#not for newbies

[consumeronionbulletin]

Our Blues (2022)

Ever want to spend a few months living in a small community in Jeju island? Now's your chance...

This show is huge. It's a sprawling slice of life drama with twenty episodes and maybe two dozen main and supporting characters. It's great, but it's a huge investment and probably not for kdrama newbies. It's worth watching, without a doubt.

What Worked

The actors are all good and they all brought their A-game. The writing does an excellent job of giving the whole story of these characters. Even when the focus shifts to another character, the show still gives us updates on everyone and keeps their story going, which gives the audience this a feeling like you're watching the lives of a real community.

Also, the setting was amazing, and the camera work did an excellent job of highlighting that.

What Didn't Work

There were very few missteps in the writing or the acting. My biggest complaint was not getting as much time seeing my favorite characters as I liked. It's hard to fault a show that is over twenty hours, and still leaves you wanting more in places.

I will say, that sometimes it felt like the show wrapped things up a little too neatly in a couple of arcs, but it does such a good job of putting the messiness of these relationships out there, that I was okay with that. I even welcomed it as I just needed a chance to breathe.

The Performances

There's too much to cover in a decent amount of time. I'll sum up things as best I can.

Shin Min-a as Min Seon-ah. Her character's arc was one of the highlights for me, as it gave enough context and backstory to help me understand several of the other relationships, while providing a touching and realistic portrayal of someone going through a very difficult time. It's messy, and there are no easy answers, but it's very good viewing. I also liked the times when we got to go back and check up on her later on in the show, even briefly.

Lee Byung-hun as Lee Dong-seok. I really disliked this guy at the start of the show, though he was amusing at times. But the more I learned about his story, the more I felt for him and by the end I enjoyed him. Some of that is in the writing, but the performance is what shown through. You could tell that this was a guy that has been through some stuff, and he's still trying his best to care for others in his own gruff way. Special shoutout to Ryu Hae-jun as young Lee Dong-seok. The flashbacks worked so well because of his performance.

Lee Jung-eun as Jeong Eun-hee. The actress does a good job of making this character fun and lovable while still being prickly and difficult. Her arc at the start of the show was awkward, but the portrayal felt real. Her later arc with Go Mi-ran was another highlight of the show for me.

Cha Seung-won as Choi Han-soo. He gave a great performance as the banker returning home under tough circumstances. The arc he was in was one of my least favorite, but that was because he and Lee Jung-eun did such a good job portraying a difficult relationship.

Uhm Jung-hwa as Go Mi-ran. I really liked the arc she was in. The writers did a good job of giving us all these layers to a complicated character that seems kind of shallow at first glance, but Uhm Jung-hwa was able to put all of that writing together to make Mi-ran come to life. I really liked the way her relationship with Eun-hee played out.

Han Ji-min as Lee Young-ok. I loved this character as well. I got a little frustrated with how mysterious the writers were playing things, but when we finally get her arc with her sister, it all makes sense and we get a few of the most touching scenes in the show. All of her scenes on the ocean with the haenyeos were shot beautifully and were amazing to watch, and that helped as well.

Kim Woo-bin as Park Jeong-joon. Every show needs someone who is a standup guy that you can depend on and Kim Woo-bin played that character beautifully. It's easy for a character like that to get lost in the background or to turn boring, but that never happens here, and that's great.

Kim Hye-ja as Kang Ok-dong. Her character's arc with Lee Dong-seok was well done, but also very hard to watch at times. Everything works and the story the show told us felt real and important, but I also welcomed the breaks they gave us at times.

Go Doo-shim as Hyeon Chun-hee. This was one of my favorite characters. She was a rock through most of it even though the show (and life) put her through some stuff. I had trouble with the arc with her son and grandson. It was still interesting, just rough to watch.

Roh Yoon-seo as Bang Young-joo and Bae Hyun-sung as Jung Hyun. I liked their story arc, it was sweet at times, and appropriately dramatic at others. Roh Yoon-seo was especially good and I loved watching what she did with the character. My only quibble was with the way Jung Hyun acted at times during the start of their arc (when he found out Young-joo was pregnant), but I came around as the character remained supportive throughout and it ended up being a good story arc overall.

