#my twitter feed has just become filled with these posts

[aro-aceattorney]

ok i know its my own hubris for participating in the watcher discourse even slightly but.

please god can you guys stop talking about this under the weird lens of "actually it was all stevens idea and shane and ryan secretly hate it heres a clip of shane from 2017 set to sad background music" becuase my GOD it is so fucking annoying. you don't know these guys these are Grown Men what are you ON ABOUT

[high-pot-in-noose]

Okay, after braving the wilds of Threads, I was compelled to try out a couple of other social media apps/sites as well.

I will go ahead and say that, while Threads does indeed need a lot more work, and it does indeed keep track of far more of your information than a site should period . . . the facts remain that this stage is literally just its beta, and Ol' Zuck would have already been tracking that information on you through FB and IG. TBH, if you were already using IG, there's no real reason not to use Threads outside of if you just don't want to.

That scare of 'you can't delete Threads without deleting IG!' is not technically incorrect, but it leaves out the fact that Threads isn't actually an independent app at this stage (if it'll ever be) but an off-shoot of IG. Wanting to delete your Threads account without removing your IG would be like trying to remove your basement without taking apart your house.

Also, the gist of the claim that you can't delete ignores that you can deactivate -- it's effectively the same as deleting, but it leaves you the option to come back, and prevents people from being able to snatch your handle.

Also ALSO, you can very much uninstall the physical app from your device, it's just your account will remain yours no matter what.

I don't personally recommend Threads yet since the search function is basic, tags aren't a thing yet, you can't see the posts you've like, there's no explore page or DM function, and they're still working out glitches, but those are things the staff has reported that they're actively working to address. TBH, as far as a straight bird app clone goes, it's already better than, say, Spoutible.

Now, Spoutible is purporting to be trying to be the next Twitter, but after testing out the site and app, I'd say it's more like if Twitter and Facebook had a child, but it turned out the child was actually adopted and just happened to share a number of traits with its parent sites. Spoutible is not under Muskrat's X Corp umbrella nor Zuck's Meta umbrella; they're their own thing.

Their functionality isn't great, but they technically have everything a person would want from a social media app. My main gripes are that I can't change my location to say anything but the United States (I can't select anything but the US despite there being a dropdown list), things that should scroll DON'T scroll unless you finesse it in a very non-intuitive way, and the site itself just feels rather bland. Clean, but bland.

Also, it apparently isn't available for iOS yet? This last part isn't a gripe, just a statement of bemusement. With the type of posts I see on this site, you would think it would be filled with iOS users -- these people just give off that vibe. Do with that information what you will.

The one that really surprised me, though, was Cohost. Let me say this out of the gate -- it's in beta. It's unashamedly in beta, and they have what they're working on right on the side of their main page/your dashboard at all times, but . . . it's in beta the same way that AO3 is in beta.

Cohost is known for trying to be a Twitter alternative even though they loudly reject that claim, but it actually has more in common with Tumblr. The profile page is like Twitter, but the dashboard does posts and reblogs in exactly the same manner as Tumblr, their tagging and liking function is the same, the feed is exclusively chronological, you can save post drafts, and they filter content through a blacklist as well.

Color palletes are part of their paid features at the moment, but considering it has no ads and promises to remain that way, AND the only restriction against 18+ content is that it must be tagged and marked appropriately, that's a small compensation. They're still rolling out features like asks, and DMs aren't a thing yet, but I'm actually really hopeful for this one. It gives me the same energy as when AO3 was first becoming a thing.

It's also primarily filled with furries at the moment, but that's just a matter of fact and something to be taken as a pro or con depending on the individual.

With Cohost and Pillowfort marching steadily forward in their development, I actually feel really good about Tumblrina's being able to find a new and suitable home if Tumblr ever makes itself completely uninhabitable. Really the only downsides to moving over to these two sites right away is that there are still a number of features left that Tumblr does better or has that they don't, and that there's no telling exactly when these sites will be at the state that their staff teams consider officially out of beta.

[donnerpartyofone]

I just had the misfortune of seeing that 100k post where someone is commanding Twitter migrants to reblog all the fan art they see, on the premise that if an artist has a reblog:like ratio of 1/50 or something then they'll be so discouraged that they'll quit. OP then reblogs their own post to say that there's someone who sometimes reblogs the first post 200 times a day--which like, my reaction to that was "wow that's completely unhinged and not good", but what OP meant was that we should all cater to whatever that person wants to make them happy. I generally don't see the point in yelling at strangers on the internet, but I really had to restrain myself from pointing out that this was the stated motivation on the Staff post about fucking with the chronological feed: that if we all have too much power to curate what we see, then some users will feel unpopular. Which is like, completely normal and acceptable, in reality. There are just so many problems with this attitude:

Nobody owes you attention. Most people don't enjoy random waves of applause just for existing, and most of us have learned to live with this and place importance on things other then validation from strangers.

If your principle reason for making art is NOT the art-making itself, and if you know that you would stop making art if it never got you some form of fame and fortune, then you should literally stop making art. Just stop right now, and find something to do that is more rewarding and less psychologically perilous for you.

If you have ever tried to work in any creative industry at all, then you should know that it can take absolutely forever to get good at something. And it might never happen. And even if it does happen and you turn out to be a genius, still, people might not notice or care--especially if you're really original. There's a reason it's become cliche for people to remind each other of how famous writer X wasn't published until he was 50 or famous painter Y only became important posthumously. If you can't take the heat, see above.

If you're just begging your personal friends to help circulate your work, that's between you and them. But you can't order people who just got to this platform five minutes ago to fill up their accounts with stuff that maybe they like enough to hit the like button, but they don't like it enough to add it to their own page. People are allowed to like your art on a limited basis.

If you're so emotionally dependent on popularity that you think its acceptable to strong-arm strangers into shilling for you, then you should probably take some time to get to know yourself better and figure that out, before you rake yourself over the coals of social media conflict about it. I used to have a mutual (not an artist, just a guy) who had really serious behavioral problems in this department: One day I reblogged a very popular post that had been making the rounds, and suddenly this guy was up my ass with righteous anger about why I didn't reblog it from him personally. I actually took the time to explain that the post itself was doing a lot of traffic, I had no idea that he was one of the thousands of people who had reblogged it, and I can't bother to go combing through his blog every time I see something I like just in case I can reblog it from him individually. Incredibly, he didn't even get what I was saying, he was so invested in the idea that I should conscientiously use my blog to pay tribute to him, and eventually I had to block him for being rude like this all the time, and he was really sad about it. Don't be like that guy.

And finally, the post I'm referring to counted as art things like gif sets and "edits" (a vague concept I think barely counts as creative work but whatever) from TV shows and all kinds of other fan posts. And like, that is just a bridge too far. I shouldn't even have to explain why. And I won't.

[aurically]

CC Creator ARCHIVEFACTION/TERFEARRENCE

Gonna put a big ole TW all over this post for w*hite supremacy n*azi imagery and iconography.

Hey, Sims community. It's been a while, I know.

I felt the need to pop in from the Second Life community to let you know that a creator working on both the TS4 platform and the SL platform has been outed over here as a n*azi sympathizer/supporter. This creator is known as ARCHIVEFACTION and TERFEARRENCE.

I'm still compiling all the evidence of discussions and evidence surrounding the situation at hand, but below you will find screenshots of ARCHIVEFACTION/TERFEARRENCE using neo-n*azi imagery in his SL product ads for his product The Confluence Pearl Necklace, which he had released approximately 2 weeks ago at the Access Event in Second Life.

What started it: I'm unsure of which came first, the Twitter post or the Virtual Secrets post, however, they were both found around the same time when Facebook and Twitter started discussing this.

The original Twitter post and the original Virtual Secrets post.

It has been discussed at length within the Second Life community, and the creator was called out. They altered their event photo for the second time.

The blog site Seraphim goes around shopping events in Second Life, and takes photos of all the vendor booths. When Seraphim took their photo of his Access event booth, this was the ad display:

At some point, just prior to the Access Event opening, he changed his booth ad to the image that included the "w*hite power" text and neo-nazi symbols, which appeared on his Flickr until yesterday:

Yesterday, he cropped his ad photo at the physical Access event, and deleted the Flickr post (as well as other undetermined photos from his Flickr feed), issuing an "apology".

This is not his original apology/statement. I read the apology when it was first posted, and it was only a few sentences saying things about a language barrier. I do not currently have a screenshot of the original apology, but if I find one, I will update this post.

That said, the general consensus is the apology is BS, and it is not being accepted. Many people feel that if you are a content creator primarily selling to a western audience, you should be making damn sure you're not using any foul language or offensive material; that "language barrier" is no longer an acceptable excuse.

