#thursday thoughts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sophieakatz · 7 months

Text

Thursday Thoughts: Microlabels

Almost ten years ago, when I first told someone who loved me that I was demisexual, he replied, “Do we really need all these labels?”

I don’t remember what I said back then, but my answer now is, “Well, I don’t know about we, but I need this one.”

Labels are the words we use to describe the world around us and our experience within it. Language is full of labels. Our earliest language-learning activities include sorting things into categories. This is the red block; this is the yellow block. Elephants and giraffes are zoo animals; horses and cows are farm animals; cats and dogs are pets. Toothbrushes and toothpaste are bathroom objects; forks and knives are kitchen objects.

Some of these distinctions are more important than others. It doesn’t really matter if you build a tower of red blocks or yellow blocks. However, leaving a knife in the bathroom is a bad idea, and so is attempting to keep an elephant in your house (not that I haven’t been tempted to try). You’ll also find that not all categories are universal. Is octopus an edible animal? Depends where you go in the world and who you ask!

The point is, it’s natural to use labels to define our place in the world and how we interact with it. I call myself a writer because I am someone who writes; this is important to me. Calling myself a writer explains something about who I am. It makes it easier for me to apply for writing jobs. When I hear other people call themselves writers, I know that we have something in common that we can connect over. I know that these are people I might be able to talk with or who might be interested in having write-ins or book clubs with me. In this way, labels help us find and create community.

Now, “writer” is a pretty broad category, so our experiences won’t be exactly the same. However, I can use a more specific label. I can call myself a fantasy fiction writer, a poetry writer, or a themed entertainment show writer, which helps me find people who identify with those more specific labels and have even more in common with me.

People who are not writers and are not interested in finding other writers don’t need the word “writer.” It doesn’t help them as much as it helps me. It’s not their label.

Demisexual is an asexual spectrum microlabel. Asexual describes someone who experiences little to no sexual attraction. It’s a broad label that covers a variety of experiences. Demisexual describes someone who only experiences sexual attraction towards someone after forming an emotional bond with them.

Before I read the word “demisexual” about ten years ago, I didn’t know that there were other people like me. I thought that there was something wrong with how I experienced attraction towards others. Knowing that there was a label not only made it possible for me to understand that there were other people like me, but also made it possible for me to find them and find community with them. Having words like ace and demi in my vocabulary make it easier for me to explain my experience to other people. People who aren’t demisexual don’t necessarily need this word. But I do.

When you hear a microlabel for the first time, especially if it’s one you do not identify with, it’s easy to dismiss it. It’s easy to think, “That’s not really a thing,” or, “Do we really need a word for that?”

The answer is, “Maybe you don’t need that word, since it doesn’t describe your experience, and that’s okay. But clearly someone needs it. We all have the right to put our experiences into words. We all deserve the chance to know that we are not broken and to find other people who are like us.”

#thursday thoughts #writing #writer #writblr #asexual #asexuality #acespec #demisexual #ace #demi #microlabels #queer #lgbtqiaplus #2slgbtqia+

280 notes · View notes

breelynnxoxoxo · 21 days

Text

DON’T DRINK ALONE ON THIRSTDAY! 🍷🍷🍷

#thirsty thursday #thirsty #throwback thursday #thursday motivation #thursday thoughts #happy thursday #drinking buddies

78 notes · View notes

slafkovskys · 7 months

Note

so glad u asked

i’ve been thinking all week about how juraj would make it up to you after an argument bc he’s just such a good bf??? i think the only thing he would do is like…not pick up after himself and when you get mad about it or trip over something he picks everything up and gets you flowers and waits by the door with his best pout

and you had absolutely asked him to move his hockey bag that had been lying a little too close to front door just before you left to grab a few things for dinner from the grocery store. when you come back in, you’re on the phone with your mom, not really paying attention as you your feet get caught on something. you catch yourself from hitting the floor on the wall, but the eggs that you had just bought hadn’t been so lucky. you huffed, “juraj slafkovsky!”

the door slams behind you and he pops his head over the couch with a scared expression which quickly turns to one of guilt as he takes in the scene. you shake your head, depositing the groceries on the counter before walking back to your shared bedroom, hearing his hurried, “i clean up, láska,” as the door closes.

you stare at the ceiling for awhile, gathering your thoughts before taking a deep breath. the cookies that you had bought were suddenly calling your name as you slide across your bedroom floor. surprisingly, juraj is sitting on the other side of the hallway.

his head snaps up when you open the door and he has a pout on his lips as he pushes himself up, “odpusť mi?”