Park Ji-hwan as Jung In-kwon and Choi Young-joon as Bang Ho-sik. I really liked the story the show told about these two. I had a big problem with Park Ji-hwan's character at the start (it didn't helped that I remembered what a terrible person he was in Black Dog), but as you learned more about them, you ended up feeling a grudging respect and by the end of the series they were both in a good place. I was never like "I can't wait to see more of them," but I still enjoyed them when they were on screen.

Everyone else. The cast is huge, and even the minor characters were given alot of care by the writers, which helped the actors bring their best to the role. I especially liked the performance of Jung Eun-hye as Lee Young-hui (Lee Young-ok's sister who has Down syndrome). You rarely see characters like that in any media, but the writers made sure and cover all of the complications around the relationship between the two sisters in a way that was thoughtful and rarely felt too preachy.

TL; DR:

This is a show that takes an investment to get through, but it pays off well. I learned after the first few episodes to just trust the show runners, and they made sure to tell a good story that was thoughtful, touching, and rewarding.

[formlessvoidbeast]

newbie fic authors, shooting themselves in the foot: This fic is bad haha I suck at writing lol I am being mean to myself in the hopes that you will be nice to me but actually am dissuading anyone from even clicking on my fic because all I have done to advertise it is tell you why you shouldn't read it

me: I am King Big Dick of Fanfic Mountain and I have arrived in your fandom with the Express Intention of writing my Very Favorite Fics, which I will generously allow you to read. You're welcome.

[shotmrmiller]

your superior finding out about the secret praise kink you didn't know had a name because you'd always been called an over achiever, a goody two shoes. never gave anyone any trouble, nose burrowed in a book since you had knobby knees and a library card.

you'd thought it normal that the apples of your cheeks burned when praised after giving your teacher the drawing you'd made for them the night before. that heat spread from the center of your chest up when your first boyfriend/girlfriend whistled at the sight of you outside of uniform. that warmth settles in your belly when you get a pat on the back from your platoon leader firm enough to force the air out of your lungs because you'd disassembled and cleaned a glock with the ease of a professional.

apparently it wasn't.

after weeks of training with the fabled task force, weeks of sharing elbow room with the team, weeks of soaking up the dizzying praise from the captain ("did real good out there, eh? can always count on you." you didn't question the throb betwixt your thighs, taking care of it with a cute little bullet like you've always done since joining the military)

you're confronted by the worst of the lot. ghost catches you in a break room, your back to him, hands clutching a cup of coffee that's more sludge than liquid, its warmth barely seeping through the styrofoam.

his figure fills the doorway, shoulders nearly brushing the frame. your first thought is that his brows aren't twisted together and he lacks that cold, blank look in his eyes so your death isn't in the nearest of futures. the second is that when he's not fully covering his face, the outline of his jaw is quite visible, looking sharp enough to cut.

then he crosses his sculpted arms over his chest, seams straining against the expanse of his muscles, head tipped to the side.

he moves with the keen curiosity of a predator sniffing around a newborn fawn, gaze intense yet inquisitive, assessing your every detail with a menacing interest.

"you ever gonna tell me you've a praise kink, bird?" the question sends a chill through your veins before turning into a fiery rush as it races at twice the normal speed.

praise kink? no. surely not. doesn't everyone like to receive compliments?

"sure. i don't mind gettin' told i've an impressive cock but that's bed talk. you look ready to bend over 'nd show us how slick tha' pretty cunt can get over a rufflin' of hair and a couple of empty words."

that has you positively reeling, fingertips cracking the cup in your hands, pulse on your neck fluttering. you feel a cornered, skittish animal, ready to flee lest your life come to an end in his maws.

but as usual, the cruel man more creature than person, twists the knife he's dug into you with a certain ruthlessness only he can muster.

"so be good for me, eh? love your praise? earn it."

you've always been an over achiever, proven once again by the way you take him to the root in one long, broad stroke with any complaints at the sheer size of him resting firmly behind your clenched teeth.

