#optimism and survival

[cyber-soul-smartz]

Survival Instincts: Embracing Sensitivity for Resilience and Growth

Discover the power of sensitivity and resilience! Our latest article by Hafsa Reasoner explores survival instincts, societal perceptions, and personal growth. Don't miss out—read now and subscribe for more insights on self-awareness a

Harnessing Sensitivity: Navigating Adversity with Optimism for Survival and Growth In a world where tragedies seem to strike without warning, many ponder whether these unfortunate events result from some magnet-like energy within us or simply random occurrences. While some of what happens to us results from our actions and decisions, many events are beyond our control and stem from external…

[artgletic]

case study of the self-identified god

[sveyta]

I’ve thought extensively about how the three that want to stay- Taissa, Shauna, and Lottie- are the three that have their lives crash and burn in the adult timeline.

They were right when they said they can’t go back. They can never go back to the life that they had. They can fake it for a couple decades, with their picket-fence lives or harmonious community, but the moment that the Yellowjackets collide again, their perfectly constructed world crumbles.

[lenodrysalad]

"Eddie said he's straight! Buck said Eddie was straight! Buck said he's not in love with his best friend! They shut down Buddie in the show it isn't happening ya'll are delusional! Queerbait! Queerbait! Blah blah blah"

I feel like I'm going insane. I'm sure we're all tired of people shouting "media literacy" every five seconds, but like... Yeah, develop some media literacy, please.

I'm saying this as someone who doesn't usually like romance, despite being subjected to it in basically every piece of media. As someone who doesn't generally look for love stories. As someone who loved Buddie but didn't consider any serious possibility of it becoming canon before season 7/8, who refused to believe Buddie was truly happening until I couldn't deny it anymore: this episode is loud.

Please understand how narrative arcs work. How character arcs work. How character development works. How serial broadcast television works. Understand how writing works. Consider context; take the whole episode, the whole season, and the whole series into account instead of treating things like they exist in isolation.

I'm too tired to go through the step-by-step details of the episode to prove why these, "they said it on screen, therefore..." takes are shortsighted and ignorant; plenty of people have done that already.

But that episode, even if we do take it in isolation, is textbook. Do people really take everything characters say at face value? Do people not watch other character's reactions? Listen to what else is being said? Watch what is being shown? Consider the implications? Themes? Narrative devices?

Consider that maybe, just maybe, characters can be unreliable narrators, or believe something to be true only for that belief to change later. These things don't happen in one episode. There's such a thing as set-up, foreshadowing, the starting point of a plot. 911 is a serial drama, therefore it is going to have A) long-form story and character arcs, and B) drama.

Characters are not going to move in straight lines, or talk in therapy speak, or solve every problem in an hour. They are not always going to be right, or self-aware, or truthful, or rational. Direct dialogue does not equate to honest dialogue.

Also, saying, "well in real life, people do this, I do that, their feelings would be this, yadda yadda yadda" means nothing. Your experiences are not universal, and more importantly, this is a work of fiction. Realism is whatever the story says it is; it's going to do whatever creates the most dramatic, interesting, developmentally beneficial, or emotionally satisfying story. Whether you like that story or not is irrelevant to the fact that stories are not going to cater to all your expectations or real-world experiences.

To people pointing to Tim or the actor's interviews as "proof" they're shutting down Buddie: again, please understand how broadcast television works. They are not going to tell us everything that's going to happen before it happens. They are going to play the neutral zone, the "wait and see," the "will they/won't they." They are going to lie. That is television production 101. You can compare what they've said in the past with canon and list all the contradictions, misdirection, and twists you didn't see coming because they didn't spoil it for you. Watch the show. That is the canon.

They're also not catering to fandom--people they already know are devoted to the show, familiar with Buddie, and consistently tuning in. They're introducing the idea of Buddie to the general audience, people who likely haven't considered the possibility before. The GA has to see that Buddie is an option, so the show needs to manifest it as if it's a brand new concept. This episode pulled the pin on that grenade in a very obvious way; the idea that Buck could be in love with Eddie and that Eddie could not be straight has been planted. The next seed will be Eddie's feelings. Now the show needs to water it and let it grow.

One last thing. Been seeing a fair amount of hand-wringing and condescension over people interpreting this episode differently. As if this is some sort of "gotcha" for bad writing, baiting, or people being stupid. Listen, genuine complaints about this show's writing aside, different interpretations or inferences are completely normal. This isn't unique. That is how people interact with stories, through personal biases, experiences, emotions, and expectations. That isn't inherently a bad thing. It's totally fine to have your own views; media is all about interpretation.