“i could have broken something, j,” you frown as one arm rounds your waist and the other reaches towards the table. he pulls a bouquet of flowers off the top. “flowers?”

“got new eggs too. not broken,” he mumbles, “floor kind of sticky, but i tried to clean?”

“did you mop?” he avoids your eyes and you sigh, “you had me and then you lost me.”

“make dinner?” he offers and you sigh before pressing a kiss to his chin. “you have to be directions.”

“i’ll tell you what to do, j, but i’m still mad.”

“not after this dinner. will be best one ever.”

send in your thursday thoughts!

#juraj slafkovsky #thursday thoughts

112 notes · View notes

sinigangsta-ao3 · 2 years

Text

Thursday Thoughts: On fandom and a sense of belonging

I love @ao3commentoftheday, in general. But I particularly love how succinctly and beautifully they summarize how, as we participate in fandom, we are ultimately (even if it's unconsciously) seeking out community.

Yesterday, I reblogged their transcription, where they reflect on why fic writers specifically — and creators and artists, generally — seek and savor engagement metrics (e.g. kudos, comments) when they share something online. As they summarized: it's because kudos and comments are the only tangible points within an online space that can be presumed as points of connection. As signals of community.

To quote them:

"For me. That's the piece that's missing. That's the piece that people crave, the thing they're looking for. It's not about the comments, it's not about the numbers, it's about connections and relationships. And that's the part that's missing."

Additionally, in response, @ishtarelisheba reblogged and added a big YES-AND — underscoring that, in addition to finding community, it is both reasonable and valid for writers/artists/creators who are sharing their work online to expect a positive feedback loop. Because who wouldn't want the confirmation that one's efforts and vision are not only seen but also appreciated by someone else in the world (especially because the artist made a point to put it out in the world in the first place?).

As they so beautifully summarized:

"Very few people actually want to work hard on a piece of art, a piece of writing, a sculpture, a dollhouse, a carving, a sweater for their dog, and just Gollum it and never show another person. For most creators, showing your creations to others is vital for that creative part of your soul to thrive. Of course you should love what you do and enjoy what you make! But don’t ignore the part of you that wants to hold it up two inches from someone else’s face and get love and enjoyment from them, too, just because some false platitude instilled a sense of shame for that pretty much universal need."

Both of those needs — connection and validation — can and do exist whenever anyone enters a space, either online or offline. And, in addition to saying we seek out community when we enter fandom, I would even take it a step further (hold on, Corporate Nina is entering the chat) and say that we are seeking out a sense of belonging.

I'll link some articles explaining this in a bit more depth below, but — as summarized within this organizational study in the Harvard Business Review — we experience a sense of belonging within a group when we experience the following (in parentheses, I've added some of the online "engagement" equivalents that we probably look for to find indicators of belonging):

We are seen for our unique contributions (hits, views).

We are connected to other group members (servers, blog communities, social media platforms).

We are supported in our work and in our artistic and creative development (comments, kudos, reshares, other individuals in the fandom talking up your work).

We are proud of the group's values and purpose (sustained enthusiasm/desire to participate and create in fandom).

I know that these tenets were crafted based on workplaces and formal organizations — but I don't think it's a far reach to apply them to fandom. Because, at its core, fandom is still an organized, social body comprised of individuals coming together based on a common goal and/or shared interest. It's like a school. Or a workplace. Or a social group, in that regard.

