#this is what happens when you have 1 social media+ whatever youtube is

[captain-krow-drozdov]

Ah Yes, I Am Totally Hip With The Kiddos. HaHa, I Know What A Kin Is. Mhmm. And The Whole Tea On This Slaying Situation, Why Of Course I Know It! I Am A Knight After All.

[plomegranate]

i am getting really tired of people putting so much focus on what celebrity supports what. these are human lives on the line and trying to pull up a single liked tweet or whatever as concrete evidence that your fav is good actually is so ridiculous and insensitive.

i am not talking about when people are like "dont support this persons work, they have harmful ideologies" or being happy that someone you admire is OUTWARDLY spoken (regularly advocating and participating) in support of whatever movement. im talking about you all being like "this pop star supports palestine guys she wore a pin once!!!" "this celebrity went to that one charity event so theyre good!!!1!1" "this youtuber retweeted something once!!" people are dying. why are you focusing on this. its so clear that you are more worried about whether or not you can still publicly like xyz celebrity without looking like "a bad person".

it can be disappointing that a celebrity you like with a lot of reach doesnt say anything and a little exciting when one you do makes a (vague and bare minimum) social media post, but stop putting so much attention on that. its not important!

this post is talking about palestine, but i see this happening in all sorts of human rights movements. stop wasting time defending some guy that doesnt know you exist and do something effective. spend your energy keeping up with news, researching the movement, and ways you can help

[artsekey]

I really hate how ads have taken over the internet. On one hand, I know that hosting a website costs money, right? And ad revenue is one of the simplest ways for free-to-use websites to cover their operating costs.

My question is-- and I would genuinely love an answer-- is this ever going to stop? Tumblr ran for a long time without ads. So did Youtube. I know that the cost of hosting so much media has gone up, but there are a lot of users on these websites that make the content that drives people to use the service that don't see any of the money generated by this revenue. On Youtube, there's at least a way for creators to make some money from what they do. For most, it isn't much, but the opportunity is there. On Tumblr, well... the ability to convert the visibility of my blog into any financial gain practically nonexistent, though they did at one point promise that users would be able to make money from ads run on their blogs (whatever happened to that, Staff?).

"You can pay to avoid seeing ads!" Tumblr says, as if the views on my main blog alone over the past few years have not generated more than enough ad revenue to cover the price they're asking me to pay, the person who is actively making content that brings eyes to their ads.

I'm not mad at Tumblr for hosting ads. I get that it has to happen because it's the easiest way to keep the site free, and honestly, I imagine Tumblr's staunch opposition to monetization has been a real obstacle for the team building Tumblr. But at the same time, it feels like yet another small concession in the usability of the site. I'm tired of ads that auto-play with blaring audio while I'm scrolling. I'm tired of adds that, if I touch them while trying to scroll past them, take me to an external site. Outside of tumblr, I'm tired of looking for information online only to get a webpage that's 95% ads and otherwise illegible. Hell, I recently got an ad on Discord. Was it unobtrusive? Maybe. But it was there, for the first time, and I know that won't be the end.

I know the first reply I'm going to get on this is "use adblock", and yes, that's a solution, but think about how much the landscape for media has changed in just ten years.

Popular forums are basically gone outside of reddit.

Youtube, without Red, is ad hell. You can't watch more than 3-4 minutes of video without getting sent to marketing hell.

Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter-- it's terrible. I firmly believe they've manufactured a worse experience through the implementation of ads to convince you to buy into their premium services.

Just Check out this video of Penguinz0 trying to watch a video on a third-party site.

There's discussion of putting ads into video games.

Remember when games didn't include micro-transactions? Blizzard is charging $70 for one mythic skin. You could almost buy Overwatch 1 twice-over at that price-point.

Influencers make a living by making their lives into advertisements.

Youtube has retaliated against users using ad-block on non-chrome browsers by artificially inflating the load times of it's videos.

What can we do about this? I imagine companies see it as an infinite money hack; users can't stop companies from hosting ads, and the action they could take to voice their displeasure-- leaving the site, using other competitive services-- has been all but obliterated thanks to the homogeneity of popular social media outlets. If someone is truly so incensed about ads, well-- it isn't like they have to engage with them, right? They can enroll in a cheap, auto-renewing service to get rid of ads entirely. Well, wait, the price of premium might just have to go up. Don't worry, it's auto-renewing! You won't even notice it. Oh, no, it's got to go up again, you won't even notice it.

There's no incentive for them to cap this behavior, and no way for us as users to pressure them to do so. We create these spaces; we fill them with color, art, activism, community, and the companies that ride on the tailcoat of the spaces we create tell us to give them more. What comes next?

[sydneymykah]

☆☆THE STRUGGLE OF ROUTINE ☆☆

✧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Some people can just get out of bed and automatically do what they need to do to get the day started. And the same people seem to be the ones we see the most on our screens. "My Morning Routine", "My weekly regimen", "What I eat in a day", and "My Nightly Routine". These people are seemingly put together and perfect like their said routines. But here you are slouched on your undone bed, still in your pajamas, wearing makeup from the day before after waking up after 12 pm. You meaning me, lmao. ☆...

☆The struggle of routine is something we all face regardless of what social media persists to tell us. But I don't really want to talk about how "social media is fake" because that's not even fully true. Some people really do live like this and have very structured routines for their day to day lives, granted it's what pays their bills but that's still technically their routine. But I'm more concerned about talking about how DIFFICULT it is to keep a constant routine. Especially in this weird time we live in.

ミ★I'm a perfectionist. I hate when things don't go the way I want and I tend to want things one way or not at all. But life doesn't live by those rules. Life will throw whatever the hell it wants at you, whenever it feels like it. As an individual you have to learn to work around it all. For me it's an inconsistent work schedule, minor (or major) inconveniences, mood swings, and of course the main culprit is laziness/lack of discipline.

☆We've all done it. On a random day of the week you're up way too late reflecting on your life and what you're doing with it. You suddenly feel the hyperactive urge to fix everything about yourself. You want the perfect body before the summer. You want your hair to grow longer faster. You want to get all your life goals written down and planned out dow not the last minute. You want to post a 1 minute video everyday on TikTok at exactly 3 pm EST and post at least 4 pictures to your instagram every other day. So you open the notes app and make an extremely specific, unrealistic, and way too intense routine to follow everyday. You set reminders, add 30 new alarms to your phone, you fill your amazon cart with stuff you believe you'll defiantly use. And after you make yet another playlist of YouTube workout videos you go to bed confident your life is gonna change forever after this...

Now one of two things happen:

You completely throw away the routine the minute you wake up the next day

Or, you do it for a few days but eventually burnout and find yourself back where you were before, now with just more useless junk you have no room for...

ミ★I have personally been both. But we can all empathize with this because if maintaining a routine was easy it wouldn't be such a successful phenomenon online. Out of the millions of views under "my morning routine" posts, many, if not majority, of them are people who wish they can live the way these people do. I think we as people have developed mindsets that are negative first, positive later. Ever since the quarantine we've been used to online overconsumption. The idea that "more is better", and the scare that was the virus has sparked this fear in us that is wasted time. Hence us wanting to build new giant routines in the middle of the night just to eventually abandon it because our minds and bodies don't evolve or develop like that overnight. Most the time the routines are grueling and just makes us feel exhausted over accomplished. When we don't see immediate change a lot people, including myself, give up then and there.

☆Im not here to tell you how to keep a constant routine or how to become more disciplined because all that information is in the palm of your hands. Honestly at the end of the day it's about your mindset. Realizing what is around you and remembering the reality you live in. You want that body? You want that hair growth? You want to post? It's all possible but here's where the issue lies:

ミ★We forget to forgive ourselves and to be patient with ourselves. We fall under the pressure to perform for social media as well. In this digital age we try to make social media real life 24/7 and put real life on the back burner. Everything must be aesthetic or else! Or if you can't keep a constant routine for a week you're a failure! But the reality is no one just wakes up in their perfect aesthetic one day and has this perfect routine down pat the first time. Another thing that we keep doing is what everyone else is doing. Another example of putting the online first before real life. We've forgotten the beauty of growth, and how things develop overtime. It reminds me of how small artists have the potential to blow up overnight. They suddenly have all these eyes on them and then the GP turns on them simply because their exceptions don't match the artist's personal growth. I think we do the same to ourselves. But regardless of what other people, social media or even what you might even say to yourself the best way to find a good routine is get to know yourself, not someone else. And to not go by others expectations. It's good to hold yourself to a high regard and to make ambitious goals. But you should remind yourself that you want this to last and you don't want to burn yourself out trying to perfect your life like it's a speed run.

