#please dear tumblr gods dont let this flop i spent far far too long on this

[lixiesbabyhands]

1

This post uses the all lowercase, minimal punctuation style that has become popular on tumblr.com. It has come to imply a lack of pretentiousness, a kinship and openness with the viewer, inviting them to enjoy a joke or opinion, content in the knowledge that the author isn't trying to be overambitious with their work, that this was a mere thought written down and cast into the universe, just happening to land with its audience.

This particular work would not be improved with correct capitalisation or punctuation, as that would ruin the effect of a low effort work going viral, a common tumblr occurrence, and a staple of this website.

2.

This post makes reference to the popular sandbox game Minecraft, developed by Mojang Studios and released in 2011. In order for the viewer to understand/appreciate the joke, the author has relied on their knowledge of the game. This can be concluded to be a safe bet since Minecraft is the second best selling game of all time (according to this article), and most viewers of this post could reasonably be assumed to be aware of its existence and basic mechanics.

3.

In Minecraft, animal mobs despawn "immediately if there are no players within a distance of 128 blocks" according to the Minecraft Fandom Wiki. Additionally, if the mob is "not within 32 blocks of a player for more than 30 seconds [there's a ] 2.47% chance [of it despawning] per second".

However, with the application of a name tag to the mob in question, the despawning process can be stopped, even if there is no player nearby.

The post above references this process by claiming that the viewer of the post forgot to nametag their boyfriend and he despawned.

The popular tumblr meme of "your boyfriend" has a couple characteristics. In it, the boyfriend is a helpless being, unable to affect the world around him, but able to be affected by the writer of the post, poked and prodded until he is irrevocably changed. This meme could be seen as a response to the portrayal of women in fiction as without agency and helpless, the "damsel in distress" character that tumblr, with its high population of feminists and activists, so dearly hates. A prime example of the boyfriend's lack of agency can be seen in this popular post.

The second characteristic of these posts is that they often include reference to current events, pop culture moments, or tumblr trends. This can be seen in this popular post referencing the vanilla extract meme and this one referencing the tumblr poll feature, as well as this one, which references the assassination of Julius Caesar.

The post in question fulfils both characteristics. By implying the viewer's boyfriend to be an un-named animal mob, the post likens him to the mindless creatures of Minecraft, unable to make their own decisions, subject to the whims of the game's code, without agency of their own. By referencing Minecraft, the post fulfils the second characteristic of pop culture references. In this way, the post is a perfect example of its kind and communicates its message clearly.

you didnt put a nametag on your boyfriend and he despawned. sorry.