#we are equally as important

[ladyraspberry-2540]

Went to see a movie, here are my thoughts for those who are willing to read

(SPOILERS, PLEASE DON'T LOSE THE PLEASURE OF WATCHING IT FIRST YOURSELF)

1. Went to see Barbie today, not gonna lie it was one of the best movies I've watched since I think Puss in Boots: Last Wish

2. It's a movie that makes you tear up both from sadness and happiness

3. I love women. This film really shows the beauty of solidarity and fighting together for us to be treated as we should: with equal respect and importance

4. I just love how sooooo many cishet men were so mad and grrrrr rumbly that how dare a movie (based on dolls and feminism and flaws of our society and patriarchal system) dares to not be made specifically for them

5. I've also seen an opinion somewhere that it shows not only obvious idiocy of patriarchy but also matriarchy. And with that, I strongly agree, here are the couple of situations to visualise it:

While Barbies have various important, impactful roles (shown in the movie with doctors, noble prize winners, astronauts, fully female supreme court, president), Kens fulfill only most basic and trivial positions like just being a beach himbo. Sounds very, very, very familiar (with reversed sexes) when you think about stereotypical, male-centered media, no?

In one of the earlier scenes, the Weird Barbie makes an unsavoury "compliment" about Ken's nether regions, which is an obvious example of cat-calling and objectification

One of the scenes near the ending feels so much like something you'd say when women finally gained the ability to have some even slightly significant roles: you won't get access to the supreme court buuuut we'd allow you to rule in something local (later followed by the narrator's: and Kens were happy, maybe one day they'd get as much power as women have in the real world)

6. Ordinary. Barbie. It made my eyes create a freaking waterfall! Just because you're not a doctor, carrier oriented, mother, super duper smart, pretty, charismatic does not make you any less of a woman. There's no need to prove yourself to deserve respect!

7. And finally, the real real tear-jerker, if the last point was a waterfall, this one is like 10 waterfalls. When Barbie stands with Ruth Handler (her creator, Barbie's name is based on her real-life daughter, Barbara), and she closes her eyes to finally see what humanity and womanhood is... The visions of so so so many women: babies, young girls, workers, doctors, mothers, wives...

Being a woman is hard. Being a woman requires you to endure challenges always everywhere: double standards, sexism (not only ideological), never being on the winning position (if you present yourself modestly you lose, if you're more "openly" presenting you lose, if you're too thin you lose, if you're too fat you lose, if you're focused on the career you lose, if you want to be a homemaker you lose and many many more).

Being a woman is beautiful. Being a woman is empowering.

And I'm not only talking about cis women! Any person who identifies as a woman goes through these struggles and most importantly

DESERVE TO BE TREATED WITH RESPECT

-🍓

#Barbie #barbie movie #women #girls #feminism #we are strong #we are beautiful #we deserve respect #we are equally as important #i love being a woman

[inkskinned]

in internet posts it is easy to cut them out of your life. they are hurting you! they aren't listening to you!

they held your hair back. they lent you lipstick. they held your hand at the train station and got you home safe. they rounded on your bully, got loud, said get fucked, spitting-mad in your defense.

they also cut the hair off again. told you that you should really think twice before wearing something like that. took you for granted. took your insecurities and threw them in your face again.

you know logically it should be easy. all the internet advice comments always read it will feel better. like an equation - if a person is rotten, you just remove them. you pull the tooth that's hurting.

but it was never a big flare-up moment. you don't live in a sitcom. they never tried to take your boyfriend or steal from your apartment. they showed up to birthdays and they wrote songs about you and bring you water without you asking. once you found out they carry an emergency inhaler for you, even though you haven't had an asthma attack in years - just in case.

where is the line? people fuck up. sometimes they fuck up badly. sometimes people have raw personalities, like a powerline, and being around them is dangerous. addicting. sometimes they can't help themselves, but you know they're trying. sometimes they are just rough-around-the-edges. sometimes they don't even realize how they sounded when they said that. sometimes it's just - you've both loved each other for so long now, the way this thing hurts goes back to the root.

and that's the fucked up part. you have pushed your fingers against the sweetheart of memory. things these days are electric, tense, harrowing. they didn't used to be. there were a lot of good days in there. sometimes you want to just close your eyes and say can this be over yet? do we still need to be fighting?

doing that would give up any chance you get of getting an apology, but you don't always know that you need an apology, you love them. once they flaked on your birthday party. once they told you to get over it, people are always dying. they also let you crash on their couch for a week after the breakup, handfeeding you when you were so sad you couldn't eat. they are also judgmental about everything, occasionally react to banal statements with an attitude that is weird and fiery. they also love you like a lighthouse sometimes, so strong they cut the storm like lightning.