Another SL creator has been very vocal on social media about ARCHIVEFACTION, and has apparently been watching them for quite some time. Asserting that ARCHIVEFACTION has on multiple occasions produced products with w*hite supremacist and neo-n*azi words and iconography, and has been disseminating it throughout SL for some time. I've not seen any screenshots of these things, but I did take a look at his Flickr before the apology/statement, and saw some concerning dog whistles for w*hite supremacists and neo-n*azis.

Another user also pointed out that one of his pieces of jewelry had neo-n*azi symbolism to it:

Lastly, it appears his whole "brand" is a rip-off of Raf Simmons' book, The Fourth Sex, and a real-life brand "POST ARCHIVE FACTION":

His Tumblr homepage + Raf Simmons' book "The Fourth Sex", where ARCHIVEFACTION has clearly ripped off the artwork.

While no one owns a certain aesthetic, the brand name is clearly being ripped off for a virtual iteration that is not associated with the real-life brand.

All this said I'm putting this out to the TS4 community as it seems his skins and looks are widely popular for its hyper-realistic, high-quality, edgy take. I would hate for the Sims community to also support someone who clearly has been stealing and perpetuating hateful ideologies in our beloved spaces.

I am purposefully leaving out any links to his socials and websites, as I do not want this POS to gain any further traffic. I hope these screenshots suffice in my desire to share this issue. I will try to fill in any missing gaps of information when and if it becomes available, but I am definitely coming here in good faith.

I hope the Sims community is well. <3

[trshltna-blog]

Social Media, Memes and….*sighs*, Malaysian Politics

Before I begin, I’d like to address that I am not particularly fond of Malaysian politics, but will try to explain this week’s topic through the mind of someone who regularly uses Social Media, just not for politics.

Generally, social media has been a primary source for politics in terms of sharing information and announcing unexpected political happenings. In Malaysia, it is known that most politicians are on social media applications such as Twitter and Instagram. With the platform presented to them, they’re able to advocate for their standing party and have the freedom to say what they want to say. Comparing traditional media and the media we consume now, it is certain how much social media has a one up the game for politics. News gets spread faster, and not only politicians are involved, but generally the people of the country who voted. Even those who didn’t vote, get the participate.

All thanks to the freedom of social media, and yes, this is where memes come in.

Let’s go back in time shall we? To the year 2020…

When everything Covid-19 related happened around the world and in Malaysia, Malaysia was also going through a political crisis where there was a sudden switch in the cabinet. There was an immediate meeting of leaders that was held on the 23rd February 2020, about 3 weeks before national lockdown. Crazy, right? Everything else was happening and these people decided to make even more controversies within the country. Then again, I was only 18, an avid user on Twitter whilst scrolling thru my feed of constant tweets about the changes happening. Leaders from several factions of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) were called to Sheraton Hotel, Petaling Jaya, which somehow, lead to Tun Mahathir Mohamad resigning as the Prime Minister, and then forming a whole new government under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (Zainuddin 2020). This whole situation was then known as the “Sheraton Move”, where they planned to topple the PH government. To sum all that up, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ended up being the Prime Minister, with the 3rd ever government we have in Malaysia (IISS 2020)…

…only to step down the following year on the 16th of August 2021 becoming the caretaker Prime Minister, with Ismail Sabri Yakoob replacing him as our Prime Minister, for now.

Okay, I’m going to stop here, it’s getting confusing, but you get the gist. Malaysian politics are a full on mess.

While I have to admit I only knew the full story today because of this week’s topic blog, memes have helped me somewhat understood the situation and honestly made the whole thing lighter and more engaging. Personally, I do think memes are this generation’s way of coping with almost anything, considering the fact that we’ve been told that we’re unserious and unaware. But, I don’t think that’s the case. With social media, the birth of memes were born. What better way to convey the slight snooze-fest of politics with none other than.. fun loving memes? Relating to last week’s post, our generation loves visuals, and memes just sums up all that. A whole situation or message being conveyed in 1 fulfilling meme. Quite entertaining if I do say so myself.

With that, I do believe that memes and politics somehow do go hand in hand together, especially in this decade. Jokes aside and all, considering memes are joke-filled, memes grab the attention of most social media users. People like me who aren’t really aware, get attracted to these memes posted only to be curious about the context behind it. For me, that works, and I’m sure it works for other people as well. One can put it in a way as if memes are a head start before a plane takes off, thus the plane being any types of news. In this case, political news.

Take this meme below, for example. I saw this about a year ago circulating on Twitter and was really confused at first on what was going on. From there I made the initiative to search up what all this was about, and it seemed like it was just Dr. Mahathir and his tricks, as usual.

Okay enough of that, it’s in the past now.

As I’m typing this out, GE15 candidates have been announced so do vote if you can! For the betterment of Malaysia and many more political memes to come 🇲🇾

#mda20009 #week5 #politicalengagement

References :

[chattingwiththelightkeeper]

Ditching The “Real” Memes

Take a look at almost any of your kinktastic social media feeds and quickly most will encounter a post that says something like ‘real dominants are’, or ‘real submissives do’. These memes, pictures, and posts are something many of us have shared in the past. With that said, let’s discuss a couple of thoughts on why these are not the best or even good to share, reblog, and/or create.

Every person in the world is unique yet society seems to exert pressure on all of us to conform to things. Now there are things we should conform to, chewing with our mouths closed, being kind to

others, and doing our best to be our authentic selves but so much is hogwash. As an example according to some of the posts, some men are not ‘real men’ because they do not have a beard, drink wine rather than beer, or prefer classical to classic rock. There is nothing wrong if someone likes/loves all of those but just because they do not fit someone, it does not mean they are less than just the same their likes/loves do not fit you, it does not lessen your value in any way.

The thing about all of these posts directed to tell who is a real or true gentleman, lady, or any of the mumbo-jumbo out there deters people from discovering and being who they are. Often people try hard to fit in but it never seems to work for them and this can be because just like every other human, they are unique. As soon as they stop trying to be something or someone they are not, they discover amazing people who love them for who they are and they grow as a person.

When it comes to the lifestyle, the ‘real’ malarkey feels even more prevalent. Understandably, many of the reality posters are trying to draw attention to the people who use the lifestyle to manipulate others and while it is a noble idea, to highlight rotten apples, what creates a ‘real’ dominant, submissive, or switch is the person behind the label. Just like any place where groups of people gather there will be good and bad actors, the lifestyle is not different. Just because Master Mike may think Daddy Dylan is not a ‘real’ dominant because of how they practice the lifestyle however they are the ideal d-type for their partner. People must invest in educating themselves about the lifestyle rather than making judgments on who is or who is not based on internet memes. In a  Mr. T voice, “I pity the fool“ who thinks they can become a lifestyle role by following the advice of memes.

Social media, as well as lifestyle sites, are filled with an overabundance of blurbs stating what makes a person real or true. So here is a little challenge, rather than share a real/true post, take a minute and write a little something about the traits that you look for in a dominant, submissive, or switch and deep-six that meme. Everyone has preferences, but what makes someone ‘real’ is that they are who they are rather than trying to ‘fit in’. Endeavor to be yourself and discover the amazing people who will love you for this.

If you enjoyed this, I invite you to give my podcast a listen 'Chatting With The Lightkeeper,' a top 25% most-followed podcasts on Spotify but available on all the major podcasting apps and follow my socials for more exclusive content: Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) for a deeper dive into the wonderful world of D/S.

As with all of my thoughts, please see this disclaimer.

©TLK2023

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

335 of 2023

True or False Inspired by Random Posts on My Instagram Feed!