☆When following creators who makes content like this I advise to follow people you relate to first. Not saying you can't follow those extremely aesthetic ASMR morning/Night routine videos because hell I watch them too. But know that I watch them for simply that. I've come to the point where I can watch that stuff and not feel incompetent or that I'm failing in life but I digress. Don't pay attention to the many trends and what's hot, just look for people who you might see yourself in, or people who have qualities similar to yours. Physically, mentally, ect. Because if you're a black girl who wants to know how to do a specific 4C hairstyle you're not going to the white girl influencers for tutorials are you? For me I watch Jackie Aina. Her and I don't even have the same tastes in certain aspects, specifically clothing and home decor but she reminds me a lot of myself and some of my values. Her content inspires me but doesn't make me feel like I need to reinvent myself overnight. That's not realistic nor healthy. I think subjecting yourself to that will just give you an identity crisis. Her content helps me feel confident and you should follow people like that too.

ミ★My purpose of this post is not "continue to be a slob" (I'm a Taurus stellium and Venusian. Girl we don't do that over 'chere.) it's to remind and to encourage. A reminder that what you see online isn't what real life is 24/7. Doesn't mean it's all fake, it just means that life doesn't just look like one thing. Social media just tends to make our vision a bit tunneled. Yes, some peoples lives surround what they eat in a day, what they do when they get out of bed, and the steps they follow in their nighttime skincare routine. But our attachment and overconsumption to these types of creators constantly fails to remind us that they're still human. Hell even when the human creators tell y'all "hey I'm human" they still aren't treated as such but guess what? They are! So are you. You are still human. Finding a groove that works for you will take time. And many times you will fail. You will probably forget to do something, you won't have the time for certain tasks, or an inconvenience will pop up out of no where that knocks you off course. But if at first you don't succeed, try again. Social media picture perfect propaganda (lol) has made us forget that life happens and that we will essentially always struggle with routine. Some things stick, some things don't. Some routines last a long time, some only stay for a day. We live in an age where everyone's trying to move as fast as they can to keep with the trends, keep up appearances, and to make up for lost time. And as much as I love the thrill of the fast life, how can I expect to see my growth, what I like, what needs changing and how to fall into a good rhythm when I'm too busy trying to keep up.

✧─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Xoxo, Sydney Mykah -☆

[freckliedan]

hi jam, what actually happened in 2012/2013? i got into the phandom in 2020, so i guess i just never fully understood? of course no worries if you don’t want to bring it up for whatever reason. (:

hi anon! i am always happy to discuss dan and phil history (editing to add: you can check out my tag on that here), especially since i've been around for long enough to have seen a Lot of it. the biggest factor is that dan and phil were outed in 2012; i have written about that before here.

i would reccomend rewatching dan's mental health series of videos (meaning of life, something i'm forgetting, daniel and depression, trying to live my truth) + BIG with the additional understanding that being outed at that point had a catastrophic impact on dan's mental health, especially considering his past traumas.

there were a lot of other reasons 2012 and 2013 were bad, some of which we knew at the time and some that we didn't.

dan's younger brother started to have social media, and fans were harassing him for information/pretending to be friends with him to get information/bullying him. that's something dan shut down HARD.

dan's grandma was also on twitter around this time iirc? so there was a very real chance he could've been outed to his family if someone had decided to cross the line in the worst way they could.

dan and phil had moved to london in 2012 without being able to afford it and without being sure they would get the bbc radio 1 jobs. so they were also under stupid amounts of financial stress while also adjusting to life in a new city when all of this happened.

2013 is also the year phil's dad was diagnosed with cancer. that's something that phil never shared until 2019 in his draw my life 2, but that's such a scary and overwhelming thing to be dealing with!

all at the same time!

the radio show era is also a time when dan and phil were so busy with projects and opportunities and saying yes to everything that it very, very clearly had a negative impact on them, which is something they have mentioned a number of times.

they were dealing with the transition into proper fame, too. i don't have enough toughts to gather about that but i'm sure someone else can speak to what that was like. a lot of youtubers of their original era left the platform at that that time due to the everything.

so. short answer. 2012-2013 was one of the most intense, overwhelming and difficult periods we know of in dan and phil's lives for so many reasons, even without factoring in the fact that they were outed. which also happened then.

they did not, in fact, have a difficult 2012 because people posted smut of them and they accidentally saw it. dan had already mentioned reading fic about himself on purpose at that point in time.

[alittlefrenchtree]

"I have a new fascination for model!Taylor and how it defines some parts of him but I might have to do a whole different post about it 😅"

Aaah do it please I'm curious to hear your every thought 😊

Haha thanks for indulging me with your sweet asks 💜

For a little bit a lot actually of context: when I stumbled into a fandom, I usually spend the following 6 months using every second of my free time consuming every second of media of the said fandom for a dozen of times and then I immerge on the other side slightly disoriented and feeling a bit drunk, hangover and with withdrawal symptoms all at the same time.

It didn't happen this time for a few reasons: 1) almost being a responsible adult and having less free time than before 2) having stumbled in the weirdest way in this fandom so not really following my usual path and 3) after 5937498204 fandom experiences, having learned from my previous "mistakes" and knowing that even if something feels absolutely beautiful it might not be the healthiest thing for me to do and that there's value in maintaining some kind balance in my daily life.

So all of that to say that there is probably a million things in this fandom, about Taylor, about Nick and even about RWRB that I don't know or haven't read/watched yet. And I love it. Knowing that at random times, I can find a interview of Nick from 6 years ago and learned who he was at 22, or jump into a 1hour rabbit hole of youtube video of Taylor and fall in love with him all over again (or for the very first real time).

And that what happened last Sunday (or Monday? i don't know. less than a week ago at the very least). And honestly the videos that made me go Oh. were the most random things you could think of. Here they are :

If you don't feel like watching, it's the youtube channel of a photographer who makes video to explain how he works, give tips to other photographers and tutorials or whatever. As much as I'm a knowledge whore, I'm not exactly the target audience and I didn't think I would be fascinated by anything. But, as you can see in the thumbnails, he sometimes works with Taylor (who happens to be his friend as well) so I was curious enough to click on a few things. First, Walid Azami (the photographer guy) is quite interesting and easy to listen to. And then, I don't know. I watched these three videos without giving much thoughts to Taylor at first but immediately after, I realized that I kept thinking back about what I saw?

The version of Taylor that had lived in my head before that was mostly the extrovert, open, outgoing and social guy. Even if I knew that was only a part of him, the part he shows when he's on, I had never stopped long enough to think about the other parts of him. So after watching these videos, my mind was a bit fascinated and kept going back to this new knowledge.

I don't know. Seeing him like that, being quiet, centered, focus, patient, calm, not talking, being this quiet presence on the background, doing the same things over and over again and in full model mode was deeply mesmerizing to me. And very quickly after processing all these new feelings, I knew this was my Oh. moment. So I definitely have way more feelings now that I had one week ago.

Another thing I loved finding out with these video is how good he seems to be at not being the main character. Which is a lovely trait to find out about him given 1) how radiant he is and 2) being used to being the one with the all attention as a actor and a model. Obviously there's a lot of edit and things cut in these video but. He lets his friend do his thing, doesn't try to steal the spotlight at anytime, doesn't even speak when he's filming near by? First it's very thoughtful but again I feel like it shows something very peaceful about him, not trying to prove or over-prove anything to anyone. It's really enticing (and now that I think about it, probably the result of growing up with 7 siblings as well).

That's... a lot of words. But I guess I've said most of what was cooking in the back of my mind over the past week. Thanks for asking! (you should ask to be paid as my therapist, probably) 🙏💜

[strawberrystar7]

When the Miraculous fandom complains about Chloé’s redemption Arc

Have you guys noticed that everytime someone complains about Chloé and her redemption Arc they always bring Thomas Astruc and his immaturity up? It’s always the same pattern. People hating on Thomas Astruc, calling him “Asstruc” or saying he hates on a fictional character or saying how he holds a grudge over a childhood bully of his. Or they will say anything after Season 2 is not canon simply because they don’t like it. Some of these people are adults complaining about the immaturity of a grown man.