but the problem is that you might be storm. you might be the thing that needs breaking. what if you are two forces who are desperately, horribly drawn to each other, shaped by the other person's passions, and both good for each other and bad in equal measure.

what if you're both just people, and you're no saint neither.

just cut them off! swallowing the saltwater, you catch yourself in the mirror. you've been shaking more than usual. there's an ache in you that is oblique, loud, impossible to soothe. is this what it looks like? when life is "easier"?

your mouth will always have a hole, is the thing, if you remove the tooth.

#spilled ink #warm up #writeblr #this is about someone specific but feel free to blorbo on main. #tbh this is familial for me so that is an element but it's also about childhood best friends #and probably about ur enemies to lovers blorbo #(but i want to specifically say if ur partner is like this. not necessarily a good partnership lol.) #(the dynamics at play in familial/friend relationships feel equally important and in some ways are HARDER to escape. #bc we can see that this is a potentially toxic romantic foundation. #but in family ? ...... it's toxic and it doesn't stop u from loving them. bc u always have. #and i think that makes it harder. by a lot. which is what this is referencing). #but genuinely and really truly forever feel free to tag ur potentially toxic enemies to lovers on this and all my poetry #here i'll do one for u - adora & catra :x

[bingqiv]

it’s just the way that the doctor still tragically loves the master despite everything.

the master has destroyed their planet and violated their people in the worst way possible and yet they’re still intrinsically entwined for eternity.

the master is who he thinks about when there’s a chance he may die and the master is who he thinks about when he survives.

missy said “my heart is maintained by the doctor” and i do think that’s mutual. the doctor’s hearts are maintained by the master, they always have been and always will be.

#the doctor thinking he is about to die sings the skye boat song and talks about the moon and the president’s wife #the link to missy and the spy master and simm with the saxon theme #the universe really said ‘you’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you’ #also when we finally get a master/doctor reunion it’s going to be so fucking angsty can’t wait #also this is all something i think the master needs to realise (especially a post dhawan one) #like yes you are still equals and yes you are still the most important person in the doctor’s past present and future stop #dw #doctor who #dw spoilers #the master #thoschei #the doctor

[darkmagicians]

Kaiba: Could you FIGHT and KILL and TRAMPLE on the hearts of your friends...? Mheh heh heh...

Kaiba:

Kaiba:

Kaiba: wait hey no I meant like metaphorically hold on what the fuck??? what the fuck?????

#yugioh #ygo dm #seto kaiba #yami yuugi #battle city #kaiba believes in equality when he tried to kill them they ALL got an electric chair to sit in <3 #(he's come so far) #i also feel like its important to note that like 2 pages prior mokuba was like #why are we going to where that loser jounouchi is???? #bc he is a little shit (affectionate)

[larkspurglove]

There’s something so interesting about the Stonehearts taking on new names. The stripping of individualism and forcing them to conform under the gemstone, hierarchy based system of the IPC makes me want to write an essay but unfortunately we only have two stonehearts’ lore available to us, one of which seems pretty happy with the IPC’s conformity.

#YOU DON’T UNDERSTANDDDDDD my theory is that the IPC is basically a secondary space America #(with the first space America being Penacony cause duh) #except the IPC is DEEP into the capitalism and workaholism culture stuff #and the gemstone names are like an erasing of the stonehearts’ culture if that makes sense #like kakavasha is based on a Romani festival I believe #and I think everyone knows about how the avgins/signonians culture heavily draws from Romani culture #and while we don’t know much about Topaz’s planet Jelena is a Slavic name #although I feel like that was chosen just to hammer in topaz’s empathy for Belobog aka space russia #I just don’t know how to word it without sounding bad? like one might think everyone being equal is good #but not when the IPC is involved #also I think aven’s story did a pretty good showcase of how his culture is important to him but made others look down on him #anyway in the mean time I’m thinking of either looking into ‘Penacony is an allegory for modern day America’ #or reading up on high cloud quintet lore #honkai star rail #hsr #aventurine #hsr aventurine #aventurine hsr #topaz hsr #hsr topaz #topaz #lark rambles #yk if Jade turns out to be from a similar background to Aven and Topaz #(ie. planet who’s citizens are indentured servants to the IPC) #I will 110% write the name essay

[anyoldfandom]

I am actually. I am so emotional over the Salazar parents and I need to share this to tumblr too.

