#i don't like sharing 'negatives' opinions but I feel that this is important and should be pointed out

[crownedwille]

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[tiffanylamps]

Fic writer interview

thank you for the tag, @katierosefun and @l-tyrell 💛💛💛

name/nicknames: bo is one of my r/l nicknames that I've had since I was born. It's actually a nickname of a nickname. It comes from my dad calling me bobo baggins and I hated it until about 5 years ago. I'm also called lamps (thanks to the wonderful @b1uetrees) by a few people here. Overall, I don't really mind what I'm called (as long as it's not tiffany as that can cause confusion due to the fact that it's an actual name, but not my name)

fandoms: beyond evil... what else?? lol 🤭 I used to write for other fandoms years ago but those works have long been deleted. I stopped writing/reading fanfiction altogether many years ago but then beyond evil came into my life and now lives rent-free in my brain

two shots?: Uhhhh yeah, I have an unsuccessful one 😂 My fic Your Love's Whore currently remains as an incomplete two-shot, due to the fact that I really don't like it and feel no desire to complete it (not going to tag it cause it's ew)

most popular multi-chapter fic: for sure it's Indoctrination, which comes as no surprise because it's the first fic I wrote for BE. So, it's had the most time to get traction. But also, it's the only multi-chapter fic I've completed 🙃

actual worst part of writing: having dyslexia and being perpetually insecure. I constantly get in my way, I'm my biggest critic and worst non-fan. I rarely like what I write and only tend to see the mistakes/negatives, instead of the positives. So.... me. I'm the worst part. Also, my concentration. I have so many abandoned wips/ideas because I lose interest in them far too quickly

how you choose your titles: The name of the Baptism trilogy (Indoctrination, By Desire, Martyrdom) was taken from religious jargon and the rest were either taken from song titles/lyrics, or from quotes/poetry/literature that I feel supports the themes of the story

do you outline?: yeah. Either I know point A and point B and let myself work out the journey one to the other as I write (my favourite way of working), or I write down loads of notes (before I forget them forever)... and there was that one time I wrote an 8K outline for a story I didn't end up writing 😩😂 Examples:

(Cay, I stole your trick of naming individual chapters with funny summaries. thank you xoxo 🤭🤭)

ideas you probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?: i have sooo many! I'm very good at coming up fic ideas but pretty terrible at actually writing them to completion. I'm going to ignore my current published wips and instead share 3 ideas I WISH I could write: my jwds workplace au (13 chapters of just the cutest flirting. I love it, I still hope to complete it one day) a jwkh fic that explores their relationships with a big dollop of Han Toxicity (and lots of feelings) (i love them so much) jw/ds/jy based on the song Girl Crush 👀 (it's a jwds love story, really... but with extra steps and a bunch of Repressed Sexualities... a "what if?" fic)

callouts @ me: 1) interaction is not the purpose of writing. you're writing for yourself, not for numbers 2) stop comparing yourself to others 3) give it time. you don't have to be productive constantly

best writing traits: oooooffff... Uhm, I would say that when I have a good grasp of a character's personality, I am able to paint a vivid picture of their emotions and motivations. I feel like I'm also good at creating a sweet spot (of sorts) between melancholy and happiness when exploring love (my love stories are often underlined with sadness and angst)

spicy tangential opinion: STOP GATEKEEPING CHARACTERS. you don't own them. they cannot be owned, so therefore, you don't get to dictate to other creatives how they should interpret that character. You're not any better because you see a character in one way and some people see them in another. It's fiction. It's meant to be fun. Stop making people uncomfortable with how they explore their passions just because it doesn't meet your standards. That's just- ugh. Stop. Plus, like, with all my love and sincerity... who the fuck are you? Y'know? We're all just some guy on a website sharing pixels and opinions, so... let's just have fun and give each other the space to feel welcome 💛

tag, you’re it (if you'd like to! no pressure!): @loisroo @ettelwenailinon @unrememberedskies

thanks for including me, this was fun! 💛

[emeryhiro]

Hello!

I am new here and is feeling very overwhelmed right now with that is happening in the caryl fandom. I appreciate your insight into these characters. I am someone who has not seen Daryl Dixon season 1 and is seriously considering if I should even watch it with all that is being said about s2.

Reading all the early reviews that has dropped - I get a lot of mixed reactions to Isabelle's character. Some ppl say she was the best part about season 1 while others don't even mention here in their reviews. The caryl fandom is largely, understandably, biased against her.

I do not know anything about Isabelle and was wondering what your thoughts about her are - how she holds up as a character?

Hi Anon!!

Thank you for your question. I'm really glad you asked this question, and thank you for the kind words🥰 I'm going to do my best to properly answer and share my thoughts on all the points you've mentioned.

Firstly, welcome to the fandom!! 💖 I'm sorry you've joined at a time of so much uncertainty, but I promise that at its core, this community is a beautiful place to be. But like all communities, there is always positivity and negativity, and it's important to be careful with what's surrounding you, ensuring it's a healthy balance that works for you.

I've divided my response into several sections, as I find that to be the best way to convey my thoughts. I also wanted to be as clear as possible since this is a sensitive topic for some, and I want to try to alleviate at least some of the worries.

A mild spoiler warning for a mention of something that happens in episode 1 of season 2.

Reviews on Season 2:

I wasn't planning on reading any of the reviews for season 2, but since you asked for my thoughts, I read all the articles that I could find so that I could give you an informed response. And one thing I advise is to always take reviews with a grain of salt (this includes my thoughts as well) because, ultimately, they're all based on the writers' opinions.

What I've found with all previous seasons of TWD, especially season 1 of Daryl Dixon, was that no single review I read aligned perfectly with what I thought of the show once I watched it myself. And I know I'll say the same about season 2.

Regarding what I read in the season 2 reviews, I don't think I've actually read a single concerning line in any of the ones I've come across, and I'm pretty sure I've read every single one that has been released. There are, however, a lot of people who, out of fear or concern, focus on single lines from a review that may sound negative or worrisome when taken out of context, and ignore everything else in the review that's purely positive.

I can see many people have shared their specific thoughts on different segments of several reviews, but I won't go into my thoughts here for the sake of keeping this response reasonable short. If you're interested in a detailed post about my thoughts on the reviews in general or any in particular, let me know, and I'll share it as soon as I get a chance.

My thoughts on Isabelle:

I found Isabelle to be a fascinating character with many layers. She is unquestionably flawed and has a great mix of both positive and negative characteristics, which I think is what gives her character so much potential. She's intelligent, driven, brave, headstrong, and very protective, but she's also undeniably manipulative, which makes sense when you think of it as a self-defence mechanism that she developed during her rocky life before the apocalypse. I'm also a fan of Clémence as an actress, and I think she's a great fit for this character.

This next bit might sound a bit contrevoursial but bare with me. I've seen Isabelle get a lot of hate for being manipulative towards Daryl, even I personally hated seeing Daryl be treated that way, but it's important to remember that we've also seen Carol behave manipulatively when she's had to in the past in order to protect the people that she loves. This is something you'll see Carol do once again in episode 1 of TBOC, and when I watched it, it made me uncomfortable, but ultimetly, I could see that it made Carol uncomfortable as well; she doesn't feel any satisfaction out of what she does and is willing to carry the weight of that lie and guilt to achieve her ultimate goal of saving Daryl, the person she loves.

Even though, on the surface, it's not an admirable thing to do, we appreciate Carol so much more because of the lengths she's willing to go to for the ones she loves, and we've also seen her journey to this point, which naturally makes us love her and empathise with her.

