#internet is clearly not a safe place anymore

[tenrose]

Anyway I decided to drastically reduce all my social media access. I'm low-key addicted to Instagram and I didn't delete the app cause I still want to pop in sometime. So I decided to play with my stupid brain and I just deleted the app from my home screen because I almost never go through my entire phone and of course I blocked all notifications. Taking steps ahead before it also become a nazi social media. If some of you who have my Instagram see me in two hours you can virtually smack the hell out of me. From now on I will only be here but I'm also gonna try reducing my time. And I'll be here only to enjoy whatever stuff I'm into at that time.

Hopefully with all the time I will save I will be able to do constructive stuff that makes me feel better.

[deathshallbethelastenemy]

what you see, i see (1)

TEEN!gojo x FEM!reader (soulmate AU)

TW⚠️: teenage gojo is mean, angst, mentions of death

This is a repost in regular font bc people couldn't read the first! There are some changes but they are very minor.

Whenever she closed her eyes she would see where he would go, and see everything he would see, and if she focused she could hear his conversations, and yet only the voices were ever clear while everything in his line of sight was always obscured, tinted dark. Her soulmate was never not wearing sunglasses, but it did nothing to shield her from the horrors he witnessed everyday.

She didn't know what they were- monsters, creatures, or curses (curses is what he called those things) that he saw on the daily basis. She used to worry about him. She would spend sleepless nights wondering if he was okay, but now, she resented him for it. Her mundane life that was full of ordinary things had been turned into an inescapable nightmare.

She could not see those creatures with her own eyes, even when she concentrated on her surroundings. The city was noisy and loud but never terrifying with monsters lurking around every corner and alleyway, but then, she'd close her eyes. Not intentionally, never intentionally anymore, and see a world hidden within her own.

His world. He was unafraid of it and she was deeply afraid of it - the abandoned buildings, the dark alleyways, fighting, blood, ichor, and death; she frightened of it all. She supposed he was brave for being able to face those horrors at all. She knew she could never be able too.

Her world, she wondered, if he thought it was boring, or if it brought him some sort of comfort seeing her life be so normal. A regular routine of school, friends, homework, exams, watching television, going to the library, internet browsing, running errands for her parents bakery, and coffee shops.

No, Gojo Satoru, did not find her world comforting. He did, indeed, find it to be incredibly boring. He was matched with a weak soulmate that couldn't even see curses, much less defend herself against them. How tiring his life would become if he ever met her - always having to save her because she was just so weak. So he never paid her any mind after he realized that. Never searched for her, never even let the thought of her linger for too long on his mind. A weakling like her doesn't have the right to have any of his attention.

Geto Suguru would call him a pompous and narcissistic jerk for not seeking her out, for belittling her, especially when she was right here in Tokyo.

"It's an honor, Satoru," Suguru would tell him, "fate trusts you to keep her safe from harm."

Everytime Satoru would simply fake vomit at his best friends sentiments.

"Do you know how many sorcerers wish for a soulmate?" Suguru would say, "and you're just not going to bother."

"Jealous," Satoru would smirk, "or lonely? You can have her."

She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she was glad she had. She did her best to keep her eyes open after that conversation. If she wasn't worth his time, then Gojo Satoru wasn't worth hers either. Instead, she buried herself in school work, in running for class president, in multiple clubs, and volunteering in shelters, and cleaning up trash in public spaces. Her school transcript would be so stellar, so perfect she would be able to go to college abroad.a place so far away that the chance of ever running into him would be next to impossible.

It was a late night for her again and this time, she blamed her soulmate. She didn't care that he had made a building collapse in itself two days ago, or that middle schoolers were fawning over Satoru as they, clearly, didn't know he was rotten on the inside, and she, absolutely, did not care that he was having a fun beach day. She cared that he hadn't slept in three days, and now, she was a victim of his insomnia.

Why couldn't he go to sleep already? She was tired of closing her eyes seeing common beige hotel walls as he remained ever vigilant on his surroundings. She was seeing too much and nothing, all at the same time; it was exhausting. She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she did, still she didn't dream. All she could see was a dimly lit hotel room and a brief darkness everytime he blinked.

It was a miracle she woke up on time for school in the morning. Her eyes were heavy and it was a struggle to focus on any of her lectures but she refused to rest her eyes. Her stupid soulmate would not get any reprieve from her. Not when she was deprived of basic rest last night.

Of course, she would naturally blink only to see him cheerfully chatting on a plane. Whatever, her class was far more important. Anything in her life was far more important than he ever could be.

She tilted her head up to look up at the clock.

15:00:00

Class was almost over.

She blinked.

Satoru was complaining about having to take care of a 'brat'. She rolled her eyes and focused on the chalkboard at the front of the class.

15:02:08

She blinked again.

Blue had overtaken her vision as it pulled cobblestones and buildings into the vibrant cool hued color - forcing the buildings to collapse in on themselves as nothing but ruin was left around Satoru.

She opened her eyes. It didn't matter, she knew one thing about him for sure, he never loses.

15:02:15

She stilled. A dark chill consumed her as her body began to become numb. She continued to copy down notes from the chalkboard but she couldn't feel the pen in her palm. She dug her nails into her palm next and still, she felt nothing.

Her eyes widened. Death, this was how she imagined death would feel like. A silent sob went raked through her body - she hadn't noticed it before, how her heartbeat had been mirroring Satoru's until now. An aching emptiness filled her like a part of her had been ripped from her.

She covered her mouth in an effort to stop her cries. Her vision blurred with tears and one right after the other, they fell, seeping into her notebook and smudging the black ink.

Could Satoru see her now in his final moments? She sucked in a harsh breath. What about the girl he was protecting? She had only seen her briefly but she needed protection, did she not? That's why he was there to keep the girl safe.

"______" someone was saying her name, and then, a soft, gentle shake, "______, what's wrong? What happened?

Soulmates were so rare, so so so rare most people didn't believe in them. They would call her crazy, a liar, an attention seeking romantic, so she forced herself to wipe the tears from her cheeks, and said: "My mother just texted me," she hiccupped, "my grandmother died." She turned to face the teacher, "I'm sorry for disrupting class."

Then, the bell rang - loud and piercing, and the day had continued onward as if nothing had happened. As if her world hadn't just been turned upside down, as if the cold, icy grip of death wasn't looming over her - watching her every move, until the grim reaper, finally deemed to snuff her out one day as well.

A hot summer day and she was shivering cold.

Part 2: where you go, i go

Part 3: you know i adore

Part 4: i'm crazier for you

Part 5: baby, you're the life of the party

Part 6: something's made your eyes go cold

[calliesmemes]

SONGS ACROSS THE INTERNET

A COLLECTION OF SENTENCE STARTERS FEATURING LYRICS FROM MYRIAD SONGS — found in my Spotify playlists, on Tumblr and Pinterest, and pulled from my own songwriting notebook.

CHANGE gendered words and in-universe phrases as needed.

SPECIFY muse for multimuses.

