#but additionally: as someone who used to write meta

[girlbloggercrowley]

after reflection i am not a believer in The Theory doc

discussion under cut

-"neil gaiman's such a good writer it's impossible for him to do anything wrong ever, i am going to continually reference this fact and base the entire theory premise on this"

wrong. yeah the man is talented. but absolutely yes he has the potential to write something not stunning, AS DO WE ALL, being, you know, humans.

-it is so tjlc that it makes me nervous large swathes of fandom seem to be believing in it. lads. lads please

-not a fan of the tone of it personally, although this is an issue irrelevant to the points inside it

-several "plot holes" or weird things pointed out in the intro are just... not plot holes. like aziraphale drawing. or the gabe statue payoff.

-"maggie does some weird things therefore she isn't real. look at these coffeeshop au lesbians! haha they're such a plot device that i'm going to say one of them is Made Up, just because of how strange and unusual i think they are"

i think "something's up with maggie" is an interesting theory. "she's entirely fictional" is inane. also i have words for people ignoring maggie+nina/discounting them as "tropes" or "lesbians to help the gay men get along" like actually they had their own story... yes they were plot devices but they were self aware plot devices same as some characters from s1

-the avoidance of alcohol is interesting, but could have many explanations.

i think my biggest reason for being suspicious of this is that good omens season 2 is a continuation of good omens 1, and good omens the book, and it is between season 1 and the season 2 that pratchett and gaiman planned out. if the neighbor of the beast was supposed to start with metatron going "aha! i have trapped you all in my secret time manipulation scheme, there is no escape!! muahahahaha" then i think the guy would have showed up in s2 more than just in the last episode, for the most part.

also, this hinges so heavily on what i call "bad on purpose" that it's kind of headache-inducing. one: from what i've seen of gaiman, he doesn't do that kind of thing. what an insane gamble to throw away potential ratings/s3 for a mind game that the doc author seems to think the vast majority of people simply wouldn't be able to comprehend/figure out for themselves, from the way they wrote the doc. two: sometimes things are just mediocre

but i have a specific vendetta towards bad "on purpose" or "the villain is good actually" or "the authors have this massive secret that you plebs don't get kind" of theory (i understand that these are not exactly similar and also, this is showing my inherent bias against the essay, but i feel it's better to acknowledge that bias). theories that go "actually it's completely different" feel, i need, either a load of solid evidence or a vibe where it's like "this is just a theory though, we're having fun!" i'm not super with tone but i don't think the theory has either.

i think theorizing is good and fun and a creative way to engage with fandom. i'm not a fan of this one. and now, after old man porch-ing about how you gotta take time before posting essays in the tags, i will post this essay i wrote in 30 mins with minimal revising. hit post goodbye

#the theory #discussion #disclaimer: i have not scoured the doc for things wrong with it #cause it's not 2021 and i'm not writing a meta response. i'm past that #but additionally: as someone who used to write meta #a 17k meta should not take you three days to write. #i wrote a 20k meta once and it took me about two weeks #and that was with me newly on adhd medication #so #i think for the sake of nuance and carefulness and citing your sources it should take longer #especially if you're going to be like “I'VE SOLVED IT!! I'VE CRACKED THE CODE!!” and then like. call for neil gaiman?? #you gotta be Sure.

[ranchthoughts]

A Very Informal BL Tumblr Census

As all the BL 2023 Wrapped posts were going around in December and January, I was surprised to see how many people said this was their first year in the BL Tumblr sphere or that they stopped lurking for the first time in 2023. To investigate this phenomenon (and my general impression that BL engagement went up during the COVID-19 lockdowns), I created a series of polls in early January to see what I could discover:

When did you start watching Asian BLs? (the first one, focused on post-2017) and When did you start watching Asian BLs? (the follow up, focused on pre-2017)

When did you join BL Tumblr? (i.e., when did you start reblogging/liking/viewing BL content on Tumblr)

When did you stop lurking on BL Tumblr? (i.e., when did you start making your own original posts and/or interacting with other BL Tumblr blogs)

Which show did you start writing meta for? (for those of us who write meta)

A big thank you to everyone who voted!

When did you start watching Asian BLs?

My first poll on this topic was made with the express interest of spotting a pattern in recent BL watchers - anecdotally it felt like a lot of people had just started to join and post on BL Tumblr in 2023 and I wanted to see if that coincided with or followed an uptick in BL watchers (i.e., did people start watching BLs and joining BL Tumblr around the same time, or had people been watching BLs for a while before joining BL Tumblr). Furthermore, I felt like I had heard a lot about a pandemic surge in BL watchers (and BL content), so I wanted to focus specifically on the 2020 to now (2024) period.

Over the time period of 2018-2024, the largest number of new BL watchers came in 2020 with 20.0% (and over half of those respondents started watching in the first half of 2020).

For those curious, the breakdown for new viewers in 2020-2024 in six month intervals is as follows:

The majority of respondents on the first poll said they started watching Asian BLs before 2017, so I made another poll (though I was once again limited by the number of options you can have in one poll) exploring 2007-2017 year by year, and then "2006 and before" as the final poll option.

Note: there were 869 respondents to the first poll, and 73 to the second poll.

Interesting to see the big spike of new BL watchers in 2016 and 2017.

Note: I didn't really have a hard and fast definition of "Asian BL" in mind when I made this poll, though I was thinking more of live-action content vs animated series as that is what I see more often in my corner of Tumblr. It was interesting to see people's responses in the tags of what they considered Asian BL to be (including or excluding Chinese censored shows like The Untamed, including or excluding animes like Yuri on Ice, etc.), but I know the lack of clarity on what exactly *is* a BL for the purposes of this poll made it harder to answer and also introduced a bigger margin of error (someone excluding animated series might have said they started watching BL at a later date than someone including animated series, for example). This polls were always intended for my own curiosity though, so you'll have to excuse the lack of academic rigour.

When did you join BL Tumblr?

In short: the largest number of respondents joined BL Tumblr in 2023 (25.3% of respondents), followed by 2022 (19.2%). Additionally, a significant number of respondents joined in or before 2017 (17.9%) - once again, I was limited by the number of poll options and by my initial focus on recent Tumblr history, and I didn't make a follow up poll for this one.

The number of people joining BL Tumblr year by year has grown fairly steadily since 2018 (roughly 6.6% per year), except for a small drop in 2021. The biggest jump was between 2021 and 2022 (went up 7.8%).

We also saw 0.6% of respondents say they joined in 2024, which is exciting (welcome!).

The "started to watch Asian BL" numbers for 2023 were pretty low compared to other years, unlike the "joined BL Tumblr" numbers for 2023, so seems that there were a significant number of people who had been watching Asian BL for any number of years before joining BL Tumblr. The spike in new watchers in 2020 and in 2022, as well as a decrease in new watchers in 2021, do coincide with increases and decreases in people joining BL Tumblr for the first time though, which is interesting.

Note: I tried my best to make a distinction between "joined BL Tumblr" and "stopped lurking on BL Tumblr," but I know the very concept of a start date for "joining" BL Tumblr is quite nebulous. For example, I myself had seen and sought out Asian BL content on Tumblr before I made a side blog, so when did I really "join"? Furthermore, there might have been people who joined BL Tumblr and subsequently left before this poll came around (not to mention the lack of reach of the poll to begin with - there's many people currently on BL Tumblr who's vote I didn't catch).

When did you stop lurking on BL Tumblr?

In short: 2023 had the highest number of respondents who said they stopped lurking on BL Tumblr (27.5%), followed by 2022 (20.0%). This is a significant increase over all the other time spans investigated (2017 and before, 2018-2019, 2020, and 2021), which boasted an average of 5% of respondents. Once again, this poll was limited by the number of poll options and by my initial focus on recent Tumblr history, and I didn't make a follow up poll covering the time span of 2016 and before in more detail.