So my point here is that I can't judge Isabelle for the same behaviour I admire in my favourite character. Just like Carol may act that way to protect Daryl (her loved one), Isabelle was doing it because she believed (to the best of her knowledge) that it was what was best for Laurent (her loved one).

However, what doesn't sit right with me about Isabelle's character is that what the showrunners and writers have been saying about her doesn't align with what I've seen on screen (this is a great example of why I try to avoid looking at unnecessary publicity). I want to love her character for who she is, flaws and all, but the inconsistency in her publicity makes me feel like there's some discrepancy behind the scenes, and that has stopped me from investing in her character and gives me slight concern for the trajectory of her arc, which has so much potential that would be incredibly tragic if wasted.

The only other thing that I would disagree with (IF the show ends up going down that path) is the negative messaging that would be given out about nuns if every surviving nun on the show is portrayed as willing to forget her vows the minute there's a man in front of them that they find interesting. I'm not catholic, but I think that it would be incredibly disrespectful towards actual nuns and the sacrifices that they make for their faith. But please don't take this as fact because I don't think this will actually ever happen. I honestly don't believe that AMC or anyone involved with the show would knowingly do something like that. I'd be happy to explain this a little further, but I don't think it's relevant if you haven't seen the first seasons.

Watching TWD: Daryl Dixon S1 & 2

My question to you would be, what draws you to TWD/TBOC? Is it Caryl itself and potential canon? And if so, do you feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2? Or, do you enjoy the show for a combination of things, like the character development, world-building, cinematography, etc.?

I want to emphasise that there is no wrong answer to the above. Everyone is unique, and it's 1000% understandable and fair for each person to have unique reasons for being drawn to and loving, hating, or even being indifferent about a show.

I personally fall in the latter category; I love TWD for its rich story, action sequences, cinematography, multitude of interesting characters, and the mind-blowing ways in which they have developed over the years (the whole package of the show is exactly my cup of tea), and of course, it's no secret if anyone looks at my blog that my favourite character (BY FAR) are Carol and Daryl. I absolutely adore them for everything they are, both as individuals and what they bring out in each other and mean to each other. And if Caryl is ever canon (which I expect would happen in season 3), then that would be the cherry on top of a show I already love.

My very short review of season 1 would be that I really enjoyed it and would rank it at the top between all the other spinoff seasons we've gotten so far. However, in all honesty, I still felt and noticed the hole that was left behind in the story with the absence of Carol, but knowing that she will be returning in season 2 kind of made up for that lack in season 1. All up, I really enjoyed season 1 and have watched it several times in the last year. I'm actually currently in the middle of watching it again in preparation for season 2.

My recommendations:

If you personally fall into the former category and, as mentioned above, feel that you'd be left disappointed and/or unsatisfied with the potential lack of romance between the characters in season 2, then perhaps it's better to wait till all the episodes are released to then decide if it's something that you'd like to watch.

If you're willing to accept and are okay with the potential lack of romance between Caryl in season 2 but are concerned about and would rather not watch any potential romantic relationship develop between Daryl and Isabelle, then I'd say that you should watch the season as it releases because I honestly don't believe that something like that is a real possibility. At most, there may be hints towards one-sided feelings from Isabelle's side and maybe some confusion from Daryl's side, but untimely, it would not mean or go anywhere. I'm personally not even bothered with this worst-case scenario because it doesn't matter how many people have feelings for Daryl or how confused Daryl is because I know that once he's reunited with Carol, there won't be any more uncertainty about where his heart and loyalties truly lie. There's honestly not a single ounce of me that's concerned about this.