A lot of stories where the MC is adopted I feel. Either dismiss the biological parents and the impact they have on the kid's life, or makes them evil and abusive, framing the loss of the bio parents as a good thing, or at least something we shouldn't think about just look at this new family.

But Genrex doesn't do that. From the start, Rex wanted to find out more about his parents - it's one of his primary character motivations, next to helping people. He loves them, even though he doesn't know them.

And the more he finds out about them, the more he realizes they loved him. Rylander is consumed by guilt but as Rex's first connection to his pre-Event life, the first thing he does is hug him. And when he tells Rex about his parents, the two things Rex knows is that 1) they were scientists, and 2) that when he was in danger, they were desperate enough to use their secret, experimental technology to save him. Technology built from their desire to help the world, to save countless lives and end countless suffering.

And then. When he finds out that they were dead, he doesn't stop caring. It'd be so easy, too, to tie it up there - his parents were good people, he got his answer about them, the end. But they don't. He doesn't. Because the show is saying once again that they are his parents. He still calls them mom and dad, even as the show makes it clear Holiday and Six adopted Rex as their son. Even as the show even parallels Six and One with Rex and Six (and I will talk about that more later if I don't forget, trust me), to really drive home how much they're family. Rex even says he considers the two of them family, and later that he considers Noah, Claire and Annie family.

He has new family, the show tells us, but his old family still matters to him. He's upset that he never has the chance to meet his parents, that everything he hears about them, about his time with them, is secondhand knowledge. It tells us clearly that not only does Rex still love them, but that he still wants to know them. And everything we find out about them reinforces the love that they had for each other.

We see Abuela and the family in Mexico, who connect him to his birth family and tell him that he was so loved back then, and still is now. We see their office in Abysus through Rex's eyes. The picture of him and his dad on his desk. The drawing Rex drew, proudly pinned to the wall.

We see it in the familiarity of the drawing. That that robot, that build, was what Rex created when he was lost and scared and alone - that it was made to keep him safe. That it first appeared in his mind in a place he felt safe.

The show says, tenderly and softly, that the love is still there. That the fact these people died was nothing but a tragedy, that their love is a big part of what made Rex who he is today - that every molecule in his body is filled with their final gift to him. That every time he cures someone, every time he uses a build, every time he makes a machine - we see the love that they had for him.

And the way he quietly absorbs his father's face. The way he freezes and whispers "Mamá?" when he finds out Zag-Rs has their mother's voice. The fact that she even has her voice as a testament to Caesar's love, too - that it was meant to bring comfort and safety. The way Rex yells at Caesar when he finds out they have a family property, a connection to their past, the way he fights to protect it.

And, none of this takes away still from Six and Holiday being Rex's family too. None of this removes the work either set of parents did for him, the love either set has - the show says that it was unfair that the Salazar parents were lost. That Six and Holiday are not replacements, that they still love him as parents but play different roles in his life. They can not, and have no desire to, replace the Salazars. But Rex needs parents, he needs protectors, and so they will do what they can for him - at first out of necessity, to keep this kid they barely know safe, but then out of love. They aren't replacing what was lost, but are doing their best to do what Rex's bio parents would do. And they do mess up in it - they mess up in ways Rex's bio parents might not have. Six is clearly bad with showing affection, affection we saw the Salazars give Rex so easily, and Holiday is overworked and stressed constantly, sometimes breaking under the pressure and snapping at Rex and Six, things we never saw the Salazars do.

It's just. It's about how sometimes things will not be the same. They will be different. That doesn't mean the people you lost aren't still with you.

#This is also. Why I dislike the 'Rex was secretly made for the nanite experiments the accident was a lie' theory so much #Bc it assigns malice where the show says over and over again there was only love. #That this was only ever a tragedy of good people whose good intentions were manipulated and twisted. #And I think giving them something shitty to have done in the past especially goes against the message of the show's perspective on adoption #The family we choose is not always stronger than the family we are born to. Sometimes they are equal in different ways. #Rex's bio parents are gone but not replaced. They have also shaped who he is #Six and Holiday are just picking up where they left off. Because they have to. #Also I don't like the theory that Rex's parents are EVOs somewhere bc I think it diminishes the impact of the tragedy too. #I get. Wanting them to have a happy ending. But I think it's important to realize that this is the closest they can have to a happy ending. #Some things cannot be replaced. Or fixed. Sometimes life takes what we love and what loves us. And that is okay. #It is okay to be upset at that and it is okay to never fully move on. #'What about Caesar?' I have. Another post's worth of thoughts about him. #But I think he's also a character who is defined more by Rex by their relation and defined by the story by his guilt #I think he is the closest thing Rex has to a shitty bio family member and he is shitty in plenty of ways #But he's also a parallel to Rex in a lot of ways. He fails where Rex succeeds bc of it. #generator rex #genrex #Anyways. Sorry for the big post.