And, regardless of why and how someone finds themselves within fandom (or any organized space), it is not only valid for someone to want to receive indicators that they're welcome and that they belong — but it's also a biological and psychological human need to feel connected and validated within a social space (you can read about this phenomenon in the 2020 MIT study that cites that we receive neurological signals akin to physical hunger when we crave social connection).

On a more personal note:

Over the past few weeks, I've been wrestling with this sensation myself. Mostly because I initially intended to join this particular fandom in order to simply write — and I was surprised when I realized that no, I wanted more than that. That, as cited in the quotes above, I did truly want to make friends, connect with others, and find community. To connect with others to a degree that, in full transparency, I don't typically do, both online and offline.

I did think that I found a little pocket of community. And I enjoyed it a lot, felt like I thrived and like I might have found those people that "got" me...

And, sadly, that sense of belonging I thought that I experienced ended up a bit of a facade.

Now, I'm in a space where I'm trying to figure out where, how, and (sometimes) if I even belong in this space. There are a lot of things that I like to add, that I get a lot of joy out of — but I also receive a lot of indicators on a daily basis that maybe, just maybe, I'm not as welcome here as I originally thought...

Basically, it's interesting to be a participant in fandom in this day and age, when it is both so easily accessible to enter the space and so challenging to navigate and assess authentic connection.

I don't necessarily know what the answer is. I know I'm bringing some of my equitable organizational design principles into my thought processes here (and I know that some people think I'm overthinking this but whatever) — but I do think that there are both individual responsibilities that need to be upheld and systemic changes that need to be made in order to sustain a sense of belonging for all participants.

But, in the meantime, I'll just continue to assess meaning in this space for myself, continue to lift up others, and continue to suss out where and with whom I can find those bits of connection and validation. Because I would really, really, really like to think that I still belong here.

---

Final note: as promised, here are some articles about sense of belonging, in case you're interested.

"Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger" (Nature Neuroscience, 2020)

"Create a Sense of Belonging" (Psychology Today, 2014)

"Missing Your People: Why Belonging Is So Important And How To Create It" (Forbes, 2021)

"Sense of Belonging: A Vital Mental Health Concept" (School of Nursing and Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 1992)

"What Does It Take to Build a Culture of Belonging?" (Harvard Business Review, 2021)

#on fandom #sense of belonging #online community #fic writing #writer problems #thursday thoughts #nina-bean writing #sorry i'm always on my soapbox

672 notes · View notes

uncannycerulean · 7 months

Text

Okay but I think people don't realise how nice it is to have a silly little crush that is founded in very little, or next to nothing.

It's so much fun, even, or possibly especially, after your teenage years! It adds excitement to your life! You should try it.

I have fandom crushes and tumblr crushes and salsa class crushes and none of them mean anything, but I enjoy them greatly.

#thursday thoughts

67 notes · View notes

eclec-tech · 5 months

Text

To all my sweet moots who make art:

Thank you for letting us see the beautiful things in your heads. The expressions, anatomy, and scenery you are able to create with a simple flick of your wrists is nothing short of magic to me. If I were able to, I would commission every single one of you at least once and make my own little art gallery. 🧡

#thursday thoughts #i love the artists around here #artist appreciation #artists of tumblr #artists on tumblr

48 notes · View notes

galaxy-fucked · 3 months

Text

So when do you think Korvo and Terry became a couple? Season 1, 2, 3, 4, before they arrived on earth?

Would love to hear fan thoughts!

#thursday thoughts #tervo #korvo opposites #korvo #solar opposites #terry opposites #terry #solar opposites discussion #Thursday tervo thoughts #tervo thoughts #solar opposites convo

25 notes · View notes

donmegabc · 1 month

Text

#Danny Alexander #Thursday Thoughts

18 notes · View notes

shinigami-striker · 7 months

Text

Final Frontier (Next Week) | Thursday, 09.21.2023

Next week, we'll experience the 3rd (and final) free update to Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon.