But what they never notice is that they’re being just as immature. Seriously they remind me of Lila Rossi holding a grudge against Ladybug for 9 months straight because Ladybug called Lila out for lying infront of Adrien. Yes it was uncalled for and Ladybug should have pulled Lila aside (granted Lila would have probably exploded even if Ladybug had talked to Lila in private because Lila is unhinged but whatever) but holding a grudge over something for such a long time to the point where you want them to die? Like… Lila literally asked Oni-Chan (akumatized Kagami) to kill Ladybug. I’ve seen people wishing Astruc would die. These people are literally just like Lila in that regard. Immature and holding grudges over a ridiculous amount of time. They’re like Lila holding a grudge against Thomas Astruc for not giving Chloé a redemption arc. Like come on. It’s been years since the redemption arc thing… can y’ll just stop? It’s annoying and won’t happen regardless of how much you complain about it.

It’s like watching toddlers fighting. If you want to complain about Thomas Astruc being immature, don’t be immature about it yourself. You’re just being a hypocrite.

The immaturity doesn’t just come in regards to Chloé’s redemption arc and Thomas Astruc tho. I’ve also seen it from other Miraculous fans regarding to topics that had nothing to do with Chloé. Like someone insulting me and calling me a 6 year old because I said Marinette and Adrien are in Middle School and 14 years old throughout Seasons 1 to 5 and not in High School or 16/17. And when I came with actual quotes from episodes they suddenly went silent. I mean I can be immature too but I usually apologize when I realize I’m being mean or something. But some fans take it to the extreme.

It’s the worst on Twitter, YouTube and Reddit actually. People like this probably exist on Tumblr too but the discussions I’ve had on Tumblr were rather civil, even when we had opposing opinions. Social Media platforms have become a hell hole regardless of the platform. People nowadays just want to fight.

[jemeryl]

As someone overwhelmed at the prospect of reparenting myself, where do I start?

I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier, I've been using social media very sporadically this year. I have a lot of thoughts on this topic to share that are based on my long and ongoing healing journey.

This is going to be a lot of information about something that's already overwhelming, so I've tried to include advice on how to deal with the overwhelm of it all.

Disclaimer: I'm not a mental health professional. With that in mind, these are what i consider the main aspects:

Physical Reparenting (getting your needs met/asking for help)

Emotional Reparenting (understanding what you're going through)

Finding Other Kids to Play With (making healthy connections) (highlighted because it's the one most personal to me!)

1 - Physical Reparenting: getting your needs met/asking for help

I put this at the top because you need to stay alive in order to heal, and sometimes that's all you can manage. That means feeding yourself and your dependents, cleaning, doing laundry, UGH. Your parents didn't teach you how to do any of that, but other people can. And when you don't have the energy to ask, or you feel too ashamed, you have the internet!

A search engine can help you with even the most basic of topics. How do I brush my teeth? How do I do my laundry? How do I make friends?

Importantly, there is now lots of advice on how to do these things when you're struggling. For example: disposable paper plates and cups mean you don't have to do dishes. There are recipes you can learn so you can get a healthy meal with minimum effort.

I've found reddit great for this, eg: mom for a minute and cleaning tips. I've usually found that you can ask anything, even the most embarrassing thing, and people will either give you advice or direct you to where you can find out more.

You can't learn it all at once: focus on one thing at a time and find something that works. Once you've built the muscle memory for that one thing, you can focus on learning a new thing. That way, over time, you can build up your toolbox and turn your attention to other things. Such as...

2 - Emotional Reparenting: Understanding what you're going through

Often when we're abused or neglected, we lack the language to articulate or even understand what we went through, let alone heal from it. Once you understand what happened to you and why you act the way you do, you can start to figure out how to come back from it. This is where you learn to parent yourself emotionally.

There are lots of resources, so find one that resonates with you. Stick with it till you've got what you need from it, then move onto the next.

Here are some resources I've personally found helpful, based on what form of media you like to consume.

Books: From surviving to thriving by Pete Walker, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

Podcast: Respectful Parenting by Janet Lansbury. This is aimed at parents of infants and toddlers, but I'm finding it extremely helpful in being compassionate to myself and others when feelings are running high.

YouTube: Heidi Priebe; The Crappy Childhood Fairy. These two make videos on attachment trauma and various things related to CPTSD. Also on specific issues that crop up in our relationships and daily lives. They also are great for recommending other resources that you might find helpful.

3 - Finding other kids to play with: Making healthy connections

Playing is super important, whatever age you are! So many of us were too busy parenting our parents, or we never had anyone to play with, or we only ever got bullied. It's an essential part of childhood development that we missed in some way. This is something I find distinct about reparenting and treating childhood trauma.

This is hardest part by far, imo, but a vital one. Going to therapy is a great step. Devouring content and learning how to meet your basic needs is essential. But I believe true healing can only take place by establishing and maintaining genuine connections with others. Playing is the perfect way to do that!

Connecting with people is easier said than done, so how the heck do you go about it, you may ask? Keep going, gentle reader, because I have got some tried and tested advice for you!

This is the long one, so skip to the bottom for the tldr.

Mental health support groups are great, but spending all your time talking about how miserable you are can get you stuck ruminating and make you feel even shittier. That's something to be mindful of.

I recommend joining a group activity, like a sport, band, or gaming club.

Ideally something you're passionate about, your hyperfixation, even if it feels cringe. A structured activity gets everyone motivated to meet up regularly (something that's very hard to do for the purpose of just hanging out); all the burden of making conversation is taken off because you can all focus on the task at hand; and you have to practice communicating with one another to make it work.

Connecting with people is scary, and you will make mistakes and get hurt. It's important to keep trying anyway.

You will run into people like you, who are suffering and trying to better themselves. They will act out because they can't help it. They'll flake, they'll ghost, they'll accuse you of being abusive because they can't tell if it's abuse, a genuine mistake, constructive criticism, what have you. They sometimes turn into abusers themselves because they're now in a situation where they can punch down and get away with it. That makes people feel powerful in a way they've never felt before, which is seductive.

You might do any and all of these things, but you can learn to fix your behaviour. You will find people who'll establish appropriate boundaries, support your growth, and you will emerge as a healthier, better person.

The key is to find a peer group that is committed to healing together.

This takes time and experimentation, but you are not alone. You will find people of all ages and walks of life who will walk this path with you. This is what all the resources and books are for: learning to identify how to make connections and build a community that's healthy and supportive. Where you will probably fuck up and hurt each other, but will fight to come back from it and fight to grow together. This is where you will build the healthy, enriching relationships you should've have from the very beginning.

You may need to sever unhealthy connections.

It's extremely painful and difficult to cut off a family member, partner, or friend who's bad for you, and this is a whole topic on its own. However, you can develop a sense of when to stay and when to leave, and even though it's hard and lonely, you will be able to find people who are better for you. That will make it easier to know who to commit to in the long run.

TLDR: Focus on the social thing that brings you the most joy.

It takes a few tries to find out what is the best thing for you. Once this is stable, then you can expand your horizons.

Personal example: For this entire year, my main social focus has been keeping my Dungeons & Dragons groups going. I have two games a week on average, so I get to DM and play. Now that that's stable, I can go back to other friendships, and stuff I neglected (such as social media). The people who are worth it are the people who would never hold it against me for going off the grid for awhile.

I hope this has been helpful!

[superconductivebean]

Hello there! I wanted to ask 5, 16 and 20 from the MC asks ☺️

hihi!!! I wanted to do the whole @rypnami's MC questions list ^ ^ But I think I'll do in the form of this ask, to have it answered.

I'm also putting it out in the tags, so here's how Julia looked in 1890:

1) if your mc was an animagus, what would their form be? if they are, what is their form?

Julia isn't an animagus.

If she would become an one, she's definitely a hare. They're fast, bloody smart, and their punch can break a rib or two.

2) if they could choose what animagus form they would take, would it be the same? or would they want to have a different animal form?

She'd preferred to turn a magpie, to play along the in-House joke about her personality and, well. Flying.

3) does your mc have a favourite colour? why is it their favourite?

I think Julia would like earthy tones? I imagine the designs of both of her study and cottage to be accounting for a lot of light but the walls and furniture are of dark colours. I'd call it Sharp's influence, but Julia has always been surrounded by shadows, darkness, clouds; let alone she's from the North.

As I am also a northerner, sleeping through That Bloody Sunnight is impossible with lightly-coloured walls. That's why, probably.

4) in a modern au, would your mc use social media? what would their preferred platform be? why is if their preferred one?

She'd totally have tumblr and a youtube channel + a reddit account, possibly. Julia has a bunch of obscure hobbies in the modern aus, so I'd also throw -exchange websites in here.

My trash child would be into fanfiction, too.

5) did you consult wand lore when choosing their wand? if so, why did you pick what you did? if not, would you ever change wand details to match your mc?

