower? Like you're doing right now?

Everyone is so trusting of this box. I love it.

Just gonna say how GENIUS this is? LIKE A LIFT USING ZONAI WHEELS

I LOVE IT

This tells a lot

Sky is just impressed, look at how happy he is. Wonderful bean

Sun is hanging out, (Is she holding his hand? Thats cute) :D

Captain the professional as always.

Malon and Time are the absolute chaos of the group. Just look at them, Time has obviously never seen something like this and so him being the one who's like basically fallen over here makes so much sense.

Got me cackling again tho, I love this group of idiots a healthy amount.

Them <3

I was thinking about it tho... And the sailcloths they are identical. And we know they are married...

What if the sailcloths are a sign of marriage in this universe? Why else would they both have the same one, down to the blue outline on the edge that is closest to them. Like you give your lover a meaningful symbol to show your love for them, and in Sky's case he made a sailcloth for sun after she made the one he's wearing for him during the events of Skyward sword.

I think its the same one because his one looks significantly bigger than hers, which to me tells of a practical use as well as a decorative or symbolic piece. 332

Like im probably reading too much into this but then again. They are so cute that they would actually do that.

Captain pulling the absolute shenanigans of a group back on track. He is the brain cell of the group you can't change my mind.

HE CALLS HER SUNSHINE AHHHHHH

I LOVE THEM

THESE TWO MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME

Why is everyone in this comic so damn adorable okay, these guys are just cinnamon rolls who saved the world.

Just look at Time's face? You can't tell me he isn't the most cinnamon of the rolls.

AWWWWWWWWW

Have I mentioned how much I love Captain? Cause he is just so chill, but also professional. Professionally chill? Sure.

I can see a stressful situation coming up, and he just is the stoic leader who gets everyone in line and ready to fight the threat.

And flower, Who is just so sweet. I can understand not wanting to be referred to as princess now that their Hyrule is like how it is. I'm surprised this hasn't come up sooner. But it's cute.

Oh the silent princess. How symbolic you are.

I know people are not really into the flower thing but I am, you think we will see some nightshade at one point?

The flower.

The 2 flower heads, one open, one closed, The blue into white. With the yellow detail. It's Flowers colour pallet to a T and I love it. Maybe as we progress through the story we will see pictures of the silent princess again but with a flowering bud or maybe if something bad happens a slightly sad looking one?

I am obsessed with symbolism, so if those become a thing watch this space cause I will be excited about it!

(In fact looking at it I think, the stem in the middle and the yellow on her clothes are colour-matched. A nice detail!)

Okay thats all from me! :D

Have a great day/Night!

[khunvegas]

Have you/could you make a list of your favorite/best bl kisses?

i feel honored that someone asked me this 😩 omg ok. this is gonna be the longest post ever.

here's my list of the best bl kisses with a few of my favorites. in my own personal opinion.

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

●dark blue kiss

i think p'aof went very galaxy brain with the idea of an underwater kiss and for that, he is very valid because it's a very iconic kiss. the show itself could have had some work but then again, it was 2018. everything was wrong back then.

● still 2gether

NOW i talk a lot of shit about this one AND WITH GOOD REASONS. HOWEVER, gosh mantype stole the show for me WITH ONE SINGLE KISS. imagine that. it was groundbreaking FOR ME. too bad we will never gonna see them together again.

● 2 moons 2

this was the only time joong knew how to kiss. no further explanation.

● history 2: crossing the line

even though this whole scene was a dream, it was still a marvelous experience and for someone (me) that was just starting into this bl bs, this one sealed the deal for me.

● history 3: make our days count

this whole scene... you just had to be there. also they had the most happiest ending ever. for sure for sure.

● history 3: trapped

what can i say? taiwan always put their money in those workshops. their plots might be a little outta pocket with the incest and the getting killed because of some salt but i can always trust them to put on a show.

● manner of death

i have no explanations WHY this is a favorite. it's just too good. and it's not only their porn-level kisses, the show itself was a masterpiece. if no one got me, i know maxtul got me. manifesting a show with them again.

●lovely writer

the show itself didn't click with me. too many sound effects and some of the characters were very annoying to me. HOWEVER, the food was very tasteful. let's see it again.

● a tale of thousand stars

i really debated between this one and the final kiss but i had to choose this one because i feel this one is more meaningful. it was a promise that they would see each other again and i'm a sucker for promises. still, p'aof lost some points for giving us one single actual kiss for the very last minute.

● like in the movies

picture this. we are in the middle of a pandemic, unemployed, some places are starting to open back up, thailand is in shambles so they can't release anything. enter the philippines with the vision of starting business with the bl industry and they release this masterpiece. it was such a good show and they had the material for a season 2 but sadly, their time is over. 10/10 tho.

● we best love: no.1 for you

gosh, taiwan. you will always be the best.

this was a very emotional scene and they truly deliver with the kiss and the tears and the bridge. it was all 10/10

● bad buddy

I MEAN, DO I EVEN HAVE TO EXPLAIN??? like damn. now i do have some complaints here and there but this kiss right here??? it was such an experience. like the girlies that watched this while it was airing know how it felt because not a lot of people were prepared for how ep 5 would leave the whole fandom in shambles. the confession plus the kiss PLUS how it ended??? emotional damage 100. incredible.