31 notes · View notes

elektra1 · 6 months

Text

Let your dreams be your wings ✨

#fypage #instadaily #instalike #photooftheday #instagood #likesforlike #thirsty thursday #Thursday #Thursday vibes #Thursday mood #Thursday thoughts #tumblr fyp #likes #Beach #Vacation #Miami #onlytease #miami beach #florida

22 notes · View notes

sophieakatz · 7 months

Text

Thursday Thoughts: The Star Wars Hotel

I listened to an episode of the podcast Into A Larger World this morning. The guest, Nick, discussed how much of the public response to Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was based on misconceptions about what the Starcruiser actually was.

"Calling the Galactic Starcruiser a hotel would be like calling a car a chair," he said. "You sit in it, sure. But that's not why you buy a car."

I've made a few TikToks of clips from my voyage on the Starcruiser, and every once in a while, someone leaves a comment on TikTok or on the reel version of it on Instagram, saying something along the lines of, "$6000 for this?"

I delete these comments. I don't feel like engaging with them. But there's a part of me that wants to say, "Of course not. This is a sixty-second video. Nobody paid that much for merely sixty seconds of just watching. What's the point of saying something like that? What do you get out of believing that you know everything you need to know about a two-day immersive experience from this silly little video I threw together in a futile yet necessary attempt to convey - to celebrate - even a fraction of what this experience meant to me and to everyone else who was a part of it?"

I don't have much footage of my time on the Halcyon. For the first six months of my Starcruiser journey, I was a show writer on the project. Playtests had only just begun, and photos and videos were forbidden. I couldn't tell anyone about this thing we were building together, how much love we were pouring into it, how much hope we had that the world would love it, too.

I then spent a year watching from afar while guests discovered the Halcyon. While they built relationships with the characters. While they realized just how much was always going on, just out of sight. While they ate the food and dressed to fit the world and came up with their own backstories. While they became the heroes of their own Star Wars story. And they loved it. They loved it. I marveled at the knowledge that there was fanfiction, there was fanart, there were return visitors making the journey again and again, the journey I truly never thought I would make once - especially not once it was announced that the ship would close.

My friend Shelby reached out to me, with literally two weeks warning, that they'd found a room. I dipped into my savings account. And, no, I didn't spend $6000. There were five people in our cabin; I spent less than $1300, even with the merchandise I couldn't help but grab. $1300 for a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience this show as a guest, to truly see what had come of it.

I was determined not to metagame. I would not ask the performers for anything, even though I knew most of them. I would not use my pre-knowledge to seek out fun moments - though of course I made sure that my party was looking in the right direction to see Chewbacca enter the dining room, 'cause that's just me being a good friend. I was ready to have fun. I expected to have fun.

I did not expect to be completely blown away.

I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again. One of the most important things to me as a writer is that I create shows that not only are loved by the audience but also by the people involved in bringing the show to life. When I hear an actor laugh while reading a script I wrote, that fills me with joy. When a stage manager thanks me for making sure they have all the information they need on time, I feel like I've done something right. Back in 2018, when I got to bring my parents to see some of the work I'd done for the Incredible Tomorrowland Expo, one of the improv performers ran up to my dad, grabbed him by the arm, and said, "Did you know she's a writer?? You should be so proud!" - and I almost cried.

When I set foot on the Halcyon as a guest, I did not know that I was actually about to experience two days straight of love. Throughout that two day show, every very little thing that every operations crewmember and performer did screamed, "I love this! I love this! I'm giving it my all!" After a year and a half of nigh-on constant performances, through the exhaustion and the stress and the internet hate and the uncertainty about the future, they were still pouring everything they had, every ounce of love, into that show. And I felt that love washing over me in every moment.

It meant the most coming from the performers. Again, I didn't ask them for anything. I told them I would be there and that my crew and I were ready to play. I went in-character, as Shira the mechanic, prepared to pretend I didn't know them.

But they kept dropping hints that they knew me.

The first time I saw Lenka, my crew was already talking to her. My friend Andrew pointed me out, and said, "She's a mechanic." Without missing a beat, Lenka replied, "Yes, I remember, she helped fix the ship after the pirate attack a few months back. It's wonderful to see you again."