However, it is also true that just because you have an interpretation, that doesn't make it true. Not all interpretations are equal in their validity, evidence, or warrants. The show has an intention, it has a story in mind. If you don't see it, sure, that could be a failure of the writing, but it could also very well be a failure of your analysis, especially when the show hasn't finished telling the story. Looking at one thing in isolation and forming your whole conclusion based around that makes for poor critique.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see who's right.

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

My (crack) theory is that Inho studied the footage from the last time Ginhu played, especially EVERYTHING Sangwoo did wrong and then did it ALL right to mess with Ginhu.

Sangwoo was out for himself (which got more and more obvious), while Inho was always supportive, even "playing" the bad guy during the second voting, so Ginhu wouldn't get hated on by the other players. He was always looking out for all the women and elderly, even saving his friend during the mingle game.

Youngil's death will haunt Ginhu, and then make him question it all once he finds out the truth.

(If the show is as crazy as I think it is, it will be Ginhu vs Inho in the last game, probably by design of the VIPs to make things more exciting and also to test Inho's loyalty. Inho will play for his brother's life, while Ginhu will play for the lives of the remaining players).

I can absolutely see that as realistic! Especially the aspect of In-ho being an "anti-Sang-woo" in some ways. Sang-woo became more obviously self-interested over the course of the games, culminating in open antagonism between him and Gi-hun, one of his oldest friends. In-ho most certainly would have noted how much trust Gi-hun placed in Sang-woo because of their relationship, and what actions on Sang-woo's part had broken that trust.

That's why, where Sang-woo voted to continue and never spoke to Gi-hun about it, In-ho approached him to explain his reasoning. Sang-woo figured out that the game would be Dalgona and chose not to tell Gi-hun, but In-ho informed the team of the final number for Merry-Go-Round. Sang-woo verbally berated a man grieving the loss of his wife, whereas In-ho physically defended a weaker player from two bullies.

Most critically, Sang-woo became more distant from Gi-hun over the course of the games, pairing himself with Ali over Gi-hun and refraining from sharing his thoughts. He solidified his own belief that he had to continue until Gi-hun couldn't convince him otherwise, culminating in his murder of Sae-byeok. But In-ho deliberately opens up more the longer the games go on, sharing the story of why he is (and really was) in the games. They work together throughout all the games. He allows Gi-hun to "win" and convince him that the games must be stopped, and when the vote comes down to him again, he votes X; he even saves Gi-hun's life by shooting the guards. He builds trust in all the ways that Sang-woo had destroyed it.

And yet it's still not enough for Gi-hun to choose him as his partner for the control room breach--Gi-hun, unlike last time, chooses his old friend over his new teammate. Based on his reaction (tensing his jaw and a tongue pulse), I don't believe In-ho expected this; he'd anticipated his groundwork would have been sufficient to win Gi-hun's trust, despite Jung-bae not betraying him as Sang-woo had.

In this, we can see that perhaps Gi-hun is more complex than In-ho had expected. In-ho seems to view him, as Sang-woo did, as simple-minded and naïve, "delusional" to think that trust and relationships mean anything, or that people are good. But by trusting Jung-bae, Gi-hun got much closer to the control room than he likely would have had In-ho come with him. Gi-hun placed his trust in the person who wouldn't betray him, like he did with Sae-byeok, and because of that, he almost succeeded; In-ho's betrayal would have failed, just as Sang-woo's did.

But whereas Sang-woo was just a contestant, on an (ostensibly) "fair" playing field, In-ho--like the 001 before him, Oh Il-nam--has the system behind him. So he too was able to fake his own death, and once again leave Gi-hun with "innocent" blood on his hands. Then, like Sang-woo did, he betrays Gi-hun and kills the friend that was trusted more than him--except this time he does it without destroying their relationship, because Gi-hun doesn't know who he is. And he makes Gi-hun watch. He succeeds in every way Il-nam did, and in every way Sang-woo had failed.

But while mostly In-ho parallels Il-nam and represents the "anti-Sang-woo," there is one thing he and Sang-woo share which might redeem him at the end. Although he helped Gi-hun survive the games, Il-nam ultimately wanted him to fail. He spends his last moments hoping and believing that Gi-hun had lost: that it was foolish and pointless to trust in humanity's goodness. Sang-woo, on the other hand, actively fights against Gi-hun at the conclusion of the games; but at the last, Sang-woo saw that Gi-hun was right--or at least that he himself was wrong--and kills himself to allow Gi-hun to live. He wanted Gi-hun to win.

And so does In-ho.