●enchante

LISTEN!!! YOU BETTER LISTEN!!!! because these bitches, as rookies as they were, DELIVERED. see because even though enchante was a flop in terms of views and gmmtv never giving them an inch of promotion, my kings ate each other on camera and gave me the most toe-curling kiss ever. i don't care if you thought the plot was silly or you want to act funny and say forcebook look related, whatever that means, they did what needed to be done. end of discussion.

●not me

"but offgun had better kisses!!!!111!!!" i don't care about any of that. i came here because babygirl first is a homie hopper and he was going to kiss another man on camera.

the show itself was really good, a little bit draggy towards the end (and there were some Things with some characters that the fans weren't that happy with) but overall, they put on a great performance. HOWEVER, danyok will forever be famous. a tragedy too.

●to my star

GOSH. the originals. the men that weren't afraid of success. see because up until this point, kbls were a flop in terms of kisses (some even in plot) and their first kiss was a flop too BUT THEN this final scene came and robbed me at gunpoint. i was so sure we would never get a proper kiss AND THE BITCHES CAME AND SLAYED ME. not only they gave me a proper meal, it lasted for hours. i was left in shambles. 14569722/10.

●to my star 2

i have to put both scenes because what the fuck. I MEAN, WHAT THE FUCK MAN???

there's absolutely nothing i can say but enjoy??? i guess??? they said "oh, the industry is a flop. let us fix it" AND THEY DID... now the show itself had its ups and downs; a lot of people didn't like how it was made and how the plot was going; it was devastation after devastation and no one could see the light at the end of the tunnel. personally, if they had done the plot a little different, a lot more people would have been happier, including me. but that doesn't take away the fact that they killed it, amazing performance and the kisses speak for itself.

● my secret love

now was this show groundbreaking? no. in reality, it was more of the same stuff we all have seen but the catch with this one is that the acting is good enough and the plot is engaging, and you can actually see that some actions lead to repercussions in the show. however, i do have to talk about these two. they stole the show and they weren't even the main couple and my theory is that because they didn't have enough screentime, they decided to go all out with their scenes and god, what a time. this was just the beginning of this scene btw, there's more to it.

● golden blood

this one goes to show that sometimes you just need vibes, exceptionally good chemistry, some silly characters and a small mukbang. golden blood was a disaster in like everything, so when i tell you i stayed for them, i'm serious. they were the only reason i kept watching. the rest? i don't even remember because i skipped most of it.

● cutie pie

see, decisions were made when they filmed this. the show was very silly itself and there were some plotholes that were ultimately overshadowed by zee's tongue. i honestly don't remember much. i just remember the iconic kisses and how tonnam stole every single scene (and that's how he has his lead role now). also perth. but those workshops came through because all four of them ate this (and each other).

�� cutie pie 2 you

before anyone says something about zeenunew, save it. i watched this long ass advertisement just to get nuersyn crumbs. that's it. i don't even remember how many episodes it had but it was so unnecessary. HOWEVER, tutoryim came and gave us the performance of their lives. i have absolutely no complaints with those two. would i ever want a special focused on them? yes, 100%. i also have to add maxnat also had a great performance with the little to no screentime they had. we were living off crumbs, for sure.

● you're my sky

oh, bestie. when i tell you this show made me climb my walls every saturday last year, i'm not kidding. THESE TWO, MY GOD. for the girlies that watched this show, you know what i mean. the tension was OFF THE ROOF. THE WORST PART? open ending. the most toe-curling tension right here just to get a drunken kiss and then NOTHING. the most excruciating 12 weeks.

● don't say no

this show was a wild ride. like, the toxicity surrounding leo and fiat? it was too much and the plot was nonexistent, which it was the point. basically, it was "two best friends in a room, they might kiss" and they did, so what happens next? this is the "next". how they actually act now that they are in a relationship. fiat had a lot of baggage plus being horny. those two fucked like rabbits and NOTHING was left to the imagination. the biggest surprise was smartjames. they had an awful ending but at least we got good food.

●blueming

you know what they say, tms walked so that the other kbls could run and this is a prime example. then again, it's the same director, so there's a standard these shows need to have and damn, i think they exceeded. now, the show was very different from the manhwa but it was still a good show enough that there might be season 2.

● kissable lips

compared to some of this list, this kiss is not even that good. HOWEVER, in the context of kbls, it was really memorable, especially when you have watched the show and the only thing that you can remember is that one of them was a vampire and died but died after having a good fuck... honestly, they had $5 and a dream and they made it work.

●cherry blossom after winter

the dream kisses are always the best ones.

this was a very cute show overall and i think it had the first m|m couple that gets engaged with a ring and everything in a kbl. very iconic, if you ask me. very brave too.

●cupid's last wish

listen, i'm not a fan of the body swapping trope but at least they went original with this one (at least no one died... side eyeing the shipper). and i'm pretty sure the director told earthmix to go wild with this one. pretty sure it was the pent up energy from atots. what a performance. a think there are a few kisses from this show. great food.

and that's it because tumblr only allows 30 pictures per post, so if you want part 2, let me know. i still have some that i can add.

[confessmau]

this is less of a hot take more like a complaint but something I think isn’t nearly as talked abt is the magic system and how it works in MS/MCD. In McD it’s slightly more explored.

Jess just kinda threw a lot of… stuff at us and expected us to just digest it without further explaining what’s in the dish.

it’s the equivalent of a stranger walking up to you, handing you a plate of somewhat appealing food, and telling you to eat it. Like most people want to know what’s in the food.

there’s two different forms of it, kinda not really, magic and magik’s. With no real meaningful difference between the two.

we know there’s a high magic council, that’s off busy doing god knows what during MS’s climax.