Created by joybucket

Christmas makes me happy, and I can't wait to decorate for it this year. 🎄 I'm a fan of puns. ...and I've made some pretty punny jokes! "All I Want for Christmas is You" is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. 🩷 Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. The children I babysit never listen. I still am haunted by traumatic and painful memories from my past. ....and I don't know how to let them go. I'm grateful for so many things in my life. ....but I'm nervous at the same time, because life is also very dangerous and scary. I believe that everyone has a purpose; we were all put on this earth for a reason. I wonder if the best thing that will ever happen to me has already happened to me or not. ....and I also wonder what it is. I can't even remember the last time I took a bubble bath. 🛁 I take bubble baths often. 🛁 I grew up in a house with a clawfoot bathtub. 🛀 I think I actually like baths more than showers. 🛀 I wish fall lasted longer, because it always seems like the shortest season. 🍁 I believe I will overcome whatever obstacle I am facing right now. I've seen a lot of "positive" quotes online that I don't agree with. Sometimes positivity can be toxic. Sometimes the things we call obstacles are actually stepping stones. I'm just taking things one day at a time. I want to learn how to turn my handwriting into a computer font, because that would be cool. I've read every C.S. Lewis novel. 📚 I've said "I love you" to someone within the past 24 hours. When people say "go big or go home," they dramatically underestimate my desire to go home. I want to do more things that make me forget to look at my phone. I wish I didn't know so many toxic people. Graphic design is one of my hobbies. I wish I could take more naps. I've had too much coffee today. ☕️ Someone in my family is named Walter. Friday is my favorite day of the week. I really need to do laundry soon. 🧺 I've sketched in a sketchbook within the last 24 hours. ✍️ I've recently eaten pizza. 🍕 I don't of anyone named Beyonce but the singer Beyonce. I feel encouraged by reading many of the posts in my Instagram feed. I feel encouraged by reading many of the posts in my Facebook newsfeed. I've never used Twitter. I think the Instagram logo looks cool. I own a Bible. 📖 I've had someone give me a Bible as a gift. I know the verse John 3:16 by heart. I enjoy listening to songs in foreign languages. ....even though I don't understand the words. I wonder if I will ever be truly satisfied with my life. There's something I want to do that I've been putting off. ...and I'm not really sure why, because I want to do it. At some point in my life, I've considered becoming a teacher. 👩‍🏫 I love the color orchid. I wish I owned a pair of hot pink cat-eye glasses. I've gotten caught cheating on a test, and I got in trouble. I like eggnog better than coffee. I've added a new post to my Instagram Story within the past 24 hours. I have an invisible illness. I wore a blue shirt this past 4th of July. I can't even remember what it was like to not be in pain. I'm a fan of JJ Heller. I enjoy filling out "Bingo" templates for my Instagram stories.

[kaymart18]

REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT -- THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM & SOCIAL MEDIA -- FILTER BUBBLES

There are a few things that the TED talk talked about, it gave us an introduction to what a filter bubble is and how it affects us in our everyday lives and gives us these unintentional consequences. I know that the ted talk video was a little outdated, as it was from 2011, but may I say, it doesn't feel that much different from what is going on at the moment. The quote about Zuckerberg was an interesting one, as he explains how everyone would pay more attention to a dead squirrel in front of their job rather than social topics going on in Africa, it was something along those lines. I found that quote rather interesting and can't really make out what it really means. 

During the TED talk, the guy speaking is Eli Pariser. He describes what a filter bubble is, which is just filtered algorithms that we see on the internet and social media. It tracks all of our interests and things that we may like, so it gives us an echo chamber of those things. The argument that Pariser makes is that he thinks that these filter bubbles are creating some type of echo chamber in society. The data shown on our social media, especially when it comes to politics, we aren't shown information from the other side of things. For example, just like Pariser, I am also a progressive Democrat, so I like viewing stories from both sides of the story. I follow some liberal figures, as well as conservative ones, but since I lean a little more to the left, all I get on my feed are liberal ads and posts from Democratic politicians. This is most notable on Twitter, as I get a lot of my news and content from that application. It happens a lot on Twitter and Instagram for me personally.  

Pariser goes off in the TED talk that we are being tracked by these filer bubbles through our search history, behavior, and activity we have on social media, and track our locations as well. I feel like that's the only part that concerns me when it comes to filter bubbles, the tracking part. There have been some moments where I felt that happen, an example of this is when I went to Arizona and I remember my fiance telling me about this fast food spot over there called Culvers, it was great, but I was getting ads on my Twitter of that place when I was over. As soon as I was back in California, I haven't gotten anything showing that spot, almost as if it knows there aren't any culvers here in California. Pariser made a good point in suggesting that these filter bubbles play a big role in polarizing the way politics work in today's world and society. People are not getting information they don't agree with. Almost everything they see is something they would totally agree with, rather than seeing things they might not agree with, so they have no way of seeing the real world for what it is, through multiple perspectives rather than just one that favors the individual's beliefs. This pretty much can cause more extremism that will raise more hate speech in this world, as if the world wasn't already filled with enough of them. This will eventually lead to people having little to no empathy, and no understanding from different viewpoints. 

Somewhere along the TED talk, he mentions how it'll affect individuals in their personal growth and leave a negative impact, as we do not challenge beliefs with the issue of these filter bubbles. 

It is obvious how social media has changed so much over the years, with these filter bubbles becoming a bigger problem than ever before. We get a lot of content on our feed that is pretty much personalized to our likes and interests, especially with ads. Of course, it has made it easier for us as the individual to use social media with content we would love to see. Because of this, it has led to more engagement for people on social media to grow a bigger fanbase for their channel, or platform. I can see this being one of the positive effects of filter bubbles, as it will help someone who is running a youtube channel or tik tok account, attract more followers because it is stuff based on what they will like to see. This has helped the growth of audience engagement through these platforms. It sure has helped me as well, as a lot of the people following my band page are people who we don't really know, but are in that scene, their personality and style are exactly the type of audience that we catered to, and it wasn't even intentional or anything. Another negative thing about filtered bubbles is that it makes debate topics and arguments less amusing, as some people wouldn't really know what to argue on with the other side of the story, as they have no knowledge of what they are against. I can somewhat relate to this because I argue with my friends about certain topics, but when it's the other way around, I have nothing to say, as I have no knowledge of how to back that up. 

[therubymuse]

The State Of Things

A little while ago, I started thinking about social media, and the control it has over my life. I think it’s a conversation a lot of us have been having since a certain narcissistic billionaire thrust his latest pet project irretrievably into the zeitgeist, because his actions represent a threat to how we communicate, and how we define ourselves. Our pandemic, the one that appears set to dog us for years to come because we can’t take a few months off from grinding society into a fine powder for the oligarchs to snort at their next retreat, has shown us that our online lives are just as real as our offline lives. I won’t even use the term IRL, or “in real life”, because I think it is dismissive of a medium that allows many people, including disabled folks, to have meaningful connections in our lives, without the stress of existing in public spaces. But how do we have meaningful connections on platforms designed to monetize our every thought? 

Back when all this was farmland, social media didn’t have an “algorithm”, it was merely a chronological timeline into which your friends (or enemies, I don’t judge) poured their daily reflections and recent heartbreaks and triumphs. We would pick up an app like it was a newspaper, and see spread before us the antics of those we wanted to connect with. This is something that most social media doesn’t allow you to do anymore. Instead, it asks you to rate your friends, by assigning them values like Favourites or Default or Restricted, and asks us to trust the algorithm’s math that we’ll see the people we want to, when we want to. 

But as you and I both know, it rarely is so sanguine. It’s no secret that some of these networks spy on us via our smartphones and probably other devices too (looking at you, Amazon), and that the tech they use for that can make a suggestion so targeted it’s uncomfortable. They have amassed a vast picture of each of us, and using algorithms and AI, instead of filling your feeds with your friends, you’re seeing “suggested” content that other people are paying for your eyeballs to see. The amount of privacy we’ve lost in the social media era is incalculable, honestly. And then if that weren’t enough, to make the experience a little bit better, we’re now being offered the chance to pay these same companies, who have made billions of dollars on the trade and sale of our personal information. 

And you see, by introducing a “premium” tier of the experience, this releases them from any sense of duty to maintain some quality in the original experience, cause if you don’t like it, pay up, chump. The free versions of the service will continue to erode. We’ve already seen Twitter take an expected security feature like two factor authentication and put it partially behind a paywall. With Facebook and other companies preparing their own version of this final rug-pull, I’m sure other features will disappear too. 

So where does that leave us? Are we willing to sift through an ever increasing volume of shitty recommendations and advertisements just for a glimpse of our friends? What started as a beautiful idea in the digital world where anything we believed was possible, has become a cynical exercise in monetizing every aspect of human interaction. There are social media sites that don’t do this. I left Twitter last year for Mastodon, once Boy Wonder was installed as overlord, because the spike in hatred and harassment was too much for me to justify staying. I wish there was an alternative to Facebook, but that’s why everyone loves to hate the network but none of us can escape it. Because of the gravitational pull of all of us being there. 

I’m not sure I’m there yet, but I think in the near future, I might consider taking Facebook off my phone. I’ll still post things I write there, or use Marketplace or look for events, but my feed will become a ghost town, because I’ll spend more time interacting directly with people and not through a glass wall where we can see each other clearly but neither of us can hear each other. As I said, there’s other places I can put my effort and time, and maybe that will be good for me. Maybe it will end the rut I’ve been in with my creative process since last year. Giving that time and energy back to myself, instead of sifting through the river water like a crazed prospector for a glimmer of love and possibility. 

