#im not upset or anything

[rabbittwinrithings]

So that last reblog made me worried about my mods and started to Google them, but I found I'm on IMDB???? I don't remember making one. Do people make random IMDB pages???

[fishy-styx]

Analysing the lyrics of 'Notion' by The Rare Occasions (and telling you why it's really fucking good)

So, I was listening to my therapy playlist (as one does) and, when this song came on, I had a Sudden Urge to write a sort-of-not-really essay about it (as one does). So, why not, right? (I'll also talk about why I personally love it so much, at the end. You can scroll down to the big, coloured text if that's what you want to read instead.)

While 'Notion' does have an Atheistic message (of how there is no afterlife, and that it's just a comforting lie), it's also about not letting life pass you by; you only get one chance, and you should make the most of it.

!! Also, before we start I'd like to say that I'm considering the first four lines as verse 1, the next four lines as verse 2, the instrumental as the instrumental, the next four lines as verse 3, the seven after that as the bridge, and the last four as the verse 4/the outro.

!!! Also, also, I'm coming at this from a mostly Christian perspective, since that's what I believe the song is mainly referring to, and because I'm an ex-Christian myself (now Agnostic) and thus understand that specific religion the most.

To start, Verse 1 gives us the hook and establishes the thesis of the song, right off the bat.

Sure it's a calming notion, perpetual in motion But I don't need the comfort of any lies

The main message is that while an afterlife and living on in perpetuity may be a comforting idea, it's not real, and the singer doesn't want or need it. Then it explains what the singer meant in the last couple of lines.

For I have seen the ending and there is no ascending Rise

I interpret this to mean that the singer knows or strongly believes that there is nothing after death.

The first two lines of verse 2 lines help give us some context about the singer and their past.

Oh, back when I was younger, was told by other youngsters That my end will be torture beneath the earth

When the singer was younger, they were told by their peers that they would spend their afterlife in Hell. I take this line to be showing that the singer was raised Christian, but didn't believe in it and now finds the overall philosophy harmful. These next lines elaborate on why their peers thought they'd go to Hell.

'Cause I don't see what they see, when death is staring at me I see a window, a limit, to live it, or not at all

The singer doesn't believe that there is an afterlife. Instead of seeing death as a new opportunity, the singer sees it as a time limit. They see it as something to encourage you to live the best life you can, while you can.

Then there's the instrumental break, which doesn't have lyrics (obviously), but I'd like to mention it since it's actually my favourite part of the song.

Verse 3 starts off with a question to get the listeners thinking. It asks:

If you could pull the lever to carry on forever Would your life even matter anymore?

To rephrase: "If you had the chance to live a perfect afterlife in Heaven, what's the point of your current, mortal life?" This is the singer arguing for why they find this philosophy harmful. If the afterlife is real, then your current life becomes pointless aside from staying true to God and not straying from his path. The singer thinks life should have meaning, and this sort of thinking invalidates that. The second half of verse 3 reiterates the hook and thesis.

Sure it's a calming notion, perpetual in motion But it's not what you signed up for

While it's comforting to think that death isn't the end, the singer says that the listener didn't sign up for living forever, and implies that the listener might not know what it entails. They're saying you didn't sign up for following all these rules about following God's will or even having an afterlife.

The bridge begins by telling us that the singer knows that life won't always be great, but it's not all bad, either.

I know there won't always be sunshine But there's this momentary beam of light

These lines use the metaphor of sunlight to talk about the good in life. It's saying that life will not always be good, but that there are bright spots, so to speak. There are moments of happiness and success; it's not always gloom and suffering– the weather changes. The next part of the bridge is quite direct about its messaging.

You don't have to wait the salty decades To get through the gate, it's all in front of your face

It's telling you that you don't have to wait for your life to end to get to heaven; your life is in the present, and you should be living it instead of treating it like a chore to be rewarded for with eternal paradise. The last bit of the bridge just reiterates the first two lines of the bridge.

I'm sure there won't always be sunshine I'm sure there won't always be sunshine But there's this momentary beam of light

Finally, the outro/verse 4 starts by speaking in hypotheticals.

I could cross the ocean in a fit of devotion (I'm sure there won't always be sunshine) For every shining second, this fragile body beckons (I'm sure there won't always be sunshine)

By saying this, the singer is telling us that they could spend their whole life with their "fragile body" and limited time devoting themselves fully to God and aiming for the afterlife, but as they've established before, they believe that this is pointless. Underneath this whole outro, the refrain of "I'm sure there won't always be sunshine" is being repeated, once more reinforcing the message that life is never all bad. The next part directly calls out and people who look down on others because they follow God.

You think you're owed it better, believing ancient letters

In this the singer is admonishing people who think they're better, and that they deserve a good afterlife, just for believing in old texts that tell you to believe in a god. And the song ends with the thesis:

Sure, it's a calming notion, but it's a lie

To sum things up, the song message is this: "There is no point in waiting for the afterlife that will never come; live in the present, and don't waste your precious years." It's a profound message that is comforting in it's own right, even while it tells you that there is nothing after death.