We know that aside from magik’s and magic there’s multiple different classifications of magic. By extension we know most of magic is drawn from emotion (it’s still stated extremely vaguely tho), and healing magic is done through equivalent exchange.

we know there’s demons and other mythical humanoid/animal like creatures.

we know there’s a spirit world.

we know there’s like familiars, and some of those spells that come with it.

And we know there’s other gods besides the divine. (They’re technically not gods, but they’re still treated like it in dialogue so)

and we know that there’s magic laws, colleges, maybe even governments and places that are purely inhabited by magic users alla Harry Potter.

my point being, with all these jumping points you would thing at least would be expanded on, but nope, magic in this world is just, accepted as a factor and treated like a relatively unimpressive spectacle.

which is weird because despite there being lots ways to show off how society, both physically and psychologically would change. There’s so many cool world building you could do, but Jess just- opts to shove goofy ass spells in our face.

at least until season 4 where the really bad forbidden spell is made which, isn’t even investigated by this magic council that put the rule that you can’t make it in place. But if Jess did that then she’d have to do several things we know she wouldn’t want to do like; explain why forever potions are band and love potions aren’t, actually focus on characters and the world bigger than our cast of characters mainly aph and Aaron, come up with actual world building and discuss the conflicts that may arise out of having magic being used so freely in schools and just public areas in general.

like there’s so many deeper topics that you could present with it but no; cat potionsssss, love potion misunderstandings/conflicts that we’ve seen a million other times and done so much better in a handful of them, teleportation which does have a bit of a limit granted, more destructive chaotic potions that multiple characters have not accidentally/purposefully caused 100’s of 1,000 dollars with, but also put people in actual physical danger in both schools and public settings, potions that allow you to swap fantasy races for comedy.

The main problem is that Jess kinda just, pulled out random generic spells as she went along and only put debuffs on it later to nerf it. Again like the teleportation, or forever potion victims just needing to feel a “strong emotion”. It’s not thought out at all, which I’m not surprised by but god, it could’ve been so interesting.

oh i can explain the magic differences sorta ~~

magicks/magics plural is exclusive to mcd. people who use magicks have to be born with an innate connection to the magicks that flows through the world. and your abilities tend to fall into a specific category of spell (ex. kc specializes in animation magicks, zoey has barrier magicks etc.) some magicks users can perform witchcraft in spells related to their field, but witchcraft is for the most part a seperate skill. it is the best explained out of the three.

magic is a mystreet concept and allegedly anyone can use it with a "strong emotion". there are only a couple categories of spell, and specific emotions are required for each one (happy is creation, anger for destruction, sorrow for elemental, and love for healing). only the healing magic is ever used, and its mostly unrelated to witchcraft even through lucinda exposits about it. [imo adding a magic with such a loose requirement and never using it only serves to dampen any emotional scenes after its introduction since (ex. zane couldn't have been THAT sad about aph's death if he didn't become the avatar) but that's a little unrelated lol)

witchcraft is the jack of all trades of magic in both worlds and is characterized by using specific incantations and ingrediants for spells to work. anyone can do it with training or only some people can do it depending on the timeline. it is the most lawless of the three, mostly due to the fact that lucinda is the only important witch and her primary role is plot device. the majority of magic use is witchcraft, including the forever potions.

[precious-little-scoundrel]

I love that Gale was instantly attracted to Maureen (I feel like some people read their relationship as something that she forced -even tho it’s clearly mutual) and how much havoc his bi awakening it caused inside of him. How quickly in their relationship did they start to trust one another enough to discuss unpleasant parts of their upbringing? I feel like they both have such tall walls around themselves, which is useful for self preservation but so, so bad for meaningful friendships and relationships

They do indeed have such tall walls, that’s true, and it’s an aspect I envision being sorta suprising and organic for them to let them down but I also don’t have it fully fleshed out. Her noticing the gay poetry, the love sick suppression towards Egan and then their close quarters needed to train with each other as pilot and bombardier -it had to help, along with her all too quickly dishing out that it takes one to know one- her brother being of the same sort. And Gale is likely hyperventilating but it’s also so very nice to be known. No ones every known him and then not cared.

And in turn Bucky is unintentionally wingmanning for both of these idiots. So, wish I had a more thought out backdrop to give you but I don’t fully, not right now at least 😩🤭🫶🏼

[queerprayers]

i'd really like to compliment the thoughtfulness and generosity of thought and time on your blog, first of all. i spent a lot of time reading it today, and it resonated with me a lot. i was raised by two atheists who are smart people in many ways but live in the 'all organized religion is dum and evil' camp. i've had to unlearn their beliefs/fight them on antisemitism and islamophobia for most of my adolescence and adulthood. in terms of personal faith, i have firmly believed for a long time that 'there is no god' is an ontologically unprovable belief that i could never feel comfortable espousing, but i still never understood the purpose of organized or personal worship until the last month. it took me many years that get that god is not an authoritarian dad looking over your shoulder and criticizing you but can be something a great deal more unknowable and complicated and on-my-side than that.

but i was wondering: do you have any advice for someone balancing their curiosity about faith and their weird nostalgia about the Rituals of catholic school with their fears that a) they are wishy-washily turning to it just for kicks in a year when they've lost a lot, and shouldn't talk to anyone about it, b) they are just unconsciously emulating their partner, who is a queer catholic with a personal theology they admire. i have always found something religion-shaped in mountains and rivers and the sky and the love of other people, and that's never going to change. but the idea that i could or do want Something Else , and that christian beliefs resonate with me, is scaring me because of all of the identity fluctuations i've ever experienced, it's not one i've thought i'd ever see. it feels like a very scary thing to talk to people about in real life, even though the two closest people in my life would both have a lot to discuss with me about it.