Back when I was messing around with the linking accounts and all that, I let the game to parse my wand details. It's of Rowan wood, 10", the core is the unicorn hair; Julia uses it, I never changed its details.

6) what is your mc’s diet? are they vegan, vegetarian, do they eat whatever? why?

Julia will eat everything if it isn't sweet, Firewhiskey, or boom berries. Her childhood was rather challenging food-wise, if not scarce on it; she doesn't mind other foods, but she also prefers to have a great variety on her table.

7) what is your mc’s backstory as to why they didn’t join hogwarts until 5th year? or did you retcon that part of the story when creating them?

*ugly crying* it's too big i will not tell it here just know that there was a some kind of divine intervention, demiurgic comedy, ceridwen's brew of awen mention, and a parental wish for a child to be talented

8) what house is your mc in? why are they in that house?

RAVENCLAW. SHE'S A MAGPIE FOR MORE REASONS THAN A JOKE. A KNOWLEDGE HOARDER. A BOOK COLLECTOR. A FUTURE failed SCHOLAR. THE STARKY'S INSPIRATIONAL FIGURE. grey lady's nightmare and the hat's hmmmmmmmmmmmm

9) were you inspired by characters from other media when making your mc? if so, which characters? and how did they influence your mc?

Meh this is old.

Сiri: Julia is gifted with a special magical talent that put a target on her back, too (Ashwinders would benefit from having her around either way but her ability would've become the WE'RE RICH moment). On her journey, she's brought to an old castle and met the future father figures here (Eleazar and Aesop <- -> Vеsemir and Gеralt). 8th book does not happen ihateitihat but Kaer Morchen siege's tragic end does; I couldn't forget about the Old Druid Technique, neither about the anniversary video where Сiri hugs Geralt at Corvo Bianco 🥺Сiri was the main inspiration for Julia & Aesop's mentorship plotline;

Lоhse: terrible but witty humour, Lоhse Invented Lesbianiasm, and I got a feeling HL was at least somewhere tinely inspired by DОS2? By default, Lоhse uses elemental magic, water-based spells; AM closely resembles water, if not to assume directly associated with it, but it's a sidenote because as I said, Terrible Jokes Came First;

Emily: I'm still uncertain if I should've chosen Cоrvo but either way, if HL had what Dishоnored had, it would've been an amazing game all throughout; so far, it only manages to look like it graphically, on the low settings. But I digress. Both Julia and Emily had to make tough, if not terrible, choices guided by forces they couldn't quite understand or fully comprehend;

Moist: my trash man believed in an angel once and lived a better life, so did my trash child Julia;

KATZENJАMMER: Julia's family theme songs;

Tilda Swintоn.

10) does your mc have any special abilities? (legilimens, parsletongue, metamorphagus, etc) how do they choose to use these powers? did you give them powers for fun, or does it relate to their backstory/plot?

No, Julia doesn't have any other things going on about her.

11) what is your mc’s blood status? how does it affect their time at hogwarts? how does it affect their home life?

Half-blood. Accepted at home back in the Netherlands and her Faroese/Danish side of the family doesn't really mind (they're happy she's alive and could bring closure to the wound caused by her father's death), but ohboi she caused fire to families like the Malfoys or the Gaunts. They're her biggest haters; they couldn't believe a witch of her talents could be of muggle decent.

At some point, she changed her official last name to her Faroese one just to spite some people.

12) did your mc open the repository? why or why not?

After Ranrok destroyed it, she didn't bother restoring it nor opening it. Julia is very wary of that particular thing Isidora did and didn't want to absorb powers she wouldn't be able to control.

13) if your mc opened the repository, how did absorbing all that power affect them, if it did at all?

Julia would had committed a suicide short after, unable to handle the flood of unlocked memories. Her rage would've been the end of her.

14) what does your mc think of the keepers? do they trust them? why or why not?

Percival: Thought he was an insight she needed, turned out a man who had an agenda that severely misaligned with the end goal of protecting the school.

Charles: The homely man. The kind who will hide critical intelligence in order to keep or to save their good standing. Can't be trusted. Good at transfiguration though.

Niahm: The gentle maternal figure—the one Julia would deliberately seek sometimes to have what little of guidance on AM she could get.

San: The stall, but the voice and act of reason.

15) how does your mc’s story continue after 5th year? how do they cope with everything that happened with ranrok, sebastian, etc?

To trash with Sebastian, she had her uncle to deal with and Ranrok to debate with in her dreams. And then, The Bureaucracy.

16) did your mc learn the unforgivables? why or why not?

Julia doesn't approve of the simplicity these curses imply.

She only realised the meaning of her own words when she got older.

17) did your mc turn in sebastian? why or why not?

Julia's reasoning was quite different from the one from the in-game.

Certain the Ministry would only ruin everything for everyone after the officer Singer told her and Natty off of their investigation, she didn't want to give Sebastian's secrets away to them—and for them to establish she was up to something this questionable didn't sound all right. Even though she didn't do anything and was actively against Sebastian's schemes, she didn't know the laws very well to know whether or not her and Ominis' bystanding would get them into trouble as well.

The Ministry ended up learning about The Event, but as Julia had predicted, it didn't care and it didn't do anything about it, busy with the full-fledged international scandal the Rookwood gang caused.

18) what is your mc’s family like? do they have siblings? do they still have parents?

Her dad is a lovely man. Her mum is a wicked but funny bitch. Her uncle is a huggable guy but he will scorch everyone disagreeing with him. The rest are rather vast crowd of people but of regular people, some are cool, others aren't; her auntie married a dragon caretaker and caused Family Drama over sheep but that's a whole another story.

19) does your mc have a love interest? who is it? why did your mc fall for that character, if they do have a love interest?

Imelda and Poppy. I had a post about them somewhere…

Here. It's still a WIP but 80% of it is settled.

20) does your mc have a favourite spell? if so, what is it and why do they like it the most?

She likes elemental magic. It looks magic. ^ ^

21) if you could change anything that the mc does in the game, what would it be? why would you change it? how would you change it? (ie; a line they say, an event of a quest, things of that nature)

I've gotten plethora of opinions/perspectives on how to redo, remake, what to add and all that; it's scattered across my blog in 2 languages.

It all will be very tedious to dig up so I found a reblog chain that covers the basics. Here.

22) does your mc have any pets? if so, why do they have the pets they have? and for fun, what are their pets’ names?

A little story.

My very first catch after a stray hippogriff (I thought you need to catch an one to ride an one lmao) was a kneazle rescue from a poacher camp. He was a sable black large kitty, I named him Samuel, and Realised only months later while talking to @thriftstorebabayaga. Sammy stayed as Julia's pet kneazle and he became the plot reason for Julia to wear the scar.

She rescued Sammy from poachers on her first week of school and got injured in the process.

23) when designing your mc, why did you choose the appearance you did? has it changed at all since you first made them? would you change anything now?

No, Julia's design came together last February, first try. The only detail that changed was the amount of freckles. I keep adding more.

24) where is your mc from? where is their family from?

Technically, Julia is from the Netherlands. But she grew up 1) on the ship, the trading vessel belonging to her father, 2) on Faroe islands, 3) and visited her grannies in Holland sometimes.

25) what is your mc’s favourite season? why is it their favourite?

She enjoys winter albeit she's hurt by the cold. No particular reason for liking it, except for it's the no gnat season.

26) how about your mc’s favourite holiday? what makes it special to them?

Christmas: days off, no gnat, food!

27) if your mc wasn’t in their current house, where would they have been sorted? why do you think they’d be there?

Hatstall between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. She's reckless enough to be considered Gryffindor but her sense for bird fountain community would push her to the Hufflepuffs. She'd enjoy either option.

28) does your mc have a favourite childhood toy? if so, what was it? do they still have it with them?

That stuffed kneazle that she keeps away because it reminds her of the happier life.

29) what kind of music would your mc like? is there a reason?

ATEMLOS DURCH DIE NACHT— German pop, Italian pop, and she stole Sharp's collection of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Doors.