Maybe we can crawl back out from under the almighty algorithm and then we’ll stop knowing what being so connected, and yet so lonely and unsatisfied, feels like. 

[cdevroe]

Recent Mastodon vibes

There is a lot being written about Mastodon lately. And it isn’t just being published on Mastodon. Both Time and Wired have published about Mastodon and its creator within the last week.

I wanted to post my current thoughts about the platform to capture the moment. Things are changing rapidly. A lot of things are in flux. A huge number of people and organizations are giving Mastodon – and a slew of other platforms – a try in the wake of Twitter’s transition to Elon Musk’s ownership. I think this is a good thing overall but I’m unsure if this is a good thing for the Mastodon community of users that has created such a wonderful vibe.

Jeremy Keith:

What I’m really struck by is the vibe.

In a nutshell, I’m loving it! It feels …nice.

I was fully expecting Mastodon to be full of meta-discussions about Mastodon, but in the past few weeks I’ve enjoyed people posting about stone circles, astronomy, and—obviously—cats and dogs.

I’ve been using Mastodon for a few years and I’ve found the same thing as Jeremy; there are a lot of really smart people using Mastodon in a variety of fields. And the platform sort of urges people to share more detailed posts than Twitter did. The surge of sign ups has certainly added so many great voices. But a lot of them are bringing to Mastodon what they brought to Twitter – a very unwelcome vibe. At least, unwelcome by me.

Over the last week or two, as millions have signed up to Mastodon, I’m starting to notice a few trends that I really hope go away soon. Two I’m hopeful will go away, one I’m not so sure. They are navel gazing posts, boosts, and vitriol spewed at different factions of people. You know, the types of posts Twitter was known for.

Let’s look at each of these.

The navel gazing posts about Mastodon are inevitable. So many new people signing on and veteran users, like me, wanting to let the new people know about certain things. How things work, what they should try, etc. I think that will die down as more people become familiar with Mastodon. Or, as has happened with surges in the past, a huge percentage of people end up leaving because they forgot how angry they are at Musk and they miss their followers on Twitter.

Boosts! Or, reblogs. To help make people aware of new accounts that have been created or great content that exists across the fediverse people have been boosting posts far more than I’ve ever seen over the last few years. In fact, I’d say the vast majority of my following feed is boosted posts from accounts I do not follow. Many are very welcomed because it exposes me to accounts and content I may have never seen otherwise. But I sure do hope it tapers soon. Fortunately, Mastodon has a mute feature specifically for reblogs. So I can mute an offender without needing to unfollow.

The last class of posts is what really has me worried. As Jeremy pointed out, the vibe of Mastodon has been very cool, chill, friendly, for a long time. For the types of accounts I follow it almost felt like belonging to a maker space. But lately my Explore page on Mastodon has been filled with the exact same types of posts that get engagement on Twitter – those that are filled with politics and hate. People taking shots at other groups of people just to get reblogs and favorites.

So I’ve gone from checking Explore daily to completely ignoring it.

The Mastodon community, across many instances, have worked hard to curate an experience that is welcoming and fun. I think to maintain that many of us will have to be liberal in our blocks and mutes.

[buyautomaticcomments]

Use Instagram to Promote Your Service or Business

When I first tried Instagram, it was a long time ago. I spent hours looking through the various ways you can edit a photo. I tried out all of the filters and was amazed at how easy it was to share my photos on other social media. It was amazing to me how quickly I gained followers in a short amount of time. And, of course, the social media strategist within me wanted to know how I could use this tool for my clients.

Instagram is a popular photo-sharing platform that offers 50 million users the chance to become armature photographer. It also has an exclusive photo editing feature that has seen a huge rise in popularity over the past year. Instagram is not just a new creative medium for photographers but also for brands. Many brands have used Instagram to provide consumers with an artistic behind-the scenes look at their products and services.

Instagram is an app that only works with mobile devices as a photo-sharing program. The app can be downloaded by users and they can post photos to their public feed - unaltered or with retro filters. Users can also follow and comment on each other's photos, as with all social networks. You can view Instagram feeds on different websites. However, you can only upload new photos to the app.

Instagram launched in late 2010 and has since attracted over 30 million users. Facebook is interested in the company, having offered to buy it for one billion dollars. Many services have been launched that allow users to convert their Instagram photos into magnets, stickers, or postcards. This has further strengthened Instagram's position in mobile.

You may be wondering how Instagram can help you as a business that offers products or services. Instagram is primarily used to share photos, so your first instinct is to fill your feed with relevant images and encourage comments and likes. Instagram has one problem. You can't link a photo to another site. This means that you cannot count on it for site referrals. However, you can use the app to encourage people to share your brand.

Like Twitter users, Instagram users may tag photos that they upload. Contests that allow users to tag a theme photo in a way that promotes your company are a great idea. You have branded yourself on this network and you also have the potential to go viral, as the feed and tags are picked up by followers.

Important to remember that Instagram can be integrated into Facebook pages or multi-purpose Web apps. To pull photos with a particular hashtag to your Facebook page, you can create an Instagram tab and ask users to tag their pictures to make them visible. Hootsuite users can share Instagram photos via Facebook and Twitter. It's a great way to let people share your photos and it can even go viral.

Your business must think outside of the box to use social media to reach customers. Try Instagram to see the benefits it offers.

Although Instagram is still relatively new for online marketing, many brands are beginning to realize the potential and benefits of the photo-sharing platform for marketing purposes.Although it can be difficult to incorporate Instagram into a company’s social media strategy due to its creative nature, many who have succeeded have experienced amazing results and been well-received by the users.

[tamelee]

Damn I read some of previous ask/answers and I can't help but wonder why Naruto fandom is so unfortunate and at each other's throats so often. I mean, one thing is disliking a ship of something specific about it, but another haressing fic writers, artists and even original anime staff. I'm not a die hard fan so I'm mostly outside fandom thus I never had any bad experience myself, but from what I saw almost everyone who makes content or metas got harressed at some point. It's basical principle of fandoms: my kink isn't your kink and that's fine + dont like? Don't interact principles

Yes, the more popular the fandom the more this and that people would it attract; one cannot invite sheep without expecting wolves to appear too. But idk what made ppl feel such degree of entitlement and self-righteousness to police others... I honestly hope they're under 16 and would know better when grow up.

On separate note your art is top notch! It's so beautiful :D and I agree about your post how Kishimoto might have planned for Hinata to die at some point bc it'd fill in the gaps of Hyuga slavery thing and Naruto never doing anything regarding her confession

Hi @noa-ciharu !!

lol

“my kink isn't your kink and that's fine”

No, but imagine everyone having the same hand-kink like me. I’d feel sorry for all of you. Also let's keep this a secret.

Half-jokes aside, you’re right! Naruto has such a huge fandom and it never ceased to be even when they robbed us from a satisfying ending or seeing them grow up in their twenties in a way that makes sense. And instead of seeing Naruto work towards becoming Hokage, as there was a lot more to it, we get this bullshit… and yet a lot of us can’t help but read/watch/secretly side-eye his demolished, adult self to see what’ll happen. 

That in itself already says a lot. 

Naruto.. if it had stopped at Chapter 699 or if they left it open-ended in another, similar way, then nothing of the sort would’ve happened. The SNS fandom would’ve been satisfied with the nested story within Naruto as we picked up on it already, SS and NH never happened anyway and for sure the War Arc would’ve turned out differently.  

Right now Naruto and Sasuke are dumbed down only to fit two girls who are in love with them, which means a guy should reciprocate otherwise he’s an asshole, right? Also.. babies. NH aren’t satisfied because Naruto is “a bad father, never at home, doesn’t show love for Hinata” which makes him an asshole anyway they say. SS aren’t satisfied because Sasuke is “a bad father, never at home, doesn’t show love for Sakura” but he isn’t an asshole he’s just Tsundere. (I’m being sarcastic). And non-shippers aren’t satisfied because: what the fuck. 

So I absolutely agree with everything you say! I’m just not surprised that the separation within the fandom has always been so prominent.

By spoon-feeding every single “group” a little bit of ‘content’ here and there with phenomenal timing from the marketing team, that is literally what they’re creating as that is what has been a huge source of income for so long. And the dissatisfaction is what eventually makes them go to Twitter and harass the company for more content.

That’s never okay, but they’re also kind of asking for it since they’re giving it to them easily too and they know it. Soon they’ll come back for more. *Sigh*   

That’s why I never really blame the fandom, not even the wolves. 