Welcome, beloved! Thank you for your kind words! I pray this will resonate with you as well.

I'm proud of you for working to unlearn some of your parents' beliefs—I really respect people who recognize the harm religion has done, but you're right, you can't condemn it inherently without bigotry/racism. We all have to choose what belief/tradition to take with us, and I admire you so much for recognizing that you'd have to leave that behind. And I love your changing understanding of God—there are many gods I don't believe in, and an authoritarian dad looking over our shoulders to criticize us is one of them! Acknowledging the Mystery is such a beautiful thing.

Curiosity and nostalgia and ritual-seeking are factors that bring a lot of people to faith! Those aren't stupid reasons—they're parts of you that recognize something meaningful there, and want to explore it! Similarly, many people turn to faith when they're hurting. This has definitely been painted in a bad light, but to me it makes so much sense. It's so much easier to claim you understand the universe and everything's rational and knowable, when you're comfortable with where you are and confident in where you're going. Losing things brings a realization of our lack of control, our complete lack of knowledge in how everything works. Seeking more, seeking mystery when we are hurting is a completely reasonable response.

Seeking what we need, like comfort, in faith is not evil. We all need to be comforted, and believing in love is what many hurting people need. This doesn't mean religion is stupid—in fact, the fact that it seems to be the practice best equipped to help hurting people would point to it being one of the most valuable things of all! If a worldview can only accommodate people who are confident/in control/have everything they need, I don't think very much of it at all. (Of course I know there are many nonreligious worldviews that accommodate hurting people, and I respect them. I also know that there is organized religion that will take advantage of those who have lost things, and I condemn that wholeheartedly. Faith at its best, though, welcomes those hurting in a way I rarely see in other places.)

We don't want to create a faith practice that only serves us when we're hurting—but we should always carry our hurting with us as we find what we're looking for. Don't only hurt your way into faith—but bring the loss with you.

Whatever your reasons for being drawn to faith, even if you think they're bad reasons, are real reasons that can serve you. Wanting comfort/ritual is a completely natural response to the world, and finding what you need in practices that are designed for people wanting those things is the perfect reason to come to them!

Many people convert to their partner's religion—obviously there's lots of historical/cultural reasons for this, and in some cases it is out of pressure or because that's just what you do—but it's not crazy and doesn't inherently mean you lack autonomy. Getting to know someone deeply involves learning what they value and how they see things. Loving someone completely means loving those practices and perspectives. I think interfaith relationships are perfectly possible and healthy, but I can't imagine a relationship with someone of a different faith/worldview if I did not love theirs and they loved mine—I have trouble with friendships where that love is not present!

You admiring and caring about your partner and their faith has included listening to and learning about their faith, and seeing how they live it out—it makes complete sense that this draws you to this or similar faiths! You were brought up thinking that this is dumb and evil, and now you're in a relationship with someone who identifies with and practices a faith. Often people don't truly understand religion until they're exposed to someone who has it as part of them.

This is all to say that valuing a practice more because someone you love practices it is, of course, subjective and biased, and it is also beautiful and holy. Every faith is subjective and biased. I am Christian partially because my parents are Christian—because I was brought up in this faith, and it is my home. If you are connecting with something because it's something that's a part of your life (catholic school and now a catholic partner)—that's kind of how connection works? I don't know if that counts as "unconsciously emulating" but like, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with connecting to something so much, seeing it all around you, that you're drawn to it? (My favorite movies consist solely of movies I have seen, and they're all ones I watched at a point in my life when they were meaningful to me. These aren't stupid reasons to like a movie—they're the only reasons to like a movie.)

Honestly if a faith is not something that comforts you, not something that you're drawn to when you experience loss, not something that satisfies desires for ritual, not something that holds your childhood self close but also reflects your changing worldviews, not something that is a part of your life and that you've seen lived out in beautiful ways, I would actually advise against becoming a part of it! I would list these things as essential reasons! It doesn't mean you have to, but it means you have good reasons. This doesn't sound just for kicks—you're thinking about this a lot, and reaching out to someone for advice, and taking it seriously. And many faith changes happen kind of suddenly, anyway—this doesn't sound sudden, but if it was, there are many beautiful examples of people all at once realizing what they're meant for.

"Religion-shaped" is a great phrase! Whether or not you find your way to a specific practice, knowing that you have those connections and appreciations is beautiful and valuable. However your identity changes, whatever practices find their way into your life, you have mountains and rivers and sky and love. You have God, in whatever ways you learn to find Them.

It's acknowledge it's scary to find your way to something your younger self would never have guessed! We surprise ourselves sometimes, and it's terrifying! But I give you permission to be scared and to surprise yourself. To honor who you'd thought you'd be and to change. We know we can't see the future, but we still find ourselves arriving in a future we didn't see and being surprised about it. This change—let it break down more walls. This mystery that's always with you—welcome it as you unlearn and relearn.

Know that you can always change again. That opening up to people about something you might want doesn't mean you always have to want it. That beginning a practice is not a promise to always practice it. That breaking down walls doesn't mean you can never rebuild them, and saying a truth doesn't set it in stone.