30) last but not least, just tell us something you love about your mc!

the main tragedy of her life is bureaucracy and that fact amuses me greatly. that she defeated it is The Fantasy of her fantasy genre story

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 17/01/2024

Because I Love You

Season 1 Featured on: GilvaSunner's Highest Quality Video Game Rips: Volume 6​.​66

Dedicated to Satoru Iwata

More than ever these recent days, I've been thinking a lot about the SiIvaGunner community - earlier this week with 2023! YEAR OF THE PORTAL RADIO! I unabashedly wrote more about that than the rip itself. Because I find it to be such an interesting fandom to be part of, due just to how...scattered, it feels, in a lot of ways. The main hub of discussion is the SiIvaGunner Fan Discord, which by the very nature of Discord servers themselves has a sort of, fleeting and temporary feel to it - its hard to get a feel of what's what around there when there's no real way to see "popular" posts or whatnot like on other social media. And even on Twitter, and the handful of people you'll find here on Tumblr like me, there's a big divide with SiIvaGunner fans, those who just like to keep up with the silly mashups, those invested in the lore, those far too invested in both like me, and so many other subfactions - it rarely feels like we're able to band together to form a unified voice.

But whenever we are, it tends to be within the one place we're all drawn to. The YouTube channel itself.

Throughout Season 1's wild lore progression with GiIvaSunner's termination, Chad Warden, Snow Halation, and The Reboot, it became clear to us in the audience that the best way to keep track of all that was happening and to share those news with others, was to simply do it in the comments of all the videos we were already watching. All the classic jokes, new jokes, sudden twists, and places with room to speculate on what it all could mean - no matter what a rip was about, there'd always be a community there, a crowd of people always awaiting what could be right around the corner. A crowd that, directly through the events of The Reboot, had now learned to actually respect one another, and to share their love of rips, music, and gaming with one another, unified as fans.

And its that knowledge of the community's growth, the way it manages to feel both bizarrely disconnected yet simultaneously unified, that makes Because I Love You hit all the harder than it already does. Because especially back then, we were all expecting SiIvaGunner to just play along as they always do, to keep making silly rips no matter the day, keep us in the community engaged in what's being made. Yet Because I Love You, neither in title nor contents holds no joke in sight - it's a beautiful, hand-played piano cover of the titular song, paying respects to the late Satoru Iwata who passed away a year prior to the video's upload. A community and channel otherwise known for its laughs, bits, and intricate lore, were suddenly faced with a piece of darkness from the real world - the lingering sorrow that followed Iwata's death.

Just a day after this post goes up, SiIvaGunner is set to appear at this year's MAGFest, represented by a bunch of its current team members. Members of the SiIvaGunner team are more recognized now than ever before, yet back during the days of following Season 1, it was quite easy to miss the fact that the channel was ran by a group of creatives to begin with - that it wasn't just an elaborate prank by some mysterious organization of employees, or just a shameless reposting page, or whatever other conspiracy floated around back in the day. For as much fun as SiIvaGunner likes to have, for all the absurdities and shitposts and takeovers - it is a channel ran by humans, humans who just like us, were brought together by a unified love for video games. A loss like Satoru Iwata's is one that was only truly felt by those who truly do love video games as an artform - to those who, for instance, have dedicated years of their life to following a channel all about celebrating all that the music of video games means to their players, old and new.

Because I Love You, much like Telling Fish Tales, is simply a beautiful reminder of all the human love, empathy, and community that exists within this silly channel. And even back in Season 1, the community knew to set their jokes and banter aside to pay their respects to Iwata, to all that he accomplished for the history of the medium, and for helping to rescue one of the most beloved, influential and downright legenary games of its time. All these years later, and as SiIvaGunner itself enters one more Season of running, I hope we can continue respecting and honoring those that craft the experiences we hold so dear.

United or scattered, those feelings remain.

[cierraonline]

S1EP3: OUR DUMBASS EX! CLAUDIA WAS IN T@GGED! BILLIE'S USELESS STORY! PART ONE

1 

"Are we going to talk about what you mentioned last episode?" 

*puffs on weed pen*

2 

"I think we should put a trigger warning on this episode."

3 

"I don't think I ever talked about my relationship with Q. I just lived it." 

"Well, I think you should talk about it in a way that makes you feel comfortable."

Rolling...

Whatever the Fuck This Is Podcast

Season 1 | Episode 3

OUR DUMBASS EX! CLAUDIA WAS IN T@GGED! BILLIE'S USELESS STORY! PART ONE

"Welcome back to 'Whatever the Fuck This Is' Podcast. Before we start, you're going to see a trigger warning—pay attention to it, please," Siren begins the show.

"Today's guest star is Mama Maggie." The older woman waves to the camera, showing off her smile. "For some reason, as permanent cast members of the podcast, we have Claudia and Rodrick." The setup includes Billie and Siren with customized handheld microphones—blue for Billie and red for Siren. The others have standing microphones to keep them unobstructed.

"Today, we're going to talk about a topic that no one wanted to discuss," Billie chimes in from the middle of the couch, her mom on her right and her wife on her left. "From my understanding, everyone is revisiting the documentary, pointing out certain scenes, and wanting Siren's perspective on what was happening on her side."

"And for some fucking reason, you guys wanted to know about my relationship with Q," Siren says nonchalantly, as if it were nothing, because, to her, it's the past and doesn't affect her now.

"I didn't know we were actually going to say his name?" Claudia's eyes widened.

"Why not?" Siren shrugs her shoulders. "By the way," she points at the brunette, "I finally realized where I've seen your face before."

"After six years?" Billie looks in disbelief.

"Yeah," Siren's eyes move to the camera. "So when I first met Claudia, I recognized her face but didn't know why until last night. You guys remember when Nickelodeon went on YouTube as AwesomenessTV..."

"Oh my god!" Claudia laughs, knowing what's about to be brought up.

"Our precious Ferb over here was on this weird-ass social media show called T@gged, and that's where I recognized her from."

"I literally told you that when we first met her," Billie deadpans.

"No, you didn't," Siren shakes her head, looking at her wife.

"Bro, I literally did!" Billie raises her voice. "I was like, 'Hey, Siren, this is Claudia from that show T@gged.' And you were like, 'And you're telling me why?'"

"Well, that's your fault."

"How the fuck is it my fault that it took you six years to come up with an answer I gave you six years ago!?"

"You called me Siren," Siren shrugs her shoulders.

"That's the name your father gave you, isn't it?"

"I'm bae, baby, princess, or brat to you. You don't fucking call me by my first name," Personality #3 starts to emerge. "Like, who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm done talking to you." Billie rolls her eyes.

"As if I wanted to talk to you," Siren crosses her arms.

"You're such a brat," Billie grumbles.

"As if you don't try to fuck this brat."

"That's enough, girls," Maggie warns.

"Before anything, let's talk about the big elephant in the room," Billie looks to the camera.

"You?" Siren snarks, eyeing the brunette.

"I'm not even going to feed into your immaturity," Billie shakes her head, not sparing a glance at her wife. "Last episode, you said you don't open up to me, and I want to know why."

"It's really simple and not a complicated answer whatsoever."

"So, what's the answer?" Patience was no longer with Billie. She genuinely wanted to know what she was doing wrong in their relationship that made her partner feel she couldn't talk about her emotions. There were times when she tried, but was met with a brick wall, and Siren completely shut down from the conversation. This left Billie thinking that her wife was just keeping everything inside. Learning that Siren was actually open about her emotions with someone else hurt her deeply.

"Why are you getting hostile?" Siren narrows her eyes.

"I just want to know why you think you can't come to me but have no problems going to Rodrick about your feelings," the words rushed out of Billie's mouth.

"Get your daughter, she's starting to bug out," Siren turns to Maggie.

"Siren, in this case, Billie is right, Siren." Maggie didn't side with Siren but instead chose to play the middle party and be a counselor. "You two have been married for two years and together even longer. The important part of a relationship is communication and letting your partner know when something is bothering you."

"You were supposed to be on my side," Siren pouts.

"Siren, tell Billie why you don't talk about your feelings with her," Maggie gently commands.

Letting out a deep breath, inhaling her weed pen twice, and exhaling the smoke, Siren finally reveals her answer. "I don't tell Billie my problems or how I'm feeling because she tries to give me solutions to feel better or fix the problems."

"What's wrong with that?" Claudia asks, a look of confusion on her face. 

"That's literally what I'm supposed to do as your partner, you dumbass!" Billie exclaims loudly, not liking the answer to the question she's been overthinking for the past 24 hours.

"Billie, don't call her that," Maggie scolds her daughter. "Siren, can you explain a little bit more so Billie can better understand what you're saying?"