The number of people making their own posts and interacting with other users in this corner of Tumblr has also increased over the period of 2019 to 2023. There was steady growth over the period of 2019-2021, before we saw a big jump occurring (like in the previous category) from 2021 to 2022 (went up 13.5%). The jump from 2022 to 2023 was less than the one from 2021 to 2022 but still much larger than those previous years.

There were also 1.4% of respondents who said they stopped lurking in 2024, and 31.5% of respondents who said they were still lurking (hi!).

Interesting to note this in light of other data - while 2023 didn't necessarily have as many people joining BL Tumblr for the first time, it did have a lot of existing BL Tumblr folks coming out of the woodwork to make their own posts for the first time. Furthermore, the poll results for 2021 saw a small dip in people watching BL for the first time and in people joining BL Tumblr for the first time, but more or less continued the existing trajectory for "people who stopped lurking on BL Tumblr".

What show did you start writing meta for?

For this poll, I picked some shows I had heard people say was their first foray into meta, as well as other shows that seemed to have a lot of meta about them.

No one on the initial poll said Our Skyy 2 was their first foray into meta, and some of the other shows people mentioned in the tags were Word of Honour, I Promised You the Moon, Manner of Death, and Chains of Heart. Also, shout out to those who answered "I don't remember".

Now of course the release date of these shows does not necessarily correspond with the time period these metas were written in - Bad Buddy, for example, continues to have new meta written about it all the time even though it aired 2021-2022. However, it is interesting to note the strong showing of shows that aired in 2023 on this list. Part of this was my own selection of choices, obviously, but still, 23.4% of respondents said their first meta was written for a show that aired entirely within 2023 (this doesn't include MSP).

I did a follow-up poll to investigate my hypothesis: When did you write your first BL meta?. There were fewer respondents for this one (53 vs 137 for the poll for "which show"), but it still paints an interesting picture: a whopping 45.2% of respondents said they wrote their first BL meta in 2023. (also 3.8% said they wrote their first meta in 2024!)

As you can see, the graph for "When did you write your first BL meta" follows a similar trajectory to the graphs for "When did you join BL Tumblr" and "When did you stop lurking on BL Tumblr".

Alright, that's it from me! Thanks again for voting on all my polls. Obviously this represents but a small and limited fraction of BL Tumblr experiences, but I hope you found it interesting regardless.

#2024 bl tumblr census #ranch thoughts #special hello to everyone who started watching BL/joined BL tumblr/stopped lurking in the month since these polls went around

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Alright so thoughts on YJ Dark Crisis after having read it:

1) Most importantly, Bart Allen.

Amazing. 10/10. An inspiration to us all. But seriously though, Meg writes Bart really well and seems to understand his core character. While I take some issues with how his powers were represented in this issue, I can excuse it because I understand that stranding a speedster anywhere is difficult and Meg had to tweak some aspects of Bart's powers for the plot to work. It annoys me because of who I am (a Flash fanatic) but I can understand that it's for the sake of the plot.

2) The Weird Imp Guy

Yeah, I didn't like it. I don't like this character or what he represents at all. For starters, this is a Dark Crisis event and this guy is completely unrelated to the rest of the crisis. This book might as well not be a tie in. Actually I think it'd be better if it wasn't. Making this series a tie in to Dark Crisis and then making it have nothing to do with Dark Crisis really hurts the series in my opinion. Write a good solo YJ book or write a good tie in. Don't half ass both.

Also, I just don't think the imp was a good villain. I know there are people who disagree with me (and that's valid, people are allowed to have their own opinions) but I don't think what he represents makes any sense. He was written to be a stand-in for the audience. He's someone meant to represent DC fan's ideas and attitudes so that the characters in the story could address those ideas/attitudes within the narrative. It's a meta text and it's not inherently a bad thing. However, I do not think that this was a good application of that at all.

The imp is supposed to represent toxic DC fans. He's homophobic, sexist, ableist, racist and just generally bigoted. He doesn't like that Tim is bi, he belittles Bart and implies that his neurodivergent behaviors/traits make him dumb, he dislikes when Cassie speaks her mind and prefers a brainless puppet of Cassie, he creates racist caricatures for the boys to fight, he says that all the new diverse characters have 'replaced YJ', ect, ect. The imp is just generally a bad person with bad ideas and he wants "everything to be like it was in the 90's".

The problem here is that this is addressing Young Justice fans. The text is accusing the Young Justice fandom of being sexist, homophobic, racist, ableist and bigoted. Maybe I just surround myself with good people and maybe there is a lot of toxicity in the YJ fandom that I'm just not aware of but I haven't seen any of this.

Have I seen DC fans in general get upset that Tim is bi? Yeah, I have. Have I seen DC fans in general be racist. Yep. Are DC fans in general sexist? Absolutely. Is there rampant ableism in the general DC fandom? 100%. These are absolutely problems that exist within the DC comics fanbase but this isn't a YJ issue.

YJ fans have been calling for Tim (among others) to be LGBTQ+ for a long time. They've been calling for Bart's neurodivergency to be canonized for a long time. YJ fans get angry when Bart is mischaracterized or when there is a sexist interpretation of Cassie. Sure, YJ fans get nostalgic for old comics but being nostalgic for old dynamics does not mean we want those dynamics back. Young Justice has undergone so much character growth and I don't think there's a single YJ fan that wants to reverse that.

Additionally, saying that YJ fans are mad that 'Alan Scott, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, ect' have replaced YJ is just... what? When has that ever been a complaint? In what way is Alan replacing YJ? It just feels like they took all the LGBTQ+ characters and threw them on one page to really drive home the homophobia.

I guess my point is that I don't think it's a bad message, I think it's a bad forum. Do this in a Batman comic where the majority of DC fans will actually see it. Don't take what little Young Justice content we've been given and twist it into a PSA about why we should feel bad for even asking for YJ content.

3) Conner Kent

Are we just not addressing what an asshole Conner has been in this series? Not even a little bit? Not gonna state that the world has been affecting his mind? Not going to have him actually apologize in any real and/or meaningful way?

We have one issue left so this might be addressed next time but jeeeeeeeez.

#dissenting opinions are fine and im happy to hear other perspectives #to me it always seems that the toxic fans are just random dc fans. the people upset about Tim being bi are batman fans and right wingers #dc #dc comics #dark crisis on infinite earths #young justice dark crisis #dark crisis #young justice #young just us

[cboffshore]

introducing there's a light on: a character playlist experiment

Or: what would happen if I made a Nadakhan character playlist, but only let myself use Fall Out Boy tracks?

Tracklist and notes below the cut, as usual.

A word before we begin: This is both a very intense character exercise and a very casual affair. Very intense in that each song here was heavily vetted over a period of a few months (and, of course, we know I've been doing Nadakhan character work for years on end now), and very casual in that the decision to create this playlist was a quick one, almost a joke. I chose Fall Out Boy for no other reason than, thanks to a new album release and concert cycle in 2023, the fact that I was very into Fall Out Boy. It was a good choice, though; FOB harbors a lot of unique, complex themes that lent themselves nicely to this project. There's also the unique meta angle of lead singer Patrick Stump performing in a style that ordinarily doesn't pair with the genre FOB calls home and pulling it off pretty much flawlessly, which is a neat parallel to Nadakhan's entire origin story.

Some of the songs here are so on the nose you'd think they were written for Nadakhan; others might be here for a single, perfect lyric, or even just Vibes. I should also note that there is no particular order to these songs. I could very well have lined them up to match his seasonal arc, but as a nod to the common critique (and astute observation) that Nadakhan is pretty erratic, I let each song fall wherever it lay while I was tossing them into the playlist. I'll do the notes for these in order of the playlist for ease, though. Additionally, these aren't comprehensive notes - truly, I could write an essay for a lot of these individually. (Please, please, please ask me about songs on here. I might have more to say.) For now, these are just the strongest correlations I picked up.