 “But idk what made ppl feel such degree of entitlement and self-righteousness to police others…”

Admittedly this is annoying though 😂

“On separate note your art is top notch! It's so beautiful :D” 

Thankyouuuuu so much! 🥰 Drawing wasn’t working out today, but reading this helped me finish my next post (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و💕💕

“and I agree about your post how Kishimoto might have planned for Hinata to die at some point bc it'd fill in the gaps of Hyuga slavery thing and Naruto never doing anything regarding her confession”

I swear, the more I think about it, the more it starts to make sense. Especially when you take out ‘Boruto’ and then go from the beginning. It’s almost perfectly set up.. aaah, I want to make a post about it.

I still think the Naruto fandom is laid-back compared to other fandoms I've been in and really, really quickly left 😂 (I've been in Korea for a few months, I'll take anime over kpop anyday.)

Hope you have a nice day! 🧡~

[fox-bright]

One thing I wish more small creators knew:

You really, really need to separate your private self from your professional self when it comes to social media.

If you have a social media account meant for the attention of the industry you want to work in, but you're also filling it up with emotional, flying-off-the-handle posts of the moment, you look unreliable. You do not look like a mature and trustworthy artist, you look like a kid. And companies are not typically in a rush to hire or commission overexcitable children.

I don't mean that you can't show emotion, advocate for your principles, or be sincere. I definitely don't mean that you should provide a safe space for shitty people in the hopes of making a buck. But you have to keep some personal stuff at an arm's remove from the people who you want to hire you if you hope to come off as even slightly professional.

Acceptable for a professional account: Other than portfolio posts and sharing other creators' work, you can still post a lot of things before you get to a dangerous place. You can post about things which are already in the public eye or need to become so. Social justice causes, public health concerns, the latest episode of whatever TV show has people frothing this week, support posts for others, calls for attention to problems which affect your industry or the people in it. All of those can get you hate mail, because ANYTHING can get you hate mail, but your public persona doesn't need to be a different person than your private one. Just more protected, and more careful.

Unwise on a professional account: personal concerns which have nothing to do with your work. Impassioned tweetstorms about your latest breakup, your shitty roommate, your backstabbing friend, deep personal traumas, family drama, sexual proclivities in detail, callout posts on individuals who have nothing to do with your industry, incautiously worded posts that have anything to do with your industry's fans (that is, customers), vagueposts about your dissatisfaction with private individuals.

Particularly if you're easily emotionally damaged by the comments of strangers, it's better to not air much dirty laundry on the account you also use to post your work. There are always going to be bad eggs in the industry, and this goes double when you're working as a creative. Don't give ammunition to your rivals.

There's an easy way around this, of course. Have multiple accounts. On Tumblr it's easy--fuck, I have six or seven different Tumblrs, I think? Including an account specifically for the posting of artistic renderings of owls that creep me out--but even on Twitter or Instagram or other social media sites it's not that difficult to multiaccount. So you have your private account, for friends and family and people who are closer to you, and you can rant and froth to your heart's satisfaction there. And you have your public face, your portfolio, your proof of hard work and skill, and that account doesn't ever see a tweet about how much you hate your mother-in-law.

(This post brought to you by scrolling through my twitter feed and seeing one more perfect stranger vomiting fury on their portfolio account. Really sorry about the breakup, bro, but maybe you want to rein it in a bit there with the public accusations.)

[kanmom51]

JM JK timeline.- my observations how they grew over the years  Part 3

Disclaimer: these are my own opinions and conclusions.  Feel free to disagree, but hate or aggression will be unacceptable.

This is coming out so much longer than I anticipated, so I decided to post this in a couple of parts.

2016 was a big big year for Jikook.  There is sooooo much content out there, I just can’t refer to everything.  I had to pick and choose, hope I did so wisely. No Twitter, no song recommendations (they may or may not be relevant, but I decided not to go there).

2016 part 1

End of 2015 was the beginning.  Both JM and JK were putting out feelers, trying not only to figure out what this thing between them was, but also how far to take it.  I can only imagine they were filled with the excitement that the attraction was mutual, but there were (and sadly still are) so many obstacles to face.  

What does it mean for the band?  Do the others know? Do they let them know?  When do they let them know?  How does it affect the others? And I am sure they also faced the fears of what happens if it doesn’t work out.  

I know they were young, and when you’re young you take more risks, you think things over less, but I’m sure those questions did cross their minds and did affect their relationship over the years.

So, end of 2015 was putting out the feelers, testing the waters, and 2016 was when they stepped up a gear, jumped into the water, so to say.  There is a clear shift in their behaviour.  We see all the changes that occurred in late 2015 and so much more.  They are closer, touchier, slightly bolder.

There are the stares. JK at JM.  JM at JK.  Both at each other.  These aren’t just one looking at another.  These are just something special.  You can see the attraction, the adoration in their eyes, on their faces.

2016 is the year where we also start to see the shift beyond ‘skinship’.  The ‘skinship’ is still there but there is so much more.  There are moments when it seems like they are afraid to touch, so we see all those little touches, light brushes, micro touches, almost touches.  On the one hand they can’t keep their hands off each other, but it’s gentle, hesitant, like it’s something to hide.  If this is only ‘skinship’ what is there to hide?  Why the hesitance?

JK and JM were always close. But now JK lets us see it.  Prior to 2015 he shied away from JM’s touches, his closeness, his forwardness, his shamelessness (as JK himself put it). From 2015 that started to change, and we see it even more in 2016.  Not only doesn’t he shy away, but he also initiates this closeness.  He is not afraid anymore to show just how important JM is to him, how JM is his anchor.  JM is there to calm him, to sooth him when he is nervous or anxious, to be happy for him, to nudge him on to push him to do more (like speaking at award shows) and to support him and compliment him when he does.  

Through the year we can also see a push and pull in the relationship.  They are getting their footing within the relationship.  Setting the boundaries.  This is a process, and it takes time.  JM is JK’s elder. What does that mean for their relationship? Does JK have to come whenever he is summoned?  Does JK have to keep calling JM hyang? JK starts being defiant.  Sometimes calling JM without the honorifics.  There are times that it bothers JM, but sometimes he loves it. They are working into a relationship – are they on equal grounds?  This is something they are working through.  

2016 is the year JK comes of age.  A most significant right of passage in SK culture.  

This is a year that gives oh so much Jikook content.  The fan meets, the behind the scenes clips, the music awards. This is the year of BV1, several most conspicuous Vlives, including the Osaka Vlive and the famous Hobi Vlive.  This is also when we got the notorious ‘Own it’ dance practice.  There’s the famous “Manila Fight” – most definitely not something I am going to touch upon.  Maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t.  Maybe there was friction, maybe there wasn’t. I, for one, don’t feel like I have enough content to base a conclusion on.

2016 was a substantial year for the two.  I’m aware that there is so much content out there, so I’ll only be touching the iceberg here:

Sapporo snow festival 7 Feb 2016 – JK joins JM in front of the camera – sending kisses to the camera but then leaning in towards JM.  Did he give him a kiss?  JM’s surprised reaction though...

7 May 2016 Vlive – JK an JM being all flirty.

12 May 2016 fan sign – JK trying to put a flower crown on JM’s head.  The two in their own world, playing a game, JM lifting JK up in the air, stabilizing JK with his hand and making sure he doesn’t fall.  Again, they are close, they are in their own world, doing ‘them’, no matter where they are.  This is the same fan sign JM tells JK that he is sitting in the wrong place, and his place is next to him.

Moments in BV 1 –May 2016.  

JK sleeps in lounge room on sofa with JM, instead of on a bed with Suga.  JK fell asleep, and JM sets him up with a pillow and covers him up.

JK’s coming of age day Vlive.  

The famous JK JM discussion about men checking out their selfies (we can see how JK is still struggling with his ideas or conception of what is appropriate, ‘right’ behaviour for a ‘man’).  

JK’s “he’s driving me nuts” over JM lagging behind (Hobi’s reaction to JK’s rant is priceless), but still stops to wait for him all the time.  

The hand wrestling (JM losing every single time, and JM ignoring poor Jin when he offers to hand wrestle with him – was it really hand wrestling or hand holding?).  

JM misplacing his phone, and JK backing out of going all ‘hidden camera’ on JM, showing him he has the phone the minute he sees him. 

JK’s “I will sleep here with Jimin” in the camper.  JM playing footsies with JK’s crotch (JM playing footsies seems to be a reoccurring theme).   

JM feeding his Kookie (So, what’s new?). 