“   Revolutionaries wait for my head on a silver plate. ”

“   Oh, who would ever want to be king? ”

“   I dreamt I was a soldier. ”

“   What’s your real name? ”

“   I’m your biggest fan. ”

“   How could you be so judgemental? ”

“   We’re living in the age of lies. ”

“   I am barely sane; this is pulsing in my veins. ”

“   Those troublemakers must be so lonely. ”

“   I'm causing you so much frustration. ”

“   I’m sorry that I let you down. ”

“   You’re nobody ‘till somebody wants you dead. ”

“   I don’t want to spend my life trying to fight for what’s not mine. ”

“   I want nothing less than to be who I’m meant to be. ”

“   It’s so hard to breathe. ”

“   Would you be the savior of the broken, the beaten, and the damned? ”

“   Sometimes I get the feeling she’s watching over me. ”

“   I keep breaking under the weight of everything. ”

“   I know I’m more than what I fear. ”

“   If you go to war, then I’m going with you. ”

“   Maybe you’re right to have doubts in me. ”

“   Only fools tread where angels fear to go. ”

“   I’m afraid of what I’m risking if I follow you. ”

“   Good stories are bad lives. ”

“   I know that you want to be seen and to be heard. ”

“   They don’t know anything that you’ve been through. ”

“   You don’t even have the potential to be half as great as me. ”

“   I will stay, and I will fight with you. ”

“   Now, I wield the sword that you left behind. ”

“   You’re not what a hero looks like. ”

“   If it’s evil that you’re planting, then it’s evil that will grow. ”

“   I can see the fear in your eyes. ”

“   There is so much that you could be, if only you’d join me. ”

“   There’s something wrong in the village. ”

“   There’s nothing wrong with you. ”

“   I know I’m meant for something else. ”

“   I see you in my dreams. ”

“   We make one hell of a team. ”

“   I’ll never, ever leave your side. ”

“   We have so much in common. ”

“   Can you see right through me? ”

“   You’ll be okay. Everything will be okay. ”

“   I think you’re my best friend. ”

“   It was only just a dream. ”

“   I tried to play God, and I paid with my son. ”

“   I’ll never, ever leave your side. ”

“   I’m not the girl I ought to be. ”

“   I break tradition. ”

“   You were clearly meant for more, if you weren’t a life lost in the war. ”

“   You are not here to conform. ”

“   I don’t wanna live in a man’s world anymore. ”

“   I see things that nobody else sees. ”

“   I don’t see why you would want me. ”

“   The only one who’s really judging you is yourself. ”

“   I need somebody to hold me. ”

“   So what if I’m crazy? The best people are. ”

“   It’s obvious the way that you’re hurting. Who made you think that you deserve it? ”

“   Who made you a monster? ”

“   We’re all afraid of you. ”

“   I’m a bad liar with a savior complex. ”

“   Why don’t you take the chance? ”

“   If nothing can be known, then stupidity is holy. ”

“   Real men don’t need other people. ”

“   Will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful? ”

“   There’s nowhere safe to hide. ”

“   This is how legends are made. ”

“   God forbid I’m seen just as an average human being. ”

“   This event will be history. ”

“   I’m worried that I’m not in the right place. ”

“   You took me down, but you didn’t finish me off. ”

“   Enjoy your temporary win. ”

“   Come pick up your stride. ”

“   I have played a part in the way that things have gotten out of hand. ”

“   If I’m going down, I guess I’ll take you with me. ”

“   Show me how you justify telling all your lies. ”

“   Abandon all your wicked ways, make amends, and start again. ”

“   Oh, I wish I’d find a lover that could hold me. ”

“   We are friends, are we not? ”

“   It’s the truth if it’s officially the story. ”

“   I have romanticized every little thing that you’ve said. ”

“   Just know that if you hide, it doesn’t go away. ”

“   Close your eyes and take my hand. ”

“   America has a problem. ”

“   Somewhere, someone’s got it worse. ”

“   This could be the death of me. ”

“   Remember, everything will be alright. ”

“   Can't you see how I cry for help? ”

“   It's torturing me, but I can't break free. ”

“   Tell me why you're putting pressure on me and every day you cause me harm. ”

“   Tell me what’s been happening, and what’s been on your mind. ”

“   I refuse to lose another friend. ”

“   Hiding from the truth isn’t going to make this okay. ”

“   I don’t think I’m still alive. ”

“   We are problems that want to be solved. ”

“   Don’t make me be the bad guy. ”

“   I know I won’t be leaving here. ”

“   Fate is upon us. ”

“   I’ll never let you sweep me off my feet. ”

“   We’ve been conditioned not to make mistakes, but I can’t live that way. ”

“   I’m terrified of rejection. ”

“   I’m focusing all of my energy on just staying awake. ”

“   Show me what you’ve got, and I’ll show you what you’re missing. ”

“   I’m not prepared for the future. ”

“   They were quick to recognize the devil in me. ”

[dual-plunger-enthusiast]

Hey Skibidi Community

Okay so apparently the moron cannot leave strangers on the internet alone whatsoever so just an awareness post (do not harass them, just report for harassment and block them)

This guy is Clearly going through every skibidi post they can find and sending hate comments on them. Again, just report and block Do not engage with them because that's what they're clearly looking for. Do not feed into their trolling. Be safe, y'all.

(thanks to Salem for the second image)

WELL I DIDN'T EVEN MAKE THE POST YET BUT APPARENTLY THERE'S MORE

Apparently he's going around telling everyone that we're stealing from them?? That we're using them for "art inspiration?" It's suspected they have mental health problems, but I'm not in the place to say so. Besides that, if there truly was a "theft" problem, there are significantly much better ways to say your content was stolen that does not involve calling strangers on the internet "sluts" and spamming their stuff with useless comments.

They seem to be mainly targeting artists too.

(thanks to Salem for these screenshots too)

I have no idea what is going on, but I highly suggest just reporting and blocking. Once again, be safe you guys. And if you have skibidi side blogs like I do, be sure that they're blocked on both your main blog and your skibidi blog. Blocking on main doesn't transfer to side blogs and while you can't see them, they can still access your side blog posts. Be safe

Feel free to share more screenshots in reblogs if you have anymore and if you'd like to. Please try to share this around wherever you can to other skibidi artists.

[proshippers-against-censorship]

genuinely im unsure how to believe you anymore after still continuing the "pedophilia is inherently gross" rbs (and now alongside ageist all kids are now apparently brats implication, jfc you can talk about internet safety without degrading the existence of minors) after having a whole conversation about it and saying you'll be better about it, like idk man! Don't even put neu/pro para in your bio in the first place if you clearly hate paraphiles, it's just a lie at this point so you can get para followers via making us feel safe, it's not working anymore. I'm out.

...elaborate?

If this is over a posted ask, please keep in mind that I do have a multi-month queue and I didn't prune through em, it crashes the app.

[popculturebuffet]

Did you hear the recent news on how the Cartoon Cartoons shorts program announced in 2021 has now been dismantled and the shorts won't ever get released or even be picked up for a TV show? To make it worse, Cartoon Network threatened to blacklist the creators of these unreleased pilot shorts if they try to pitch them to other networks so we can't even get a scenario of a different network picking up these shows (ironic given Cartoon Network picked up Adventure Time when Nickelodeon refused to make it into a TV show). Thoughts seeing how bad it's escalating for Cartoon Network?

The fact they won't even try with that program does speak volumes at how they haven't really been gaining originals of their own anymore (Craig of the Creek, We Baby Bears, and Prince Ivandoe are on their last legs and Iyanu is the only CN original coming up, assuming it doesn't get sent to Adult Swim) and won't even use the program to help save themselves with more originals.

I just.. it's fucking depressing. Cartoon Network was my childhood, was my world growing up and while I thought at first people saying it's dying were just exagerating as tv networks are a dying breed anyway, mostly kept afloat by older folks. I still use my xfinity on occasion, but even I primiarly stream. (or watch hours and hours of behind the bastards on youtube as is my standard these days, but I digress).

