– You will see the same post eight times in one day. Keep scrolling. Do not interact, do not spread the curse. It will spread anyway. You keep scrolling, but your dash is only that post. It will only ever be that post.
– There are several big writeblrs. They have always been there. They will always be there. Others rise and fall like empires but the core remains. You reblog their advice posts despite the creeping fear that you are only feeding the power of ancient abominations too terrifying to name.
– At first, the anons feel like a blessing. Then, a tidal wave in their numbers, clamoring for attention, they feel like a curse. You do not want to know about the third stage. You would not survive the knowledge. Just know there is a reason the ancient writeblrs need vast levels of power.
– You will make one post, more famous than all the rest. At first, it will be your favourite child. So strong, so popular, so many notes! Only later will you realise that it is the cuckoo in you nest, and all your other posts are long dead. You try to kill it, but it is out there now, and it only grows larger. You will never have a more successful child.
– You make a small circle of friends. It is only small. There are only 5, 10, 15, 200 of you. Who is this person? How do they know you? Why do they speak of you with such familiarity? Oh, of course, they are a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend
. That makes perfect sense. You reblog their work.
– Somebody is looking for beta readers. You vaguely know who they are (possibly a friend-of-a-friend?) and their book sounds amazing. You sign on. That was a mistake. Their book is slightly flawed but brilliant and you spend hours detailing your feedback. You pretend your other life commitments aren’t staring you in the face, feeling abandoned. You finish their book, offer them back their masterpiece in the making. Now it is time to catch up on- oh, look!
Somebody is looking for beta readers.You-
– There is a vagueblog. You recognise exactly what type of writer the OP is vagueblogging about. They have made it abundantly obvious. That exact type of writer enthusiastically reblogs the post; there are two types of response. One misses the point of a vagueblog and tags it #meeeeeeeeeeeeee. The other slams writers for the sin which they, too, commit without realising. Which type are you? You do not want to know. You do not want to find out. You scroll past the post.
– You make a new friend. They seem nice until you realise they are an anti-SJW as they try to mansplain what a comma is. You smile politely at your screen and back out of the conversation. You make a new friend. They seem nice until you realise they are a devout Southern Christian when they try to inform you that abortion is murder and you are a filthy queer sinner. You smile politely at your screen and back out of the conversation. You make a new friend. They seem nice until you realise they are a fourteen year old with a rabid conviction that their rewritten fanfic will be a bestseller by the end of the year. You smile politely at your screen and back out of the conversation. You make a new friend. They seem nice until-
The guy next to me in a coffee shop is
telling his date ‘You know you girls are all liars. Well, not all, but I’d say
80%. More than half.’
‘Girls think they have power over men by using sex as a bargaining chip and they don’t.‘
Now he’s telling her about a ‘psycho’
date he had who started telling him how ‘patronizing’ he was OUT OF NOWHERE
He’s a musician but he says he couldn’t date any of the ‘sheep’ who come to his gigs.
He’s been talking about himself literally nonstop since I sat down fifteen minutes ago. The scariest thing is the girl is listening actively, leaning forward, and smiling and giggling while I’m mentally screaming ‘Run, girl, run!’
Now he’s talking about gig he did for the troops in Afghanistan and how dangerous it was. ‘I could have been shot by a sniper at any second. But I was making people human. I was keeping them from going crazy. I was playing bass and crowd-surfing on my back. We were treated like ACDC. I had a prejudice about the military but you see the armed forces for what they are. They’re good people.’
He’s finally stopped telling her about the military and has gone back to covering every detail of his career. I still know absolutely nothing about his date.
Now he’s complaining about how bad the dancers were at one of his gigs (‘pathetic, ridiculous’).
Now he’s giving her a detailed history lesson on Greco-Turkish military conflict. I swear I’m not making any of this up.
Summary of the rest of the date:
Guy’s talking continues, relentless. Girl’s responses slowly growing more and more lackluster (unnoticed). Finally Guy gets up to use the bathroom. I casually say to Girl, ‘First date?’ A few seconds later, we’re recapping every obnoxious moment, literally holding onto each other, doubled over and gasping with laughter. ‘He hasn’t stopped talking since I sat down!’ ‘Oh my god, I’m so tired!’ ‘I mean, it’s your choice, but I wouldn’t go on a second date with that guy.’ More peals of laughter. ‘Oh my god, I’m so tired!’ ‘Not that I wanted to eavesdrop, but when he said all women were liars…’ ‘I know, right? I couldn’t believe it! I didn’t want to offend him, but…’ And so on. Finally: ‘Shh, here he comes.’
We straighten up and I pretend to be working on my laptop. Guy comes back to the table and they leave together. She waves at me behind his back.
no way could i have gotten through that date
OMG
You know, I actually think that dude may have a point about 80% of girls he’s known being liars. Haven’t we all been that girl at some point, fake-smiling and faking interest in some self-obsessed douchenozzle going on about his Important Manly Self?
Being scared to tell him HONESTLY how disgusting and awful he is, since he could flip out and kill us for rejecting his ass or stalk us or any number of things many men do.
Yep. Girls do lie. For survival. Because men like him exist.
Taika Waititi actively made sure not only Māori but other indigenous identities, specifically aboriginal Australians, were represented in his film since they were filming on their ancestral lands.
he invited the Yugambeh mob to welcome them and even had a Māori Kaumātua (elder) to perform a Karakia, “a kind of open-up ceremony from [his] side of things as well.”
he hired an Aboriginal water company to supply that water on set
he wanted to make space for indigenous filmmakers and thus had 8 indigenous interns on set to learn and gain film experience
yes, Taika is a lot of fun and super goofy. But that doesn’t mean Ragnarok doesn’t stand for something bigger. Taika is not only the first Polynesian man to direct a superhero movie, but he is also the first indigenous person to do so too. While he is barrel of laughs and a half, please don’t forget what Taika brought to the MCU. (x) (x) (x)
High in the sky
We can see the whole world down below
We’re walking the tightrope
Never sure, will you catch me if I should fall?
Well, it’s all an adventure
That comes with a breathtaking view
Walking the tightrope
One of the best tips for friendships I’ve ever seen was from a tumblr post, years ago. I don’t recall exactly what it said, but it suggested just… asking what people want from you.
A friend comes to you with a problem? Ask them directly how you can best comfort them.
Do you want my advice or help through action?
Do you want a listening ear to vent to?
Do you want to be comforted with affection?
Do you want to be distracted?
It can seem awkward and clunky, and yeah… sometimes it is. But it’s still friendship, and “awkward and clunky” is often better than incorrectly guessing what they want or need from you. Maybe they don’t actually know what they need, but you can invite them to think about it, and that openness of communication makes it easier for them to say “Actually, no, this isn’t working, I want x instead of y.” And you make the switch! It’s that easy.
I do this with my friends, family and fiance and I promise it makes dealing with situations where someone is hella stressed out SO MUCH EASIER.