If you're more like me and enjoy the show as a whole, even though you may be slightly disappointed with a few accepts, then I'd highly recommend that you watch season 1 before the release of season 2 (if you have the time), because it genuinely was a good season and will give you a lot of backstory and context that would make season 2 feel so much more enjoyable and immersive.

~~~~

Thanks again for your questions!! I hope this all makes sense and that it answers your questions. As I mentioned earlier, if you'd like me to expand on my thoughts on anything in particular, please let me know, and I'd be happy to do so.

My last bit of advice is this: I know it's easier said than done, but I urge you, especially as someone who's new to the fandom, to not allow a lot of different voices and opinions to shape how you naturally feel or invalidate what you take away from watching the show (not that I think that's what you're doing but this is the general advice I wanted to give just in case🩵). It's really easy for anyone to be influenced by negativity and positivity when they find that that's all they can see from the people around them.

I personally try to focus on what I see on screen and what I hear directly from Norman and Melissa because, at the end of the day, showrunners and writers come and go, but Norman and Melissa have embodied these characters from day one and understand them more than anyone else ever could.

♡♡♡

[blackbirdffxiv]

A lengthy ass-post about poly-shipping no one asked for

So I'm gonna go ahead and choose passive aggressive violence, in the form of an informative, lengthy as fuck post I think some folks need to read.

I won't be adding the post here, as I don't wish to direct potential harassment to the original poster (no matter how heinous I found a majority of the list), but if you're on twitter/"X", I'm sure you've seen a lengthy notepad list of RP "hot takes".

While I agreed with some of the points made, I feel it necessary to clarify some things, particularly about the points regarding polyamorous shipping.

If you don't want to read the blurb between here and the actual point list, just scroll down until you see green font.

Most know that I myself play a polyamorous character; I ship my character with other characters belonging to different players. I've been poly-ship for YEARS, so I feel I have some experience and can say some things about it.

Some points made in the "hot takes" list alluded to people using polyamorous shipping/multi-shipping as an excuse to just ERP and mess around with multiple people without consequence.

Sadly, yes, this does happen. It's unfortunate that selfish people only looking for specific things use it as an excuse for their behavior, but the only thing people can do is be aware of what to look out for when it comes to polyamorous shipping.

So rather than allow a negative light be painted on a valid means of shipping and roleplaying your characters in relationships, I think a quick lesson is needed.

Disclaimer: these are just my personal opinion on how I feel polyships should be handled, and some red flags I have seen during my time being a polyamorous OC player. By no means is this a rulebook, more like a guide so new and veteran roleplayers alike can be aware.

What a responsible poly-shipper will do:

Introduce you to their other partners - Communication is key in any relationship, this is not just for monogomous ships, but even moreso for polyamorous. A poly OC player will be open to introducing you to their other partners; while no one expects you to be best friends, it's good to be aware of just who else you'll possibly be regularly seeing around.

Share time and effort among your partners equally - A polycule relationship should be even across the board; one partner should not be treated better than the other. Treating one or more partners better than the other(s) is just a recipe for people getting hurt, both IC and OOC.

Be open and up front at the very beginning of IC interactions - A poly OC player will be up front and honest about the nature of their character if they have an interest in possibly shipping with you, or in case the possibility of it happening is there.

Encourage communication and prioritize problem-solving - This isn't just for poly ships, but ships in general. A good writing partner will encourage and WANT you to tell them about how you feel with the ship, especially if it's a problem with an easy solution.

Always make it known if they wish to bring another partner into the polycule & pose an introduction OOC - This is the most important part of being in a poly ship, making sure EVERYONE knows if there is someone new who will be joining the ship, and making introductions before a ship is made.

What a responsible poly ship player wouldn't/shouldn't do:

Hide the status of their ships - If your partner is hiding who they are shipping with from you, in my experience, this just means a person is going behind their partner's back (and is possibly cheating on them).

Brush off any possible issues you may be having with one of the partners in the ship - A responsible partner would aim to mediate the situation, and listen to all sides.

Discourage their poly partners from seeking other partners - Not every poly OC is monogomous with their poly partner, sometimes one poly OC will be shipped with another poly OC. Your partner would not expect you to drop your other ships to be with them while they continue their own, they should respect your decision to ship with your other partners.

Keep attempts to ship with other characters a secret - A responsible poly partner will make it known when they are attempting to or want to ship their OC with another as soon as intentions and wants are known. Not after a ship is already established.

Discourage those in the polycule ship from associating with each other - A partner in a healthy polycule would never discourage their partners from associating with each other; intentional separation more than likely is a means of hiding something, such as blatant favoritism, or even to keep ships a secret (in my experience).

Anyways I'll get off my soap box. I apologize for the lengthy post, but some things I've been seeing regarding this hot takes list were so blatantly heinous, I just felt like something should be said.

Have a good evening y'all; hug your pets, tell your friends you love them, and don't let jaded people online project their problems onto you.

Stay golden

[fromkyahseyes]

What I’ve learned & wish I knew before entering my 20’s.

Never mix these four (4) things or discuss them with each other.

Family

Never discuss family matters outside of the family. We don’t get to choose the family we are born into, and every family faces its own challenges. Many of us choose a different path from the generational cycles within our family, but we are still connected to them by blood, as they reflect who we are. Throughout life, we encounter various events that may affect our personal lives. It is crucial to keep the details of family matters to ourselves. I understand that at times, you may feel pressured and think it's okay to confide in friends, colleagues, or your partner, without realizing the potential harm this may cause in the long run. Seeking comfort from your loved ones when you lose a family member, or when your family is going through a tough time, is okay. However, it's important to differentiate between matters that are best kept within the family.

Friends

Never discuss your friends outside of your friendships. Some friends are with you for a lifetime, while others are only around for a season. Regardless, you shouldn't speak negatively about them to others. Whether they are troubled or not, if the friendship is not healthy, it's best to let it go. You don't need to criticize them. How you talk about others reflects more on you as a person than it does on them. Often, friendships fail because of disagreements. For example, someone might share personal information, and if the other person doesn't like the opinion given, the friendship suffers. Alternatively, the relationship might lack depth, where you rely on your friends only for advice or in times of trouble. Your friends aren't a replacement for a therapist.

Relationship

Never discuss your relationship with anyone except the individuals involved. Whether it's good or bad, it's generally not a good idea to talk about your partner with anyone other than your partner. You might think it's harmless to share cute things, but it's essential to be aware that every relationship is unique, and others may not have what yours has. Even your closest friends may become envious. Friends, family, and colleagues can often influence you to take actions in your relationship that might not be beneficial. If things are going well, keep a journal and have conversations with your partner. If things are difficult, consider couples counseling or seek advice from trustworthy, experienced couples who have been through similar situations.

Work

Never discuss your work-life outside of work. You may have heard the saying, “Never take the stress from work home” and vice versa, and it's true. What happens at work should stay at work, and what happens at home should stay at home. Keeping these two aspects of your life separate is essential because the stress from one can negatively impact the other. Money also plays a role in this. You don't want your loved ones affecting your work attitude, especially when you need to focus on earning a living or because you enjoy what you do. It's okay to express if you've had a stressful day or not, but that's about it for me.

Your life is about YOU. Yes, these things are a part of your life, but allow them the space to merely observe and experience you. Talk about your interests and hobbies, not your drama and personal information. I understand that things can be tough, and if you truly need to discuss them, I recommend journaling or consulting a therapist. In the past, I didn't realize that intertwining these four things was detrimental to my relationships rather than beneficial.

I hope these tips helps :)

[transgenderteensurvivalguide]

you're trans, right? how did you come out to your parents? how did it go? how would you recommend someone go about doing it if they aren't sure how their parents are going to react? (positive to other people's kids being trans, dislike trans women in sports, generally vote democratic). i'm ftm.

sorry if this is too personal or already been answered or something

-- aar

Lee says:

As a matter of fact, I am indeed trans! I specifically identify as genderqueer, non-binary, transmasculine, transgender, and transsexual, although that's neither here nor there.