"When I'm telling you my problems or what's bothering me, I don't want a fucking answer to the problem—I already know the answer. I just want you to listen and nod your fucking head, or snap your fingers like they do in those women-led podcasts," Siren explains. "But no, it's Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell,the empath. You've got to be like, 'Why don't you take a break?' or 'Maybe it's not meant for you to have.' Like, first of all, I love taking breaks, but at that specific time, I didn't want to take a fucking break. I needed Rodrick to stop fucking whatever whore he had in his bed and answer the fucking phone so I could ask him what he wanted from Chick-fil-A so I could pre-order it for after our smoke session. And—"

"Wait!" Billie yells throwing her arm around. "You were fucking pacing back and forth! Throwing your phone around! Punching walls! Because fucking Rodrick didn't answer his phone... for fucking Chick-fil-A!!?"

"Yes!"

"Change the topic," Billie grits her teeth, not caring to hear anything else.

"See, you're—"

"Change the topic," Billie gives her a certain look that only Siren recognizes. It was the 'be a good girl or you will be punished' look. Now, Siren has two options: she can either change the topic or be a brat. With Personality #3 at the surface, she couldn't decide which would be more fun. Red handprints on her ass while wearing a short plaid skirt is Instagram posting-worthy, especially if Billie spanked her with her rings on. "Don't be a brat," Billie adds, noticing how long it was taking Siren to make her next move, showing she was actually considering what she was hinting at. Siren still remained quiet thinking about her options, causing Billie to take over. "So here's how it all started." 

~~~~

B I L L I E ...

"Billie Eilish in the studio with us here on the Kevin and Bean Show," the radio host introduces me as I sit on the other side of the table, next to his co-host, with a microphone hanging in front of me and thick headphones over my ears. "We have a bunch of questions about the music we're gonna get to in a minute. But there's one more teenage question I have to ask. Are you done with school already or are you still homeschooling?"

"Well—" I let out a short chuckle, knowing this question was going to pop up sooner or later.

"Or are you faking homeschooling?" He cuts me off, but not in a vicious way.

"I've never been to school, along with my best friend, Siren, so there's a little fact."

"Okay."

"Never—never was at school, so I never had to quit school. But we graduated, like, last year, like the beginning of last year."

"What?"

"No offense to Siren Vixen, but I honestly thought she went to public school or something and just dropped out," says the host next to me.

"What's crazy is that so many people think that of Siren!" I laugh at the common misconception about my best friend. "But she didn't. And no one really knows this, but Siren is really smart. She graduated with our program and completed her associate's degree from UCLA on a scholarship."

"What!" they all look in disbelief at the news I just told them.

"You're like Doogie Howser. You graduated—"

"Who's that?" I look at him in confusion. Never heard that name before.

"She doesn't know who Doogie Howser is. Know your audience," the host in red says to him.

"How do you feel about the way your fans see you?" another question is asked.

"See, here's the thing. Justin Bieber, right?" They do not want me to get started on how that man was the love of my life at one point. When I was, like, 12, it wasn't—I was not a fan of him. I was—It was—I was, like—that was my first love. Like, that was the person I was in love with. In my head, he was in love with me."

"Of course."

"It was like a relationship with a person. You know when you date somebody for a while, and they're—that's your partner? And then you break up with them. And if you see a picture of them, without really thinking, you automatically are like, 'Oh, that's that person I was in a relationship with.'"

"Whoever comes next is gonna have to deal with the idea that you were in a relationship with Justin Bieber," the host in plaid speaks up from the side of me.

"I wanna play you something right now," I dig in my pocket to pull out my phone to show this very embarrassing video of a younger me. "This is a video of me at 12."

"Okay."

"Nobody's seen this besides Vixen."

"Love this." The video starts to play.

I have watched so many Justin Bieber... things, I was, like, crying so hard. 'Cause, like, I'm worried that when I get a boyfriend... I won't wanna be with him because... I actually love Justin Bieber more. And I can't handle that...Well, that's if Siren denies my marriage proposal for the tenth time.''

"Whore, we are only 12," the camera switches over to a 12-year-old Siren. "I'm too young for marriage."

(imagine white hair and white out eyes)

"You have a nose piercing at 12 years old and you're saying you're too young for marriage?"

"Clip-ons, puta."

"You'll see one day, we'll be married and live happily ever after."

"Is this before or after Justin Bieber rejects you?"

"More like after you find your mom."

~~~~

"So, you guys were just always mean as fuck to each other?" Rodrick cuts Billie off.

"Yup," the girls say in sync.

"It's literally the foundation of their soulmate bond," Maggie chimes in. After years of witnessing the two girls' interactions, the mother knew being mean to each other was not going to change. She just hoped if they ever decide to have kids, the kids aren't the same way, or hell will break loose in the O'Connell-Vixen family.

~~~~

B I L L I E ......

"I said, 'I can't handle that.' I literally remember sobbing into a pillow because I thought, 'I'm never gonna feel this way about anyone.' I literally was terrified that when I got a boyfriend when I was older, he wouldn't—"

"He won't compare," I'm cut off.

"He won't compare."

"What about Siren?" the other host by the computer asks.

"Siren is literally my soulmate."

"So does this mean you are gay or bisexual?" Why are you asking a sixteen-year-old about her sexuality...on the air?

"No, I'm straight," I deny.

"But you want to marry Siren?" He looks at me, confused. If I'm not confused, why are you confused about something that doesn't involve you?

"She's just my soulmate," I shrug my shoulders. "No one compares to her. And no one ever will."

"Not even Justin Bieber?"

"Not even Justin Bieber."

~~~~

"That literally didn't tell us anything," Siren speaks up after Billie is done with her story time.

"It was an opener, bitch," Billie rolls her eyes.

"Well, your 'opener' just made the podcast too long, so now we have to sit here for another hour or two so I can actually tell the story."

"Are you horny or something?" Billie squints her eyes. "Like why are you so mean right now?"

"Maybe I am," Siren smirks, causing Billie to laugh. "But like, deadass, we have to sit here for another hour or two so we can get to the Q story and then spend six hours on editing."

"Yeah, you're right," Billie mumbles.

"So it's over for today, bitches," Siren turns to the camera. "We'll see you for part two, which we will film now but you won't see until next week. And we'll also do Claudia's recap then too."

"And you're watching 'Whatever the Fuck This Is Podcast,'" Billie says in a Disney-like outro. "Bye." Everyone smiles and waves to the camera, except Siren, who sticks up her middle finger.

| welcome to the book I write & edit when high |

[minimalist-daydream]

April Recap

Hello all! (I don't know if I have real followers or if everyone on here is just a bot... but in any case, I wanted to try something new with this semi-neglected blog.)

I don't know if anyone else here has recently experienced a wave of social media fatigue. The sheer amount of content online - mostly exhorting you to buy more things to fix imaginary problems - lately feels overwhelming. The other day I had a sudden wave of nostalgia for early 2000s social media, especially how things felt a little more curated - how you would seek out a handful of individuals who matched your interests. These days, with algorithms pushing hundreds of new influencers your way every day, it feels impossible to pick out the signal from the noise.

In that spirit, I thought I would start writing a little monthly recap of things that I tried and loved. This will range from everything from books, to fashion, to skincare, to hobbies... I hope to maybe start a bit of a dialogue online, to share some things that I enjoy, and to try to cultivate a lifestyle full of things that I truly love, instead of mindlessly following the latest trend I've seen online.

So without further ado, here's the April recap of Things I Tried and Loved.

Deleting social media apps for a few days

By which I mean any apps with short-form videos, i.e. Instagram and Youtube. I’ve never had Tiktok as I know I would be hopelessly addicted to it, but have managed to justify keeping Instagram and Youtube on my phone for social and “educational” purposes. The problem is, whenever I’m busy or stressed, my coping mechanism is to lie in bed and spend literally hours scrolling through Instagram Reels, until my mind feels simultaneously numb and overstimulated.

It’s usually in such a state of social media-hangover that I decide to stop spending so much time online and delete these apps from my phone. This usually lasts for a few days before, in an itchy state of withdrawal, I cave and reinstall them. But so far I’ve lasted about a week, and the longer I go on, the less I want to go back on them. It’s amazing how much time is freed up when you’re no longer spending 1-2 hours a day scrolling on your phone.

Tumblr, of course, does not count amongst the aforementioned apps. I consider it to be a more evolved form of social media.

Sizing up in jeans

I’m not sure at what point my life I decided that jeans were meant to be inherently uncomfortable. Even though I’ve eschewed skinny jeans for a while now, like a good reformed Millennial, I’ve never let go of the mentality that jeans should still be snug around the hips and waist to be “flattering”.

Now, at long last, I have come to the simple realization that I can wear whatever jeans I want. By simply going up one size from your true waist size, you can have jeans that don’t: 1) require small, awkward jumps to pull on 2) take your underwear along for a ride every time you take them off and 3) cut off your circulation every time you sit down. A miracle.