[chirpsythismorning]

Some of the evidence supporting Mike not being in love with El is brutal. No, but seriously.

In s3, when El's leg is injured, instead of Mike putting his arm around her waist, allowing him to take some of the weight off her injured leg, he puts his arm around her shoulder, basically having the exact opposite affect of taking the weight off of her, instead just adding more weight for her to have to carry.

Now, I’m not coming at Mike here, I’m actually coming at the writers, because this choice here has everything to do with them using this gesture to signal Mike’s lack of feelings for El, even at the expense of realism.

I say this bc any person with common sense, including Finn and everyone around him and Millie filming these shots, would've known it looked unnatural for Mike to be adding more weight onto El as opposed to taking some off of her.

This means that what Mike did here, Finn was directed to do, and therefore it was for a specific reason.

And we know they could have easily made the opposite choice, because they show us Max AND Lucas doing it.

See how putting an arm around El's waist looks so much more natural? Because homegirl is injured and clearly needs help taking weight off her leg to qualm some of the pain she's experiencing there, which is why Max and Lucas are shown here doing it the correct way.

And so, why can't Mike do the same? Why are the writers making a point to show Mike being incapable of simply taking some weight off of El, instead doing the exact opposite?

I don't think it's as deep as Mike not being able to do something intimate, and that's bc, again we see Max and Lucas doing it.

I honestly think what they're trying to convey with this choice here, is that Mike thinks he's helping El, when he is in fact doing the opposite despite his best efforts. The implications of that and how that sort of aligns with their romantic relationship and what it leads to at the end of s3, going into s4, is pretty spot on.

I do think Mike thinks he's doing the right thing by being with El instead of voicing any doubts at the end of s3, because he is under the assumption that she is in love with him. I do think he believes he is indebted to her and that this is the least he can do after everything they've been through together, which has mostly been riddled with romantic pressures and so continuing that instead of disputing it seems like the only option anyways. Not to mention, he does care for her deeply, so it's not hard to imagine that he's a teenage boy confusing deep care for love (he literally tells us this is his problem when he can only say care and not love to El's face... but that's a whole other conversation).

Still, when it's all said and done, Mike's not actually doing El any favors by being with her romantically, if that is not what he truly wants.

Because that's the sad truth about all of this, which is that you would never want someone to be with you just because you want them. If you knew that they truly couldn't have those feelings for you, you'd want to know, right? You don't deserve someone just because you have deep feelings for them. And I think there's so many layers to this idea, bc many people are capable of not giving Byler a chance bc they truly believe Mike could never return Will's feelings. Will also feels this way atp, so though it hurts, he rips the band aid off, because he would never want Mike to be with him just out of pity or something. No one would want that. And so it all really comes down to who Mike truly loves romantically and wants to be with. And the right thing to do, even if it hurts someone, is to be honest, because being with them just bc you think that will make them happy is never going to be enough if you aren't truly feeling it, or worse, feel it for someone else.

We see how Mike's inability to be honest with El at the end of s3, leads to a season of Mike feeling deeply insecure and undeserving of the love El has to offer him, and even though he does try, he always comes up short. Despite Mike putting up this front that they are the perfect couple, the details are telling us something is off. And it gives him away.

Another example that I think is very similar to this loaded gesture from Mike to El in s3, is the scene in s4 when they hug in the airport.

Common sense ppl, picture this: You're reuniting with your long distance girlfriend. Then suddenly, she runs up to you, with her arms wide open, and instead of opening your arms wide to embrace her properly, you take the bouquet of flowers you brought her as a gift, and shove them against your chest just as she approaches to hug you, effectively squishing the present you got for her (a pretty delicate present at that) for no reason other than to... what exactly?

Like?? El isn't even squishing the present Mike, she's trying to hug you, dude! Your gf is trying to hug you properly and you threw the gift you got for her in between you so you could throw in a careful! x3??

Again, this has less to do with Mike's thoughts and reasoning behind this gesture in a literal sense, and more to do with the simple fact that this is a narrative choice! Mike is not a real person! There are real people sitting down and writing this and actors are having to do multiple takes to act it out. What feels natural for a situation is going to be what is often chosen 9 times out of 10, because of realism and wanting the audience to see stuff happening that is believable. That 1 time though, when it's not being done the way it would usually be, is usually because there's a specific reason for it.!