I actually didn't come out to my parents-- I came out to my friends, and then more publicly to my classmates at school. Then one of my classmates told her parents about me being trans, and that parent met my parents at a party and mentioned that I was trans. Unfortunately it just so happened that while they were at the party and out of the house, I took the opportunity to cut my hair short at home. Yikes!

Anyway, I would fully recommend actually coming out over being outed, if you have the choice, because then you have some control over the start of the conversation and can initially let them know whatever you want them to know.

As always, safety comes first. Do not come out if you do not think you will be safe. If there's any risk of harm or severe negative consequences, you should wait to come out until you're in a more secure position, like being 18 or older, financially independent, not living at home, or at the very least, having a support system in place like a trusted therapist who can help you deal with the repercussions of coming out.

There's a difference between being genuinely unsafe and feeling uncomfortable. Most people will feel their fight-or-flight anxiety response kick in when they have a really scary and stressful conversation, especially when they're talking with someone who means a lot to them and has a lot of authority in their life. But being anxious about their reaction might make something feel unsafe, emotionally, even if you logically know that you are safe and they will not kick you out, abuse you, etc.

That doesn't mean that your feelings aren't real feelings though. If you think that you would not be able to cope if your parents don't immediately and fully accept and support you, then maybe it isn't the right time to come out either. Your emotional well being is important, and if you would be unsafe as a result of mental illness/extreme distress after coming out (if your parent's reaction isn't what you had hoped it would be) then you should consider that to be just as important as if you were physically in danger from an external source. After you've had some time and therapy and got re-stabilized then you can reconsider coming out.

Let's say that you've decided to proceed with coming out. The next step is to continue to gauge their attitudes. You've already observed some of their views. This can be a good starting point to understand how they might react. Remember, though, that parents' reactions to their own child can sometimes be different from their general opinions. So they might be fine with your trans friends, but not be fine with you being trans yourself.

You can't fully predict what will happen, but making sure you have a sense of what they currently think might help a little-- if the topic hasn't come up in over a year and you're working off of what you remember them saying far in the past, it's possible their views have changed by now.

But either way, you'll never really know what will happen after you come out, so if you want to do it, you just gotta go for it.

Now it's time to prepare. You may want to have resources ready for your parents, so looking to find those resources should be your next step. Are there local support groups for parents of trans kids and do you know of any peers whose parents have attended? They might have questions or misconceptions about being a trans man, so be ready to share some basic 101 information with them and don't assume they understand what it really means to be trans. Websites, books, or even contact information for a knowledgeable counselor can be helpful.

Think about what you want to say beforehand. What's the point of coming out? Do you want something to change, like having them call you a different name, use different pronouns, buy you different clothes? Do you want them to understand the nuances of your identity and know the right terms and words to use and what terms and words are offensive? Think about all of your goals, and then write down the key points you want to get down.

This is the time to consider your answers to the questions they might ask you, like "how long have you felt this way," "do you plan on medically transitioning," "what does this mean for your sexual orientation," etc. Even if you don't know all the answers yet and are still figuring yourself out, you want to have an idea of what you'll tell them, even if it's just "I don't know yet, I'm still figuring it out".

I'm personally not a fan of gimmicky/"cute" ways of coming out when you aren't sure whether your family will be accepting. So I would recommend just using a letter to initially come out if you're worried about getting overwhelmed or forgetting important details, and being prepared to follow that up by having a sit-down conversation.

Have a support system in place. This could be friends, other family members, teachers, counselors, or online communities who understand and support your identity. I always recommend scheduling an event with friends either for directly after you come out so you have an excuse to leave the conversation and go, or at least for the next day so you can decompress and discuss it with people who support you.

When you're as ready as you can be, choose the right moment. Find a time when your parents are likely to be calm and not preoccupied with other stressors (so not on their birthday, a major holiday, etc) and either leave the letter for them or ask them if they are available to have an important conversation.

This might not always be possible, but a peaceful environment can facilitate a better conversation. Choose a time and place where you feel safe and where you won't be interrupted. This could be at home during a quiet weekend afternoon, an evening after dinner, or during a walk together, depending on your family dynamics.

Finally, it's time to have the conversation. You should be clear and direct. Tell them "I'm transgender and that means I feel I am a man," or whatever language you feel comfortable with. Don't hint at it because they might not know what you're trying to tell them, just tell them exactly what you want to say.

It’s okay to admit if you don’t have all the answers yet. Transitioning is a journey, and it's fine to be figuring things out as you go.

But if that isn't the case for you, and you are sure, then you should be ready to stand up for yourself and tell them that. They might react positively, negatively, or be unsure, but their feelings are not your fault/your responsibility because you're living true to yourself. It's okay if they need time to process the information, but don't back down and let them railroad you into saying that you're not sure or didn't mean it if you are sure and do mean it.

Finally, be prepared for the long haul. Understand that your parents might need time to fully grasp and accept your identity. Patience can be challenging but is often necessary since it can take several months to years before they come around and truly support you. That means that one conversation is usually not enough. Be open to ongoing discussions and expect them to be sometimes awkward.

We have a coming out page with more info, although some of the links are old and broke (I promise I'll get to fixing it some day!)

Followers, any advice for anon?

[enemywasp]

Hello, I am an anti but I'd like to share an opinion with you. Most other antis say that over exposure to problematic media makes others (minors) 'okay' with said media IRL. But they also expose themselves to said content as well while also usually being minors yet still carry their own moral beliefs. I find that hypocritical and it's a strange idea in general to believe that viewing labeled, warned, and hidden media as some kind of propaganda. I don't like proshippers but the anti community is mostly just pulling gut feelings to morally judge peoples right to live. Also most antis are around 14 and under. They should still be developing their own perspectives and beliefs rather than making everyone have theirs.

Minors inserting themselves in discussions about nsfw content and "problematic" media is probably the bigger issue here as whilst not all content is strictly 18+, a lot of these topics aren't designed or intended for 14 year olds who frankly don't know what they're talking about.

The idea that over exposure to this content causes normalisation and issues is mostly them parroting off what other antis have said. And unfortunately I imagine they have found any curiosity or taboo thought they've ever had as something evil and that much be squashed.

Kids in anti spaces are actually way more concerning to me as they're getting raised in spaces that encourage the policing of one's own thoughts and the idea that your imagination and thoughts (intrusive or not) are just as bad as committing actual crimes when really it is completely natural to think bad thoughts or be curious about immoral topics. It's better to explore these things through fiction and the mind then anywhere else! And it's important to note that if your thoughts are distressing you, you're not a monster and should talk to someone! Not bottle it up cause you think it makes you a bad person.

So yeah, I do think growing and developing your own opinions is so important before parroting off random stuff.

Over exposure can be an issue in any context. It's unhealthy to engage in anything too much, depending on whether it effects your ability to live normally or think clearly. But dark fiction itself should not warp anyones minds, and certainly not anyone old enough to be on social media sites.

Antis constantly feeling the need to police these things and get in debates and seek out this content just to hate?? Now that's unhealthy, trapping yourself in a negative atmosphere like that.

[silvermoon424]

I was born a guy, and I really don't think it's a good thing to blame men for the current dating/marriage rift or to join into polarization points over it, because, just in my opinion, it creates a negative trend. Like, I just want someone to share my pokemon and neopets with, and all the beautiful things and quiet moments, but I may never get there because of this message that dating, men, and marriage are bad. I platonically love you and all my soul sisters, Katy, so this is not an attack on you or your beliefs, but please think about the message before agreeing with it or reposting it.

I totally respect where you’re coming from anon, but I also think it’s very important to address and critique the way men (particularly cishet men) are brought up in our capitalistic, patriarchal society. Men are not inherently bad, not by a long shot; if they were, the patriarchy would not need to work so hard to reinforce itself and convince people that it’s “natural.”