Clinique Black Honey lipstick

I am not a lipstick wearer. I have tried to embrace the “French girl” look, wherein a dash of lipstick somehow pulls your entire look together, but the truth is when you otherwise look completely haggard, wearing a bright red lipstick actually makes you look a bit insane. I’ve actually had the Clinique Black Honey Lipstick for a while, but rediscovered it kicking around in the bottom of a purse the other day. And wow, I forgot how much I love this simple product. It provides just a little bit of color without making it obvious I’m wearing a color. It does not dry out my permanently chapped lips (though I still wear some Vaseline on top of it). It feels very elegant to slip the little silver tube into my bag or purse. 5/5.

Reading about etiquette

After reading Jane Austen’s Emma and laughing at the various social mishaps that the characters get into, I went on a journey of reading about etiquette and what the hell happened to it over the past two hundred years. Not that I miss the strict dress comportment expected of men and women back then, or women in general being banned from a variety of activities, but I do think there were some romantic tendencies which we lost and were never satisfyingly replaced. Like formal balls. Handwritten letters. Ladies wearing gloves. I know that some people still write letters to their friends in fits of nostalgia, but in an age of instant communication I feel that this would probably be a one-sided effort and met with some confusion before eventually petering off.

Paying for things with cash

Like many North Americans, I am mildly irritated by the influx of tipping requests for things that we used to not tip for, like buying ice cream at a counter or getting an oil change. There is a very simple solution to this, which is to carry cash for these types of services. I haven’t carried cash in so long that I somehow forgot about this workaround. Paying with cash removes the awkward moment where the machine is tilted towards you and the cashier watches as you punch in the minimum suggested 18% tip for scooping ice cream into a cup. If you hand over exact change or the minimum amount of cash required, they cannot judge you for not reaching into your pocket and pulling out extra cash for a tip. Somehow, this feels totally different than selecting “No tip” on a machine. I don’t know why, but it does.

[papirouge]

I can’t stop crying, I’ve lost more friends in Gaza… yet so many Christian evangelicals have yet to even mention that Christians in Gaza exist. Or if they do, it’s criticism and blaming Gaza for the genocide that’s happening. It’s as if they fully believe it’s a Jew/Muslim conflict when it’s not. It’s an idf-Hamas conflict.

I lost contact with one of my friends and haven’t been able to get any info. The terror keeps coming. And there was no where to go, it hurts. And I’m so angry at that Christians in the west just ignoring it all

.......... I'm really sorry anon...

I've never felt that powerless in my life, and my heart aches for all those people being murdered before our eyes, and the Christian community either condoning such heinous act or turning the head around... They will have to take accountability for their cowardice....

The body of Christ is ONE. If someone cuts your leg or hand, you will definitely feel it and your whole body is going to react to it. But Western Christians? They look away like the cowards that they are. Mind you, they are the same ones that are so suuuuure to resist the antichrist when he will come. Meanwhile, they are unable to voice the slightest support to our Christian brothers in Palestine out of fear... What kind of clownery is that? At least, I don't mind people refusing to cover any sort of world news bc they are consistent in their lane, but I'm thinking about all those Christians who have aaaaaalways so many things to say abt the latest stupid stunt in the news, the wokes, feminists, liberals... Suddenly they are VERY quiet. That's a choice. They are disgusting.

Even the anti Muslim/let's protect Christianism from Islam uwu Christian YouTuber squad are pulling out video exPoSinG Hamas while not saying a single word abt the Christian casualties (David Wood, Apostate Prophet, etc.) They are full of it, and I will never ever again take them seriously in their defense of Christianity in middle east when those ghouls don't even have a word to say about our Palestinian Christian brothers dying under Israeli strikes and PLEADING for our attention and prayers... They only care about Christians dying because of ISLAM, when they die for any other reason, they will defiect. Like, yeah, Hamas sucks - we been knew. What's the point of making 1 video a day about them? In what way does it remotely dismiss the atrocity of whatever's happening in Gaza???

It's so sick to see pro Israel constantly move the goalpost to paint themselves as the only victims, and worse, downplaying what's happening in Gaza.

They will deflect on antisemitism in pro Palestine protests (while acting like the very same didn't happen in pro Israel protests with the most rabid islamophobic genocidal crap), semantics about what Zionism is and whether it's antisemitism (meanwhile palestinians are literally DYING), that they don't care about Gaza as long as the hostage aren't fred (when if they actually really cared abt the hostages they wouldn't encourage Israel to bomb Gaza bc the actual hostages risk dying out there along the Hamas...🤦🏾‍♀️), or shouting "free Gaza from Hamas !!" as if any of that justified bombing civilians... oh and let's not forget the feminist/liberal edge of Israel defense with the "Palestianian are sexist/homophobic so there's no point defending them" stupid narrative....

I think the reason pro Israel are so bad in their rhetoric is that for years they've been used to leverage their Jewishness to get empathy and immunity against accountability.

But it's over now. We have social medias and we can witnessing in real time the horror of Tsahal actions. How they aren't any morally better than Hamas. We've seen the Israeli mocking Palestianians nit having water or food...

"you were quiet when the Hamas assassinated Israelis" we were quiet because this operation went so fast and that Israel quickly retaliated. There was no way to stop the Hamas bc NO ONE knew it was coming, so what did they expect us to do?? Just bc we don't say anything doesn't mean we approve. Do you see people condemn suicide/terrorist attacks whenever they happen?? IMO there wouldn't be such an outrage is Israel left it at that and didn't go overboard with launching a whole war against Gaza. The reason the world is siding with Palestinian is because we are witnessing the ongoing massacre of population with the actual (political and/or economical) backup of our respective countries for DAYS now. Unlike the Hamas attack, there are ways to stop it. The Hamas didn't cut the water & food supply of Israelis. Palestinians aren't clowning on social medias the Jewish civilians who were killed by the Hamas. That's why the world is shocked and is siding with Palestine and is slowly but surely getting fed up with the cognitive dissonance of Israelis crying oppression while acting like soulless ghouls. Crying antisemitism isn't fooling anyone anymore.

[deathby-vines]

Practical Guide to Beginning Magic (p.1)

(Mental and Emotional Safety)

Severely undervalued skill in the community but a very important one is keeping yourself mentally well while exploring the spiritual and witchcraft communities.

The first thing I want to say in this vein is that there is no 1 way to practice magic. Magic/witchcraft/mysticism/spirituality is a winding path that everyone follows in their own way. That means everyone will practice differently and have a different perspective on their own practice.

I highly encourage you to interact with other practicioners of any or all paths, backgrounds, ages, ect. If you have the ability to do that in person, go for it. Research clubs, covens, events, happening in or around your area. Metaphysical shops can be a good way to meet more of the community in your area. Some places around the U.S I know host Pagan Pride events at different points throughout the year, this can also be a way to make friends in the community.

If you can't go out and meet people in person for whatever reason, you can use the internet to connect with other practicioners, but go forth with caution. I find that the internet tends to 3-demensional topics down into 2 demensional arguments, this can foster resenments and misunderstandings. In general, when looking for community online I would try to find a Forum style platform- as opposed to the screaming into the void style social media- the reasoning for this is 2 fold.

This style was built for more interaction between people, which in my opinion fosters more of a communal feeling.

2. These forums most likely have a moderator that is there to keep things civil and to keep the members of the forum safe from hate speach, harmful misinformation, scammers, toxicity, ect. This isn't flawless because these moderators are people and thus just as flawed as the rest of us, but it is something.

Which leads me to my next topic...

Avoiding Cults/ Unhealthy Power Dynamics

(A youtuber called Ivy the Occultist has a video all about how to avoid unhealthy coven dynamics.)

In every area of your life there is a chance of someone treating you poorly, this doesn't change in the spiritual community. There are certain tactics that are commonly used by people who want to have control over you. The main one is shaking your foundations, meaning your sense of yourself, your sense of reality, and your support systems.

If someone tells you that you aren't who you think you are; you're actually so and so from hundreds of years ago, or some otherworldly being, or a "natural magic", ect. be wary.

Mostly people start out with this to convince you that they know you better than you know yourself to get you to trust them more than you trust yourself. I promise you that no stranger knows more about you than you do, honey, keep your money.

In a similar vein; if someone tells you that your reality isn't real- that nothing in the world is really there, that certain people aren't really people, that everything you know to be true is wrong (and everything they know is right)- Be Wary.

By convincing you that you don't know what's real, but they do, they once again get you to stop trusting yourself and trust them instead.