Of course, I think the best way to get through this playlist is to go listen and just... think about his character. Drop the preconceived notions and the runaway fanonization. Think of what he does, and when he does it, and who's close to or far away from him.

Enough of my blabbering. You're about to get enough of that from Pete Wentz's poetry.

"Love From The Other Side" opens with sweeping, mysterious orchestral work that crashes, hard, into angry drums and screaming guitar work. From there, the entire song acts like an overture for the rest of the playlist: themes of growing up, getting out, and feeling out of place. The lyric that cemented this song's place on the playlist ties into Nadakhan's relationship with his father, as well as his hidden self-esteem issues as he tries to live up to his final promise: "This city always hangs a little bit lonely on me, loose/Like a kid playing pretend in his father's suit." I also particularly like the bridge line "Give up what you love before it does you in" - a gorgeous little nod at the end of the season, where what he works so hard for does indeed drown him.

"Baby Annihilation" is a unique one - fully spoken word by Wentz, with a surreal, dreamlike backing track. I chose this one for its impressive lyrical parallel to a line Nadakhan speaks during the finale: "But you know what they say: if you want a job done right, you gotta do it yourself." After the fact, however, I thought it sounded a little more like someone else - possibly Jay - talking about the experience itself, or perhaps Nadakhan himself looking in after everything crumbled. It's less of a song and more a series of cryptic observations that I can't quite break down - which parallels how I feel about analyzing Nadakhan. There's always something that feels a little off.

"My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark" is classic FOB, and again, opens with a delightfully parallel line that lights up like a caution sign warning you what Nadakhan's main tactic is: "Be careful makin' wishes in the dark, dark/Can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark." Tonally, this one is fast, angry, and strong - it sounds like fight music, honestly. It's an anthem all around, complete with layered group vocalizations in the back that remind me of an entire crew singing at once.

"27" is the single most Nadakhanish song I have ever, ever heard. I could go into extreme detail on every line here (and honestly, maybe someday I will!), but I think his attitude towards his crew and how he hides his plans from them is best summed up with this sequence:

My mind is a safe And if I keep it then we all get rich My body is an orphanage We take everyone in Doing lines of dust and sweat

This is one of those songs you need to put both earbuds in for and just... listen. Nothing else. Hands in your lap and think of him as a character, and suddenly every line should fall into place. (Also, sick guitar solo!)

"I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers" is here for a very specific part: the first verse. While the whole song is a nice fit, I absolutely have to highlight the opening few lines, because... wow, if this isn't a perfect fit, I couldn't say what is:

You're a canary I'm a coal mine 'Cause sorrow is just all the rage Take one for the team You all know what I mean

I shouldn't need to explain this one too much. (Also, yes, this is what I named that essay after.) After this point, the lyrics touch on themes of desperate (if ill-fated) love, followed up by wailing vocals in the closer and some very iffy-sounding cheering that fits well with his desperation to be someone.

"Bishop's Knife Trick" was one of the first songs that I knew had to make it onto this playlist. Most striking is the repeated line "The glow of the cities below lead us back/to the places we never should have left," which reminded me both of the floating landmasses and of Nadakhan running away from home. I also think the bridge, with its hourglass imagery and themes of desperation and refusal to let go of the past, is beautifully fitting. This, too, has a haunting, grand tone to it: lots of echoey effects and dramatic chords and reverb.

"West Coast Smoker" includes two very important components for this project: a line specifically about being the last of one's kind ("I'm the last of my kind/and that's all that should matter to you") and a female guest vocalist. The former line ties in nicely with Nadakhan's superiority complex, that belief that he deserves more power than he has simply because he has any power at all (and the whole realm collapse thing, too). The latter, however - in the form of Debbie Harry of Blondie - is a neat little meta thing that I only recently noticed. The first time I ever heard this song, I thought the backing vocals were Stump doing some weird falsetto, or maybe someone else entirely from the band. Honestly, I could barely even hear those vocals. Turns out, that's not the case! When I learned the truth, my entire perception changed. In a similar way, once you realize how much of Nadakhan's story (and all of Skybound) is driven by women (regardless of how they're treated), you never quite see it the same again. Nadakhan's motivated by an undercurrent of female influence in the same way that Harry's vocals lend something unique to this track.

"Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet" starts strong with a nice parallel to Nadakhan's signature persuasion tactic: "When he walks into the room, the walls lean in to listen" and only gets better from there. My favorite part of this song is the infamous "Wish I didn't, I didn't..." sequence that culminates in a very apt line: "Don't just want to be a footnote in someone else's happiness." We know Nadakhan's bitter about having to make other people's dreams come true by virtue of who he is; in an attempt to single himself out, he twists that power, ensuring he makes it out of the footnotes and into the main text of everyone's story. Finally, I love the line "It's a sign - what if you peaked early?" Because he did, in fact, peak early. Twice, actually. First, his heyday before his imprisonment; then, as Flintlocke points out, the brief period where he fully controlled the skies and had already won. Oh, and the fact that the entire song reads like a man trying to convince someone he's trying to woo to leave their existing relationship for his sake? Sounds familiar...

"Heaven, Iowa" is desperately, gorgeously sentimental - a simple, surreal plea to be remembered well, and to be loved. This specifically ties into the moment in the season finale, where he desperately (and apparently repetitively) asks Delara if she still loves him: "Tell me, when the party ends/Will you still love who I am?" (Once again: crashing guitars and layered vocals add extra depth. I love the way this one shifts from simple maraca backing to absolutely wild, desperate percussion and backing choir.)

"I've Got A Dark Alley..." is another sentimental one, maybe a little more platonic or even introspective, that examines failure and disappointment. It also reflects, quite simply and beautifully, how Nadakhan pushes people away and digs his own grave by refusing to let others in:

And the record won't stop skipping And the lies just won't stop slipping And besides my reputation's on the line

"Heaven's Gate" is one of the very few genuine love songs FOB has ever crafted, and it's perfect for what little of the Nadakhan-Delara dynamic we see. There's the rebellious imagery of breaking into heaven, but the lovely faith of knowing one's partner will help them out; there's a near-obsessive note of devotion. It's even a waltz! Most fitting, though, is the line "everything else is a substitute for your love," which I think nicely represents how Nadakhan brushes off his relationship with Delara early on. Sure, it fuels so much of his plot, but he hides it by just keeping busy and hoping those actions all help him in the end.

"Sophomore Slump or Comeback Of The Year" is both confident and insecure - trying to convince the listener that the singer is something special, but being a little too desperate about it at points. I added this one specifically for the pairing of "I'll keep singing this lie if you'll keep believing it" and "the best part of 'believe' is the lie," both of which are desperately repeated. I also appreciated the the bitter remembrance of better times: "the kids you used to love/but then we grew old."

"The (Shipped) Gold Standard" is a restless track, flipping between memories, doubts, impossible future plans, and a desire to be honest without the ability. I do hear Nadakhan's fear of vulnerability here: "I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs/but I'm afraid that someone else'll hear me." Oh, and the whole "business of souls" bit, which occurs in a bizarrely angry section of the otherwise very smooth song - almost like the mutiny breakdown.

"From Now On We Are Enemies" is so, so much. "A downward spiral, just a pirouette/Getting worse til there's nothing left" is an apt summary of his story, for starters. Beyond that, this song is somewhere between a confession and an analysis, a self-critique, in fact. Just... go listen to this one. Seriously. Every line here works. There's desire, there's hatred, there's fear... it's delicious.

"The Music Or The Misery" is here specifically for the line "I am indifferent (yet I'm a total wreck)/I'm every cliche, but I simply do it best" as a neat nod both towards his hypocrisy at calling Jay an avoidant coward despite doing the same thing and his meta origin as a mashup of classical literary and pop culture sources.