But no.. it's very clear the network's day is done, a shell of what it once was. Craig of the Creek is over, the shows you mentioned are wrapping up and any future use of their properties is earmarked for hbo max. WBD Has no use for it's future and i'm 100% sure looking at Iyanu it'll get ported to adult swim, which isn't a bad thing at this point. It's clear Adult Swim has solid renewal power. I also shudder knowing Tiny Tunes Looniversity is probably dead and they'll burn off the rest next month or year, and Jellystone isn't far behind

As for this itself, it's a mixed blessing. On teh one hand burning it to the ground and refusing to use it is scummy if standard warner and the threat to blacklist is just fucking awful. On the other... that threat is hollow as shit. Yes it would keep you from working on adult swim shows and hbo max shows.. but at this point it's clear WBD itself is NOT a safe place for animation, having scuttled two whole films (Both scooby doo), ruined an adaptation of an acclaimed manga, and in general trying to wind down for the most part, with only adult swim and now the DC divsions being stable and tha'ts only for now sadly. There is less risk in getting blackballed from warner than there is trying to work with them and most creators still doing it simply don't have a choice: either their ip is owned by them, or like invincible fight girl, they've simply put all this work in and survivied this far, might as well keep goin so their hard work gets released seen and stored somewhere on the internet. This blacklist threat is so laughably hollow it's hilarious. They COULD call other networks to get mad at them.. but if the creators still clearly have the legal right to pitch it to another network and Cartoon Network dosen't actually own anything but the pilot, and can't actually sue any of the other companies even in a SLAPP sense, then it's empty. What warner has always failed to get since this merger is the creative soul of a project: if someone poured their heart and soul into something, it's more worth taking a chance to get it made elsewhere. Olan Rogers has worked his ass off to make sure Final Space got concluded despite the fucking weird and self desctuvie hoops WBD has put up for him (Seriously if they actually helped publish the final chapter it'd not only be way more avaliable, but they'd get the money), and has seemingly found a partner for Godspeed because he's that passionate. Because the work MATTERS to him. And if the work matters, your going to take a gamble on seeing your dream come out rather than a vauge threat from a company who probably won't give you a job anyway and if they do it's certainly not stable.

[sohmariku]

A fishy smell

Earlier this week I suddenly started noticing a strong fishy smell in one particular part of my house. I didn't think much of it at first, must be the ventilation system picking up on something outside again. It happens. Alhough I could weirdly enough only smell it in the one part of my house not connected to the system... raising some question marks. After a while the smell disappeared, so I forgot about it.

Two days later I suddenly smelled it again, and I realised the fishy smell somehow seemed to coincide with the moment I ran my laundry. But for whatever reason the smell didn't linger anywhere near my laundry machine. Making me wonder whether it was just pure coincidence? Either way, I could not locate the source of the smell and it disappeared again after a while, so I let it rest.

But today, when I turned my laundry machine on, it appeared again! All right then, this is no mere coincidence! This must be related!

My husband's initial internet search only gave him results about smelly laundry machines, because that's just what happens when your only search terms are "laundry machine" and "fishy smell". So I decided to tell google my house started smelling fishy if I ran the laundry and the top search result all said something along the lines, "Don't ever ignore a fishy smell in your house! It could be a sign of serious electrical issues! Your outlet might be on the brink of catching fire!"

"Um, okay... electrical issues, huh? Outlets possibly catching fire. Very well... Then, let's be a bit weird and smell the sole electrical outlet in that one part of my house that smells really bad right now, but is like a floor away from my laundry machine. I seriously doubt that will... HOLY CRAP, THAT THING SMELLLS FISHY!!"

And thus I immediately turned my laundry machine off, and called my father in a panic to ask for advice on how to proceed, because my brain refused to think clearly. He very calmly advised me to turn off the electricity and check the situation behind the outlet.

"Yes, of course, that makes sense."

A quick check revealed two of the wires had basically melted together... and the whole electrical situation behind our outlet was in fact one that should not exist in the first place.

One trip to the hardware store and with some advice from the expert there my husband stocked up on everything we might need to fix this safely. It took us like an hour after that, but everything is reconnected again and in de much safer way, we are told. The outlet still smells somewhat fishy, but I can't feel a sizzling heat radiating from it anymore, so that's probably the smell baked into the insulation of the wires...? We will have to keep an eye on it for now. As long as the whole room doesn't start smelling fishy again I think we're good.

Aside from the fact that the whole wiring was a bit wonky, this probably happened, because my laundry machine was plugged into the wrong outlet. (So the wires were getting too hot on a regular basis?) I was pretty sure the outlet I used was a seperated one with it's own circuit breaker, but... guess not. So, to increase the changes this might not happen again, I now plugged the laundry machine into the outlet that is in fact separated from the rest of the floor(s).

Ugh, I'm so tired now. Its probably going to take me a at least week to recover from this...

[lunerabo]

I don’t even like to read anymore bc there’s is nothing I like to read it’s all just females reader and Gn reader (yes I know Gn reader is for everyone but peoples do not know on how to write it)

Let me break it down into even simpler terms that might have a chance at sticking to that smooth little brain you’ve got upstairs.

It’s okay to not like something. I’d always encourage one to expand their horizons a little, but if you don’t like something, you don’t like it. For example, yandere is a SUPER popular trope, but I just can’t fuck with it no matter what. So it’s not like I don’t get it, I do.

What I don’t do is go on to blogs explicitly stating that they write yandere, and telling them “hey, can you not write yandere, and write something different instead? It makes me, one singular person out of the hundreds or thousands of people in your audience, uncomfortable. I feel that you have to do this, because I believe I am special and my opinion holds more weight than everyone else’s.” I do not do this, because the hundreds or thousands of other people in the audience are there for the yandere content and I am there because I’ve clearly made a mistake and found myself in the wrong place.

How does it go unnoticed to you that YOU are the common denominator? How does it go unnoticed that you’re actively refusing to filter tags SO THAT IT’S EASIER TO GET ONLY THE MALE READER CONTENT YOU WANT? How do you not comprehend that changing the ENTIRE FUCKING INTERNET into your personal desired safe space is an impossible task? Literally what is the thinking

[godtier]

had to add to this:

younger users are so very focused on everything they do having distinct "morality," as if life was a mass effect dialogue exchange where there's an obvious "paragon" (good) and "renegade" (bad) choice clearly outlined at all times.

here's what I think contributes to that:

having no concept of blocking accounts on platforms that don't focus on algorithm-driven content (such as tumblr). don't like smth? no problem, just click "I don't like this" or "show me less content like this" and your feed will be saved! if they can't do that, their first instinct isn't to just block the person or account. it's to preach to them as to why their content is "harmful, actually." they don't like it, they're used to the apps tailoring content for them, why are they seeing this thing they don't like? clearly someone is gaming the algorithm to spam porn or something. therefore, they must be a degen. this is not to say they don't block ppl at all, it just seems more common to block as a result of a bad encounter or by being told by a third party that the other user deserves to be blocked rather than incidental discovery of content.

related to that, a lot of ppl (not just younger users) take random comments on the internet as law. "oh that person is a [bad thing]." they don't fact check. fact checking can be twisted into "I don't believe this person" or "I'm invalidating this person's own experience" or "I'm defending the accused and condoning it by asking for evidence." it's a big issue anymore. no one asks for the sauce, they just take shit at face value, even up to very serious accusations.

mob mentality. wanting to be part of a movement. not wanting to rock the boat. when someone gets accused of shit, or even if they like a ship that's "problematic," it's easier to go along with the group than be the dissenter. humans crave "togetherness" or like... "caveman tribes" where they can band together around a common enemy. peer pressure, basically.

one of the biggest ones imo: the enshittening of the internet. most major platforms have bans on NSFW content so it's far less likely to accidentally stumble upon it. especially if there's an algorithm in place; don't search for it, you won't get served it. ergo, no accidental porn discoveries, no desensitization to it. in addition, most major art platforms don't allow porn at all, so searching for fanart is usually uneventful. Google and other search engines default to safe search. most people don't tailor their settings for platforms/devices they use anymore (default iPhone ringtone/text message sounds anyone?), so it's not something they experience.

a bonus theory: fandom becoming mainstream. with "normies" actively participating in fandom more than ever, the concepts of smut fic or fanart coexisting with the gen fanworks isn't as understood as the default by younger people. rather than being part of a normal fandom experience, it's seen as "degenerate" or "weird."

there's probably other things that contribute to it, but I feel like those are the major factors. it is definitely very unnerving behavior to see unfold. rather than the old guard gatekeeping shit (which is bad regardless ofc), the new blood is creating a mass shift in how stuff is perceived and labeling people as degens for having a sex drive lmao.

i make a lot of posts to the tune of "you're allowed to be horny btw" because it's becoming increasingly clear that adults being sexual in (clearly marked and blockable!) spaces is being stamped out and made out to be evil both legislatively and in the moral zeitgeist, especially among younger folks. not even in the "wait to be a horny adult online when you're An Adult" way, just an ingrained puritanical outrage response to *anything* that isn't chaste wholesome perfect all-ages allowed. it's unnerving and scary.