I also think it’s important to address why women (particularly heterosexual women) are increasingly deciding to give up on dating/marriage/motherhood; a lot of it is because we have a choice to do other things now, yes, but I also think it’s because women have historically been given the shit end of the stick when it comes to those things compared to men (in fact, studies have shown that married women with children are more unhappy than single women, whereas single men fare worse than their married counterparts).

I’m trying to put this in a gentle way, but honestly it’s good that men (not talking or insinuating anything about you btw, just talking generally) feel uncomfortable when women bring up how patriarchy has hurt us and has caused us to abandon things like dating. It’s like when I, a white person, feel uncomfortable when POC bring up the ways white supremacy has hurt them and how white people perpetuate it. I SHOULD feel uncomfortable. But I should also do my best to work through my discomfort and try to empathize with POC; I should take note of ways I can make things more bearable for them. I expect men to do the same when they hear about women’s issues.

Again, I’m really not trying to be critical of you or say that your feelings are invalid! It’s just that misogyny has been a rot in basically every culture since the dawn of civilization and it’s not going to go away if we just ignore it. The rise of the manosphere has proven that misogyny is as strong as ever, and if men don’t want to be lonely they need to show us that they respect us as equals.

[alice-the-demon]

I want to share it here because I'm not seeing anyone talking about this injustice on Tumblr.

Idk what the hell happened between Elon Shit-Musk and the Brazilian government, but prohibiting the civilians in there to access popular social networks and socialise with other people around the world is just so absurdly unfair.

And here you might say "Oh, don't exaggerate so much, they still have Instagram, Tumblr, etc" but that's not the main problem for me. There are people and influencers who made their account there since the day Twitter was created. People who over the years built an audience, whether they did blogs, shared their opinions and masterpieces or just liked to talk and comment under their friends'posts. And I'm certain that a good portion of these people are Brazilian.

I'm not Brazilian myself though, I'm from the pizza-making boot-shaped peninsula also known as Italy, and fortunately the Italian government did not decide to decapitate Twitter here too. Not yet at least. I hope.

So why am I complaining about something that doesn't even involve my people?

Well... I just feel so sorry for the Brazilians. I believe that everyone deserves the freedom of speech, no matter how right or awfully wrong they are. Yes, there are people who can be really annoying or, hell, can have some extremely controversial opinions, but I think that people often forget that the more importance and vocal we become about the person we don't like the more powerful they become.

I know that sometimes being vocal about something wrong can be useful, it can unite people to fight injustices and change things for the better, but at the same time there will be annoying people, like Elon Fuck-Musk, who will use this attention to their advantage and eventually gather people who will be on their side.

So what do you do in this case? You ignore them. You stop giving importance to what that idiot is saying and move on with your life. And when people will realise that this idiot's opinions are not getting traction and attention, they will stop giving importance to it too. And when that idiot will realise that no one is listening to them, maybe they'll realise that what they've been saying is stupid.

Not saying that it'll certainly work with people with bigger followings, there will always be people that are stupid enough to lick Elon or Trump's feet no matter what, but as long you stop giving importance to their followers at least you'll have your mind clearer from negativity.

My point being, I don't think that any governments should ban any social media from their states, it's like prohibiting your child from going to their favourite park just because it has a broken bench. One rotten flower doesn't ruin a whole garden, idk if it makes sense.

Phew... That's pretty much all I had to say about this situation. I got very sad because the Twitter account of my friend @panhbr (a wonderful person and amazing artist btw you should follow him) is about to be obliterated at any moment and I wanted to use this opportunity to talk about the importance of freedom speech. I don't think I'll talk about political stuff again (mostly because I don't know much about politics in general and I don't want to be attacked by people who are "fans" of it) but it is pretty liberatory to vent about stuff like this.

Edit: So uh... Some people from Brazil corrected me and said that it's not a freedom of speech problem, it's just Elon that did a bullshit move as always. Of course. I hate that man so much. But I think that what I said about not giving importance to stupid people is important, so I'm keeping the post up. Thanks to the Brazilian folks who corrected me 👍🏻🇧🇷

[noxinkwell]

Let's Talk About: The Bizarre Relationship Between Readers and Writers/Authors and Book Reviews/Fanfiction Comments

So this is gonna be a rambly one and I'll put a TL;DR somewhere, I promise, but I've been on BookTok and I wanna talk about the weird relationship between authors/writers (published and non published) and readers. Let's create a discourse on the types of conversation we see online about books/literature and fanfiction. TL;DR: A book is not bad because you hate it. A character is not bad or poorly written because you hate it. And it is so freaking important to remember to think about what authors are intending to do with their writing before you make very strong claims about it. Writing is such a personal experience because of most of us (if not all of us) write from a personal place in our hearts. Getting negative feedback is not at all helpful from randoms on the internet so maybe don't share it where the author can easily see it (i.e. don't tag them, don't comment on their fanfictions).

Disclaimer:

We are all entitled to share our opinions.

The BUT to that is: We are entitled to share out opinions kindly, respectfully, and we should keep in mind keep the thoughts of those who are on the receiving end of those opinions.

Initially, I thought it was a cognitive dissonance but I'm not sure the definition quite matches up. But maybe it does, so let's go with it.

If anyone is curious though:

Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person's behavior and beliefs do not complement each other or when they hold two contradictory beliefs. 

Typical examples:

"I want to get healthy, but I'm not going to make the changes to do it."

"I could have done more work, but I watched TV."

"I really want to help the planet, but I'm not going to recycle."

To me, it occurs with readers like this: "I want to help make the writer better by giving some random concrit/constructive criticism to an author when I have zero idea on what their intentions are as a writer."

Or: "I'm going to leave a negative review for a book and it will impact other people to read the book or make the author change how they write."

I am mostly talking about this as a fanfiction writer and someone who reads more published writing than I do fanfiction (these days).

My first thing is: Goodreads. Or just comments/reviews in general on fanfiction and other literature/books.

Some of the Goodreads reviews are. fucking. bizarre. And by bizarre I mean, they are so aggressive. And they bring zero productive conversation to books. They're just inflammatory. They're not at all constructive and quite frankly, they're not helpful for readers either.

And let me just say, that is entirely fine. Y'know, I think book reviews are for READERS and not the WRITER/AUTHOR, but still... I'm not even sure what I gain as a reader reading this type of review:

*yawn* I'm really sad I wasted my time on this romance that was completely overhyped, in my opinion.

or

at any given time, i feel like i'm reading romance as a cry for help.

And when I see these types of reviews, I feel like people fail to remember this very simple thing: Not. all. books. are. made. for. you.

Not. all. fanfiction. is. made. for. you.

You. are. not. always. the. target. audience.

So why do you read it? Stop reading it—especially if you can't share that opinion in a kind way. It's not productive.

When I get feedback on my writing (as a fanfiction writer) I will always, always, always ask for specific feedback. Is this line okay? Are my characters coming across in this way? Is the pacing okay? Does this make sense? How's my SPaG? How's my prose as a whole? Am I varying my sentence structure enough? Is my character development going okay?

And sometimes, with my most trusted writing friends I will say: "Hey, give me whatever feedback you think I should hear. Give me what you feel is going to help strengthen my writing."

Because YES—in my opinion, some parts of writing is purely objectively good or bad.

So when I see reviews or comments about someone saying a character is objectively annoying or that they don't relate to them I get sad. When I see that someone says a book is bad because of xyz reason... I sometimes want to shake them because it's just not how that works.

A book is not bad just because you hate it. A character is not bad because you inherently dislike her/him/them.

A fanfiction is not bad because a character did not do something you didn't like. A fanfiction is ALSO not bad if the character was out of character from canon and you didn't like the choices they made (this one irks me the most as a beta reader and a writer).

Why am I saying all this?

Because sometimes, readers forget what the author or the writer is intending to do with their writing. Sometimes the writer intentionally makes the characters annoying. Sometimes the writer intentionally adds angst and hurt and pain and jealousy. Sometimes the writer intentionally adds TOXIC traits to a character because they thought it would be fun or because it serves the moral they're attempting to tell. Sometimes they're toxic because it's DRIVES THE PLOT.

If a character cheats or kills someone it does not at all mean 1.) the author is condoning it and 2.) it doesn't mean the character is a bad character or a poorly written character either.

It just means it didn't resonate with you.

So I want to ask you all: Do you ask yourself why you dislike something before you decide 'yes, I hate it'? Do you think about what the writers intentions are when you're reading? And hey, perhaps, this type of reading may take the fun out of it for you. And I get that. What I don't get though, is disparaging authors and writers who are trying to make a living or trying to write for fun because you feel the need to give criticism on something that you actually may not know enough about.