"Jet Pack Blues" is also only here for one specific part (as well as its overall melancholic tone and church chimes). That would be the weirdly pointed "Did you ever love her? Do you know? Or did you never want to be alone?" that occurs multiple times and reminds me immensely of Jay's accusation in episode 60. Although I like to believe that Nadakhan's love for Delara was genuine (and inf act the only thing keeping him tethered at all), it's never definitively answered, and it haunts me. Was he using her? Was she using him? Was it ever real love, or was it an excuse for power? Jay was onto something, honestly.

"Pavlove" is a song with a weird, weird history. Up until very recently, the only official way to access it was to own a specific version of the album it served as a bonus track on; otherwise, piracy! Or the one YouTube listing for it. Anyway, I like the history of this song as fun nod at the limited knowledge of Nadakhan post-Skybound - he might be a historical figure, but besides Jay and Nya, nobody else has those direct memories of interacting with him so recently. This one works lyrically, too - "I want to make you as lonely as me" and "I'm not ready for a handshake with death, no" both reflect his vindictive yet terrified personality. And all the mirror imagery! And "It's three drinks too late to talk to anyone but myself" indicating his tendency to hide things? Perfection.

"So Much (For) Stardust" is "Love From The Other Side" after it's been put through an emotional wringer. If "Love..." is Nadakhan immediately post-release, "So Much..." is him watching his world collapse and realizing that maybe, just maybe, he messed up and wasted his time. It's got themes of lost confidence and insecurity, and the painful truth that sometimes, you do need to lean on others - a fact Nadakhan refuses to accept that then ends his reign. He also attempts to get back to his glory days, which is gorgeously reflected in the lyrical callback to the first track on this playlist:

In another life you were my babe In another life you were the sunshine of my lifetime What would trade the pain for? I'm not sure

I used to be a real go-getter I used to think it'd all get better

Most painfully, I love the way this song ends as a parallel to how Nadakhan's plans crumble. First, the instrumentals fade out; then, the backing vocalists, until it's just the lead singer pleading with a musical void.

"Chicago Is So Two Years Ago" is a weird, weird way to close the playlist, which means it's great that this isn't any sort of meaningful order. This a little more upbeat than other tracks here, but the themes of homesickness, avoidance, and bitter nostalgia remain. Also, this is where the title of the playlist comes from:

But there's a light on in Chicago And I know I should be home

Just remember: Chicago and Djinjago have the same number of syllables. Do with that information what you will.

#lila speaks #ninjago skybound #ninjago nadakhan #analysis freak lila back on her bullshit #Spotify

[pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop]

Sylveon (#700)

Sylveon (#700)

Mutabellus fabulamor

General Information: Sylveon is able to produce a soothing aura through its ribbon-like feelers (yes, that’s what those things are on its body, feelers), which can be used to lower hostilities and even end conflicts. Sometimes, while trying to calm someone/something down, it will use its feelers to perform a dance. These feelers are also used to, for example, wrap around someone’s arm in order for Sylveon to understand the individual’s feelings. Alternatively, it may use its dancing feelers to distract its prey, then pounce. Sylveons are also known for being very brave Pokémon who will charge head-first at Pokémon far bigger than itself in an effort to protect others, especially dragon-type Pokémon. In lands where Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing exists, the Sylveon’s bravery is often the subject of folkloric praise.

Some suspect a connection to a strong source of magic in the environment, like Leafeon or Glaceon, and others still think its evolution is in the same grouping as Umbreon and Espeon (an evolution based on love), but ultimately no one is entirely sure because wild Sylveon are very rare. It is hard to study Pokémon evolution if wild counterparts are hard to come by, after all.

Habitat: They live mostly in temperate forests, or in and around human settlements. Wild specimens are few and far between.

Diet: Omnivore, will eat just about anything you give them that is actually food. They do not have the same high energy needs as Jolteons and Flareons, but they are on average the largest of the Eeveelutions. Large creatures typically need to eat more than smaller ones. Don’t worry, your Sylveon will in fact probably try to use Baby-Doll Eyes on you to get you to share your pizza with it.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship to Humans: Sylveons are highly associated with human settlements by a wide margin greater than any other Eeveelution, either the ones known to science or the ones that remain undiscovered or exist primarily in folklore. In universe, this is not really understood why and it provides strong evidence for why many scientists believe that Sylveons are in the same evolutionary grouping as Umbreon and Espeon. On a meta level, we know this is because wild Eevees probably do not experience enough strong affection levels in time before they evolve into something else, so basically the same reason that Umbreons and Espeons are not terribly common either compared to Glaceons, Leafeons, Vaporeons, Flareons, and Jolteons.

Sylveons can be found in just about any job field under any type of person or trainer. They are difficult to raise an Eevee to evolve into, but any trainer with enough love, care, and determination can achieve a Sylveon evolution.

In order for someone to become a Great Rank-Certified Pokémon Breeder (the next rank above a Certified Breeder), that person must have a Sylveon that they raised from an Eevee, and it must be documented (unless another Pokémon that evolves with the Affection mechanic is introduced). This is a non-optionable requirement. As such, Sylveons are often seen as one of the many symbols/mascots of the Pokémon Breeder world, alongside Togepi.

Sylveons are common sights in healthcare settings because of their calming abilities and ability to read someone’s emotions. They are incredibly supportive Pokémon.