JK’s coming of age performance.  This is a big one for me.  It’s JK’s song choice and him asking JM to do it with him.  The song JK chose to dance to is Park Ji Yoon’s Adult ceremony:

Hey you, why are you hesitating? I know you want me

Right now in front of you, I know what you want,

What you’re waiting for, just come here

 I’m not that little girl,

You used to know anymore,

I’m a woman now

I’m thankful that you’ve waited for me

Now I’ll become a woman at your kiss

 I’m not a little girl anymore

Don’t hesitate any longer

As much as you waited, I’ve waited for this day too

Give me twenty stems of roses, so I can feel your love

 As I wait for you, I close my eyes

 Hey you, I want to give you permission to give me your love

Teach me how love is so sweet and fragrant

 It was hard looking at you suffering and waiting

My heart even hurt

But now came the day

where there is no reason

to wait anymore

 I’m not a little girl anymore

Don’t hesitate any longer

As much as you waited, I’ve waited for this day too

Give me twenty stems of roses, so I can feel your love

As I wait for you, I close my eyes

https://lyricstranslate.com

The song’s message is clear. Is it a coincidence JK chose JM to dance this with him?  I don’t think so.  The Bangtan Bomb (21 Sep 2016) with their practice -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4oIpsRemPA .  

You can tell JM knows exactly how this looks like being all shy and flustered during the rehearsals. The members reactions during the dress rehearsal also are pretty telling.  Who is JK sending this message to? JM? Us?

13 July 2016 JM and Jin reacting to Minwoo & JK’s celebrity bromance.  JM taking it a bit far there, expressing his jealousy and how JK doesn’t treat him the same, saying he has no feeling for him.  Seriously JM?  I kind of wonder here whether JM is trying to down play what’s going on between the two, or if he is genuinely jealous, maybe because he feels that JK is holding himself back with him, especially in front of the cameras or around others.  We do hear later in the year JM’s frustration that JK doesn’t say he loves him (Jin eats Vlive).

OK, now for the famous suspicious as Vlives.  I will tackle them just a little bit. I am not going to analyse them, there has been plenty of that going around.  I do, though, want to talk about them just a bit.

As far as I am concerned, both Vlives don’t prove the relationship between the boys.  They most definitely are very suspicious though.  

The Osaka Vlive -12 July 2016, when Tae surprises JK in his hotel room - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjjAbQLXrEM .  JK is undressed, lights are dimmed, he has loud sultry music playing, makeup is smudged, he’s acting pretty suspicious as a whole.  I think that reaching a conclusion that JK has someone in the room with him is not far fetched.  Someone he obviously doesn’t want the camera to see.  Is it JM?  We really can’t know.  I have seen analyses that hear him calling out JM’s name when Tae’s at the door, or pointing out JM’s phone or clothes and shoes are in the room.  To me that is outright speculation. But I do believe someone was there, someone JK didn’t want to show up on camera.

A question I ask myself, though, if it wasn’t JM in the room, is why JM is obviously pissed at Tae the next day, when during his Vlive, he repeats several times not to let Tae into the room for the live?  Is it connected?  That’s for them to know, and us to probably never find out.

Then there is Hobi’s Vlive, 13 Aug 2016.  Hobi starts his live, saying how hungry .  This is an important piece of information to remember for later on.  He goes to JM’s room.  It takes time for JM to open the door, Hobi finally pushing himself in, saying how he is going to show off JM’s room.  Only thing is that they stand at the entrance, then walk slowly into the room, not turning the camera away from their faces, all the while Hobi looking worryingly into the room.  It seemed like he was looking at something inside the room.  

The camera is turned into the room, avoiding certain areas.  They come into the room to discover an enormous amount of food, and JM explains that he is starving and that’s why he ordered so much.  When Hobi entered the room he asks JM what he was doing, and he answered that he was boiling water for ramen.  So he was going to eat all that food and ramen by himself? They converse, and then V comes. At some point V takes JM’s ramen, after JM stated it was his manager’s (is this the same manager JM checks out during his future live?), and leaves the room.  Then Hobi says he’ll go and leave the camera with JM.  

The question I ask is, why did Hobi, who was really hungry, leave JM’s room when JM, obviously, had enough food for two?  We saw JM eat later, and he most definitely didn’t finish all the food he ordered by himself.  Then, before Hobi leaves JM with the Vlive camera, he goes to the bed, where JM is lying, and starts teasing him being all handsy with him and going: “Oh Jimin, oh jimin” – what was that about?  

JM is left alone, also managing the camera, not showing the whole room.   The whole time he is acting funny, grinning to what looks like someone off camera, seems like he talks to something/someone off camera, the whole vibe is that he isn’t alone in the room.  But the definitive proof that there was someone in the room with him was when at some point the camera is facing JM, who is sitting next to the tv.  Then, something happens. 

Is it a ghost?  Is it a plain? No, it’s super JK…  But seriously, there was someone in the room, someone who’s reflection we got to see in the tv.

To sum it up, here too JM is not alone in the room.  Is it JK? That we don’t know for sure. Suspicions are high, but that’s what they are - suspicions.  He does, at some point talk about inviting other members to join him (why didn’t he ask Hobi to stay and eat with him?????), and gives a pretty lame explanation as to why he isn’t calling JK to join (stating that he doesn’t listen to him anymore.  Again with this JM?).

A question I ask myself is why is it always those two that seem to have someone hiding in their room during the lives????

14 Aug 2016 upload of ‘Own it’ dance practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMprwPSFLyU .

This is private dance practice, just JM and JK, at what looks like late at night, lights dimmed, to a highly explicit song.  It’s filmed by them, as we can see them cutting and returning to the camera from time to time.  During the dance JM clearly has an erection.  He is aware of it, looks down at it, points it out to JK, and at some point changes his shirt to cover it up.   They don’t stop dancing. They don’t stop recording.  They are clearly having a good time.  

This clip is uploaded to BangtanTV in 2016 and is still there.  I can reassure you that both JM and JK are aware of what is seen in this clip, and still this clip was uploaded, and is still online.  It’s more the atmosphere (alone, dimmed lighting) and the choice of song to dance to that indicates the high level of intimacy and the feeling is that this is just something ‘more’.

To be continued...

[popurikat]

Newtmas essay when?

Finally getting to this, thanks for waiting, I needed to go over a few bookmarks. (Warning, this post contains spoilers from the MAZE RUNNER book and FEVER CODE book, so if you haven’t read either or yet and want the jist of my analysis; just know that in general the fandom interpreting Newt as gay before it was revealed on a twitter post was not just a random headcanon and that Thomas in general is portrayed to have very strong unconditional love for Newt throughout the series; and it shows. To the point that even the director for the movie has stated that Newt and Thomas have a strong bond and portrays that in the movies. I will also preface that I am NOT adding personal opinion anywhere here, these are just backings from quotes and how they are thus meant to be taken/read as. My words are taken as a reader who is currently reading Scorch Trials has yet to fully read Death Cure or Crank Palace.) Anways, without further ado at 3AM today, I’ll try my best to explain how even though Dashner tries his best to make Thomas have other, female love interests; he creates a not so subtle gay subtext for Tommy boy here when in the context of interacting with Newt throughout the lore. Apologies beforehand for any grammar mistakes along the way.