So the question really is, not why is Mike doing this, but why are the writers having Mike do this, and what message are they trying to convey about Mike's feelings based on his behavior, in these moments where he's just not capable of committing to El genuinely, one way or another?

#byler #no but most of the gay subtext is just so like... you really didn't have to do all that? #gay subtext at the expense of realism? check #mike thinks he's helping el by not breaking her heart and just being with her despite feelings for will he can't deny #very reminiscent of mike's 'maybe you thought you were helping but you weren't. you hurt me! what you did sucks!' #i do think it would be epic too see that moment come full circle but with el saying it to mike this time #bc i'm sure el would much rather have her heartbroken finding out that mike is incapable of loving her romantically #than to find out he was with her bc he didn't want to hurt her even at the expense of his own happiness #like no one wants to have someone be with them out of pity or obligation #we want someone to love us truly and deeply and genuinely! #we see how much el struggles in s4 bc of all the hints she's getting from mike that he doesn't genuinely love her #bc that's the most important part of a romantic relationship #it being equal #and it didn't feel that way #sure she's gonna be pissed #but she's gonna be more pissed he wasn't just honest #friends don't lie obvs

[zilabee]

love everyone's theories about what George, Paul or Ringo's films might be like, but we have met men before, yeah? four films about the four beatles is definitely code for a three and a half hour bio-epic about John Lennon's important life, and then some half hearted twenty minute mini features about the other three and how much they loved John

#clear that sam mendes has got the rights to john's life story by promising these four equal films #very likely that the other three films are going to be somewhat delayed in a 'never even started them' kind of way #it's not his fault! #we know more about John! #he's just more important! #he's just more interesting! #he has a tragic backstory that the other beatles don't! #we don't know enough about Ringo to make a film! #we just made a sort of animated octopus short instead #what would you even put in a Paul film?????? #he's too bland for a film! #he isn't emotionally complex in a way we've never really seen explored in cinema! #the beatles #sam mendes #john lennon #paul mccartney

[westwiiind]

underrated hiccstrid moment is astrid telling hiccup “i’m proud of you” in the hidden world :,)

#we didn’t get a verbal i love you in the movies (bc that was rightfully saved for hiccup and toothless) #but ‘i’m proud of you!’ is equally important and cute to me #i love that she told him that #i love that they’re more verbally affectionate as they grow up #‘thanks for supporting me last night it meant a lot’ i could weep #they’re so sweet to each other #iduna.txt #httyd #hiccstrid

[inkskinned]

you have to go to work so you can pay for your doctor, who is not taking your insurance right now, and if you say i can't afford the doctor's you are told - get a better job. it is very sad that you are unwell, yes, but maybe you should have thought about that before not having a better job.

(where is the better job? who is giving out these better jobs? you are sick, you are hurting - how the hell are you supposed to be well enough for this better job?)

but you go to the doctor because you had the nerve to be hurt or sick or whatever else. and they tell you that it is because you have anxiety. you try your best. you are a self-advocate. you've done the reading (which sometimes pisses them off worse, honestly). you say it is actually adding to my anxiety, it is effecting my quality of life. so they say that you are fat. they say that all young people have this happen to them, isn't it a medical marvel! they say that you should eat more vegetables. they say that you probably just need to lose a little more weight, and that you are faking it for attention.

(what attention could this doctor possibly give? what validation? that's their fucking job, isn't it?)

there is always a hypochondriac, right. someone always tells you about a hypochondriac. or someone who is unnecessarily aggressive during the worst days of their life. or someone looking "for a quick fix". or some idiot who wasn't educated about how to properly care for themselves who just abandons their treatment. and again, the hypochondriac, the overly-cautious hysteric. these people don't deserve to be treated like humans (right), and since you might be one of these people, you also don't get treated like a human. because those people can really fuck with the system, you now have to pay for it. and besides. you're actually probably faking it.

(more often than not, you find a 2:1 ratio of these stories. for every "hypochondriac", there are 2 people who knew something was wrong, and yet nobody could fucking find it. the story often ends with pointless suffering. the story often ends with and now it's too late, and it's going to kill me.)

you are actually just making excuses. someone else got that procedure or that diagnosis and he's fine, you should be fine too. someone else said they watched a documentary about other inspirational people with your exact same condition, maybe you should be inspirational, too. you're just too morbid. your pain and your experience is probably just not statistically concerning. it is all self-reported anyway, and you're just being a baby.