Last, but certainly not least, if someone tells you that you need to get away from your friends/ family/ mundane community, because they don't believe or they "bring bad vibes" Be Very Wary.

If you leave everything you know for a person or a group, they know that you don't have anywhere to go, so they can treat you however they want.

Grounding (physical grounding)

In the spiritual community there is a lot of playing around with how we think of reality, but one thing is true, objectively; You are/live in a physical being that interacts with the physical world.

Keeping yourself grounded in this physical world makes you much less vulnerable to manipulation tactics like the one's above. It is also important to your physical, mental, and emotional health.

Don't get lost in all the woo woo, remember to touch some grass every once in a while literally or metaphorically.

Engage with your physical body and your physical environment however you are able. If that is exercises, cleaning your self or your space, some manual hobby, some goofy t.v show that has nothing to do with spirituality or magic, or just looking out a window and paying attention to what goes on out there. Doesn't matter, just remember to do it.

And last but not least:

Respectful Skepticism

Skepticism is a good thing!! Be curious! Ask questions!

Look into where certain beliefs come from, think about why you believe what you believe, think critically about information, look into scientific explanations, look at mundane and/or academic sources.

Don't come at it with hostility towards the people you're learning from, but with a respect for the fact that you need question and find out for yourself whether a piece of information/ a source/ a practice is reliable and safe for you.

Especially if you are someone who grew up in an environment where questioning authority is a big no no; start getting more comfortable with respectful skepticism. It will leave you with a deeper understanding of yourself, your path, and the world around you.

[eerna]

Anytime I see a book recommendation i be like :) and go to goodreads to add it to my list then I see your 1 star with a review on it and I become oh :( it’s not really that “I can like a book she doesn’t like” but more like a “I’ve hated every book she hated and loved every book she loved” basically I trust your taste if you know what I mean. Ok to put it together what I wanna ask is DO YOU HAVE ANY IMMACULATE SERIES REC?? Cause every damn time I trust people’s taste and read a popular thing it turns out to be a shitty book that was trying to be dystopian or smth I read this shatter me series the other week cause it was soooooooooo big on social media and I HATED IT I wanted to burn the book but the thing is I was reading it on iPad so that wasn’t a choice to heal my anger. Cause like everytime I wanted to drop it they convinced me that it gets better by the next book and I just dropped it with a hard review after reading the third book. It’s sad cause popular things aren’t even good anymore. I remember back in time popular stuff was like LOTR, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, hunger games idk stuff that was worth your time y’know. Now either the art is fucking dead or people just became tasteless over time

FJKBjkvsbkjavbdkja glad to be saving you from bad recs! And sorry for your bad experiences, I relate :((( After a couple situations where a summary sounded fantastic when given in a tiktok video and then the book was shit, I just completely gave up on trusting any of the Internet's faves nowadays. I mean, not that popularity was ever a quality guarantee, but at least I used to enjoy SOME trendy stuff, even if it wasn't the best writing ever. The shift happened with tiktok, that app rotted everyone's brains and now 99% of the most popular media just don't work for me. I def suggest branching out and not relying on bestsellers, there's a lot of gems to find in the wild! I use Scribd and browse whatever is available at the time, but libraries and youtubers who don't rely only on what's popular are also a good source (usually it's the smaller channels, but some bigger ones might work as well).

As for an immaculate rec, I am so sorry but I simply don't have anything, there's fault in everything I love and that's totally cool! But I'll still rec the closest thing, The Locked Tomb, which you probably read already and I am sorry for that but honestly no other fantasy series comes close for me dbjsavbakj.

Hope you have fun~~

[purplesurveys]

1847

1 - Who was the last person to knock on your door? Were they there to see you?  I asked my mom to help wake me up this morning (in case I fail my alarm) since I had an early calltime for my event today. No, I wouldn't say she was there to see me per se.

2 - Have you left the house yet today? If not, do you have plans to leave the house later on?  Yeah I was out since 8 AM. I was in Trinoma from 9 AM to 6 PM for an event, then I immediately drove to UP to see a wrestling show with Andi.

3 - What’s your favourite brand of chocolate? What type of chocolate bar from that brandis your favourite?  I really like Reese's since it has peanut butter; my favorite is just the classic normal-sized cups.

4 - Have you ever met someone in person who you first met on the internet? Do you have plans to do that anytime soon? Yeah, I met with a fellow wrestling fan once to lend him my copy of Chris Jericho's Undisputed. I ended up not liking his personality and found him (and his friend, who he never mentioned he was bringing) quite rude, so I stopped talking to him shortly after that. Didn't even bother asking for my book back lol.

I used to feel guilty about leaving him hanging, and he even sent a handful of DMs asking what happened and apologizing for whatever he did, but then I just have to remember that he kind of sucked and I stop feeling bad.

5 - What was the last thing you used a blender for?  I don't think I've ever used a blender. We've never even owned a blender.

6 - Have you ever got into an argument with a stranger on social media? Do you remember what it was about?  I've been in a few. They've mostly been sociopolitical.

7 - When was the last time you cracked your joints? Is that something you do often?  Can't remember, and no I don't do it a lot.

8 - What time is it right now? If you weren’t doing a survey, what else would you be doing right now?  10:43 PM. If I wasn't doing a survey rn I'd probably be on Rhythm Hive hahaha.

9 - If you had ten minutes to run around an empty supermarket and fill your trolley for free, what’s the first aisle you’d go for?  My first thought was why would I need to get things if the grocery was empty? but ok it took me longer than I would like to admit to catch your drift haha.

Anyway I'd probably just get thrice the amount of things my mom would get on a usual run to help her out for a few weeks.

10 - Aside from Tumblr, what websites do you visit the most and why?  Continued from Sunday evening. I have YouTube on pretty much as long as I'm awake. I like the background noise.

11 - Has COVID had any impact on your Christmas plans this year? What’s going to change or be different to normal?  If you asked me this in like 2020 or 2021 I would have said yes. But it's been four years since the world's been on lockdown and everything's back to feeling as though we never had a pandemic.

12 - What’s your favourite flavour of cake? Are you any good at making that kind of cake?  I don't really have a favorite flavor, more of a type – I like cheesecake and really it's the only kind of cake I have. No, I've never made one before and will always prefer buying it.

13 - Do you prefer sweet or sour candy? I don't really like candy, but I'll go with sweet.

14 - What colour is your favourite fruit? Is this a fruit you eat often?  I don't like fruits either haha.

15 - Is your favourite restaurant an independent place or a chain? What is it that you love about it so much?  It's a chain. Service is always great, the quality of the food is no different regardless which branch I go to, and they serve unlimited rice, cabbage, and miso soup so what's not to love? Hahaha.

16 - Are you genuinely a fan of Starbucks or do you think it’s all hype?  No, I like Starbucks and go for it as much as possible when I'm looking for coffee.

17 - Do you own a Christmas jumper? What design/pattern does it have on it?  Nope.

18 - What’s your favourite fit/style of jeans?  High-waisted denim.

19 - What was the last non-essential item you spent money on?  Iced coffee.

20 - Are you currently under any COVID-related restrictions where you live? Are people generally following the rules?  We've come a long way folks...

21 - What did you last leave the room you’re in to do?  If I understand this correctly, I went down to the living room for a few hours after work because that's what I usually do in the evening. I had dinner, walked and played with the dogs, and played a game on my phone.

22 - Have you ever read any self-help books? Did you find them useful?  No.

23 - What’s your favourite programme on the Food Network (if you watch it)? If you don’t get that channel, what’s your favourite food/cookery show in general?  I don't really watch cooking stuff anymore, even on YouTube. I used to though, a lot; Buzzfeed's Worth It used to be my favorite.

24 - Do you still watch cartoons?  Every now and then when my sister and I get in the mood, sure.

25 - Who do you know with the most number of siblings? Would you ever want to live in a huge family?  I knew two people from high school who came from a sibling set of 5. My grandpa and his siblings were, if I'm not mistaken, 7 in total. No, I'm fine with what our family size turned out to be.

26 - Are you a fan of garlic bread? I love garlic bread.

27 - Do you own any personalized clothing? What’s the reason for getting it?  I don't think I do, no.

28 - Is anyone else in the same room as you right now? What is that person up to?  It would just be me here.

29 - What colours are you wearing right now? Does your wardrobe contain a lot of those colours?  White and grey. Sure!

30 - Do you like adding condiments to your food? If so, what are some of your favourites?  Yes, I love condiments. Mayo, Japanese mayo, or sriracha.