To commence, I am going to start with FEVER CODE, as its supposed to act as the story’s preface to the actual events that play out later. Newt and Thomas upon meeting each other describe their presence as “familiar” and or as a “long lost friend” and they genuinely hit it off from the start to the point that Newt is okay with having Thomas see him cry over the fact that he and his sister are separated since he is doomed to be WCKD’s control analysis as he’s the only one lacking immunity from the flare itself. Once Newt is done being emotionally vulnerable we get our first instance of his personal nickname for Thomas: “That’s the way things are Tommy,’ he said his voice not quite steady. ‘The world outside’s gone to hell. Why should we expect any different here? [...] He said it as if they’d been friends for years” (ch. 14).   An interesting note here is that Thomas doesn’t bother to correct him or stifle the moment by feeling that all this information was too much, he genuinely wanted to hear Newt out and is fine with seeing this side of him; if not slightly taken aback by how natural it is that they can converse about such aspects of their lives. In fact, Newt makes such an impact on Thomas that Thomas ends up that same night dreaming of him: “Throughout his shortened night, he dreamed of Newt and Sonya. Of Newt and Lizzy“(Ch. 14). The thing with Thomas though is that the idea of comfort and connection is very foreign to him as he’s been basically isolated all his life with only the adults like Ava to talk to and the one exception being Teresa as his only kid companion. So Thomas didn’t even think he could make others like him for being himself unless they were vital to the overall production of WCKD. Seeing this portion right before the end of chapter 14: “Alby, Minho, Newt, Teresa. Thomas had friends.” shows that Thomas really had to deep dive to see how he deals with personal connections and why he was excited about the notion of friendship. He could’ve been happy with just Teresa, but only fully cemented her bond to him as “friend” when his circle grew and these kids he got to hang with taught him he can be himself, a concept he didn’t realize was possible when all his life was dictated on what he was supposed to learn or do. It becomes especially clear just how controlled his life is with the aspect of sentiment when later on Teresa’s mental communication evokes physcial pain and fear in Thomas. I’ll get back to that later as its more of a small tid bit of Thomas’ view on his forced love interest, Teresa. And yes, I say forced because multiple sentences with Thomas have him even wish he could cease all communication with her. Moving on, let’s talk about mimicking for a second. As humans, we mimic as a behavioral response to become closer to the person we care about. It’s the reason why yawning or laughter is contagious and or why we copy the posture of the person we converse with face to face. Thomas is seen to do this the most with Newt’s quirks. I’ll give the example in chapter 15: “Newt has been promising them that he was saving something special, and he did that annoying zipped-lipped sign every time [...] the little light in his eyes showed he enjoyed every second of their torture” versus Thomas: “Thomas did Newt’s zipped-lipped gesture, and that got him a sharp poke in the ribs”. So, we know enough that Thomas’ mannerisms are developing as a sign that he wants to be closer to Newt and to continue this sense of playfulness they both enjoy from the other. This is the start of their budding bond and a clear indication that they hold each other at greater fondness than the rest through this unconscious copying. Through this copying, they also pick up on emotional cues the other lets up on. Newt is especially good at noticing small things like when Thomas is anxious or overthinking: “He was just shocked that with all their exploring, the others hadn’t already discovered it on their own. And there were supposed to be TWO mazes. How had Newt and his friends not stumbled upon either one of them? ‘Tommy?’ Thomas realized Newt was staring straight at him, eyebrows raised. ‘Sorry,’ he said embarrassed, ‘wandered off for a second there what did you say?’ Newt shook his head in admonishment. ‘Try to keep up, Tommy Are you ready to see the grat outdoors?” (ch. 15). Also in chapter 23: “Tommy?’ It was Newt, breaking him out of his thoughts. ‘I can see your wheels spinnin’ up there.’ He tapped the side of his head”. This furthers Newts perceptiveness on his friend and Thomas’ ability to pick out when he is being looked after. And they bounce off each other really well in that aspect. To the point that Newt can crack a joke he knows will land right on Thomas’ sense of humor: “Newt waggled his fingers in front of Thomas’ face [...] A laugh exploded out of Thomas’ mouth that sent a spray everywhere. ‘Sorry’ he said, wiping his lips on his sleeve” (ch.15). It’s enjoyable to know that at least at a surface level, they have fun together and can cheer the other up if needed or know when to ground the other to reality. It is also through these instances that as a reader I pick up that Thomas’ nervous ticks perhaps allude to an anxiety disorder he has; of which Newt is aware of and never puts Thomas down on for exhibiting. He in fact understands it and deals with it accordingly as he himself has a similar circumstance. SO, what does all this paying attention lead to? Thomas’ devotion to protect Newt. Yeah, thats right I said devotion. Thomas’ actions are influenced by his developed instinct to protect Newt at all costs. Here is the biggest example that comes to mind: “What in the world happened to Newt? -- Less then two hours later, Thomas had spliced together a series of camera clips [...] Thomas turned off the feed. He couldn’t take it anymore...Newt, Newt, Newt, Thomas thought, feeling as if the very air around him were turning black.”(ch.52). Essentially, Thomas seeing Newt plummet to his near death by falling from the maze wall as a result of Newt’s ongoing depressive state, this is the moment that makes Thomas realize WICKD isn’t as good as they seem and that he is going into the maze to save Newt. Its admirable how much self sacrifice Thomas does for someone he cares so much about, to the point that their name is like a mantra. Thats a sensible area of passion and fighting spirit for someone who is “just a friend”.    Oh and, the feeling of fondness is mutual mind you if I haven’t been clear. After experiencing the horrors of cranks for the first time, realizing Newt was not immune, and watching Newt until they entered the pits it has been months since they last interacted; this is their first reunion: “What’s up Tommy?’ Newt exclaimed, his face filled with genuine happiness at the pleasant surprise that’s been sprung on him. Thomas couldn’t remember exactly how long it’d been since he’d seen Newt. ‘You look bloody fantastic for three in the morning” (ch. 23). I need to preface this that Newt DOES NOT mean that sarcastically and that out of all the people in the room (Minho, Chuck and Teresa are there in this scene), Thomas only reacts this way specifically toward seeing Newt is okay and back.   The characters are also not afraid of being physically close. “Well, look who the bloody copper dragged in,’ Newt said, pulling Thomas into a big hug” (ch.31), “They shook hands, and then the two of them set off...” (ch. 31), and my favorite: “Thomas jumped at the sound, then stumbled. Newt tripped over him, and then they were both laughing, legs and arms tangled in a pile on the ground”(ch.32). I don’t think this far in the novel, Thomas has been AS (emphasis on as) comfortable with touch  with anyone else other than Newt. And thats a big step forward on the aspect of trust in a relationship, being able to be comfortable with the presence of another person enough to be as intimate with them as shown here.  And all this, is just fever code itself. Mind you this is not the MEAT of the novels as it came out later. But even without it, lets look at Thomas in Maze now, I’ll try to keep this segment a lot more brief. Here’s Thomas looking respectively at boys his age: “A tall kid with blond hair and a square jaw...a thick, heavy muscled Asian kid folded his arms as he studied Thomas, his tight shirtsleeves rolled up to show off his biceps [...] Newt was taller than Alby too, but looked to be a year or so younger, His hair was blond and cut long, cascading over his T-shirt. Veins stuck out of his muscled arms”(ch. 2). Thomas’ initial reaction to being surrounded by boys is to deeply analyze their rugged good looks and heavily emphasize their best physical traits. When reading this the first time, my mind immediately thought this boy at the very least is supposed to be portrayed as bi, especially when later down the line Teresa gets a similar descriptor: “...despite her paleness, she was really pretty...silky hair, flawless skin, perfect lips, long legs.” So right off the bat, we know that be it boy or girl, Thomas emphasizes how attractive someone looks in his eyes when he truly does have a sense of attraction to them. Case closed. Within the same chapter we get Thomas also immediately clinging onto Newt for a sense of grounding, it is now ingrained in him at this point that the boy is his lifeline, a person to rely on. “Thomas looked over at Newt, hoping for help.” And help he does, Newt in this chapter helps ease his worries, explain a general idea of what the glade is and even pats him on the shoulder a bit to ease tension. And Thomas doesn’t bat an eye in the same way he’s weary of literally everyone else. In fact, he’s eager to stay put with him as shown with; “If Newt went up there, then I wanna talk to him.” And if none of that seals the deal, we got early bird Newt being so touch starved he flattens himself next to Thomas to wake him up at the crack of Dawn in chapter 6: “Someone shook Thomas awake. His eyes snapped open to see a too-close face staring down at him, everything around them still shadowed by the darkness of early morning...’Shh, Greenie. Don’t wanna be waking up Chuckie, now, do we?’ It was Newt --the guy who seemed second in command; the air reeked of his morning breath. Though Thomas was surprised, any alarm melted away immediately”. This whole scene follows firstly by Thomas once again impressed by how strong Newt is and then Newt giving him a rundown of what everyone else was too afraid to show Thomas, the grievers. And you know, this scene could’ve ended well and everything as totally platonic, but then we have “Newt turned to look at him dead in the eye. The first traces of dawn had crept up on them, and Thomas could see EVERY DETAIL OF NEWT’S FACE, HIS SKIN TIGHT, HIS BROW CREASED.” Now, look me in the eye and tell me there is a hetero explanation on looking at your best bro like they are the sun reincarnated themselves. But let’s not hog all the homosexual undertones with Thomas here. Wanna know what Newt’s initial reaction to having a girl in the glade was? “It’s a girl,’ he said [...] Newt shushed them again. ‘That’s not bloody half of it,’ he said, then pointed down into the box. ‘I think she’s dead” (ch.8). It’s actually a stark contrast to the other gladers eagerly wanting to know her age, how pretty she looked, and calling dibs to date her; Newt isn’t interested in any of that, he’s more perplexed on her status and not even bothering to remark on her looks, he was the only one not to and even remarks a few other instances that girls are more Thomas’ domain. For instance, he makes a joke in fever code when Thomas remarks that the girls in the institution were going to tackle him down, Newt proceeds to point out sarcastically something along the lines of “wait, isn’t that YOUR dream though?” So Newt is pretty out spoken of his disinterest in girls, and his full admiration and attention on Thomas. Oh, and yes, Newt immediately switches over to “Tommy” the moment Thomas mentions he hates being called greenie, and once again it just becomes a thing between only the two of them. Newt is also the one to be straight forward about the whole Runners business. He warns Thomas about the dangers and doesn’t necessarily turn him down on his desire to be one, he in fact encouraged him to just wait until the right moment. “No one said you couldn’t, but give it a rest for now”(ch. 15). So once again, Newt is the voice of confidence and reason for Thomas to prosper. In turn, this time around Thomas is the one to catch when something is bothering Newt. For instance, “Newt chewed his fingernails, something he hadn’t seen the older boy do before...he was genuinely concerned -- Newt was one of the few people in the Glade he actually liked ”(ch.16). Interesting how we went from fever code “friend” to “like”. And also, when Newt explains his concern about the runners not coming back yet, Thomas pieces together how scared Newt is of the Maze without being told and goes to stand next to him as a physical presence to ground Newt as they wait near the entrance. In fact, this piece is trivial to understand why Thomas does what he does next. When everyone else had given up on the Runners still outside with 2 minutes left til closing, and Newt was escorted away from the entrance, Thomas waited. And when Thomas saw them, he yells to Newt, realizes he’s too far to do anything, and makes a decision himself. He KNEW how much Newt cared about his fellow Gladers, they were like family or “kin” as its said in the book, so what does he do? “Don’t do it Tommy! Don’t you bloody do it!’ ... Thomas knew he had no choice. He moved. Forward. He squeezed past the connecting rods at the last second and stepped into the maze”(ch.16). Yes, Thomas does this because of his empathy for the Gladers, but the chain reaction of Newt’s concern is what sets his decision in stone. And yet again, Thomas enters the maze for Newt.  And that’s pretty much the constant for the rest of Maze Runner the book, Newt just sticking up for Thomas and Thomas in turn just being happy that: “He was at least relieved that Newt was there” (ch.17). And thats basically their entire dynamic. Newt just going: “If you really did help design the maze Tommy, it’s not your fault. You‘re a kid -- you can’t help what they forced you to do” to ease the survivor’s trauma Thomas has, as well as saying “I actually believe you. You just don’t have an ounce of lying in those eyes of yours. And I can’t bloody believe I’m about to say this...but I’m going back in there to convince those shanks we should go through the griever hole, just like you said”(ch.51); and I think thats the most romantic thing to hear from him. Just right out being all for supporting Thomas no matter what happens as long as he stays alive and continues to fight, he doesn’t care about what happened before. And Thomas eats that up because it fuels him even more to seek out a means to escape for the people (Newt) that deserve a life outside of running from monsters forever. So essentially, I’ll state again, it’s always been Newt the catalyst for Thomas to run head first into the Maze and seek freedom. And with all this I can clear that these two are shown to if not be romantically involved, at least have unconditional love for the other that transcends the author’s original intention.  And with that in mind, here’s the thing with Teresa as a love interest. I can list here quotes of every time she mind speaks to Thomas and how that affects him, but then this would be too long. And this is a newtmas post gosh darn it. Teresa is gleeful to humiliate, control, hurt, and force Thomas to believe they’re in love. In multiple instances we get her barging into his mind unwarranted making him understand that she has full access to his inner most thoughts. Theres nothing romantic about that, and I think its why Thomas ends up being so perceptive to the smallest of gestures that allow him to think on his own and feel like his own person. Something I’ve seen Brenda do later in scorch, and something I’ve seen Newt do since the very beginning is that they allow Thomas to come to his own conclusions in order to create his own opinions on the matters at hand. Thomas’ love language revolves around words of affirmation. He likes it when people confirm his thoughts are valid and that remind him that WICKD can’t hurt him anymore now that he has the power to be his own person. This is where Newt comes in very handy. He allows Thomas to grow in ways his female love interests have yet to show, sorry Brenda but I’ve heard you were trying to unite all immunes together to the safe haven by the end and in a sense still only using Thomas to get by; I still think she was the better call than teresa of course and I have no remorse for Teresa getting smushed by a boulder. But essentially my point here is that, how do you fail to make your initial love interests clash so badly where one has no real care about the others well being so long as everything goes according to WCKD by using a form of gaslighting and manipulation? AND THOMAS HAS STATED HIS DISCOMFORT ON THIS MULTIPLE TIMES, but the narrative always erases these instances from his mind in place of pity for Teresa’s well being (as you can tell, Teresa through this becomes my least favorite character, I can rant about her some othe time though with proper backing). The narrative in turn treats it all like a joke. I understand there are scenes where Thomas is worried about her and looks out to make sure shes ok, but even then he doesn’t know how to react with mental images of her kissing his cheek or when she screams the next minute that she doesn’t know who he is or how hes speaking into her mind. And thats because they can’t properly communicate their emotions to the other, not even in fever code could Thomas give a forward answer if he loved Teresa or not, she just assumed. Come to think of it, Thomas really doesn’t show much affection to Teresa of his own accord. So then, how DOES Thomas show his affection? Thomas provides acts of service as his love language, if he cares about you enough he will risk his life for you. Why? Because Thomas values putting the people he loves foremost knowing full well they are what help him have purpose and succeed in continuing on. In a way, Newt and Thomas’ dynamic works in this instance because they balance the other out and because they have seen each other at their worst and at their best. In a way, that's why knowing the ending of the books makes it harder to accept that Thomas would just easily take the shot...when all his life clung to Newt’s survival. But that’s a story for another time where I compare the movies (of which let me make that clear, yes I prefer) over the books. For now just know that the book may have done this by accident, maybe not, but at the end of the day theres solid proof that Thomas and Newt care about each other in a way that is separately portrayed from their connection to the other glade members, and have this consistency of soft moments running through the entirety of the series. In conclusion; newtmas. Newtmas. NEWTMAS, etc.