(once, while sitting down in the middle of making coffee, you had the sudden, horrible thought - i could kill myself to make the pain stop. you had to call your best friend after that. had to pet your dog. had to cry about it in the shower. you won't, but that moment - god, fuck. the pain just goes on and on.)

you know someone who went in for routine surgery and said i still feel everything. they told her to just relax. it took her kicking and screaming before they figured out she wasn't lying - the anesthetic drip hadn't been working. you know someone who went in for severe migraines who was told drink water and lose weight. you know someone who was actively bleeding out and throwing up in the ER and was told you're just having a bad period.

in the ER there are always these little posters saying things like "don't wait! get checked today!" and you think about how often you do wait. how often the days spool out. you once waited a full week before seeing the doctor for what you thought was a sprained wrist. it had actually been broken - they had to rebreak it to set it.

but you go into the doctor. the problem you're having is immediate. the person behind the counter frowns and says we're not taking your insurance. you will be paying for this out-of-pocket.

they send you home with tylenol and a little health packet about weight loss or anxiety or attention deficit. on the front it has your birthday and diagnosis. you think about crying, and the words swim. it might as well say go fuck yourself. it might as well say you're a fucking idiot. it might as well say light your money on fire and lie down in it. and the entire fucking time - the problem persists.

it's okay. it's okay, it's just another thing, you think. it's just another thing i have to learn to live with.

#spilled ink #warm up #can you tell what i'm mad about today specifically #i will say that there are a LOT of things that go into this. like a lot. this is ungendered and unspecific for a reason #it isn't just sexism. it's also racism. and ableism. and honestly classism. #and before a healthcare professional reads this as a personal attack: i understand ur burnt out #we are ALSO burnt out. your situation is also dire. this is not an attack on you. #this is a commentary on the incredible amounts of bigotry that lie at the heart of capitalism #where people have to pay money out of pocket to be told to fuck off. #your job is important. so is our humanity. and if you cannot accept that people are fucking mad as hell #at the industry - you are probably not listening . #anyway at some point im gonna write a piece about sexism specifically in medical shit #but i don't want terfs clowning in it bc they can't understand nuance #> it is true that ppl w/a uterus are more likely to experience medical malpractice & dismissal globally #> it is also true that trans people experience an equally fucked up and bad time in the medical field #> great news! the medical industrial complex is an equal opportunity life ruiner :) #(if you find it necessary to go into a debate about biology while discussing medical malpractice #i want to warn you that you're misunderstanding the issue. because guess what. #cis MEN might experience this. particularly black men. particularly disabled men. #so YES having a uterus can lead to more trouble for you. but this happens a LOT. #instead of fighting those ALSO experiencing your pain.... try working WITH them. #which btw. is like. actual feminism.)

[aroaceleovaldez]

i mean it when i say we've gotta bring back askblogs. bring back making character chat posts with poor choice text colors over random backgrounds. bring back blogs dedicated to what outfits you think characters would wear.

fandom is an ecosystem, not a numbers game. these types of blogs/posts/etc still exist in concept, because people still want to make them and they're a great way to get your thoughts of an idea out in a simple format, but most people make them on like tiktok or instagram reels and that's where the problem lies. Those videos don't go anywhere. The format doesn't allow for the discussion to spread through the community and they're less likely to be engaged with in general. And to make them most people have to either show their face or figure out editing software, so the barrier to entry is higher (editing) and/or they have to forfeit an amount of privacy.

those types of posts/blogs are the first rung of the ecosystem. they're the perfect environment for younger members of the fandom to begin safely interacting with the larger community and putting their own thoughts and ideas out there. roleplay is the other major spot for that and those communities are diminishing as well, honestly (if you know of an rp forum board site, cherish it. and if you can make one, make one). they allow younger fans to begin engaging with the source material on a different/deeper level, but still at a very low barrier to entry, and begin conversations with other fans, which also helps them build skills which in turn may encourage them to pursue other avenues within the fandom (fic writing, other formats of askblog - which itself usually leads to art, cosplay, also fic writing, etc). Without those places to build those skills, they might feel discouraged from trying to begin when surrounded by curated people who have built their skills up for years.