Additionally, Sylveons are often associated with the transgender community due to its colorations (both regular and shiny) being the same as the transgender pride flag. Sylveons and Azumarills are often paired together as Pokémon representations of transgender pride.

~~~~~~~~

Hey guess what, if you like my stuff, this is my website where you can find other Pokémon I've written on and more information about the game that I’m slowly making! Check it out! I write books sometimes too.

#repost #sylveon #eeveelution #eeveelutions #pokemon #pokemon biology #pokemon biology irl #pokemon biology irl tabletop #pokemon tabletop #tabletop #tabletop homebrew #homebrew #ttrpg #happy pride month #transgender pride #happy pride #terfs do not reblog #happy pride :)

[c1tyhaunts]

UNUSUAL HEADCANONS. @halfnvmb: #29, 34, 49 #29 - is there something they'd like to change about themselves physically?

Her hair; throughout Lilah's childhood & teen years, she destroyed her hair to fit an image that fits others expectations of her. Being one of the few black families in Potters Grove, there were very few people who knew how to take care of naturally curly/kinky hair. And so, she often flat-ironed and heat-treated her hair and practically killed the majority of it, with her curls not being as defined as they used to be. And although her hair was built to look like conventional straight/wavey hair, it never was her long term look.

Recently, Lilah has cut her hair into a short bob style that goes to her shoulders now. And she's in the process of healing her natural curls, so when she washes her hair, they look like this.

#34. Are they the jealous type? What are they most likely to be jealous of?

100% the jealous type; that's explored here in this meta, but when it comes to things that Lilah would be jealous of, it'd be the following:

1.) Someone's talent overshadowing her own 2.) Someone being unabashedly themselves without being judged 3.) Someone garnering attention for their talent over Lilah

I specify things that are not based on physical attributes - Lilah doesn't give a damn about getting attention just because she looks pretty. She cares more about the attention she receives from who she is & the art/writing she puts out. And her insecurities will cause her the lash out more than celebrate another person's win.

#49. Do they have a creative outlet? If so, what is it?

Writing, writing, writing; Lilah LOVES putting a pen to paper, she loves exploring new worlds and ideas through prose. If she's not reading in her free time, she's writing, which is why she wanted to make it both a career and her full time hobby. She works full time as a investigative journalist, putting out exposes & interview pieces for clients of interest, and additionally she publishes short stories on the side.

Lilah's favorite genres/story to write: realistic horror, drama, slice of life Lilah's writing style: Prose-heavy & allegory heavy; because of Lilah's love of old romanticism era books (Shelly, Bronte, Hawthorne) she often refers to their writing/stories in her own - connecting tragedies & relationship dynamics from those said novels.

#▶⌜001. the main plot⌟ #▶⌜ch. lilah eve lyons⌟ #▶⌜lilah lyons. lore⌟

[badedramay]

my issue with the fairytale fandom as someone who does personally enjoy the drama is that people try to extend it beyond the genre it’s emblematic of. there’s these constant complaints about how fairy tale isn’t taken as seriously nor is umeed as a heroine (in comparison to say umera ahmed heroines or more recently kuch ankahi’s heroine aaliya) and it’s like. obv there’s not going to be much of a comparison between the female lead of a realistic fiction drama and the female lead of a romcom drama lol. the stakes are starkly different and subsequently the depth and complexity of the conflicts tackled will be different as well. as nice as fairy tale is i’m not watching it to be anything beyond entertaining and cozy and that’s fine. it’s a sweet romance with easily resolved conflict and inoffensive humor and i understand why that appeals to people. nothing wrong with that. but i don’t get the need to constantly compete with dramas where the stakes are higher and the scope is broader. it’s not misogynist for people to be more invested in narratives where women are tackling real world problems rather than simply navigating a harmless romance with some silly drama. i feel like bc people are so used to seeing women suffer in dramas they’ve attached themselves to umeed as a reactionary measure (which, again, is totally understandable) and started to view any display of women struggling in narrative as regressive or uncomfortable to watch. and i get where that comes from but i also think it’s a bit shortsighted to act like people are misogynist if they don’t readily identify with a girl who doesn’t have to struggle much at all. we have a drama industry that has thrived on creating near insurmountable conflict for its characters. maybe that’s something we need to move away from to pursue somewhat healthier storytelling not held hostage to conservative religious and cultural notions but even in the most progressive world it’s not like women won’t have to deal with hard problems or have complicated responsibilities to navigate. and sometimes for people the struggle is appeal. as much as escapism is a comfort so can be the story that shows us we can survive the hardships we’re living. it’s fine to be tired of that and enjoy fairy tale as a respite from it. but it’s also fine to prefer the harder narratives and i don’t see why these defensive arguments that are clearly driven by an inability to respect genre preferences continue to persist. sometimes people just aren’t going to gel with a show bc they want more from it than the constraints of the genre would ever afford

Uffff...itna saccchhh!! fandom mein na bol dena haters ki line lag jayegi xD

there's one criticism I have of the larger PakDrama fandom is how the genre of the drama and more specifically the canon of the drama is disregarded completely when fans engage with it. yes yes I get it how fandom allows transformation of the media to better represent what they want the media to cover but shouldn't that be limited to fanfictions and fanart only though? when making meta analysis or criticism of the piece of media one cannot completely ignore the canon and proceed to then write essays which sound more wish fulfillment fantasies than providing any meaning to the media which is hidden. FT fandom does that.

I dropped FT completely as a show in the 4th episode when Umeed complained to her father that he didn't earn big money like his peers did. and when her father retorted that all his peers undertook illegal and unethical methods of making money, Umeed only rolled her eyes and defended their actions while criticizing her father of not doing the same. additionally, the written gareebi that Umeed lamented about all the time which 100% didn't make considering the visual ameeri of the show was enough to tell me that this show is not made to be a faithful representation of the reality I am more interested to see stories in. so, I bid the show adieu. it took me a quick binge of 4 episodes to realize what the genre and setting of the show was just by that knowledge I understood the directions the show was going to to (and I was completely right in my guesses) and all of that was not my cup of tea. so it continues to baffle me STILL how such a large fandom for the show still hasn't realized that this show is a wish fulfillment escapist fantasy with no real representation of any real life character neither empowered nor realistic. it's an idealistic world as all the worlds of romcoms are. there are no lessons to be learned of from here because of the very apparent contradiction of the world as the audience sees in the drama vs the world they are living in. you take this utterly harmless and inconsequential world away from the characters of FT and put them in a more faithful representation of the real world and they will not be able to survive a day. how then are these characters an embodiment of "empowerment"? surely, a truly empowered character will not be relying so heavily on the plot armor and the bubble-wrapped edges of the world.

FT is often called a "kdrama coded" show and I agree. the tropes and characters are similar to how most kdrama romcoms work. again, romcoms. South Korean entertainment industry has managed to present a utopian image of the society via its colorful cheery romcoms but it takes one simple google search to realize how under all that glitter just how deeply gloomy the actual society of the country is with its myriad of social, economical, and political problems. there's a reason why there are recurring instances of the "internet favorite kdrama of the year" being completely different than the "critics favorite kdrama of the year" because the former is judged by an audience that either willingly or by ignorance chooses to fully buy in the fantasy world of the drama and the latter is chosen by the people who actually live in the country and are more interested in seeing a more faithful representation of the bleakness they are surrounded with in the stories. Chaebols aren't busy falling head over heels with a ditzy intern working at their company; they are far too busy controlling the economy and misusing the law to get away with atrocious deeds. but you won't get that in A Business Proposal (a show I most absolutely adore)

it’s not misogynist for people to be more invested in narratives where women are tackling real world problems rather than simply navigating a harmless romance with some silly drama. i feel like bc people are so used to seeing women suffer in dramas they’ve attached themselves to umeed as a reactionary measure (which, again, is totally understandable) and started to view any display of women struggling in narrative as regressive or uncomfortable to watch. and i get where that comes from but i also think it’s a bit shortsighted to act like people are misogynist if they don’t readily identify with a girl who doesn’t have to struggle much at all.

struggle is etched on the very skin of women. there's simply no denying it. there's struggle big and small practically ruling our lives. sure, our narratives often exaggerate the struggles but the inflation happens of existing struggles. there's nothing to imagine here cuz the struggle is not an mythical dragon. it's our reality. heck, even Umeed isn't devoid of struggles. except her struggles are that she doesn't have a wardrobe full of new clothes that gets updated every month vs the struggle other FLs face in other dramas ranging from fighting for their agency or livelihood. as an audience I am more interested in realistic struggles that come with realistic solutions. I remember how bloody impressed I was by how Sabaat chose to show Anaya's struggle after her marriage with Hasan specifically when she and her mother are left to fend for themselves after her father's death. the very little plot point of Anaya with the help of her friends opening a home-bakery service to make ends meet till her delivery left me teary eyes because THAT'S what I want from dramas when I saw I want them to be socially responsible. not to preach lengthy monologues about social issues but to show actual, practical ways of bringing an improvement in one's lives. walk the walk. i don't know why Kashf Foundation didn't do it with Kuch Ankahi (or if they did i completely missed it as I didn't see it mention anywhere) but in their previous shows Udaari and Rehai they used the platform of the drama to also promote the services the foundation provides to needy women by teaching them life skills that would enable them to stand on their own two feet. that's empowerment. not getting a fat cheque of crores from a gameshow that the FL then proceeds to waste on frivolous things under the guise of "she's a realistically flawed character". child..that's a fool. a fool that was still spared the consequences cuz hey, there's a convenient young hot rich single billionaire to fall in love with her and spare her from any trouble.