To top it all off, we don’t know the authors. We don’t know the writers. So an author/writing receiving “advice” or “constructive criticism” from a random “schmuck” in their writing is just not gonna over well. Writers take a lot of time practicing their craft. While we’re all entitled to an opinion, it doesn’t always need to be shared in the face of the creator. I say this kindly, sometimes, you’re reading a fanfiction or a novel and you don’t like it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you know why and it doesn’t mean that your opinion on it aligns with the goal of the person telling the story.

Constructive criticism is a WHOLE other post probably, but I'll just say this here: If you don't know how to give it, then don't give it. If they didn't ask for it then DEFINITELY don't give it. If you REALLY have to give it, think about what you’re saying before you say it. And if someone is upset with you giving concrit and they never asked for it, maybe look within and ask why you felt this was helpful for the person on the receiving end of that concrit.

Also, if you're gonna post something negative: Do not tag the author. And if you're gonna comment negatively: Don't post it on the fanfiction either.

Why? Because reviews are. for. readers. You saying that you didn't like something on a fanfiction does not do anything for the writer except discourages them. Fanfiction writing =/= Published writing.

If the author wants it, they'll ask. (And I will post something this later). Did you make it this far? If you did, damn. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Authors and writers are humans. We write from a personal place in our hearts. Sometimes we write about the things in our lives that hurt us the most. Sometimes we write about other extremely personal experiences. So getting feedback on it is scary and forcing negative feedback for them to see is not kind. Writing takes hours, days, weeks, months, and even years to do. Reading takes...a fraction of that. So before you go and destroy someone’s work with your words online, maybe think about it first.

I, too, am an avid reader and sometimes we just want validation for our opinions (good or bad). But sometimes it's important to remember how we share them.

[pommunist]

Hello, I'm another anon that is also kind of scared to keep posting about the situation. Actually, I've reblogged a couple of posts actually of the situation but, not too much of it. I don't want to come across as too negative and I try to be careful of what I reblog about it. Though, I also fear that people might think that I'm perfectly fine or okay with Dapper/Pomme and the french cc's being gone because I don't express my outward opinion on it (which it does make me depressed). I try to liveblog as normal when I watch my streamer in the QSMP and not think about it because I know that it will just send me in a downward spiral, but it upsets me to think that some people might believe that I or other blogs that are quiet about their opinions - would not be depressed over it or upset. The whole situation surrounding Dapper and Pomme has made me cry, I was so emotionally attached to these eggs. I'm glad they're out of that shitty treatment though, even if I miss them a lot. It also makes me depressed that the french cc's on the server are going to be gone and that the QSMP Studios didn't even care to keep them on by communicating to Pomme and leaving her in the dark for three weeks. Quackity should have been more involved into his own project, and communicating with ALL of his employees, he's the boss, he should have checked so that this terrible worker situation wouldn't have happened to begin with - maybe that's unrealistic of me and just my emotions talking but it's how I feel. Dapper shouldn't have been hired, I don't know if that's a hot take or not but I haven't seen many people talk about it? They were hired as a minor, where people make constant sex jokes and have a sex club - it just makes me uncomfortable that they were exposed to that and to working conditions that they should have never been in. It also makes me uncomfortable to see that there's still admins working in the QSMP like cucurucho or mr.reaper because their situation still isn't fixed? I haven't seen anyone else talk about this either and it just sits so weirdly to me. If the admins are being put on a break so that they can restructure QSMP, why is there still a few there working? It's just a lot of my thoughts, sorry for the vent but I felt that I needed to get my emotions out there without being known for it (blog wise)

At the end of the day anon, your blog is your blog, you should express yourself on it the way YOU want.

Don’t worry about what people may think, do what feels right for you and if there are some who may find it annoying or whatever, then they’ll just block tags and not see what they don’t want to see anymore.

I worried a lot about bothering people at first and then started thinking that if it’s the case, they can just block me, no hard feelings, and I can keep sharing what I want on my blog, and they don’t have to see it. win win situation !

As for the rest, about Dapper’s admin being hired as a minor tbh it’s true that they shouldn’t have been hired. I know they were close to turn into an official adult when they were hired, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to play Dapper, but Qstudios should have been very strict on this stuff.

As for some admins still being on the server, it was to expect when they reopened it, if only because if there are players on QSMP, you at least need someone who will help with bugs, server maintenance, making sure someone doesn’t break something important…

I think once during a recent BBH stream, you could see the « government names » of the admins (QNPCXX). When asked about them, Lea said that these were high ranked admins (and one of them was a « bad » one). So yeah chances are that admins that currently have access to the server are high admins/people who weren’t volunteers.

[oraclemoontarot]

Kpop readings??

Girl stop!

Stop fueling delusions, celeb worship, idolizing, idealising etc. Ffs.

Kpop "idols" are humans who are stuck in the darkest industry ever. Please research on it. The kind of abuse that goes on in that industry is terrible. They can't even have free will. Do you even know what that's like?

Also please stop trivializing tarot. Stop this nonsense at once.

This is a divination tool and not an entertainment tool.

I apologise for the lengthy response, but I wanted to make sure I answered this properly.

I understand you have your own feelings and opinions on this, and I appreciate you sharing them. However, everyone has a right to engage with tarot in their own way as long as it is respectful and doesn't harm anyone.

One of the points you mentioned could be applied to a lot of other non k-pop related readings - like, what are their feelings for me? Who is my future spouse? Are those not similar and fuel 'delusions' and create expectations too?

I stated fairly recently on here that it is unfair to assume everyone who requests or engages in k-pop related readings are delusional or put idols on some sort of pedestal - because I don't, and I know quite a lot of people who don't either.

Tarot can be used in a balanced manner. You can have readings that offer guidance, that are used in meaningful and 'serious' ways, but you can also have fun and light readings, most tarot readers feel like this as well. There is already so much negativity in this world, and it's unnecessary to police others in what they find enjoyment in, as long as boundaries aren't crossed.

It is important to have boundaries for certain things - hence why I don't do 18+, future spouse, or mental health readings on celebrities. I only do, 'what would they think of you if...' etc. as they're 'what ifs' not, 'this will happen if you do x, y, and z'. I never want to cross any lines, especially when it involves people I don't know on a personal basis, and vice versa, I also avoid questions surrounding scandals - just to maintain a level of respect.

I have been a fan of k-pop for 8 years, I have been there through some of the darkest, saddest, and most disgusting times that have occurred within that industry. There are even more things we do not know that goes on behind what we see, have heard, and assume to happen. I wonder if you feel the same way with other celebrity readings too, as there are dark and sad things in various contexts. And, as a divination tool, if you're not meant to see it, it won't come up. I've had that happen in some readings and didn't push further.

To address some of your other concerns regarding trivialising tarot and, I assume, the ethics of k-pop readings? I grew up surrounded by tarot, spirituality, etc. due to my mother introducing me to it. I have a lot of respect towards this medium, as well as a lot of love for it. In terms of the ethics, just as I have mentioned earlier, it is important to set boundaries and avoid questions that seem like overstepping or are uncomfortable topics - I also avoid predictions surrounding an idol.

Again, I appreciate your view on this and I understand where you're coming from. But I don't appreciate the tone as it feels like you're putting me down in some way. I love discussions and debates, I love it even more when the other person has a different viewpoint as you can oftentimes learn a lot. But I prefer we do it in a mature and respectful way, as others are more likely to take what you say into consideration and would be more willing to hear you out. Again, it is likely because you are quite passionate about this, and I get it. But there is no need to demand others to say, do, or think in a certain way - we are all entitled to our own opinions, but should be open to different viewpoints and communication. Discussions are more valuable and can be just as effective, after all.

I posted this a few weeks ago and I think it sums it up a lot better in regards to my view on this topic (with a stronger focus on tarot readers, however), I had referred to it earlier too: here

Anyway, I hope I answered your response well. If I misunderstood or if my response was not relevant to what you were talking about, please let me know, I just got back from work so my brain may not be at full working capacity 😭

[necroromantics]

Hello there. I am very sorry for coming into your inbox all of a sudden, but I feel this is very important.