It's so often easier to open up to people we don't have a personal relationship with! I'm so grateful that what I write resonates with you, but (sorry) we still don't actually know each other, and you also have the space to be anonymous—that's probably really nice for you right now! Me and most of the queer people I know came out to random people on the internet before people in real life—inherently because we cared about/knew them less. Those we care about most can be the scariest to open up to, because we have the most riding on their response. Of course I encourage you to tell them at least some of what you've told me—it sounds like they'd love to hear about it and would accept these changing parts of you. Don't wait till you have it all figured out to share it—that won't really ever happen, and I'm guessing you'll regret not letting in as you figure it out. But give yourself grace, honor your privacy and time. They're there when you're ready.

It's scary to change, it's scary to question our worldviews, it's scary to admit our vulnerabilities and our need for something greater than ourselves, it's scary that people might think you have bad reasons for your beliefs/choices. But the people that you love you want your fear too. They know you'll change—everyone does. If they only loved you if you stayed static, if you only made logical unbiased decisions, if your circumstances didn't affect what you value—that's not loving a person. It sounds like you trust them and know that they would welcome these questions and want to talk about them. Go to the mountains and the rivers and the sky and go to them, the love of other people. That's where God will be—with you already, walking with you on the road, and there waiting for you. (There's a trinity right there!) Mystery and paradox and comfort and ritual and the simplest and most terrifying thing in the world.

I'm in your corner. I don't know the road ahead of you but I know you have so much beautiful time. I can't see the future but I know it will surprise you. God be with your going out and your coming in, from this time forth forevermore. May your ways be safe and your homecomings joyful. Now we know in part, but someday we will know fully, even as we are fully known, face to face.

<3 Johanna

[ultravioart]

@harryharson

Ramattra lore/character discussions, and response to tags below:

Race (as in, the social castes invented to enforce chattel slavery, Black, White) is a social construct, only a vague box used by higher authorities to oppress and dehumanize real human beings. To be racist is to enforce that system.

Ramattra is not racist, because omnics and humans are fundamentally different species, not socially constructed differences within one species. Ramattra is speciest you could argue, sure, but not racist. Omnics are fundamentally NOT human.

And that's another thing: his goal is not to punish humans. His main goal is to stop omnic extinction, no matter the cost. His trauma induced desperation and anger and fear is what is driving him into doing more harm, and there is a meaningful story in that, I agree. He doesn't aim for human extinction(atleast, not yet in canon), he wants to prevent omnic extinction. He is fighting against the collective oppressive powers of humanity, not the human individuals. But if freeing omnics means killing individual humans, he will do that. And at this point in his story, he is probably under the view of: if humans go extinct, then so be it. But human extinction/subjugation is not his goal, preventing omnic extinction/subjugation is.

"Excusing one of the good ones" isn't what I meant at all ah :( nor is human racism applicable to the omnic and human tensions because

one: omnics attacked first and can be hacked and forced to murder at any time which is an undeniable and legitimate threat. Humans have every right to fear omnics suddenly becoming violent out of the blue. Omnics are not humans, and cannot be compared to a human racial group without very troubling implications that a race is inherently violent/mindless labor/could attack at any time hivemind, so I personally avoid it as much as possible.

and two: Ramattra sees inaction to prevent omnic extinction as compliance with omnic genocide. It has less to do with him having 'exceptions' and more with him hating any threat to omnics (human or omnic--yes Ramattra has targeted innocent omnics he perceived as threats to omnic existence. The attacks on Paris, Busan, etc. That definitely killed Iris sentient omnics or at minimum traumatized them by destroying homes/killing loved ones).

Omnics and humans work on fundamentally different intelligences. Humans are singular minded, unable to connect brains together. Omnics are individual but also a kind of hivemind (can communicate/connect via the Iris or internet, and can be mass controlled as seen with Anubis)-- similar to ant colonies in a way, they can cooperate in massive numbers all at once. An individual ant intelligence is different from the antcolony super organism intelligence.

Ramattra doesn't hate human individuals, his story explains he hates how humanity(collective) takes no action to stop injustices, and he is wary of strangers who are humans because of his past where humans tried to kill him/killed his kin (this is where you can argue speciest, bc even tho its trauma based, he does have a distrust based on species alone. To me it reads more like someone who is wary of dogs after a traumatic dog attack, rather than an inherent hatred of all dogs. I say this because he is absurdly polite with most humans in voice lines, and we know he can be mean if he wanted to.)

He also hates omnic individuals that encourage "waiting it out" (Shambali pacifism) when that plan is doomed to lead to extinction. He hates the groups that are not helping to stop omnic extinction.

The metaphor here is that Ram doesn't hate the ants(individual humans), he hates the super organism antcolony (aka humanity as a whole, the larger structures that cause/enable omnic extinction). It's equivalent to hating an oppressive government, but not hating the citizens. Citizens could be supporting/enabling oppression which is bad, or citizens could be actively trying to stop oppression which is good. That's how Ramattra would see it.

The issue here is that humans aren't like omnics, they can't 'hivemind' like omnics. That's why people may think Ram is being anti-human but really it's his trauma burning out his patience to the point his focus is on "prevent omnic extinction" over "saving individuals" now. Meaning he will kill omnic individuals(hacking to force control them to fight and die) AND humans individuals alike in the name of preventing omnic extinction. Which YEAH that's badbad. But the point here is that it's not the same as "die all humans."