[willowremix]

The Eras Tour & girlhood

After spectating two summer’s worth of The Eras Tour, I have amassed so much, probably too much, information. So many feelings. I have shifted from pocket to pocket on the internet, reading too many articles, tweets, listening to too many video essays, podcast episodes, picking at thread after thread of subtext present in all of these forms of ideas and conversations. I think one of the main ideas was, or that was omnipresent during it all, was femalehood. But I didn’t need to be told that.

Last summer felt like a dream, and in a way this second summer of The Eras Tour has kind of been returning to reality. There seems to be a three way split between time now: before the tour, the start of the tour, and every moment after it. As time has stretched on, and the tour has reached unimaginable heights and numbers and broken records, there has been the result. The result of a woman being the face of and leading, millions and millions of people, primarily women and girls. The noise of something like this will always have a resonance, and I will be picking apart the layers of voice that have grown thicker and thicker in my mind.

One of the biggest phenomena to come out of this tour is the relationships formed between shows, like ribbons that pull them together. It will be one of the most fortifying experiences anyone who has gone to it will ever have not only because of Taylor Swift herself, but because not one person in that audience will ever be truly alone again. I, at least believe, that one of the parts of this tour that has embodied ‘girlhood’, has been being able to make something of the experience in a way that men could never understand. A little bit like when we were kids, and sat around pretending there really could be a safe place for women, anywhere, and likewise, it would be our own Barbie doll house.

People have compared the tour to the “closest thing we will ever get to Barbieland.” Women saying that it’s the only large crowd they have ever felt comfortable or safe in. So I guess the question everyone has been asking is: can a concert really do that? Can a concert really be that? That kind of sanctuary? And my counter question is: why can’t we just believe women when they say that? We should ask: why can’t anyone let their experiences be?

That’s not to say the tour is just a feminine experience either; men, especially in the music, are entwined and included too. But this is just to say: A man in an audience full of women feels safe. A woman in an audience full of men feels mortified.

Over the course of the last year, I’ve observed, for every person enjoying themselves at this tour, there is one there to poke fun at them. Once I even commented on one of those videos: “Why do men get mad when women have emotions?”, or something of that manner (I deleted Instagram, I can’t check), and got dozens of angry responses. ‘He said “swifties” not women.’ People calling me dense, and complaining that it wasn’t an issue of sexism–to generalize it all. There was one response that was different though, and hung a little bit lower, but still had enough likes to be visible: “If we’re being honest, most swifties are women.” I remember getting a reply claiming that was sexist, to “generalize” all swifties like that. Clearly, it was a mistake to comment on a man’s instagram reel that was clearly misogynistic, had thousands of likes, probably all by equally as misogynistic men. Maybe I shouldn’t have tried. I don’t have Instagram anymore.

The terrorist attack plot in Vienna has eroded the ground of conversation about concert safety, “safe places”, and not surprisingly, misogyny. Hidden within the broad armor of that topic, misogyny as fuel for radical uprisings or threats as such above is held up by an infinite amount of legs: veiling threats as jokes, the normalization of oversharing on the internet, and being overshadowed. There is no time to think about how social media has become such an accommodating place for hatred and misogyny when women are being attacked every day, subtly sometimes, in a new way. The New York Times detailed that “Both suspects had become radicalized on the internet.” Everything that is said in any hollow chamber on the internet always echoes to some real degree offline, too; terror and sexist violence against women has always translated from online, to concerts, to street corners. It's unintelligible that anyone would think otherwise. On Twitter, someone asked a question that has been sticking to me ever since I saw it yesterday: The Eras Tour has been the one place where so many women have felt safe. Why does something like this have to happen? Why does something always have to prove that there is someone willing to hurt women wherever they go?

This kind of thing has hit me so hard too, because I think we will never be able to answer that question with the certitude that we, women, have been craving for centuries; the kind many were able to have, at least for a while, during the stretch of this tour. Maybe certainty is one of the best things it’s given fans, and women alike.

TAYLOR AS A SPECTACLE

Taylor being one of the most observable people of the 21st century, it’s easy to simply watch her tour unfold for two summers in a row and huddle all of your observations, especially if you’ve moved from the outside in. It’s an experience for everyone, even if you didn’t physically go to a show like I did. A question someone asked while I was researching for this essay stuck with me: “What has she become?” It protruded from my notes and my thoughts and the rest of my research. From that fire, another question burned: Is that more important than what she was?

Taylor’s fame has come to a point where every single thing she does is polarizing, no matter how “bland” or how “simple”--no matter what it is, because every single step she takes causes a discussion about society, about culture, about what we all should be doing, what not to do. Just the way that her fandom and her influence over people operates is interesting in itself. With her, she kind of has one foot stepping in the old, and the other in the new. And she’s trying to balance on both in a way that has lasted her a long time. Spending this much time in the past isn’t something that’s been necessarily done before. You could argue that the Super Bowl Halftime and The Eras Tour are of the same essence–artists performing their hits–but the Superbowl’s audience isn’t 80-90% women.

In part to that, I think how society sees Taylor is a reflection of exactly how society sees girls and women. Her and her fandom are intrinsically linked. No one who dislikes her just dislikes her. None of them take her seriously because she simply isn’t ‘growing’ out of what we believe makes women undesirable or unhappy. These are her crimes: dating men, having fun with friends, being cringe, not being married, going to football games, making teenage girls happy, etc. There are a lot of valid reasons to criticize her, but the average American isn’t really concerned about them– for some reason, they’re concerned about whether the NFL is giving her too much screen time. This is where our culture is still at, where it’s been dock parked since 2010.

She’s amassed so much fame to the point where our culture doesn’t know what to do with it. –I’ll be the one to say it, because she’s a woman. Because she’s slipped out of our reaches; she’s lighting up other continents now. The misogyny has inflated to a delirious degree. We’ve had things like this happen before, we’ve had it with the Beatles, with Elvis, with Michael Jackson, which were all firsts in their own right. The beginning of Rock n’ roll, the beginning of pop superstardom all over the world. And even with Madonna, she was different in the way she was the first domino. There was her, there was Britney Spears, then Lady Gaga, the pop Beginnings, but for women. It’s an interesting conversation to have because it’s the same conversation we've been having for years, but this time it's been centered around one person who people believe isn’t “changing anything” for so long, that it all just goes in circles, each point returning back to itself. People who believe she isn’t changing anything, essentially believe that if she doesn’t flood over their feet with what they believe makes artistry impossibly impressive, they mark her as useless. Mark all of this as nothing, almost nihilistically. Mark this period of time as already over, waiting for that one artist to come and save us all from the spinelessness that keeps her famous. (They are a part of that spine– they are the people who help keep her relevant.) Of course, they only wait– there’s no derivative involved other than criticism to change the “problem” they believe exists. Because she hasn’t monumented or changed a whole genre, time will pass and she will be forgotten. It’s impossible to meet everyone's standards for what is “new” or “genre-changing” or defying when the monuments have already been met before. Anyone can say “This has been done before!” if they know the genre well enough. If the standard is inventing a new way to be, to exist, then I’m pretty sure she’s met it.