Very recently, one of the Blessed Be The Wicked’s has come out to talk about what happened and clarify somethings. Anton never meant he wanted the whole Creepypasta fandom to die out, but for the toxic people in the fandom to die out. EX those who will defend Off*****man and those who genuinely are a danger to minors. But because of a mistake that was caught, all of this had blown over.

You can read the offical statement on offical-Locke-writing’s blog or see it on my creepypasta blog @killerlittlerejects the harrsement is getting out of hand, so if you could please share this it would be great

Hey sorry to hear yall are getting harassed for someones post. Even though I don't agree with a lot of things (or I guess how they were worded) that Anton posted, I believe entirely in everyones right to voice their opinions, and personally I dont believe that someones beliefs should punish the art they create. And while pushback against opinions we disagree with is how we open room for necessary discussions and growth, it is completely not ok for anyone to harass anyone or spread hatred and it sucks to see that people who disagree with Antons posts went too far with their pushback. We should all spread positivity and respect for each others right to their opinions, creative liberties, and right to do what makes them happy

On the otherhand, while I do understand that the post was worded badly because of how heated OP was writing it, shit happens, OP has a long history of making very negative and hateful posts that put down a lot of other creators in the fandom and then hides behind calling everyone pedos. Making OCs has nothing to do with sexualizing children. Making fanon content has nothing to do with sexualizing children.

But I completely agree with the fandoms gross inability to handle sensitive topics correctly. Recently I came across a dub/noncon NSFW post that wasn't tagged at all and it was just disappointing to see. Also as someone who has experienced firsthand ableism from the fandom as well, I understand wholeheartedly the anger that comes with seeing how the fandom handles mental illness, drug addiction, SA, etc.

At the end of the day, I don't personally believe Antons posts came from a place of genuine concern, or at least they definitely werent worded that way. But I also don't think yall should be "cancelled" or harassed or anything. I feel like people like to jump on bandwagons and not take the time to see past their own beliefs to try and understand others sides, which leads to a lot of harassment and negativity, even when they have good intentions.

It's important that we do keep talking about the things Anton was attempting to talk about. It's important that we keep a conversation going about the expectations we have for each other, and helping each other as creators handle sensitive topics correctly, and also encourage them to grow and create art of any kind

Just continue to grow and be kind, especially when its easier to be mean.

[huntunderironskies]

A Call to Action

Hi all.

I wish I had better news to give. I thought long and hard about whether or not I should share this because I will be functionally doxxing myself when I do. But I've had several days to sleep on it and think about what to do. I've come to the conclusion that this is more important than me. This will be a long post but I urge you to read all of it. I'm afraid I have to be thorough here given the situation.

I think everyone who has been following me for more than a week knows how much I love religious studies as a field. It is my single greatest passion in life.

Unfortunately my school, UNC Greensboro, is trying to eliminate our department under claims of it being "not financially justifiable," among others (including anthropology and all Korean language classes.) These claims are highly spurious. Debunking this in full will take some time but I'll try to cover as much ground as I can in the relatively short space I am given and provide some sources. If anyone needs further elaboration, I'll report to the best of my abilities.

This is all to lead into the fact that I would like to provide some opportunities for people to help us out over here, which I will cover at the end. The shortest possible version is: please signal boost this. I do urge you to read it in full, though.

With the first introduction out of the way...

A Second But Very Brief Introduction to Religious Studies and a Justification of Its Presence in Academia (Given the Natural Bent of this Site is Sometimes Towards Antitheism)

Feel free to skip this if you have any familiarity with religious studies as a discipline, I'm putting it here because I find that it's often confounded with theology and every time I talk about it someone asks me if I'm going to be a priest (no.)

To be clear, religious studies is not theology. It does not purport the existence of any higher spiritual powers or presences. It is strictly the study of religion and spirituality as a force in human culture. This falls under both negative and positive effects, and covers everything from historical impact to individual psychology to macrosociological effects of religion to the simple understanding and study of mythology and folklore.

While internalized cultural norms are of course an issue that must be overcome by any scholar, for a religious studies scholar the Catholic Worker, the Sikh ragi, and the long-dead Sumerian ašipu should all have their beliefs and inner lives treated with the exact same sort of gravity and understanding, no matter how far their own beliefs might be from our own. It is, in my subjective opinion, the most humanizing of all the humanities because we are forced to operate on a deeply personal, vulnerable level.

I wish I didn't have to explain why these sorts of skills are important, especially given the current climate of intolerance that has been growing across the world and the growth of anti-intellectualism. I recognize that I might have to but I don't want to linger on that given everything else I have to cover in this post. Go ahead and ask as I do love talking about my field but I might take some time to answer.

A Brief Summary of Events Beforehand

My school has hired a firm known as rpk Group (lack of capitalization true to actual title) to restructure school funding financially with a focus on eliminating programs deemed to not earn enough for the school. Here is a brief explanation from the source itself. I apologize if the school website's CSS is still broken and it's difficult to read due to the social media icons being about thirty times the size they should be. Apparently they couldn't find the funding to pay a web designer instead of an expensive financing firm.

Those of you who have kept up with news in American academia may recognize this as the same group that forced cuts at West Virginia University. Please keep that in mind as we go forward.

Here are the high points:

Religious studies attained a passing grade under the rubric set out by the school. There have been active attempts to hide the scoring system from anyone but faculty. The spreadsheet in which the data was published has been password protected (source, which also contains several other refutations to the chancellor's talking points.)

For those who wish to keep score, anthropology did as well and our anthropology program is known for being quite good. This is without going into the other benefits the anthropology program provides the school with, which include such things as a community garden.

There were lower scoring programs that were kept. In other words, the decision-making process has been entirely inscrutable.

This is supported by the fact that the administration has been giving out incorrect numbers regarding program attendance to both news outlets and students, with some programs proposed to be cut having their student enrollment off by several factors.

Religious studies had over five times as many students as was originally reported. The Chinese language minor was reported to have zero students when there were thirty-six. To operate with this level of error from alleged professionals beggars belief and undermines any faith I would've had in this process.

The administration has claimed that they used the correct numbers in their rubrics. As they will not publish further data to myself nor the public, I have no evidence this is actually true.

They were going to cut Korean language as a minor. We don't have a Korean language minor. We do have a track of Korean language and I am given to understand as of this semester, culture courses. Which are operated solely by one professor and are consistently full or close to capacity due to popularity. There is no evidence they are losing the school money and I have several testimonials that the Korean culture-related programs have drawn students to UNCG as it is a unique niche the school gives not just over other UNC schools but over other colleges and universities.

Faculty and students were given information about what programs would be cut at precisely the same time, through an email sent schoolwide. Many students and faculty were in class at the time this was sent and had to proceed as if they weren't about to have their programs eliminated.

The administration alleges that current students will be able to finish their degrees. I have little faith this is the case for reasons that will take a while to get into but, to summarize as briefly as possible, completion of a degree here requires certain high-level classes that may be difficult to obtain with faculty cuts.

The chancellor alleges that Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies will not be affected by the elimination of religious studies, despite the fact that they are hosted under the department and Islamic Studies uses the same funding. As such, I believe that the highly technical and academic category used to refer to this sort of thing is "a blatant lie."

The administration has tried to quietly edit out any errors in original reporting. I am pleased to report that, as many of us intensely online people know, the Wayback Machine exists. Here is the original statistically incorrect press release that was given, which they have tried to bury.

While they have held forums, these have largely been ceremonial gestures rather than serious attempts at communication. At the one I went to, all non-administration speakers were given only two minutes to speak while the chancellor and dean were given as much time as possible to respond. Their responses to concerns were often dismissive and rarely addressed the necessary issues. I believe any person present will back me up on this, though I am not currently in possession of a voice recording.