"tight little thing, spread open over me like you were meant for it. for me." he runs a gloved thumb over your swollen bottom lip. "there's tha' look. drivin' me bloody insane when you gave kyle tha' molten gaze. none o' tha' now, yeah?"

he creeps his ungloved hand down to circle your pearl with the spit-slick pads of his fingers, drawing in a sharp breath when your walls flutter and constrict around his cock at the feel of something other than your toy giving you the relief you need after a hard day's work.

"bloody fuckin' 'ell."

ghost claims a fistful of hair, pulling you closer to him, his breath warming the stinging, throbbing mark he bit onto the delicate skin of your neck. the shuffling of feet right outside the door snap you out of your daze, fingernails sinking into the bulging muscle of his chest but he has none of it.

he uses your hair to direct your focus back onto him and even though he'd only given you a leading tug you felt some strands of your hair come off with a pop.

"easy. can't see your pretty face when i'm fuckin' ya if your lookin' away."

your expression twists into what you hope is bliss when he bucks his hips, your whimper drowning out his groan when he hits on something new.

something you want him to keep hitting.

"exactly like i'd thought."

everything else blurs together after that, and only when you're back in your room using a warm cloth to clean yourself up do you remember the other things he'd rumbled.

(inside o' ya, make you mine-)

(-get 'bout bein' with anyone else-)

(-ll to myself-)

you touch your tender pussy with gentle fingers at what he'd said in the end.

(leave tha' f'me, he swipes your hand away, i'll get ya there, pet.)

if price's compliments take a nose dive off a cliff you don't notice because you're getting your daily fill of them and ghost after dinner every night. kyle keeps them to one word and soap likes to tempt fate as always.

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF movie Vanessa wants to meet Glamrock Bonnie..

[kidovna]

what makes you deserving of a happy ending?

[frownyalfred]

underlings in the Justice League in trouble being threatened with having to talk to "him" but no one is 100% sure if him is Superman or Batman. both are equally terrifying prospects for entirely different reasons.

[jessiarts]

[Shut off last version of this post to avoid possible continual spread of misinformation that was corrected by staff. Reposting clean with corrected info]

So I'm sure almost everyone knows about the porn bot problem by now, so here's a post detailing why it's a problem, and what we need to do about it.

First off, yes, always block the porn bots. Don't be mislead into thinking they're ok to keep around because they 'inflate your follower count.'

Firstly, no one cares about, nor can anyone even see, your follower count. Be free from the shackles that are the bullshit other socials told you was important. Don't let your ego be tied to a number. Having a lot of followers won't earn you any clout here.

Secondly, bots only follow blogs to try and legitimize their malware (and other dodgy) links. This post goes into more detail about that.

Now that that's out of the way, you'll need to know how to recognize a porn bot. This round the template seems to be:

A profile photo of a pretty lady or guy, usually in their underwear, with a similar header photo.

A bio with some combination of: [Age] // [Name] // [Location] // [Emoji] // [Top Bullshit% OnlyFans]

URL consisting of a name followed by a number (i.e: firstlast999)

Typically an empty blog, or if there is content, it's all dodgy links. Visible, but empty, Likes Tab, & occasionally a visible Following Tab.

You likely recognize the pattern.

So, what you want to do is, first, report the blog as spam On mobile it'll look like this:

On mobile you'll need to report spam first, and then go back to the menu again to block.

On desktop it will look like this, and unlike mobile, you'll be able to report spam and block in the same motion:

If I remember correctly,* be sure to "Report Spam", not "Report sexually explicit material" to feed the bots to the proper channels. Because the blog is empty, they haven't posted anything explicit that would violate TOS. However, staff can recognize a bot, and if you report the blog for spam (the actual problem) they'll take a look, more than likely find that the blog is posting or DMing dodgy links, and dispose of it.

And I think that's it. Here's wishing you all a happy and safe blogging experience!

[UPDATE: It was suggested on another post that the bots track your IP if you click on them to send more your way. However, someone from staff corrected and said this is incorrect. They also corrected the 'guilt by association' myth that bots following you can get your blog flagged by tumblr.