Buried within In-ho is a desire to be proven wrong that Il-nam did not share. Some part of him, which he has not yet accepted, wants Gi-hun to be right. If he can accept it before the end--if he can become less of Il-nam and a little more Sang-woo--perhaps it will be enough for him to become himself again.

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

Something to remember: liberal democracy isn't an unbreakable system. While this is directed at a particular country right now, all democracies laud themselves on the idea that they are progressing towards the future and that once democratization is done it cannot be undone.

Unlearn the idea that your democracy is exceptional. The ideas of "emergency" and "security" can be used to dismantle it.

[kings-highway]

still wasnt done thinking about this fic or maybe I wanted an excuse to draw open space but hey I published a new fic today and maybe you should read it it's called Astrophilia and it's about Daichi getting lost in the unfeeling vastness of the universe

did I write an entire science fiction story and imagine their long distance communicator as a bright red rotary phone? yes. yes I did. here's a version without the dialogue to appreciate the black hole.

[coquelicoq]

i have this unfortunate thing where i love cats and know several people with cats who ask me to catsit for them on the other side of town but if i am away from home for more than a few days i get so homesick that i start crying and can't stop. and then i feel incredibly stupid about the fact that i'm a grown adult - and still in my own city even! - but here i am not being able to handle being away from home for less than a week. i think it is indicative of some larger problem that i am not engaging with but man i just wanna go home. i want to be in my own space with my own bed and all my books and where i know how to work the tv and can change my clothes if i want to without being stressed that i'm going to run out. i want to be at home which i have tailored to my own sensory preferences and where i can walk around without stepping on cat litter and sit down without having to check every other minute to make sure i'm not covered in ants. i probably would not feel like such a baby about it because those all sound like really nice normal things to want and value but i feel like everyone i know loves travel and i just don't get it, i just want to go home. i like it there. i like stability. i would like to stop crying about it though.

[transhetanybodys]

Yeah Ravenpaw!Scourge and Smudge!Scourge and Rusty!Scourge and all those other AUs are cool but consider: Jay!Scourge. Somehow still kicking, impossibly old but as sharp as ever and being kept alive from spite and the fearful respect of the cats around her at this point, uses the mix of dog and cat teeth on her collar to compensate for her missing teeth in attacks along with the dog claws that she grafted onto her paws to compensate for her own claws getting worn down long ago, Tigerstar thinks he'll have a super easy time getting the gang boss granny out of the way once she's fulfilled her end of the bargain and then she just decks him.

I have a lot of culture and societal structure stuff for the group of Twolegplace cats that she was the leader of, the Featherpaws, before Bloodclan came around worked out, and there's a lot of potential nuances in how their war against Shadowclan which I expanded to be a much longer lasting conflict rather than a few border scuffles here and there could be integrated into the plot of The Prophecies Begin so that by the end Jay is fulfilling the role of Scourge. Maybe part of the bargain Tigerstar tries to make with her is that he'll end her war with Shadowclan and make it so that her group is now allied with them and Riverclan instead and they'll be able to take over the forest. She remembers her daughter and daughter in law Russetpaw and Pixie's (Russetpaw has a different more Firestar-like personality in this AU) dream to unite the Featherpaws with Shadowclan but at this point has become even more jaded than before and doesn't believe that that's possible long term or that the clan cats are worth allying with. Plus she's still mad about the time when she was younger and comparatively bright eyed and bushy tailed and went into Thunderclan territory thinking that surely if she just explained her group's predicament with the war against Shadowclan then they would help them and got beaten up by a patrol that she couldn't possibly win against because it was one against many. Involving Tigerpaw obviously. So she kills him and things could proceed like canon from there but it'd be more interesting for things to be done in a way where the legitimate grievances of the Featherpaws are addressed.

Anyway here's the fic that establishes my lore for the Featherpaws and Jay I love them sm- https://archiveofourown.org/works/63195802/chapters/161856709

[cool-lesbian-is-here]

I’m so weird like I literally see one post that I like, check the amount of notes it got to see if I have a shot at being moots w this person and then js hit follow and immediately decide that they’re cool. Call me a glass half full kinda gal, I guess

[tinlantern]

I made a new quiz!

[catboy-ptsd]

solarpunk/hopepunk. transcendentalism. gardening spades as tools of resistance. mutualistic symbiosis. dandelions growing from cracks in the sidewalk. caring for one another. loving communities built off the backs of pain. visibly mended plush toys. tattoos showcasing old scars. learning how to do things that the people around you can't. animals nesting in abandoned cities. do you see my vision?

[outstanding-quotes]

Madeline Pendleton, I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt

[boof-chamber]

[curiouslylazy]

Thank you Oda 🙏🙏🙏