I must operate within the evidence I am given. The best-faith interpretation of their actions is that the metrics they were using to determine what cuts should be made are incorrect and must be re-done before going through with any sort of program cuts, and that the administration's collaboration process with the group they employed is poor to nonexistent given the scattershot information provided. There is very, very clearly a communications breakdown somewhere along the line that raises this entire procedure into question.

I think it goes without saying it's all downhill from there. The level of arbitrariness with regards to cuts, lack of professionalism, and total lack of transparency would lead a reasonable person to believe there are heavy political motivations involved here and not simple brute facts. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions anywhere along this spectrum, of course. I encourage you to be skeptical.

Lastly, if I can't convince you that it's worth stopping this process to save religious studies, think about the anthropology department. Think about the languages that are getting cut. Think about physics or mathematics. A large-scale public university without a physics program is quite frankly unreal and the fact it's primarily humanities being targeted runs parallel with some sinister trends within American education. This process should, at the very least, be halted for time being.

What You (the Reader) Can Do

Firstly, be aware that we have until February 1st before decisions are finalized. I apologize for the short time limit. Myself and other members of the community were taken completely by surprise as well, and once again as I mentioned above it has caused some level of cynicism around the motivations of the administration.

With that out of the way...make noise about this. The school administration is making all efforts to keep this quiet. I can say the good news is that according to other people on the ground, they are beginning to lose control of their narrative that they are making difficult financial decisions to keep the school financially solvent.

Believe it or not, the farther removed you are, the better. If this hits a national scale then the school may be finally forced to acknowledge they are rapidly causing the otherwise prestigious UNC system, typically considered to be one of the best public university systems in the US, to be a national laughingstock and that they will lose money as their reputation declines in a way that they would not have if they'd simply carried out this process in a more reasonable way.

You can sign our petitions here and here. Easy enough, takes about three minutes, self-explanatory.

Finally, reach out to an academic or any passionate learner in a specialized field today. A lot of us feel understandably threatened and demoralized. Again, this is not just about me or even about my school. This is about trends within the American education system. Explaining the hows and whys in full detail is not within the scope of this post, but I think a reasonable person can conclude after looking at the current evidence that there is a dismantling of American schools in favor of a corporatized existence. For those of us who love knowledge and learning, this is incredibly sinister. Knowledge should not have a price tag put on it.

A Final Word

I and several other people have Chancellor Gilliam on record saying that he has dedicated his life to working at the collegiate level and towards students. While he and the administration have tried to ensure that their statements outside of highly controlled environments are not easily accessible, I should be able to provide a clip if needed given that this statement was livestreamed and North Carolina is a one-party-consent state in regards to recordings.

They have consistently characterized this process as having to make hard decisions to keep the university afloat. The chancellor is currently the highest-paid employee within UNCG itself and the fourth highest-paid member of administration within the UNC system as a whole (source.) Please be aware this does not include other benefits, which in 2022 put his salary above $500,000 (source.) As others have, I must ask why these "difficult decisions" within the school have not included a salary cut for himself if he is so dedicated to improving the lives of students.

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you've gotten this far, you've already listened more than anyone outside of the academic departments have and that means a lot to me in and of itself.

[sublimedonutheart]

I'm going to do something that I don't like, but I feel the need to do it because this last month I have seen at least one post a day of hate, mockery or criticism towards the ship and its fans here on the tag and I'm getting tired of seeing that.

People who have nothing better to do than come to bother the Zosan tag, READ THIS:

■We do not care about your negative opinion about the ship

■We don't care about your criticism of the fanarts or fanfictions if it is not constructive criticism.

■We don't care what you think about the ship and its shippers.

---

¿Do you think Zosan is boring? We do not care

¿Do you think that Zosan is the gay ship for straight people? We don't care. [For god sake this is ridiculous and offensive, I'm an ace/bi person who enjoys the dynamics of these characters, but now my ship is for fucking straights lmao]

¿Do you think it's a toxic ship? We do not care

¿Do you think we are wrong because we like this "ship that doesn't make sense" and not another ship like Z*lu, S*nUs*pp or any other ship? We do not care

¿Does it bother you that Zosan is more popular and do you think other ships deserve to be more popular than them? [another ridiculous thing] WE DON'T CARE

I promise we don't give a shit what you have to say about us or Zosan

Stop thinking that your opinions are important, because SURPRISE they are not, so if you want to give your opinion so much, do it on your own blog and don't add the ship tags in your post, because we just want to enjoy the content that other Zosan fans share in the tag. We don't want to read whatever you have to say about the ship, especially if your post starts with "It's not hate against Zosan or its shippers but... ." stop and read what you wrote! If you already start like this you know very well that it is either going to bother us or make us feel bad for shipping TWO DAMN PIXELS

¿Seriously, why is it so difficult to ship and let ship?

¿Are you so self-centered that you think everyone should read WHY YOU DON'T LIKE ZOSAN OR X SHIP?

...And the worst thing is that it is not a problematic or disgusting ship [and believe me, this fandom has many of those disgusting ships that make me sick] but you prefer to ignore those ships and come to bother us. It's fucking unfair and annoying, because we're not hurting anyone, we're just enjoying shipping these two characters.

That's what I had to say, but since I know that you will still continue with those posts, I have no choice but to block them as I have done this last month

[centi-pedve]

been scouring the regretevator wiki cause i was curious (terrible wiki btw i am so sorry. one page has a citation that just links to some discord bullshit which people who are not in the server obviously cant see) anyways i am getting a terrible impression of the creator(?) and i would be interested in your thoughts on this business if youd be willing to share :3

oh goodness gracious... well we do have Some thoughts and we dunno if they match your own concerns since, we purposefully don't go out looking for whatever the creator has said but yeah even from a distance it's. Not looking good. (Already mentioned some of these before but for the sake of putting it in one place we'll be redundant)

definitely has his own takes on certain characters, headcanons, and the like. it was silly at first but as time went on and the more effort he put into pushing negativity over certain things the less fun it became. we think, if you want people to dislike a character, you try and make them dislikeable within the context of the story and then let people form those opinions. rather than being weird about the fact that there are still people who do like the character and punishing them by denying them the most basic things or even involving them in the story at all because Doesn't Deserve It. yes this is primarily about unple/asant

related but... too much of a reliance on telling stories with twitter or other unofficial platforms. did we learn nothing from the dumbledore is gay tweet. like a huge amount of information on the wiki that is very important to understanding the characters are just is NOT in the game, like if you played the game fully you'd still need to rely on the wiki to be able to participate in fandom. honestly a large part of that is why we're so biased towards certain characters! unple/asant and infe/cted are the only characters with lore and trivia and such that we've bothered to go on the wiki for and memorize. we've played the game for hours and hours but that doesnt mean much lol. once again, unple/asant especially, it literally DOESN'T TALK or participate in ANY of the active dynamic story because Doesn't Deserve It but there's still things to know about unple/asant and people who like the game just want something!! like dunno the overuse of social media in storytelling just makes it so much more unfun, we don't like how information is released and the fact that we need to rely on external material that... is sometimes taken back because the creator has gone on record Just Saying Shit. favorite example vv

Which is really funny considering it has 1 piece of dialogue on the game. So it can physically speak, and is also not "mewing 24/7" by result of having that dialogue (pretty sure the creator was just encouraged to say that without giving a fuck but, whatever). but the things that happen in game are second to the creator's twitter feed AMIRIGHTFELLAS

3. the,. the ableism. we've heard people tried to bring it up with the creator in the past and they were ignored so we feel comfortable mentioning it lol. bi/ve is a stereotype of someone who suffers from paranoia really, we mean we love her but... lol... and we will say it again pe/st should not canonically have npd or aspd. like omggg the evil character that robs people has two pds negatively stereotyped as belonging to evil people we're sure there was no bias in this decision. maybe we'd be less bothered if people didn't treat it as so serious and pretend to be cluster b allies like "you have to give him some understanding cuz he has aspd and npd 🥺" like no because he's evil, also maybe it wouldn't hurt to care about real people with those pds instead of a caricature. also the half-hearted throwing around of the word "mute" for unple/asant has been pointed out as ableist by a lot of people.

tldr uhhh wuhgghh NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK nobody get us (: nobody talk us...