Of course, one could argue that she globalized and sensationalized young, female country music, that she brought back 80’s synth-pop music in the mid 2000’s, that she has been some kind of glue between the world that it’s needed after something like the pandemic happened, literally ushering in world leaders and their children to her shows, that cities and people have bending to her will and changing their names when she comes to town… But I will offer a perspective that is more important: Women, for centuries, have been deemed crazy for feeling any emotion that drove them from doing what men wanted them to do. Maybe staying exactly where you are, despite, and not changing to prove yourself to them that you are not crazy, but to the people who have always been there, is where the legacy blooms and stays. Maybe even her embracing the crazy, has something to do with it too. She changes on her own rotation, on her fans rotation. There doesn’t constantly have to be a retort, a ravaged reinvention for our misogynistic culture; there isn’t an inherent impact in abjection (without explanation.) Becoming a product of what people say you are not is not the key to ‘real’ artistry. And none of it means she doesn’t have a legacy. Having lyrics that people are screaming and feeling 17 years later, has something more to do with it, don’t you think? Ones that are tattooed onto skin, plastered on monuments, passed on to children, plots for short films, inspiration for more stories, more life.

What is so different about her, though? Well, when you are a girl, a woman, from the moment you're a teenager you are pressured to be better, better, better. To think that what you are right now is nothing compared to what you can be. When you’re a man, you either applaud yourself for what you are, or the world does it for you. What’s different about Taylor Swift is that she owns up to everything she’s ever been. That she even prioritizes what she was, sometimes. She represents that an “era” is never really over in life, that for women, especially, it splinters up your spine until you fit again, right back into that moment. Right now, she’s allowing women to be what they were, right with her. And be proud of that.

Can’t that just be it? Can’t that be enough?

THE FANDOM

Every other video of people attending The Eras Tour has the caption “Girlhood” over it, generally displaying women and girls trading bracelets, singing, dancing, or crying underneath it. All very normal, human, activity. Of course it’s an alien-like occurrence that there’s a space for that to happen, for it to be posted online without shame or embarrassment, when people see that. Then the whole thing, the whole ‘fandom’ gets almost lobotomized online– and the circle returns right back, then, on a certain level. Is there a reason people want women and girls to lessen their feelings to appease people that can’t be traced back hundreds of years? The dehumanization of women does not ease its steps, ever.

There are obvious differences between female-centric fandoms and male-centric fandoms. Fandom demographics are an inseparable part of artists themselves. They usually are a parameter for if the artist can be taken seriously or not—this is a social and cultural parameter, which innately means that misogyny is always going to be involved. Sports fans can kill and riot but Taylor Swift fans can’t cry. So maybe think: it’s not entirely insane to be crying at a concert. Art is meant to make people feel things—meant to be an outlet, an output, somewhere to set anger or sadness or happiness down for a while and go for a walk. Maybe women displaying emotion isn’t entirely insane.

It’s also a given that Taylor’s music has a cadence to women, has the tones for the commonalities of female psyche and experience, like any female singer-songwriter would. One of Swift’s most mentioned songs, metaphorically, mirrorball, is spread out across platforms in jokes, or diaristic paragraphs as a device for identity. This is due to its reference to duality, and for its overall relatability.

“I should not be left to my own devices, they come

with prices, and vices,” - ‘Anti-hero.’

Maybe, what she’s really saying, that her different “identities” are just as much ours as they are hers. Whether in the way to internalize and really connect with her fans, or simply to build an image, it’s a device all the same. People joke that they’re the mirrorball, or that Taylor herself is too. “I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try try/I’m still on that trapeze.” There are songs like these that fans just get. It’s not an inherently female experience, but sometimes it sure feels like it; like girlhood is that trapeze. Like you are doing everything just so others can see. The gaze never unpressurized. Staring right at Taylor Swift herself and Taylor Swift the Brand™, staring right back.

People understand each other with bracelets and colors, “I’m a mirrorball”, “I’m August”–the “eras” in general. The pendulum swings, or rather tumbles, through the ages 13 to 32. Taylor Swift ‘lore’ is a translator in itself. Of course girls and women are going to idolize and try to live vicariously through a woman whose life is seemingly raw and real enough through music to mirror their experiences but perfect enough to hold intrigued eyes in real life. Because that’s not what life is actually like– people usually don’t usually have two split selves. That’s why normal people aren’t as interesting. They want her life and have it at the same time. We know a lot and not enough. This obviously causes problems; just because there’s an explanation behind parasocialism doesn’t mean it’s good. She can know and capitalize off her lore while keeping the line drawn between what she does and doesn’t want people to know about her. It’s better than men capitalizing off female emotions—it’s incredible that a woman can turn the world into a stratosphere of her own, where other women can celebrate all the ways, all the times in which she’s improved their life, but it’s still capitalism. And I think keeping that in mind won’t kill anyone.

Though, misogyny is the interruption of this ‘girlhood,’ I think. When that river of innoce nce that’s supposed to flow, stops. It’s one thing being parasocial enough to think that someone attacking an artist is attacking you, but another when women get angry at male petulance on the internet because of the fact that the tour is like this one big web. You’re not a single person, but a disruption of a hair-braiding moment. Of the star-blazing innocence that the world is safe or willing enough for those spaces to exist, uninterrupted. Of something that otherwise isn’t understood. I think that's another part of it too: men have a history of hating what they can’t understand. Instead of this kind of happiness simply existing alongside their own lives, they always feel the need to interfere, to have something to say about it, to reimburse that energy into power, into a comment that makes themselves feel more equated with the world. Maybe the problem is demonizing femininity and making it the most embarrassing thing to even slightly enjoy in the world. The reality is that people feed on female pain; it scares. And maybe the problem is so deep buried inside of us, that we can’t see it until we’re coughing up our own blood, angry that we let it traverse so deep down that it ran through our tissues.

“Maybe this is the real Taylor Swift effect: That she gives people, many of them women, particularly girls, who have been conditioned to accept dismissal, gaslighting, and mistreatment from a society that treats their emotions as inconsequential, permission to believe that their interior lives matter. That for your heart to break, whether it’s from being kicked off a tour or by the memory of a scarf still sitting in a drawer somewhere or because somebody else controls your life’s work, is a valid wound, and no, you’re not crazy for being upset about it, or for wanting your story to be told.” - Person of the Year 2023: Taylor Swift, Sam Lansky

GIRLHOOD

There can be much to argue about when it comes to the micro-personalities and aesthetics that have been produced like factory work by social media. Is the wave of “girlhood” just another reductive, overgeneralization of the experience of being a girl? Probably. There are problems with the trend, just as there are with any online trend catered towards young girls and gen-z in general. There is always a lens, always a point where the inclusivity stops. There is a problem in generalizing and deducting girlhood into something that can only cater or apply to white, middle class women. Maybe what people are saying has fallen through the filter that everything these days social media has gone through; the urge to generalize and categorize absolutely everything.

What can also be true, is that maybe this is just to put it in a language that people can understand. Start a language in which love between women can start or ignite over again. To make it more palatable in order for young women to recognize it and internalize it. Rather than seeing it as only being one place, focus on the actions. This is the aspect of ‘girlhood’ that is being woven together: the sharing, the trading, the singing, and yes, the crying. The meaning, not changing who can ‘participate’ and actively embody the definition, but what there is to participate in. Because on the other pane of the kaleidoscope, there has been so much joy, and safe spiritual residence in these stadiums. It’s debauching that the world outside of them is so complicated. It really is embedded into everything we know, everything we feel, that complication. There’s this perspective and there’s another, and there’s a tour bigger than life as the subject. Does it scrape across every female being's bones and come up for its last performance? Do we have to let it? Is it performance?