His "suffer as I have" and other lines are him expressing the traumas he has faced, not that he actually wants an exact eye for an eye. It's more of a "no, i will not turn the other cheek like the Shambali do, I will speak to you in a language you understand: violence. If you punch me, I will punch you viciously so you will either understand the pain I have gone through and finally stop hurting me, or fear me enough to never dare hurt me again." rather than an "equal exchange of loss"

It's also good to note his relishing in being feared/hated seems to be a new trait. Echo asks him how it feels to be called things like Ravager, and he said it used to bother him but then jokingly says it now gives him 'this warm little feeling inside' --he is SUPER bitter about rejection, and often shows his discomfort with being alone, or having people leave him.

His journey was this:

Mindless warmachine who sent mindless omnics into war against humanity. (After gaining sentience he probably feels guilt/trauma for this, even though he wasn't in control. Survivors guilt.)

Wake up due to the Iris, survive the traumatizing targeted slaughter R-7000s faced from both humans and omnics, end up as one of the last remaining R-7000s. Traumatic: loss, isolation, blamed for something he couldn't control, labeled a violent threat.

Learn of Aurora and try to find her to understand his purpose, end up traveling to Shambali monestary, become a monk, try to comprehend existence and coexistence with humanity. Meet Zenyatta, discuss humanity's shortcomings, make meaningful connection, finally finding a dear brother, someone who understands unlike Mondatta. Then one day Zenyatta almost dies at human hands due to something Ramattra did. Ramattra is traumatized, fearing loss.

Realize the Shambali's pacifism is not working and this path is doomed to lead to omnic extinction. In anger, fear, desperation, drive, Leave the Shambali and his found family, and take violent action to free kidnapped omnics from anti-omnic human captors around the world.

Realize most omnics are waiting to be saved by the Shambali, instead of saving themselves. The Shambali are giving omnics false hope, and dampening resistance efforts. Create Null sector with new dear friend Nameless, to inspire omnics to stand up and fight for liberation instead of sitting and waiting to be killed.

With trauma fueling the desperation to save as many as possible, become too hasty, too fast acting, he was warned by team mates but went ahead anyways, because if they took London, one of the worst places for omnics as a stronghold, it would show the world omnics are capable and inspire omnics globally to rise up and resist-- and the attempt of violently liberating omnics failed in London. The dear omnic Lanet that warned him it was too hasty died in the attack, the Shambali are calling null sector illogical terrorists and discrediting thier efforts, and overall omnics are condemning null sector. This was the opposite of what was meant to happen. More loss, more rejection, more being labeled a violent threat, more trauma. The Shambali have the upper hand, and Ramattra believes the Shambali are dooming his people.

Ramattra then made the point of no return: he states he is willing to force omnics to fight and die against thier will if it means it prevents omnic extinction. He is willing to do what Anubis did. Nameless and Zera leave him, they will not deny omnics free will. Again, he lost those dear to him. Again, he is alone. Again, he is seen as a violent threat. And his people are dwindling by the hour, so he radicalized his views once again.

Ramattra, isolated, desperate, traumatized into defaulting into base R-7000 coding (lead omnics into war against humanity), agrees to join up with Talon if it means omnics will not go extinct.

[decolonize-the-everything]

Not sure if you're aware but tlou was written by a hardcore zionist...I haven't watched it but palestinians online have been saying the show is making them v uncomfortable with the zionist messages encoded in it. Just thought you might wanna know

After a quick Google search it doesn't look accidental.

This article immediately shows up. And a search for TLOU Zionism on Tumblr we see this article pop up over and over.

Here are some key points in the article (the whole thing is good tho and I still definitely left important parts out).

Druckmann drew parallels between The Last of Us and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict again on the official The Last of Us podcast. When discussing the first time Joel kills another man to protect his daughter and the extraordinary measures people will take to protect the ones they love, Druckmann said he follows "a lot of Israeli politics," and compared the incident to Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinians prisoners in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. He said that his father thought that the exchange was overall bad for Israel, but that his father would release every prisoner in every prison to free his own son.

"That's what this story is about, do the ends justify the means, and it's so much about perspective. If it was to save a strange kid maybe Joel would have made a very different decision, but when it was his tribe, his daughter, there was no question about what he was going to do," Druckmann said.

[...]A "cycle of violence" is a tempting way to interpret this conflict, or any conflict, because it signals careful nuance while quietly squashing more difficult conversations. By suggesting that since both Wolves and Scars are equally implicated and equally in pain, we are free to stop thinking about the problem. All parties include both good and bad actors. We're all human. Both sides.

This common, centrist position on violent conflict, while better than absolute dehumanization, is not coincidentally a world view that allows conflicts to drag on forever. Suggesting moral equivalence and a symmetry in ability between sides also invites us to throw up our hands and give up on better solutions because of implied and unexamined perceptions about "human nature." Indeed, the game is unrelentingly cynical, and this cynicism animates most of the 30-odd hour experience. Whereas Abby and Ellie find interpersonal resolution at the end, the game seems content to leave the question of community-scale cycles of violence as a regrettable fact of human existence. Even if the Wolves and Scars meet their mutual end, the game leaves us with the knowledge that a resistance group from the first game, the Fireflies, and other groups, are regrouping and gaining strength. The cycle continues.