Good fortune put us in the right place and the right time to greet Gaya as she came onboard the ship (yay bridge training!). She smiled at me and my friend Shelby and said, "These two look familiar. Now what are you calling yourself these days?"

On the second day, when it came time for the heist, Raithe gave me a job I would have begged for (and, again, I didn't! I wouldn't!). He put his hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "I know I can trust you. I know you understand what's going on here, possibly better than anyone."

And afterwards, when the heist was a success, when I'd handed the gem to Gaya, Raithe looked at me with actual tears in his eyes and thanked me.

And I said, my voice shaking, "I am so honored to have been a part of making this story."

That's a clip I do have. I'm so grateful to Justin, the man who filmed it and shared his footage with me afterwards (and to Shelby, Shannon, Lauren, Sean, Andrew, and Wendy for the photos and videos they took throughout the trip, too). As soon as the moment had passed, I'd already forgotten what any of us had said. It was truly that emotional. The performers understood why, and so did my crew. But the most incredible thing is that that moment meant something even to the people in the room who didn't understand the full meaning of my words. Three different strangers came up to me later that evening, separately, to tell me so - to thank me, even. One of them asked me if this was my first voyage.

"First as a guest," I replied.

This was the middle of August. I'm still riding the high of that show. I am normally a very anxious artist, full of so-called "imposter syndrome." But two days straight of love and validation and pure play will do something to your brain.

$6000 for this? What wouldn't I pay for this?

Even now - even today, September 28th, 2023 - as I type this blog post, the passengers on the final voyage of the Galactic Starcruiser have already boarded, and in less than half an hour, the performers will join them. Less than two days from now, this journey will be over. But I can't believe that this is the end. The end of this show, yes - all shows end, and many before their time. But not the end of the emotion, not the end of the love, not the end of the storytelling and the joy and the play and the together-as-one. I can't believe that. Because this was something that you can't put a price tag on, something that you can't sum up in as simple and easily-mocked as the phrase "the Star Wars hotel," and, frankly, it's silly to try.

We journeyed boldly. We cherished the moment. We made something worth celebrating and remembering. And we will do it again.

To the Halcyon, and to all who made her fly - Ta'bu e tay!

#thursday thoughts #star wars #galactic starcruiser #star wars galactic starcruiser #halcyon legacy #starcruiser #disney #disney parks #writer #writblr #live entertainment #themed entertainment

51 notes · View notes

twofoldgodofmondays · 5 months

Text

There's no shame in starting and not finishing. Or starting and not ending up with what you intended. Creating, learning, making, doing, are all unpredictable processes.

#god of mondays #thursday thoughts

18 notes · View notes

slafkovskys · 7 months

Note

Kniesy and his girlfriend live by private but not hidden so the team with the exception of John don’t know about her yet. Kniesy has a picture of her is his wallet and lets the team know that he does have a girlfriend but no one on the team thinks she’s real bc they haven’t seen her yet. It isn’t until they end up with Kniesys wallet and see said picture of them that Mitch somehow ends up with her insta and is dming her to come surprise Matthew and if she does she can meet Zeus

and when she shows up, matthew is so surprised because, “you didn’t tell me you were coming?”

“i’m here to meet zeus!” she’s so smiley as he takes her bags and ushers her inside. the kids tackle her to the floor and it’s a pile of laughs, “oh i missed you all so much!”

“what do you mean you’re here to meet zeus. like, marns dog, zeus?” he asks and she hums, “why would you-”

“he said if i came out here and you introduced me to everyone i can meet him. i can be incentivized,” she shrugs, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she’s dragged off to play princesses. “he even payed for my ticket!”

“damn it marner.”

#matthew knies #thursday thoughts

94 notes · View notes

misshoneyimhome · 7 months

Text

Others: don't you hate it when your boyfriend watches p*rn? I mean, he's literally watching other people having s*x...

*me, who reads NHL fanfiction smut several times a week, about anything from romantic lovemaking to being pinned up against the wall by a large hockey player*

Me: Uhm, no not really...

#thursday thoughts #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagines #nhl smut

37 notes · View notes

acrylicalchemy · 1 year

Text