In a way, it's girlhood because we all kind of start a career at 14. We all bloom from those years, all perform for thousands who have their own little light, wanting to be noticed. We also are the little light, wanting to be noticed. We all look for it— “she lives in me.” Except, outside of a metaphorical sense, it's different when one is on a stage performing it over and over again, and the other is being performed for. The tour, in its reality, has set many stages–not just the ones being performed on. For Taylor’s career, status, power, money, fame, she became a billionaire, she’s changing the face of the US economy, and economies all over the world, and everything else that has come crashing through the wall with that. Being as palatable as she is, though, is what breaks through the barrier of geographical stunts that would usually hinge a western artist. But, The Eras Tour being a marginally safe space for women, has transcended those barriers, too. It’s that first means that allows for that, though.

It should be noted that there is only one time ‘girlhood’ is referenced directly in Swift’s discography, that is: "Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.”

Maybe this is where we should have started: what she herself has had to say about it. Maybe her own underlying definition is the one that has really fueled the whole tour, its power weaving its way through light-up bracelets, teeth bared in excitement and exploding through fireworks. She insinuates that girlhood is something that can be taken away, and in the context of the song, it’s taken by an older man who drains her of the naive essence of her youth in a way nothing had before. One that still haunted her until the song was written– that’s 11 years later. If girlhood is something that can be taken away, what’s not to say that it can’t be taken back? This way of looking at it validates the communal consensus elicited by the tour and Taylor Swift and music and art in general: absolutely anything, no matter how small, can elicit nostalgia. Youth can be found in anything, but something like The Eras Tour is the catalyst for something like that because it is accessible to so many people: anyone can turn on a song from 2006 and one from 2008 and one from 2010– to 2024, reinforce that maybe stolen youth can be felt again in wisps. And that’s not to say that girlhood is just something anyone can simply “feel,” or conquest and strive to get back, but rather, that the feeling of owning one’s girlhood can be reclaimed at any age. Maybe the tour is the environment to do that.

Maybe the song was kind of a counter spell: the way to own her girlhood was to write the song. The mirror has to be reflected in the opposite way too, then. Maybe someone has felt that the song helped them own their girlhood. And in that respective light, that can be applied to everything Taylor has found catharsis in and put out into the world. Owning your own girlhood doesn’t come with a contract or a tag, just an input and an output. It goes the same way it comes, and like everything in life The Eras Tour is just one thing in the midst of many that will never come again.

“It was mine first.” And with this comes the question, where does it usually go? To answer: I think it’s just always up in the air until something is strong enough to grab it again. Something like this tour. And every night, she says that the concert “spans 15 years of music,” and asks, “Are you ready to go back to highschool with me?” She confirms that “these songs are now yours.” This is what it is. The eras tour is her girlhood. Memories to her, but tales to us, about her being five and not knowing why the trees change in the fall, walking through the doors on the morning of her very first day of highschool, and on and on. One thing can be said about The Eras Tour: time will only make the stories ripple, until on and on is far away enough, and the stories can be relieved and retold again. The “Era” is just looking back at itself. Because the reality is that no one really “is” one era; the tour commemorates all of them, and everything between them. Isn’t being a human having an endless capacity for nostalgia? This tour is just making something out of it. And it has happened to be something so big.

Of course it’s something larger than this life that Taylor Swift gives to women and girls something, in promising hands, now: the chance to be what they were again. What they were at 14 or 20 or 27 or 34. Because, is turning into a woman forgetting those things? Is loss of girlhood forgetting? What happens when there’s something like The Eras Tour to make people remember?

Well, we’ve seen it. Some are overjoyed, believing it sees them for what they are, and others, upset because it reminds them of what they were not. And that is perfectly valid. Girlhood is as much about being a part of a community as anything else, but that community can also be divided in different ways. There is definitely an ideal form of girlhood that makes the actual reality suffer under its shadow. When you’re insisting that girlhood is any one way, or implying that, it’s harmful. There’s no way to capture the 168 million lives of women in America with just one. And that’s why I think the ‘real’ meaning of girlhood is always lost in translation. But there can be different meanings, and I think something that has knotted up during the stretch of this holds a mirror to that meaning, has a meaning in one language, or simply is what it is in a moment of time.The point has also been, I think, to indulge in something as joyful and immeasurable as The Eras Tour, to be afforded that kind of love and innocence if you haven’t ever before. That also changes a person. That is something the tour can give anyone. The Eras Tour is both an in person and online celebration of something, certainly. It’s not for no reason. How she brings people together–which is what people usually mean– the universality of it; what’s emphasized is that whirlwind or sliver of a feeling, is what is celebrated. That even that, even a sliver, is valid.

“Where do their stories go? Do we ignore them for the sake

of misrepresenting a group they belong to? Or do we acknowledge the specificity of experience on this earth?”

- Greta Gerwig, Representation, and the Universal Girl

It's not a crime to admit that there is a cult-like celebrity culture that we live in. That you can still be a fan whilst holding your own foot on the ground of ideas and values. Not every one of your morals has to bend to appease or excuse her or the world we live in that eases its way for rich white women such as her. That is a liable idea of its own.

So now, with that in mind, the question is: where does this summer go? Where do these summers go? Where does this lead? I suppose it leads to the next world grappling, female vision. And when it comes, it will not come like this one; maybe it will be America having its first female president. Maybe another iconic female artist will have an Eras tour, farewell tour, even. Now that we have seen the effects of The Eras Tour in real time, and the European leg has been concluded, we can break down what it’s exactly meant across distances. How did the Vienna news happen to affect so many people–many, an ocean away? This tour has built a bridge so beautiful, across the world. One of the most defining moments of the whole tour has had to be thousands of swifties gathering in Vienna to sing ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,’ which honestly brought me so close to tears.

And I think the realization that has affected most: we will never have a sparkling summer again. That there’s nothing more this tour could turn into and it can’t be relived. That blockade of existence is exactly why this tour is what it has been; the opportunity to go back, simply, is what we will never get back in this way again. Although, one vestige, one shred torn off of the tour has to be ‘Cruel Summer.’ As I once said before: Summer is just temporary. Cruel Summer is forever.

But 5 continents later, the tour will end. I don’t want to think about that.

Hopefully, 2006 to 2024 has just been one big era. One that’s forever ongoing– I can’t let this feeling go just yet.

“We did it.” – Taylor Swift after completing the final show of the European leg of the tour in London.

further reading and resources i used to write this– among many more :)

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2024/01/31/1197954664/taylor-swift-and-the-era-of-girl

https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/my-taylor-swift-opinion-changed-after-eras

Greta Gerwig, Representation, and the Universal Girl

Folk Feminism: From Joan Baez to Taylor Swift

Girlhood, Purity and Religious Trauma: A Taylor Swift Study 💜 Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve analysis

find this essay on my substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/willowremix/p/the-eras-tour-and-girlhood?r=49kxvt&utm_medium=ios

[hongjoongpresent]

as a minor maybe becz minors nowadays often post their ages n so much private shit bc they think everyone is their friend like no one lies thru their teeth anymore d internet is not a safe place for teenagers lol

I get that but I think it's disingenuous to say "nowadays". For as long as the internet has existed underage people have posted personal shit. I know I have, and I know friends older than me who have. This has always been an issue and you're absolutely right the internet isnt safe for teenagers, but I just don't think "why are you as a teen being online lmaooo" is the right response? I think trying to inform minors of the dangers of the internet as well as trying to make the internet a little safer where we can is way more useful than just saying "you shouldnt be online". Because there's always gonna be minors online. Best we can do is try to keep them as safe as we can rather than exclude them.

Disclaimer because people will misinterpret this post: this clearly doesn't go for people whose accounts post 18+ content or otherwise aren't comfortable with minors interacting with their content. Don't put words in my mouth, please. Setting boundaries is okay and minors often overstepping boundaries like that is a whole other issue that I'm not talking about here

[jane-friend]

I already reblogged this earlier today, but having seen this multiple times on my dash I actually went to watch the video because the full english in the image he makes looks… sterile? It’s hard to explain but it looks so *safe*. And sure enough, in the video, it IS just that. Food cooked more for color and visual appeal than flavor. He undercooks the mushrooms, the sausages don’t get enough color so that the one stripe of Maillard reaction pops more, in general everything is only lightly and purposely cooked in a way that does not lend well to flavor or mouthfeel. The resulting dish simply isn’t going to be pleasant to eat, or at least vastly less pleasant than an ordinarily, thoroughly prepared full english.