[...]But "cycles of violence" are a poor way to understand a conflict in a meaningful way, especially if one is interested in finding a solution. The United States, for example, hasn't been at war in Afghanistan for almost 20 years because it's trapped in a "cycle of violence" with the Taliban. It is deliberately choosing to engage with a problem in a way that perpetuates a conflict. Just as the fantasy of escaping violence by simply walking away from it is one that only those with the means to do so can entertain, the myth of the "cycle of violence" is one that benefits the side that can survive the status quo.

In The Last of Us Part II's Seattle, Scars and Wolves hurt each other terribly, and the same can be said about Israel and Palestine. The difference is that when flashes of violence abate and the smoke clears, one side continues to live freely and prosper, while the other goes back to a life of occupation and humiliation. One side continues to expand while the other continues to lose the land it needs to live. Imagining this process as some kind of symmetric cycle benefits one side more than the other, and allows it to continue.

[...]The Last of Us Part II is an incredible journey that provides not only one of the most mesmerizing spectacles that we've seen from big budget video games, but one that manages to ask difficult questions along the way. It's clearly coming from an emotionally authentic and self-examining place. The trouble with it, and the reason that Ellie's journey ultimately feels nonsensical, is that it begins from a place that accepts "intense hate that is universal" as a fact of life, rather than examining where and why this behavior is learned.

Critically, by not asking these questions, and by masking its point of view as being evenhanded, it perpetuates the very cycles of violence it's supposedly so troubled by.

I think is a very good criticism and I'll say that even giving characters "good" reasons to carry on with their very hateful goals seems doubly malicious in that context.

Like I could type out a long response justifying specifying character actions by saying "oh it's trauma" or "loyalty" or something but like the article says none of those reasons are really good enough when you look at the scale of conflict or what's it's actually a commentary on.

The logic Druckmann uses also dehumanizes the characters themselves in a way that removes their free will. Their trauma happened, it shaped them, and now everything else is just a domino effect of that. Everyone is a victim of unavoidable sets of circumstance. Circumstance made them who they are, they didn't have a choice in the people they got to be. Which means they have no choice in their actions.

Predeterminsm. And that may be literally true as a player of the game or watcher of the show since we cant change the course of those things or the characters themselves.

But real life doesn't lock us into stories or dialogue or behaviors that we can't walk away from. Ever. Even people "just doing my job" have a choice to lie down their guns in real life.

....within this context I feel like, if nothing else, the game serves purpose as a litmus test. It puts you through an emotional roller coaster fraught with bad intentions, awful deeds, and selfish acts and then it asks you: Was it worth it? Was it just a game? Would you do the same?

And what does that say about the kind of person who says yes?

It says you easily fall for genocidal and fascist propaganda, for starters. And who says you haven't already fallen for it if you're already sympathetic to Joel or Ellie's unjustifiable homicidal behaviors.

Because they are unjustifiable. Most people eat too much, depend on friends/family, or go to therapy when they're suffering a loss. They don't go on elaborate murder sprees. That's not the behavior or reaction of a person who's emotionally sound at all.

[theharrowing]

you writers need to deflate your egos when it comes to interactions. getting mad about likes ain't it. some of us can't read immediately, and we like things to save them. this isn't us being lazy or inconsiderate, either, it's just how it is, sometimes.

hello, anon!

i see you are coming from a place of frustration, and i feel for you. i really do. but i might be the wrong person to be your punching bag over this, and i am honestly a little bummed out that you chose me to yell at anonymously over the validity of likes.

i have been pro likes since the beginning and remain pro likes. see exhibit a where i discussed this very topic, months ago.

here is the meat of that post, in case you don't feel like clicking thru:

as someone who values feedback and conversation, comments and reblogs will always be extremely meaningful and appreciated. it helps me know how you - my readers - feel, it helps spread the content to other potential readers, and it makes this feel like a community. on this site, reblogs are really the best way to spread content. that being said, i value the likes, as well. each and every like puts a smile on my face. if all you have to offer, as a reader, is a like, i will cherish it. i really don't want to see anyone feeling guilty because they are unsure that what they are doing is enough. yes, please talk to me if you are comfortable. yes, please share the content if you are comfortable. but if you only give a story a like, i will still be happy. i don't take any single interaction on this site for granted. likes may be less helpful in the long run, but they are still likes. and this is not to undermine any of the feelings and opinions of other writers that may be different than mine. we all want to be validated and cherished and we are not all going to feel the exact same way about things. i think that as writers, we also need to do more to support our writer friends, and that is something i am going to try to be better at, even when i do not have the time to read.

i know that not all of my readers have time to drop everything and read. i also acknowledge that not all of them are comfortable with leaving comments, and i respect that. it's not my business why, but i know that there are myriad reasons as to why. of course, i want and value comments and reblogs, but i don't take likes for granted. the end. please, let this be the end.

see the above post for a more nuanced explanation if you are still not clear on my feelings on the matter.

are likes useless in terms of exposure? yes. do i still love each one? yes. i'm not someone who gets exposure in the first place; i would have hardly any notes if not for likes. and while i recognize that the solution to this problem is to encourage reblogs, i still can't bring myself to treat any of this as if it is transactional. and i apologize to other creators if this mindset is frustrating.

and all of this being said, other writers do not feel the same way i do, and that is their business. going around and yelling at people like this also ain't it, tho. we still work hard and deserve love for what we do. i'm sorry if writers haven't acknowledged and understood that you're liking to bookmark, or whatever the case may be. we are literally all out here just trying to live our lives the best we can, ok?

edit: if you do want to leave comments but are unsure what to say, or where to start, this is a very cool tool that may help you!