And those conversations they foster also in turn help the community, by offering ideas to artists or fic writers to extrapolate on or building community jokes. And that text/blog format specifically is extremely beneficial, because it allows younger members of the fandom to remain anonymous and keep their privacy without concerning themselves with having any platform or having anything attached to them (very important for young fans figuring themselves out and navigating online community spaces for the first time, since they can remove themselves from spaces easily if they decide they don't like it and they're protected, rather than PUTTING THEIR FACE ON THE INTERNET). And those posts they make will spread a lot more into the community since they're in a significantly easier format to be reposted (few people are gonna be reposting tons of random short-form videos versus spamming their instagrams with reposts of 10 random fandom images yoinked from tumblr, or reposting to pinterest or something). Like, don't repost art, at the VERY least don't repost without credit, but also I am not ignorant to the fact that my art is not just the first google image result for "pjo pride" and related searches, but also the 4th, the 6th, the 9th, the 10th, the 11th, etc etc., and pops up in the search results before the official ReadRiordan does simply because people reposted my work more (most with credit, thankfully).

For fandom to be a community, it needs to perpetuate itself. There needs to be engagement with one another and conversation. If that bottom rung is cut off, then new fans won't be able to grow into the other niches of the fandom, and the fandom will be solely reliant on the source material and die out extremely quickly, and there won't be a community. There's no conversation! There's no reason to stay beyond the original material! But if you don't have points of entry for new fans, they won't have any way to build the skills needed to move into those niches, or engage with the community in a healthy way.

tl;dr: Bring back askblogs and character-based text post blogs. They are vital to fandom ecosystem.

#fandom #long post // #i know many people jest about tumblr posts being reposted often to other social media #but there's a reason for that! because few other social media these days are primarily text-based! and tumblr is a BLOGGING website! #we're built for sharing random essays! which means we have a LOT of word-heavy stuff #that other platforms can really only have in a different format - usually either image or video - due to character limits #and videos - even short form video - is far less engaged with because it takes more time to interact with #and short form videos of this nature ^ are usually only reposted in like. long-form video format compilations #which are pretty equally if not even less frequently interacted with #because most of those other social media platforms dont have good ways to easily share posts en mass like tumblr's reblog function #so even if those posts do get shared they rarely go far and even if they do they dont stick around #i also personally dont think it's coincidental that general fandom attitude shifts occurred circa 2016-2018 #around the same time as the major shift away from tumblr due to the bans #anyways if you run one of those types of blogs i respect you immensely #you are underappreciated but you fulfill an important ecological niche #also i know rp blogs are still a thing but theyre much more scarce and rp communities in general are drying up

[tvlandofficiall]

how do you think this power imbalance is going to be solved, if you think it will be at all?

my personal theorized ending to deltarune is that we will sever the connection between the light world and dark world, freeing the darkners from being controlled by the light - after all, the same thing happens one level up, right? our connection to kris is going to be severed, freeing them from "reality's" control. all of the realms get separated from each other. it's sad for everyone to have to say goodbye, but the current system needs to be torn down.

you've got the spirit, but i don't exactly agree with the mechanics. i feel the lightners will have to give up their power — and to do so, they've got to walk away from the light world once and for all in one way or another. i don't think the light world can really exist past the end of the game, as deltarune is primarily about showing that it exists as an oppressive force in the world. it's a classic omelas-type situation, you know? the light world can't last forever when it's built on the oppression of another. the pain of the darkners is integral to what it is.

the light world represents a lot of pretty awful things in the world of deltarune, and i've talked a bit about that on this blog already. and the suffocating nature of nostalgia is another big one i want to bring up here – for both us and the characters within. for us, it's a big warped symbol of our memories of undertale. not only is it stylistically similar, but it's also a facsimile of a post-pacifist route undertale (complete with that early 2000's small-town air – it's even got a riverdale-esque diner) populated by familiar characters. a lot of our possessing kris has to do with our morbid curiosity over the characters we knew and loved – to the detriment of kris.

but it's not just us stuck in nostalgia's trap. so too are the characters – the light world consistently comes to symbolize an idealized version of the supposed "good old days" to our cast, both lightners and darkners alike – though the light world characters tend to mention "remember when–?" far more often. even ralsei, our darkner guide, is constantly reminding us of the prophecy to close those dark worlds and get back to the light world (and remember to take a break whenever you want, and don't feel you need to talk to everyone all at once, and;), even when he wants them to stay, all wrapped up in a familiar asriel-shaped package. it's no coincidence that the character most preoccupied with the lightner's fates to return to the light world is meant to remind us of our fondest memories of undertale.

but how good really are those "good old days"? the darkners were (and are) objects with no free will, hometown is a miserable place with cruel people, and undertale itself isn't all "good old days" either. the light world represents the way things are "supposed to be"– a truman-show town that looks much like undertale in interface and in population – but is "supposed to be" really a good thing? will we hang on to that fragment of a memory forever simply so that we don't have to let go of familiarity and suburban "normalcy"? or will we be able to leave that familiar world behind once and for all?