Now, I bring this up because, outside of being a self-absorbed foodtuber and cryptobro who thinks he can’t do no wrong, I’ve noticed all of his content is no longer about showing how to cook iconic recipes from shows. Initially in the VERY early years of Babish, his channel was built off of a fun premise: make weird dishes from TV shows. He was already pretty handy in the kitchen, but was less secure about his abilities, carried vulnerability, was very clearly genuine. But as he got more attention and people praised his handiwork, he quickly dropped his genuine behaviors and mannerisms and almost immediately doubled down on this new persona he had found, this Humble Kitchen Mastermind he now wants us to perceive him as. Any mess-ups in the videos felt less on accident and more scripted, his attempts at expanding content immediately jumped to “Basics with Babish” where he takes it upon himself to show you how to cook in a move that felt a little too self-indulgent for his ego. And after a while, he rebranded to “Babish Culinary Universe”, shedding any sort of perception that he was of humble beginnings and jumped on the opportunity to make what was once fun cooking videos into a Business.

Ever since then, his videos have purely become style over substance. While his skills were still sound, his presentation was sterile. He would do a dish from a show, then completely spit in the face of it and staunchly declare he’s now going to do a BABISH version, in which he takes this fun food concept and perverts it into something unrecognizable to the source material. In the past he had done this sort of thing, but it was sparingly. Now, it’s a common occurrence, and feels even more like performative reinforcement of his internet persona. Nothing feels genuine.

Which now brings me to today. I’ve been watching his videos sparingly over this year, less as a means of enjoyment and more as a case study. All of his videos where he makes food from shows are so unbelievably artificial. The Everything Bagel video is not a proper video on making The Everything Bagel, it is seven minutes of jarring editing and wasted seasonings all for an unfunny joke. His initial attempt at making the cheeseburger from The Menu was wildly half-assed, failing to capture why the scene from the movie was so powerful in the first place(appreciation of food for food’s sake, the simple joy of cooking) and he wastes no time in doing his BABISH version, somehow making a high-effort *fancy* burger that looks even worse than the simple burger in the movie.

And here we are, the Full English video sponsored by Hogwarts Legacy. After all this backstory, after all this text, what the fuck point am I trying to make? It’s this:

Babish is not in the business of making videos about food, not anymore. Babish is in the business of making videos about his character. Without a doubt, Babish knows the implications of aligning his character with this game and all the controversy it, and Harry Potter, bring with it.

And Babish chose to make the video.

uhh TLDR Fuck this guy he knows what he did

babish bigot embarrassment

[trustedpackersandmoversblog]

Moving Tips to Move Easily and Safely

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Below are some of the tips that you need to take care of to make your move easy and smooth:

Update your new address at your each and every document or places, like your office, identity proofs, bank, children’s school, etc. so as to avoid chaos at the end.

Make sure that you have uninstalled your old connections like electricity, gas, water, telephone, television connection etc. from your old place. Also make the arrangement of all those connections at your new place before moving in there.

Make sure all your credits are cleared like of electricity, newspaper, internet connection etc.

Hire the services of a professional moving company who are experienced enough to execute your move with professionalism and dedication as they have their well trained and experienced team with them who do their job with utmost dedication. And then you’ll be able to focus on your other important work or pending tasks.

Pack the very important items like your jewelry, certificates, passports, documents etc. by yourself and also in a separate bag labeled as precious documents and make sure you move that bag with yourself and not by your moving company.

Clean your refrigerator and utilize the food in your refrigerator a day before or on the moving day itself.

Do not ever pack your boxes without labeling them properly by the names of that particular room the box belongs to.

Get the pesticide done of your new home before you move there.

Sell or donate the items that you don’t want to move with you or you think they are of no use to you anymore.

Above mentioned are some of the vital and most important moving tips that everyone should follow during their move to make their move as easy, organized and smooth as they can. Also to make your move more manageable and damage-free, let the Packers and Moversperform the activities on their own.

Moving can be a challenging and stressful task, but with careful planning and organization, you can make the process easier and safer.

Here are some tips to help you move more efficiently and protect your belongings:

Plan Ahead:  Start planning your move well in advance to avoid last-minute stress.Create a moving checklist to keep track of tasks and deadlines.

De-clutter: Before you start packing, go through your belongings and donate, sell, or discard items you no longer need. This will reduce the amount of stuff you have to move and make packing and unpacking easier.

Gather Packing Supplies: Get all the necessary packing materials, including boxes, tape, packing paper, bubble wrap, and markers. Use quality moving boxes to ensure your items are well-protected.

Pack Room by Room: Pack one room at a time to stay organized. Clearly label each box with its contents and the room it belongs to.

Protect Fragile Items: Use bubble wrap, packing paper, or blankets to wrap fragile items such as glassware, dishes, and electronics. Pack them securely in boxes with cushioning material to prevent breakage.

Disassemble Furniture: Take apart larger pieces of furniture to make them easier to transport. Keep screws, bolts, and other hardware in labeled bags.

Heavy Lifting: Use proper lifting techniques to prevent injuries. Bend at the knees, not the waist, and keep the object close to your body. Consider using moving straps or a dolly for heavy items.

Hire Professional Movers: If your budget allows, consider hiring professional movers. They have the experience and equipment to move your belongings safely and efficiently.

Reserve a Moving Truck: If you're doing the move yourself, rent a suitable moving truck or van well in advance. Choose a truck size that can accommodate your belongings comfortably.

Pack an Essentials Box: Prepare an essentials box with items you'll need immediately upon arrival at your new home, such as toiletries, a change of clothes, and important documents.

Keep Important Documents Safe: Keep important documents, like passports, birth certificates, and moving contracts, in a secure and easily accessible place.

Notify Important Parties: Update your address with the post office, banks, utilities, and other essential services. Notify friends and family of your upcoming move.

Stay Safe on Moving Day: Be cautious while moving heavy items to avoid accidents. Keep walkways clear and use proper equipment for the job.

Consider Insurance: Check your homeowner's or renter's insurance to see if it covers your belongings during a move. If not, consider purchasing moving insurance for added protection.

Lock Up: Before leaving your old residence, double-check that all doors and windows are locked, and all utilities are turned off.

Unpack Strategically: Unpack room by room in your new home, starting with the essentials box. As you unpack, organize and de-clutter your new space to avoid clutter.

Remember that moving can be physically and emotionally taxing, so don't hesitate to ask for help from friends and family. Taking these steps to plan and prepare for your move will help ensure a smoother and safer transition to your new home.

[x3rrorx]

I would highly advise to ignore anymore mc and j drama from here further. It’s clearly gone too far on multiple sides of the situation. She’s (mg) done posted some shit asking if she’d have to off herself to get the blogs to stop talking about her.

For someone who’s almost thirty and saying shit like that, obviously it’s time to grow the fuck up. She shouldn’t talk like that especially on the internet, joke or not. I take that kind of shit very seriously. And if she’s serious she needs to see a fucking therapist and stay away from social media for a long time.

Obviously J needs to grow up and fix her priorities. I myself am only a year older than her so I understand her take on things but then again very not cool of her, it’s immature and won’t do any good. Yeah her having friends many years older than her is weird. They’re supporter her butting into drama that isn’t hers. A lot of weird behavior or whatever.

Just if anything else is said on the other side of things, ignore it. If you give it anymore attention it’ll drag you down even further. I’d block anyone involved, anyone weighing in.

You don’t have to post this or even listen to me. I’d recommend not posting it because it will maybe weigh into the drama I guess. I just know that if this drama continues it’ll get worse and I’d hate to see more damage done to anyone involved.