[minimalismdiary]

Smartphone declutter l Digital minimalism

Social media Food

instagram • uber eats

twitter • deliveroo

snapchat

tumblr

Shops Experience

prettylittlething • groupon

shein • fever

Internet

• youtube

• pinterest

• safari

social media

To begin with I haven't had Facebook since 2013 and never joined tiktok. But I was consumed by instagram, snapchat and twitter at some point in my life. Instagram was the most toxic which I decided to delete in 2020. Snapchat became boring so this was deleted in 2017. Twitter was not problematic however keeping up with celebrities and politics wasn't my priority anymore so I left the app in 2020 also. I use my phone significantly less since being free from social media by focussing on improving my life. But a small void was filled with Tumblr. When Tumblr became addicting I uninstalled the app. Now I blog from my laptop when necessary.

Food

Luckily I prefer to eat healthily and also enjoy cooking and saving money. This makes it fairly easy not to be a regular customer for food delivery services like just eat and deliveroo.

Shopping

As a recovering shopaholic the main purpose of my smartphone evolved to an online shopping device. Instead of scrolling on someones feed or timeline, I was wasting hours scrolling on fast fashion apps. I just recently decided to quit fast fashion which helped me overcome my shopping addiction. No more shein, prettylittllething or boohoo apps or paying attention to the plethora of email alerts from stores.

Experiences

Being a conscious consumer meant trying to find the most affordable options for things by using services such as groupon or wowcher. However, this created a habit of wanting to pay for unnecessary things since being priced so cheap. As a result, I uninstalled the app and will decide to use when searching for discounted luxuries. Similarly, the app called fever lists fun events taking place in the city. This made me unhappy as I could rarely afford these tickets and would be required to spend months saving up for it. Despite valuing experiences, I prefer experiencing the simpler things in life which are often free.

Internet

The consequence of being free from social media left me feeling uninspired. Pinterest was a helpful source of inspiration until it starts to have the same affect as instagram. The scrolling is endless. So, I uninstalled this and resorted to my laptop for quick pinterest inspiration. Youtube was also a source of inspiration especilally when trying to become more of a minimalist. However, the time wasted on YouTube in order to learn about minimalism was counterproductive. Therefore, I felt the need to delete the app. However, due to safari, YouTube was still accessible and taking up alot of time. Additionally safari was very consuming due to my constant curiosity and drive to learn things. Googling new things continuously had to stop. I now reach for my phone less and am forced to be productive.

This post is personal and specific to me. Everyone has their own likes, dislikes and habits. Where I notice an addiction arising I realise it and try to improve. My ultimate aim of decluttering my smartphone apps was to gain maximum productivity during the day by utilising the 24 hours we are given. If 1 too many hours are wasted on a small screen I evaluate my habits. Not owning a smartphone in the modern world can be challenging and inconvenient, so I'm trying to use this device wisely and healthily by decluttering digitally.