#ooc #deltarune #i feel very strongly about this one so i hope i explained it well! #it's hard to put this into words bc. it's one of those thing you should just play the game and see for yourself #but that memory of undertale permeates so much of the ways the darkners are stifled. see: the neo body #and i feel like it's not quite right to assume the lightners and darkners can't stay together when their equality is an important thing to #strive for. a world where they can be equals is possible even though we need to leave the picture

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

It’s quite fitting that Jon, a son of Stark and Targaryen who is the unification of ice and fire, commands a magical structure that serves as the neutralization point between these two magical extremes. The Others cannot cross the Wall and move south due to some magic that was woven into it. And if we are to generalize the experience that Alyssane and Silverwing had, then dragons are incapable of crossing north into the lands of winter. It’s very thematically poignant considering the fact that it is manned by a neutral organization. In this way, the Wall acts as an equalizer between ice and fire; no one extreme is greater than the other. Which makes its connection to Jon all the more powerful. Jon is as an equalizer of multiple extremes. Ice and fire, nightswatchman and wildling, bastard and lordling, and so forth. Then we have the added parallel in how both Jon and the Wall are outwardly presented. Despite being both Stark and Targaryen, Jon looks more Stark (ice). And the Wall, despite being an equalizer, is made of ice. 

#jon snow #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #If we think of the wall as an equalizer #Then that opens up a whole other can of worms because #You could potentially make a strong case for the Wall to remain standing at the end of the series #Either as a reminder of the importance of balance #Or as an active magical demilitarization zone

[buzzfella]

i (spiritually, emotionally, physically) need someone to write angst about mumbo's base requiring suicide to enter actually its very important

#my fucked up little blorbos #waffleduo what are we doing they're both so equally mentally ill #mumbo #mumbo jumbo #hermitcraft spoilers #hermitcraft #PLEASE ITS SO IMPORTANT #whimsyposting

[bloomingsalma]

i think one of the most disappointing things is to see that your childhood friends have grown up to represent the kind of people you're disappointed in

#had a friendship break up w like one of my entire friend groups of six ppl? #found out that one of the girls in our friend group had sent screenshots of our private conversation about smth I was hurt over #to a gc with our other friends (but not me ofc) #and they all proceeded to talk shit about me :// I swear the way my stomach dropped when the friend I was having the convo w #sent me screenshots of what our mutual friends were saying about me #she knew how much it would hurt me but still did it just to prove a point (though I'm certain she misrepresented our conversation + my word #to them considering she blocked out what she had initially said to them lol) #my stomach hasn't dropped like that since high school #which is exactly where I thought we left this kind of deceitful behaviour. like how are you guys twenty one and still sending screenshots #and talking bad behind only one (1) friend's back when you know she can't defend herself in that space #I immediately texted our collective gc to explain a text she had sent but failed to give context for #then told them if I'm as selfish as they say I will leave this friend group. and then I left that gc #I also texted two friends who I knew were talking shit and I sent them the screenshots that first “friend” sent and pointed out how #she blocked out what she said so I'm suspicious that she skewed our conversation so they (the two other “friends”) should be wary #I told them I understood it was fair game to stoop. this low considering neither of them tried to reach out to me to hear my side #or defend me + my privacy #for context: the original argument was me voicing out that I was upset bc that first “friend” had invited and planned with with our friend #group an event that landed on my birthday without checking in with me if I was planning to spend time with them that day #and she kept defending herself and saying she didn't know I'd plan smth (probably bc my bday is two months away lmao) and she said #the event they'd be attending is just as important and necessary as being there for my birthday?? it's literally just a party her brother #(who none of us are close to lol) is DJing at. and I brought up how I'm their close friend (not her brother) and it's not fair to call #it equally necessary. but I suspect she skewed what I said greatly considering all of our friends started calling me selfish and unfair #but yeah v v crazy and hurtful and just astonishing #salmaspeaks

[memento-yuumori]

#yes we are talking about the human characters not if he owned dogs with those names #no third option no see results #no equally pathetic #it’s either wet dog number 1 or wet dog number 2 #look this is a very important question #what do you mean I should finish the tournament I started before doing other random polls? 😅 #my posts #moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #poll #Sherliam #mtp sherlock #Sebastian Moran