She said that to get people pissed at me. As if she didn’t post all of my social medias and take any safe place I could have, away. They watch all of my shit. They use my real name in all their posts. I have no place to be without them and the minions.

It was over with. They were quiet and I wasn’t even posting about them. I posted about OG and C came into the spotlight once again. Causing an issue for OG on Twitter and MG making another tumblr just to message me.

Even when it was quiet the minions were still mentioning my real name under their tweets. They never stopped. They just went private about it.

They don’t know how to stop and everyone is starting to see more and more of it. We all see it and we’re all tired of their shit. More and more people come to me about the things they say and they’re over it.

You’re right, I should ignore it. But when they keep bringing themselves into everything I post… that have zero to do with them. And they keep bringing me up. It’s hard to not defend myself.

[bolcseszgoblin]

i am SO SORRY that i do this to people. i guess it's the ADHD and it's good friend generalized anxiety. i think (with me) it is mostly about denying that i am unable to prepare and i am getting more and more scared that i'll be late. surely not... oh. i'm almost late. i'm gonna quickly put myself together, and i'm gonna make it. maybe. if i run a bit to catch the bus. and if not, i'll be like 10 minutes late, and i can text my friend once i'm on my way, because i will probably go back 3 times to check for my keys, phone, wallet, if I turned off all the lights. oh shit this tshirt is dirty. but i swear i had another one that's cute. oh. forgot to pull the wet laundry from the washingmachine. shit. now i have to find another shirt, a different necklace, and start the machine again to prevent mold, but put a timer so it won't be too loud for the neighbours, will it finish before 8? shit is it past 5 already? i'm laaate. how long is this programme? let me find the manual. can't find it. lets look on the internet. this is in Polish, i don't speak Polish, but i can compare the pictograms right? they are all in the wrong order. oh it's a slightly different model. close enough though. 5 minutes go by, i finally decipher it and set the timer. hey, the bin is full here. let's clean it up, I've been putting it off for days, and now i am going down anyway. but then i can bring down the recycling too! finally clothed, have everything, ready to go, picking up the trash, walking down the 3 flights of stairs. throw them away. when i walk out to the sunlight, i realize i forgot my sunglasses. should i go back? should i not? it's just a pair of sunglasses. don't be a pussy, you don't need it. but did i bring sunscreen? eh okay. i go back. dermatologist said i should definitely wear some with my skin and moles. this is my health. *going back up* hey, look! i forgot my keys in the door! the more it falls apart, the more i am unable to notify the person. once i am on my way, safely on the bus, or at least out of my street after making sure that this time i have everything i need, i'll text the poor person waiting for me, because then i can say with confidence that i am on my way, and i have an estimated time. before that it is just a lie. i used to text i am sorry i am going to be late, probably 10 minutes - and then fail to leave. multiple times. some friends got around this by telling me an earlier time. i didn't catch on for a while. others were simply tolerant of my bullshit, and them i could message: sorry, being late, trying, i'm gonna text you when i'm on my way. we don't risk notifying people if it is just another failure, and makes it even harder the next time. so i am so sorry. but this was me. i don't go out much anymore and a lot of my friends have the same problems, so we just set and end time, after which it is not viable to leave anymore, and settle in for the undeterminate amount of time we are going to wait for each other. (e.g. you can come over from 3, I'll have to leave to my evening class at 6, so you are welcome till 5, after that we can't really talk, but no worries, we can just reschedule) surprisingly this helps with the anxiety and shortens the delay, by getting rid of nervous running around.

i was prone to the first example more, but i can remember a number of times where it was the 'i am already 2 hours late, but i am on the bus now, and explaining what i was doing instead of being at your party. kind. I never did it when leaving someone alone. i was just in a bad place and had to convince myself that i really like this person, and i want to go celebrate their birthday (all 3 cases i remember clearly were birthday parties. and a new years eve. or 2) even if i am scared shitless of how many people will be there, and ask me how i am, and i am... well. i feel like shit. and i don't want to talk about it. because i don't want to ruin the party. but i hate to lie. but i know i'm gonna.

being vague about what time you're going to be somewhere to meet someone and not saying a WORD until the moment you leave the house (assume this happens every single time, for everything) and also not saying a thing all day even if you're going to be later than the vague time until... after you are already late (assume this happens every single time the person is late/later than normal) is

[morgan-says]

"sysmed" usually equals "child abuse survivors with a highly stigmatized disorder trying to stop misinformation"

Do you guys realize that?

People with DID are abuse survivors. Abuse survivors since CHILDHOOD

We know systems with littles as young as three years old, due to their trauma. We have a little who is six years old, who holds the trauma of us being raped. At six years old. By our own brother.

Do you not understand that when you argue and tire out and trigger anti endos, "sysmeds", you're doing this to people who have been traumatized since early childhood? You wouldn't do this crap to a war veteran with PTSD, would you? So why do you do it to people with PTSD?

Do you see us as lesser than? As toys? As subhuman? "Look at those stupid sysmeds, they're not worth human respect, they're just dumb little TRAUMATIZED people, they're so lucky to be TRAUMATIZED, to be hurt so badly their brain did not develop correctly. Look at them, they think they're superior to us because they're TRAUMATIZED."

(these are things I have seen endos/supporters say)

Casual reminder that so many of us are taught through childhood that we're lesser than and are finally breaking from those beliefs, just to have those exact beliefs pushed back onto us.

Do you not realize this? Do you not understand?

Let's put this into an example, in case it's still not clicking.

Imagine, if you will, being a little kid maybe you've been abused all your life, and you don't feel safe in your own home. Maybe you've grown up in hospitals, in constant pain, and you don't understand why it won't stop. Maybe you were kidnapped and put in human trafficking at a young age. Maybe you were multiple of these.

Now, imagine. You're older now, you have access to Internet. Perhaps you've gone to therapy and been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Perhaps you didn't and made an educated self diagnosis, based off weeks and weeks of research and see reflection and talking to other systems. You've found your place among people who understand. Who understand the flashbacks, and the memory loss, and the identity confusion, and the blackouts and the denial and the self blame and the internal conflict and never knowing what's real and the dissociation and the -

You've found people who understand your suffering. They get it. They feel it.

Now imagine. You're scrolling online. And you come across people who are saying you can be a system "without trauma". "for fun". "it's an identity".

They clearly don't understand. Systemhood is pain. Systemhood is suffering. Sure, maybe the alters isn't too bad. Sometimes. But the rest of it? This isn't "having alters" disorder, this is dissociative identity disorder. DISSOCIATIVE. The base of it? Dissociation. The cause of it? Being traumatized so badly that your brain couldn't handle it. And now you're seeing people treat it like a game. Like something fun and quirky.

And then they say how you're entitled. How you're jealous of them. You don't understand what they mean - this is something that is disabling. And they're making it a game. Do they not understand? How they're harming you and your friends, just by spreading the misinformation they spread?

And then, as of this wasn't bad enough, they attack you. They fake claim you. They run your friends off the internet, they push your friends to suicide. And they don't care. They take these as WINS. And while you're mourning your friends? They're busy finding their next target. They harass and abuse them until they're gone. They intentionally trigger them until they can't handle it anymore. They dox them and suibait them and all these things that you'd think they'd know better than to do just based off human decency.

But then you realize. They don't consider you human. They consider you lesser. They consider you subhuman.

And then you realize. They're using the same tactics your abusers did. Do.

And then you realize. It's come full circle.

And they think they're in the right because "I'm defending my identity!"

But it isn't an identity. It's a disorder. It's a trauma response. It's changed your life and you'll never get those moments you've lost back.

Imagine that.

Now you understand why "sysmeds" are so upset. Because this is what we receive. This is how we see it. You see it as an identity? We see it as a normal life we never got to live. That we will never get to live.

Think about that.

This is in endo tags because this is pointed at endos.