having a respecting green flag ML is great and of course I want more of them but FT isn't the only drama to give us that. green flag characters have existed in dramas for years. but because those characters exist not in the romcom/sitcom genre they are allowed their moments of weaknesses and flaws cuz real world is not black&white. and that's okay. having frivolous materialistic FL is also fine. it's great if fans are enjoying and celebrating a FL that is not in the business of being miserable and has an assertive and devil may care attitude about the things she wants to achieve in her life. however, any person with any real life experience will know that such characteristics don't yield long term fruitful results in the real world that we live in except in rare rare rare RAREEEE cases if any at all cuz the real world is not like a fairytale. this isn't me being misogynistic. why would I want to wish misery on a character willingly? no no. but c'mon. Umeed is not me. Umeed is not any woman around me. Umeed is not any woman I know of close or distant. for me she's an alien and I don't find it smart to make an ideal of an alien. why am i getting hate for that?

#it's ALWAYS exciting seeing your asks in my inbox #you make my brain tickle and always bring such interesting topics to talk about #that i otherwise don't get the chance or time to do #this is the kind of healthy discourse i really don't get to see on twt #let alone participate in it #i dont say we always are 100% in agreement of each other #but there's this civility and mutual respect here that's gotten so rare for me to find anymore #thank you for making this little corner of the internet exciting for me!! #type: opinion #fairytale #pakistani drama

[blockgeni]

A recording was uploaded to Facebook just two days before the elections in Slovakia. Two voices could be heard on it: Monika Tódová from the daily newspaper Dennk N and Michal imeka, the purported leader of the liberal Progressive Slovakia party. They appeared to be planning to buy votes from the nation's marginalized Roma minority in order to rig the election. Imeka and Dennk N slammed the tape as false right away. The audio appeared to have been artificially intelligently altered, according to the fact-checking division of the news agency AFP. However, the audio was published during a 48-hour embargo before votes opened, during which time politicians and media organizations are expected to keep quiet. That meant that the post was difficult to widely refute under Slovakia's election laws. Additionally, because the post was audio, it took advantage of a gap in Meta's manipulated-media policy, which states that only videos that have been altered to make someone say something they never said are prohibited. There was a close contest for the nomination between the two front-runners, who had different plans for Slovakia. It was revealed on Sunday that SMER, which ran a campaign to end military support for its neighbor, Ukraine, defeated Progressive Slovakia, a pro-NATO party. Slovakia's election, according to the EU's digital director Vra Jourová, will serve as a test of how susceptible European elections are to the "multimillion-euro weapon of mass manipulation" employed by Moscow to intervene in elections. Now that it has occurred, nations all over the world will be examining what happened in Slovakia for hints about the difficulties they may have in the future. In two weeks, voters in the nearby country of Poland, which a recent EU study revealed was particularly vulnerable to becoming the target of disinformation, will cast their ballots. Elections are scheduled to take place in the US, the EU, the UK, and India the next year. The fact-checkers in Slovakia who are fighting back against false information spread on social media claim that their experience demonstrates that AI is already sufficiently advanced to sabotage elections while they are unable to stop it. According to Veronika Hincová Frankovská, project manager at the fact-checking company Demagog, we are not as prepared as we ought to be. Throughout the election, Hincová Frankovská's staff put in a lot of overtime, splitting their time between fact-checking statements made during TV debates and keeping an eye on social media sites. Demagog collaborates with Meta as a fact-checking partner, which entails that it writes fact-check labels for alleged misinformation that is believed to be disseminating on websites like Facebook. To their work, AI has brought a new, difficult dimension. A recording of imeka proposing to double the price of beer if he won the election was gaining popularity, Meta informed the Demagog team three days before the election. The footage was referred to as phoney by Imeka. According to Hincová Frankovská, fact-checking cannot, of course, be limited to what politicians say. It was difficult to demonstrate that the audio was altered. Though her team had heard about AI-generated posts, Hincová Frankovská and her colleagues had never had to fact-check one. They tracked the recording's origins and learned that it was first posted on an unidentified Instagram account. They started calling specialists and asked them if they thought the recording was likely to be faked or altered. They eventually tested an AI voice classifier developed by the American business Eleven Labs. They were prepared to express their suspicions about the recording's alteration after a short while. When readers come across the post, they may still see their label on the Slovak-language version of Facebook, which reads: "Independent fact-checkers say that the photo or image has been edited in a way that could mislead people." The Facebook user then has the option of deciding if they wish to view the video.

The fact-check label and the beer and vote-rigging audios are still available on Facebook. According to Ben Walter, a representative for Meta, when information is fact-checked, they label it and de-rank it in feed so fewer users see it. This is what happened with both of these situations. No matter if a piece of content was made by a person or an AI, it must adhere to the Community Standards, and an action must be taken against it. Following the introduction of the EU's digital services legislation in August, this election was one of the first crucial elections to occur. The legislation, which was created to improve online human rights protection, established new regulations that were meant to compel platforms to be more aggressive and transparent in their attempts to filter misinformation. Richard Kuchta, an analyst at Reset, a research organization that focuses on how technology affects democracy, claims that Slovakia served as a test case to determine what works and where some modifications are required. According to him, the new regulation increased the pressure on platforms to improve their capabilities for fact-checking or content monitoring. For the Slovak election, Meta reportedly added extra fact-checkers; nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether this was sufficient. Kuchta observed the far-right group Republika upload two additional videos on social media that included AI audio impersonations in addition to the two deepfake audio recordings. One pretended to be Michal Imeka, while the other was Zuzana Aputova, the president. The voices in these audios have been identified as false, and it has been said that any resemblance to real people is coincidental. According to Kutcha, this phrase, which he suspected was an attempt to deceive viewers, did not flash until 15 seconds into the 20-second video. In Poland, there was keen interest in the Slovakian election. As the president of the Polish fact-checking organization Pravda Association, Jakub Li affirms, "AI-generated disinformation is something we are obviously very afraid of because it's very hard to react to it fast." Li claims that because voice cloning is so challenging to spot, he is especially concerned about the Slovakian pattern of disinformation being packaged as audio recordings as opposed to videos or images. Similar to Hincová Frankovská in Slovakia, Li similarly lacks the resources to confidently assist him in determining what has been artificially made or altered. He claims that the tools at your disposal allow you to calculate your chance. But a black box issue plagues these tools. He doesn't know how they evaluate whether a post is likely to be fraudulent. How he is expected to communicate this information to his audience if he has a tool that magically tells him this is 87% AI generated? he asks. In Poland, li claims that there hasn't been much AI-generated content in circulation. However, some people are utilizing the possibility of AI generation to discredit legitimate sources. Polish voters will decide in two weeks whether or not the conservative Law and Justice party should be allowed to serve a historic third term in office. This past weekend, a sizable crowd gathered in Warsaw to show their support for the opposition. According to the opposition-run city council, the number peaked at 1 million people. However, individuals on X, formerly known as Twitter, claimed that videos of the march had been artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced to make the crowd appear larger. Li thinks it's simple to cross-reference many sources to verify the accuracy of this kind of content. It would be far more difficult if, as happened in Slovakia, AI-generated audio recordings started spreading in Poland in the final hours before the vote. He claims that as a fact-checking organization, they don't have a clear strategy for handling it. Therefore, it will hurt if something similar occurs. Source link

[jiessicas]

07.06.23 making maps

in the face of helplessness/panic, noticing the thoughts/feels/actions -> how do my fears sorrows reflect what i want? how do they illuminate some border i didn’t realize was there?

started the day mildly panicked, talked myself through them in morning prompts, almost like i needed a lil narrative to get unstuck

not knowing the paths ahead gives me anxiety; making myself maps feels like a way to anchor / fight the feeling of helplessness

life infra [gonna be me mildly anxiety blogging until i feel properly held by structure that i'm gonna have to make by myself and with others]

today felt like another life infra day (drs appointments, finances)