Now I get to ramble about why I love this song. If you just came here for the analysis, you can leave now, but please do tell me what you thought about it (it gives me serotonin).

This section is going to be much less essay-y so if you came for mildly unhinged ramblings, this is for you.

So, Notion, where to start? Now that I don't have a structure to follow, it's kinda hard to figure that out.

Well, the instrumentation is great. I'm such a sucker for rock, and the bass is absolutely amazing. The acoustic version is also great, and um, that's about it. I've already spent two and a half hours (straight) on the analysis, so I'm not going to go in-depth on the music. You can just listen to it if you haven't already and hear what it sounds like and say, "wow! Fish is totally right, the bass is really nice, also fish is such an amazing and cool person for writing this essay that I really wanted to read." (okay, maybe not that last bit, but I hope you agree that it's a banger song)

The lyrics are really cool and good and (gimme a sec to find a synonym...) superb. They really hit me in the soul and I can relate to them as an ex-Christian and as someone who has (and still is) struggling to find meaning and purpose in life. You'd think the idea that there is no afterlife would make me even more depressed, but it's honestly kind of motivating. I wish I could write another essay on how I feel about this as an ex-Christian, but again, I hyperfixated on this for two and a half HOURS; my eyes are dry from staring at my screen, my hands are starting to cramp, and my back hurts from slouching. I think I'll spare myself this time.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[your-neighbor-bear]

Why the fuck is my headset moldy what the hell

I haven't worn these in long while and I just happen to glance at them. What the fuck.

(They are in the sink bc I didn't know where else to put them before disposing of them. They were previously hanging on my tv)

[orcbardneeul]

I understand where the confusion comes from, but for those who don't know all my OCs, Barrens is not a goblin.

He's half Orc and half Halfling.

[pacificwaternymph]

we got snowbugs crumbs in the mcc today!!!! tango got a love bolt (some kind of power-up in the decision dome) and he didn't know what to do with it so he just. fired it at scott asjklafdjlaja

tango later told scott that firing the love bolt at him was the highlight of the event for him which is even MORE insane!

Okay anon this is super cute :)

But I will be a hundred percent honest, I do not ship content creators outside of SMPs or other places where they are clearly playing a character. It just borders too close to RPF for me, which I personally find uncomfortable.

For future reference, please do not send me stuff about ship content for MCC

[donttouchmyfrenchtoast]

i was reading a webtoon the other day and the ad under it was just. legitimately an entire scene from icarly

i shit you not. an entire scene

[mentally-ill-for-bes]

So funny Viktor chooses to present himself to Jayce as a white-golden robot (considering it is shown he could possess one of his followers) despite his representative colors being purple and blue (during s2 arc 1 and arc 2 and as the Herald Machine). But for the very specific purpose of convincing Jayce to join him, he's represented in the colors associated with Mel. Literally CATWALKING into the room, which is an action associated with Mel too

[bunnieswithknives]

Thanks.

Prev

[consultingfujoshi]

everyone else is giving their take on this so I feel as if I should too. I am angry about burt and irving now having two almost-kisses and them still finding a reason for them to never close that gap. like, yea it makes narrative sense that neither of those scenes contained a kiss, it's compelling even, if I view it objectively I actually love that because I care deeply about these characters and want them to be written realistically and with nuance.

but I am not gonna sit here and pretend that I'm fine with how this compares to the straight couples that have had so much more this season. if burt and irving's story existed in a bubble where markhelly and all the rest didn't serve as points of comparison I don't think I'd be half as upset at the way this ended. I'd be able to appreciate the impact of their being unable to kiss TWICE now in different universes because of forces outside of their control without looking across at every. single. other. couple. who are all straight. and going. why do they get that and we don't. why is it only the gay couple that have to be written "realistically" where they're still not ready to kiss. why can allowances and indulgences be made for dramatic effect for EVERYONE except them. I don't know if it's intentional homophobia, or queerbait, or if they're really just that squeamish about the idea of two old men kissing each other, but the double standard is there no matter the motivation behind it. and when you combine that with irving's innie being effectively killed off four episodes into the second season, and now his outie potentially written out of the show too, all I'm saying is it becomes hard to give them the benefit of the doubt.

we're all aware john turturro may not return for another season and that's why they felt the need to wrap up irving's two storylines somehow so they weren't left on a loose end should he decide not to come back, and I get that, and I'm glad there was some sense of finality to it, but then why not allow us just this one thing. just one moment of indulgence. because it might actually be our, and their, last chance. would it have killed them to just let them kiss this one time if there was a chance we'd never see them again, a chance they'd never see each other again. the truth is, no, it wouldn't have been hard at all. but they still made the decision to withhold that. because they can't allow us or them even the most basic kindness whilst handing the straight couples everything on a silver platter.