[p-taryn-dactyl]

For your au post I’ve been trying to get the au in my brain into words but stargate, kawalsky lives au, because for whatever reason the (incredibly) short time he had on the show endeared him to me. I have no idea how or if it would change things but I’m curious as to your thoughts

hmmmm

what if? kawalsky lived

okay so, as you said, he had very limited time on the show, but i do have a few thoughts on this concept

let’s say they were able to save him from the Goa'uld, this would probably lead them to be able to save daniels wife, which i feel would bridge a strong friendship between Daniel and kawalsky

way more witty banter between jack and kawalsky

this one is kinda sad: i think if kawalsky lived, there wouldn’t be the Daniel/jack friendship we all love. I think Daniel would want to be their friend but since they have a longer history, he would distance himself, leading to a tighter friendship with teal’c and sam

speaking of Sam, kawalsky would definitely tease jack about his not so subtle crush on the badass scientist

friendly competition between sg1 and kawalsky’s sg team

but i do think he would die later in the show, making his death more meaningful and emotional to the audience. Yes, i was sad when he died but mostly bc the other characters felt grief.

He would probably die fighting a goa’uld, hand to hand bc i feel like he would, defending no other than Daniel bc our archeologist buddy was being t*rt*red and kawalsky likes the punk even tho he won’t admit it

he would definitely take time to warm up to teal’c though, but i like to imagine teal’c reading those magazine articles about how to make friends so kawalsky isn’t wary of him anymore. Imagine teal’c showing up to kawalsky’s home with face masks and nail polish exclaiming in the most monotone voice ‘we are going to engage in the painting of our nails while discussing attractive men’. Kawalsky immediately agrees and boom friendship

i hope this was alright! I’ll have to think about this a bit more, since he’s a character that had an impact with little screen time

<3

[doritofalls]

You mentioned you wanted to rewtite the love hotel suite? 👀

well it's not as much that i actively want to rewrite it, but i did have a dream about rewriting it. which is reasonable of my subconscious because we all know it is a trainwreck. i will talk about kiyo's love suite scene in detail under the cut and while i will try to remain as non-explicit as possible i will discuss the themes of consent and lack of consent and talk about sexual themes, so please only proceed if you are old enough to buy smokes in most european countries. i have also added the mature community label to be safe. 

most of my main gripes with the canonical kiyo love hotel scene isn't even the bondage element - it is fairly possible that by that point he has canonically brought up that he likes ropes, fucking, whatever, ok. working only by canon when writing a love suite event extra scene, let's keep that for the time being. it is not even that it's more explicit - it is by far not the only explicit love hotel scene next to miu's and angie's and tsumugi's kind of. i would argue that as far as kiyo and angie goes, their upbringing and personal traumas (implied csa in both ends) could even result in them acting overtly sexual for their age (we are ignoring whatever the hell miu's doing for argument's sake), and the love hotel scene isn't the only example of that, either.

i do find the element of consent (tho not only in kiyo's scene, obviously) clumsily handled and oddly written, though. kiyo is a victim of multiple instances of csa and familiar with the culture around bdsm, even if he by all means shouldn't be. i do not think it fits kiyo's character to ignore consent the way he does in the love hotel scene, when it is just not something that he does in other elements of his interpersonal relationships. if anything, kiyo seems to prefer explicit verbal consent to be a big part of most of his interactions, posing frequent tag questions. he tends to draw clear boundaries but other than the love suite event he is not seen crossing other people's boundaries in canon. it just comes out of left field, and it's weird and ooc.

now comes the lack of context, again, because it's not like the player is supposed to know the other characters' romantic fantasies - and even if you are, the catch is that they are fantasies. which muddies the water significantly when judging korekiyo's behavior in the love suite event. does he have fantasies of a reluctant partner who does get into things as they progress? a partner who is just shy? does he have fantasies of an unwilling partner entirely? even if that was the case, you can hardly judge someone for having fantasies, only being played out through fanservice fuckery, especially with the backlog of kiyo’s rape trauma. even if his fantasy includes shuichi as a fully willing and consenting party, is it possible that shuichi’s reluctance to play along makes the entire sceneiro have to reroute and get from point a to point b? 

we don’t know!! there is a severe lack of context. but that being said, i do just hate the whole love hotel scene and feel uncomfortable with the direction it takes, even if it IS just essential fanservice. implying that 3 out of 16 characters would ignore sexual consent is. bad guys. that’s bad. 

while in the dream i mentioned it was a situation where kiyo woulda had a chance to meet his sister in the flesh again with some possession/reincarnation switcharoo, i do actually like that the event isn’t about his sister. like i have mentioned it before, i do not think kiyo is truly in love with her - if anything, she is an unmovable element he must plan and wrap this fantasy around to feel wanted and in control. the sort of emotions his sister makes him feel are the polar opposites of his love suite event, and i think that’s a meaningful difference to showcase, even if i largely hate the entire thing. i do think kiyo having a good cry similarly to kirumi’s love hotel event woulda been much more productive use of this time, because canon makes it seem like sexual encounters are not all that rare for kiyo... so a moment of emotional intimacy slash relief would probably have been both more notable and more worthy of being a “fantasy” in his mind. though, that being said, i doubt kiyo allows himself to have fantasies that are unrelated to sister in some sort of capacity, so maybe physical encounters are as far away as he can get from her without it feeling like a betrayal. 

iunno....tldr hate kiyo’s love hotel all my homies hate kiyo’s love hotel