first time chat with a holistic financial planner who works with underserved groups; it was really nice to talk through short / medium / long term goals

-> to dream about a decade out from now (kids? homes? careers? i can barely fathom life 10 years out from now but appreciated someone nudging me to do that anyway) (i feel i can only think about months at a time)

looking for specialist healthcare and navigating insurance is so confusing & laden with discourage from past failed attempts to, but really thankful for how many online resources there are to navigate this, ready to stay on the phone with bureaucracy for as long as needed

the joys and horrors of inhabiting a corporeal existence

because of some health stuff, my body has been feeling real weird as of late; trying to be gentle with it and not additionally hard on myself for feeling different

resuscitated by chicken porridge i want to learn how to make at home; a friend’s black bean quinoa tacos; two kinds of matcha lattes from two fine establishments (stonemill; maiko)

HAGS! <3

friday field trip and sunday camping incoming :,,,,)

appreciative of converse ways of planning / thinking - starting at the individual vs starting at the group in terms of hopes for this time; starting with the structure of the day vs starting with the discrete things wished to be done!!! dualities of man~

dispatches from s from nyc <3 Against the Tyranny of Shippers (& a Sideeye At Javascript)

all different entry points, but entry points nonetheless!

The Internet(tm)

my main feeling is that everyone has so many things to say all the time and it’s incredible and terrifying and overwhelming but so cool (me, flipping between bluesky, threads, twitter on safari)

k texted me asking about threads v bluesky; it looks like something like 1/3 or 1/4 of people in the us are on meta vs like 1/100 on twitter (ie twitter users are just built different)

nice details to remember

a cruise car named ube; a new candle that crackles with the might of a fireplace; a section of a bookshelf curated after recommendations from a friend; the casual thursday night dates playing out at the social study

l got everyone back onto pokemon go & we're all on tumblr..... it's 2016 and it's time to pokemon go to the polls babyyyy

walk w s through the fillmore talking about the want to be understood and to understand as love languages ~ how that propelled early childhood compulsions to externalize it in writing (like w f and i), or internalize it and alchemize it in other ways!

the opening to "fight" by brockhampton feels urgent and deliberate; it makes me feel like there is some kind of arena to be entered, some hat to be thrown into the ring, some new kids on the block to be stomping around

to linger longer

reveries/dreams

“how am i gonna try today?”

so what are you writing about? you and me both, pal — feel like there's a lot generated, started from the last year, pondering how i can hold onto a thread for a bit longer to work on for a sustained period of time

thinking about dogs & daughters (as it seems like i've been since 2019, according to my notes app search results) ~ thinking about the unfettered sweetness of puppy love

thinking about cleaning tidying decluttering in a song dong / jen craig’s “wall” kinda way

similarly enjoying slowly gathering similar books (currently, book recs from someone whose taste in books i respect/admire, another shelf dedicated to books on art/practice/making)

feeling myself dreaming again, at the end of the day <3 feeling project themes for this summer percolating... feeling like what is ahead is but a wide expanse, with few things in my way (have been reaching for this feeling for so, so long)

when i say i have that dog in me, this is what i mean

#hagsooo23 #log #s23

[abyssmalice]

(i cant write with normal grammar atm bc brain rippy and this is a meta i wanna ramble on vs putting in proper capitalized words for now so lmao lmao lmaoooo)

(an important aspect about my two tonitonis is that Irminsul plays a major role on their backgrounds - as the means through which they are resurrected from death and provided the ability to control the elements without a vision, among other things. this, of course, comes at the consequence of being "attached" to Irminsul, being considered a part of it as a (human-shaped independent) branch.

in more simple words, all of their coolness from being part-Irminsul comes at the price of being Irminsul's servant.

as such, the tonis are obligated to maintain Irminsul - and most importantly, to heed any and all its commands.

in canon, Irminsul isn't expressly stated to have any sort of will or ego - but for the purposes of my muses and their AUs, Irminsul does have a sense of will, however much of a weird clusterfuck of both "i' and "we" it is. which is to say, it is and isn't united in its own opinions, due to its ego arising from a multitude of whole or fragmented souls that have mashed themselves together within the eroding flow of the elements.

since a master that keeps changing its mind is no good master at all, Irminsul has only one baseline, only one primary objective in its existence:

non-intervention, followed closely by self-preservation.

non-intervention is the higher priority; Irminsul, as its own entity, will not intervene or at least act first for anything and everything. it is the keeper of the world's memory and the recorder of eternal history, and only that. it will not participate in the history it watches - to do so otherwise is the first step in becoming a tyrant, due to its own existence effectively being a reflection of the world itself, and so, if Irminsul were to actively desire something of the world, that desire would fulfill itself regardless of what anyone or anything else thinks.

the world itself must determine the course of the world, not a giant tree. which is why Irminsul will only watch what unfolds - even if events lead to someone trying to burn Irminsul to ash, that's not a big deal, because at least that means history was decided by the writer, not the pen and paper of history itself.

"so what's the self-preservation bit for if they dont even have a shred of it" well that part is for incidents that are actively attacking Irminsul as the entity, offending the personality within the tree. as well as for incidents involving the breaking of the 'non-intervention' principle.

as Irminsul has no desire to be intervening in the world, it goes to say that its branches aka the two tonis are not allowed to intervene either. however, this is only in the sense that they cannot take the initiative to give away Irminsul's secrets or their connection to the great tree. if other people, on their own, find out about those things - well, that's other people, not Irminsul or its branches explicitly telling them so.

additionally, if they Do in fact say something, the third-parties who now hold this knowledge cannot do anything with it - they cannot do further studies with this, they cannot discover great revelations that change the world as they know it, cannot use it to misuse or kill Irminsul, nothing. to use knowledge provided by, essentially, Irminsul itself even via its proxies is, in another way, Iriminsul itself intervening in the course of history. unless Irminsul determines on a case-by-case basis to let the matter slide, there will be very negative consequences.

which is why the two tonis won't say anything about their Irminsul connections or secrets. sure, if other people figure it out on their own, then whatever. but they themselves won't spill shit - not unless they've got a good idea that the knowledge won't have any dramatic effects on the world.)

#headcanons | (without love it cannot be seen); #headcanons | (there is no love lost here but me); #(one of my most fave and important irminsul meta) #(to establish 1) why the tonis dont really talk abt being irminsul 2) why irminsul lets them run around with world breaking op powers)

[rlxtechoff]

#IFTTT #Blogger

[merrickvoigt74]

Everything You Need to Know about WordPress Tutorials for Beginners

If you're thinking of creating websites, chances are good that WordPress is one of your lists of potential choices. Being the most well-known content management system (CMS) in the world is no wonder why the majority of people are drawn to WordPress--it's easy to use, user-friendly and extremely adaptable. In this thorough guide, we'll explain all the basics of WordPress and give you an introduction to help you get started with your very first website.

The initial step to setting up the WordPress website is installing WordPress on your server hosting. To achieve this, you'll have to sign into your hosting account and look to find"WordPress Installer" in the search bar "WordPress Installer" option. Once you find it, click it and follow the steps provided by your hosting service. After completing the installation then you'll have to select your preferred theme before getting started with creating web content.

When creating content for your website, you must always concentrate on producing content of high-quality that is valuable to people who visit your site. Also, you should ensure that all content is optimized for SEO so that it can be seen as more prominent in search engine results. For more information on SEO optimization, read our article here. In addition, when you write articles for your website be sure to include images or videos that support or illustrate the points you are making in your blog posts. To gather more details please head to Project DMC

Once you have created some first content and then launched your site, managing it becomes much easier. Based on the volume of traffic that comes to your site's WordPress Maintenance Tutorial, you may need to adjust settings in order to keep the site operating smoothly and speedily. If necessary you need to upgrade your hosting service or install caching plugins to ensure that your visitors don't experience slowdowns while browsing on your site. If someone leaves an online comment or sends an email via on one of the form available on your site, ensure to respond immediately, since this builds trust with potential customers or visitors to your website.

Once you have installed and activated the theme(s) that you like It's time to set up some of the basics settings on your administrator dashboard (e.g. changing your URL structure; setting up customized menus; creating pages, and so on.). Additionally, you can use widgets or plugins that are available on wordpress.org or third-party service providers to further customize/enhance the functionality of your site as needed/desired (e.g. the addition of social media integration, creating contact forms, and so on.). Additionally, many themes come bundled with their own settings page(s), which is a great way to personalize various aspects of your website (e.g., colors fonts, logo uploader, etc.).

After all your content has been added, it's time for publishing which is simply ensuring that everything looks good before making it available on the internet. From here, you can see a variety of things that need checking and ensuring that your links are functioning correctly, spelling and grammar checks have been carried out correctly, and that meta descriptions are optimized in accordance with SEO best practices if desired (this isn't required, but highly it is recommended). Once these checks are done, press "Publish" from any page type editor , and voila! you're live. Congratulations.