I'm not gonna get into the pacing issues of their relationship this season, how we jumped from them shyly asking each other out on another date to burt carrying out the hit on irving, how there feels like a missing scene in between those two events, because that relates to a wider problem with the structure of the show itself that is beyond the scope of this criticism. but i think it's telling that rather than giving us that extra time with them, they took a whole episode away from our main cast where even cobel got to kiss a one off male character that we will never hear from or see of again, and the supposed flagship romance of season 1 can't even get that. at what point am I allowed to call that thing in the corner that looks, acts, and talks like a duck a fucking duck?

if it sounds like I'm bitter, and jealous, it's because I am. because whether or not the double standard is intentional or not, it's still there. and I really did think a show that was able to present such special, compelling, meaningful queer characters would be a little more self aware about the message they're sending. and it fucking sucks that this has become just another show where I have to swallow my frustration and accept that they're not writing this for me. I and my fellow queer audience will never be the priority. even now we are still begging for scraps

[moomeecore]

Hey guys. So I know we've all gotten some very bad news, and anyone with a conscience is deeply upset. But one of the things this means is that the situation in Palestine is even more urgent, because we know that while Kamala might have, Trump isn't going to listen to any calls to lessen America's support of violence in Palestine. So, I'm putting out my next fundraiser post a bit earlier than expected - I really, really encourage you all to read these and try to match at least one of my donations, and reblog if you can't. I wish you all the best.

Waleed Ayman Alanqar and family - vetted (#107) - The fundraiser is for Waleed, his wife Areej Haniyyeh, and their 3 year old son, Ayman. They were forced from their home almost a year ago. The fundraiser is to help them raise the money needed for the family of 3 to evacuate to Egypt. They have €1,606 raised of their €20,000 goal - only 8%! - so I'm donating a little more than the usual €5 (€7). Waleed's tumblr account is @ayman-waleed, if you want more info.

Alaa and family - vetted - Alaa and her husband were displaced from their home on October 7, while Alaa was pregnant. Alaa's husband died before their daughter was even born, and now Alaa is raising her baby without him, after having to give birth without the needed medical care. Because of the poor conditions, her daughter has been suffering from illness, including a viral stomach infection and histolytica worms. Alaa needs to pay for her daughter's medical treatments, and for milk and diapers which are very expensive in Palestine right now. They have $14,280 raised out of their $30,000 goal. Alaa's account(s), for more information: @alaa-gaza / @alaa-gaza223

Wafaa Abdul Karim Abu Al-Rish and family - vetted / vetted - The fundraiser is for Wafaa (@wafaaresh3) and her family, which includes her mother, her brother Mohi (@mohiy-gaza), her sister Fidaa (@fidaa-family2), and Fidaa's two children (Sila, who is two years old, and Mohamed, who is 6 months old). They also have a cat. They have been displaced more than 10 times. Wafaa's mother has chronic illness (hypertension), and is unable to access her medicine, which means her health is getting increasingly worse over time. The main goal of the fundraiser is to help the family evacuate to Egypt. Wafaa's fundraiser has $74,018 raised out of her $85,000 goal.

I'm going to post a second part with three more fundraisers soon!

Here's my previous fundraiser posts: Post 1, post 2, post 3

[not-kayvalencourt]

Let's all put on our thinking caps and see that there is no actual evidence that iskall didn't do anything but his own word. There is, however, massive amounts of evidence that he did.

If you follow me and support iskall (or stress), unfollow me. The bullshit tantrum he just had and the amount of people there are supporting him is actually disgusting. If you genuinely believe him, you need to look up manipulation tactics. He is going to use his fame to get people to trust him, just like he did to his victims.

[clockworkreapers]

That's weird, there must be a leak in here or something...

[byers-bowlcut]

So after barely 2 hours, my perfectly respectful byler theory/analysis (didn't mention mileven badly even once) was taken down because it was apparently reported MULTIPLE TIMES on reddit.

Another byler helped me contest the report, so the post is back up for NOW..... But I seriously need people to help me fight this bs, because I'm sure it's at risk of being taken down again. Please upvote it if you can <3

LINK TO THE REDDIT POST

[lawyerkin]

why is there so many posts abt who's "wingmanning" narumitsu ??? they already did that. they wingmanned themselves phoenix literally saw miles in the newspaper and sent him letters and became a lawyer just to see that stupid gay face of his again. does this sound like like a couple who needs to be set up ?? ??????((!?!!!!

[vanityangel]

looks like someone dug their enforcer uniform out of the closet

[spookythesillyfella]

artdumping what i made today

a doodle of @sillyvampir3 'z shrig [which i procrastinated on too much ; im sorry (⁠~⁠_⁠~⁠;⁠)]

a drawing i made based off a post by @thecultoflove

i dunno what im gonna do to theze freakz if they keep behaving like thiz

★ image i based the last drawing on under cut :