That said, that trail all led to another, easier, way to report/block the bots all from your Follower Tab instead of visiting each blog separately, unfortunately it only works on desktop:

(For newbies, click on the little person icon at the top right of your screen and scroll to find the Followers tab under the blog/sideblog you need to block a pornbot from.)

*I remember this information from a blog that used to be all about taking down the pornbots. Unfortunately I do not know if that blog is still active, nor can I remember the URL. If anyone knows what blog I'm referring to, and/or if they're still active, please feel free to tag them so others can follow them for more tips!

[heywriters]

once again, to the people charging money for fanfiction: be more freaking careful before you get us all taken down?!?!?!?! you shouldn't be doing that at all because you don't have any right to make money off someone else's copyright, but making noise about it risks legal repercussions even for people who don't charge! STOP THAT.

and DEFINITELY don't be advertising it on AO3

[mrslantsov13]

Feels weird to be sharing my own work instead of just reblogging other people but I made these

Find my pottery at instagram.com/ceramicas_lucerito

[buckera]

love is stored in the silly little hand gestures

+ bonus

✨ THANK YOU FOR 2K FOLLOWERS! ✨

[paper-lilypie]

pov gregory

[cat-cosplay]

So... I've never painted a landscape before.

Any notes/suggestions from artist/painters?

I might add daylight streaks in the foreground.

[drakesvalley]

The wildest part about being a system and having known you are a system for a while (6+ years for us) HAS to be seeing people who are just figuring it out fall into holes that you've long left behind.

Like. Yeah. We also thought we needed to keep tabs on everyone to increase communication. In the end it became too unwieldy. Especially since DID evolves with what you experience all the time.

Microlabels are cool and I fully support anyone who uses them, but figuring out what to call every single structure in your system isn't for us anymore.

Another thing we notice is people who try their best to know who is fronting at all given times. A lot of that comes naturally to us nowadays, but it's also... OK not to know. Especially if you're not focusing on anything system related at the time.

I guess a lot of this boils down to, it's okay not to care. It's okay to go with the flow of things and figure out at your own pace. Identity is fluid, especially if you have a dissociative disorder. You don't HAVE to have everything figured out 100% of the time.

It's okay to take it slow. It's okay to not know. It's okay to just exist for a bit. It's okay to live and experience things beyond being a system.

To all the people who are just starting to comprehend this. You do not need to know and label exactly what is happening in your head all the time. Fuck, we sure don't. And we're happier for it.

It's okay to just be you.

[hifchn]

watch your back⚠️

[mythrite]

@cod-dump (:

that shit WAS full assed though.

[frownyalfred]

Alcohol tips for newbie writers (or non drinkers!):

At bars, people who order “chasers” after their shots are ordering something to wash down the taste of their shot with. This can be juice, soda, more alcohol, or even pickle juice

Hard liquor is generally sold in stores as shots (tiny bottles), fifths, liters, and handles or in ml (50, 100, 200 etc)

Most people can’t finish an entire fifth of hard liquor (vodka, etc) on their own without being very ill

Conversely, many people can finish an entire bottle of wine on their own without being ill

Liquor can be “bottom shelf” or “rail” or “well” -- all synonyms for the cheapest version of alcohol a bartender has. Bars generally keep several “levels” of alcohol stocked

You order a drink with the alcohol first, then the mix -- e.g., a “vodka soda” or a “Tito’s and tonic”

When you “close out a tab”, you pay for all of the drinks you’ve had that night. Either the bartender already has your card (you “opened a tab” earlier) or it was quiet enough that they just kept an eye on you and tallied your bill up at the end

“Doubles” are drinks or shots with double the standard pour of alcohol

In the US, most shots (pours) are 1.5 oz by default. 

Mixed drinks (gin and tonic, vodka lemonade, cosmos, etc) are generally made up of 1-2 shots and a mixer 

If you don’t specify which type of alcohol you’d like in a mixed drink (vodka cranberry, for example) the bartender will put whatever the “house” liquor is -- and this depends entirely on the establishment. A dive bar will pour rail by default, whereas a nicer tavern might make all vodka cranberries with Tito’s

PLEASE TIP YOUR BARTENDERS THEY WILL REMEMBER YOU I PROMISE