[tihalt-technologies]

Be On the Top & Get More Traffic to Your Website

Website traffic refers to the number of individuals who visit your website. The number of page views and the number of unique pageviews are frequently reported by analytics software. Pageviews are the total number of times someone has visited your site, whereas unique pageviews are the number of people who have visited your site only once.

The notion is that the more traffic your website receives the more chances you have of converting visitors.

However, you’ll generally find that increased traffic leads to decreased conversion rates. This could be due to the fact that your traffic isn’t as targeted — while more people are visiting your site, they may not all be highly qualified leads people are likely to buy your items (s).

Increasing website traffic is a common goal among many business owners and marketers, whether they run an e-commerce store or a brick-and-mortar location. Visitors to your website can learn more about your products and services, establish trust in your brand, and eventually convert into leads and consumers.

Many businesses struggle to think of fresh and creative strategies to boost website traffic. There’s a lot of misinformation out there about how to gain more visitors, which may encourage you to use the same old methods and expect different results.

Here are ten tried-and-true methods for growing organic and sponsored website traffic.

1. Perform Keyword Research

Always include relevant keywords in your text. Keywords should be used naturally in the material rather than packed into it to the point where they distract the reader or detract from the main idea. Keywords should be utilized in the meta description, page title, URL, headers, and a few additional places throughout the text.

Keyword research may be done with tools like Moz, Ahrefs, and SEMrush. These sites show what keywords competitors are using, how frequently people search for keywords, how expensive the phrase is for pay-per-click ads, related keywords, and a wealth of other information to aid keyword strategy. Hiring an SEO company in Bangalore is also a possible option, as they can provide important insights and conduct audits to identify flaws that hinder your site from being seen in search engines.

2. Create Memorable Content

It’s not enough to merely submit content; you must also create content that is memorable and distinct. In actuality, providing useful and memorable content is one of the most effective tactics for increasing website visitors.

People go to Google to find detailed, thorough, and accurate answers to their questions, and your content should be there to provide them. In fact, search engines index 434 percent more pages on websites with blog material than on those without. Additionally, sites that post more than 16 articles per month earn around 3.5 times the traffic as sites that publish zero to four articles per month.

The basic line is that web traffic should increase if you care about the material you create, upload often, and investigate what your audience wants to see.

3. Write Guest Posts

Guest posting on other people’s websites is an excellent way to build backlinks, generate referral traffic, and improve your SERP rankings. Before pitching a website to your business, always conduct your research.

To begin, check a website’s content for quality, as well as its domain authority and guest blogging limits. Inquire about whether the publication will promote the article on social media and if you will be tagged.

4. Keep Active Social Media Pages

Social networking is quite effective for getting visitors. Here are some suggestions about how to use it to boost website traffic:

Distribute content across all of your social media platforms (blogs, e-books, white papers, infographics, videos, etc.).

Respond to followers, repost their stuff, and include them in your posts by tagging them.

Make use of hashtags that are relevant to the issue.

When new content is published, update the link in your bio to promote it.

Change the cover photo to promote new content.

The list should include any influencers who might be interested in the topic.

Include compelling material to persuade people to follow the link.

Include links to your information in your response to people who are looking for answers.

5. Use Advertising to Increase Website Traffic

Paid search, social networking, and display advertisements are all effective ways to drive visitors to your website. Users can block display ads, and the average cost per click for Google Ads on the search network is between $1 and $2, so setting budgets and targets before committing money is critical.

Starting with just one campaign and a few different ad groups that contain the terms you want to target the most is crucial when it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) ads, for example. Keep an eye on how people react to different terms after your advertising is up and running. One term may have merely generated impressions and not increased website traffic, whilst another term may have resulted in clicks and transactions.

6. Send Email Newsletters

Using email newsletters to promote content is an efficient technique to boost website traffic. Here are some great practices in email marketing:

· In the subject line and body of the email, include enticing facts from the document.

· Subscribers can access additional content by clicking on a link or a button.

· Examine your emails to see if they are compatible with mobile devices. Because mobile devices account for 46% of all email opens, links should be displayed right away.

· You can employ customization strategies by including the subscriber’s name.

· Use well-designed themes to make the email visually appealing.

· Different email versions should be A/B tested to discover which ones get the most opens and clicks.

7. Influencer Outreach

Influencers in the field are ready to pass on their expertise to their followers. You can reach out to influencers through a variety of methods, including:

· If your piece features the influencer’s content or study, mention it in a social media post.

· Request an interview or a Q&A with the influencer, then tag or email them once the content is live. They’ll probably certainly tell their friends about your material.

· When advertising the article on social media, create a round-up with many influencers (e.g., “10 Experts Predict Small Business Trends for 2020”) and tag each of the participants.

· Influencers can be compensated for promoting sponsored material on their social media pages.

· If you don’t know where to start, utilize tools like HypeAuditor and BuzzSumo to find the right influencers in your sector, or pay an SEO agency in Bangalore to do it for you.

8. Make a useful industry tool or piece of content

Providing something useful to potential customers is an excellent strategy to boost traffic. We built a free editorial calendar template for anyone to use at our content marketing agency, for example. We intended to provide a platform that would make developing and distributing content easier for marketers.

Create a set of tools and content that others in your sector would find useful, and then make them freely available on their websites. You can maximize your returns and develop new prospects by releasing gated content/tools (material and tools in exchange for the user’s contact information). Promoting the content/tools on relevant LinkedIn Groups or forums where people in the industry connect is another strategy to boost website traffic.

9. Submit Press Releases to Influential Publications

When it comes to marketing themselves or their clients, companies should not merely submit news releases on a press release syndication source and hope for the best. They need to promote the release vigorously and submit it to influential websites and periodicals in their fields.

When we have exciting news about a client, we send it to industry blogs and publications that their target audience reads. We’ll be able to generate dozens of new prospects for the customer as a result, as well as increase referral traffic.

10. Exchange Backlinks

There are various options for backlink exchanges with so many firms attempting to enhance website traffic. Make contact with relevant websites and offer to contribute to one of their articles as a resource. You can boost the ante by offering a reciprocal backlink swap in which you promise to add one of their links to one of your articles.

A backlink and social media post swap was agreed upon by the website WheelScene, which resulted in a 23,245 percent boost in views! Businesses that are able to discover the correct backlink exchange partner might make a significant amount of money.

Strategies for Increasing Website Traffic Today

Businesses might anticipate an increase in website traffic over time if these actions are performed. Some of these strategies will produce immediate benefits, while others may necessitate more time and effort. Experiment with multiple ways and evaluate the results to continue to make improvements.

So you’ve created your website but aren’t sure how to get people to come to visit it?

You’re not alone, so don’t worry. With so much information available on increasing traffic, it’s difficult to know what will and won’t work for you.

This article may not cover all of the options for increasing traffic. Rather, it offers a list of tried-and-true tactics.

There is a slew of free ways to boost your website’s traffic. However, many of these free suggestions go unheeded by business owners. Increasing organic traffic to your website is the first step in getting new leads to your company.

Visitors who come to your website and stay for an extended amount of time are referred to as organic traffic. They read the information, visit your site frequently, and take advantage of some of the exceptional offers you offer.

Do you understand what I mean? Let’s have a look at some low-cost methods for increasing the volume of high-quality traffic to your website.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is an important approach for improving website traffic. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the act of making your website more search-engine friendly so that search engines can properly monitor it and provide information to your clients.

While SEO has evolved in recent years, it remains a vital element of owning a website. We don’t recommend doing your own SEO if you’re a tiny business. To be able to hold your SEO service accountable, you must have a fundamental understanding of SEO.

Aside from SEO, there are a variety of other methods for increasing traffic to your website.

You’ve put together a wonderful website to display your products, and now it’s time to get the word out… But where do you start?

You can’t (and shouldn’t) rely on search engines to bring people to your website. Personal growth requires stepping outside of your comfort zone and doing new things, as well as establishing activities and connecting with others.