Show & Tell
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
Mike Driver
pixel skylines
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bliss lane
Cosimo Galluzzi
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
ojovivo
todays bird
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
RMH
No title available
Interview Vampire Daily
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
Noah Kahan
Kiana Khansmith
Not today Justin
art blog(derogatory)
seen from Türkiye
seen from Tanzania
seen from Pakistan
seen from Malaysia
seen from Iraq
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Ukraine
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Ecuador
seen from Australia
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seen from T1
seen from Australia
seen from Germany
seen from United States
@harisaenaja
I made this so now all y'all have to look at it.
Every thousand notes I’ll make him thiccer.
date of origin: 5th of january, 2017.
hold on i’m gonna add on to this
I FUCKING KNEW IT
I fucking love this post
@asthesunwentdown @joeymarahart
wait @trenchcoatmimic this…. this is a good post
What is this
@hellsite-hall-of-fame
YOU DON’T REALIZE HOW GOOD THIS EPISODE IS UNTIL LIKE YOUR THIRD FULL REWATCH OF THIS SHOW AND TWO STRAIGHT YEARS OF ARGUING ABOUT STAR WARS POLITICS AND ALSO FANDOM POINTING OUT EVERY SINGLE “ECHO AND RHYME” WE CAN POSSIBLY FIND. The first time I saw this episode, when I was tearing through TCW at speed because it was new and I was hooked and it was so good, this one didn’t really have much of an impact on me. Not my favorite characters, I appreciate that Toydarians got some better portrayals other than Watto, but man the middle of it definitely dragged for me. Then I rewatched it, after two years of examining politics in Star Wars and having fun with all those parallels and echoes of stories. And this time the episode hit me like a goddamned brick. It’s an episode about whether or not Toydaria should remain utterly neutral in the war or let themselves become a staging area for humanitarian aid to Ryloth, which has been under siege by the Separatists. Lott Dod of the Trade Federation pops up and is like, yes, but it’s under a Separatist Blockade and, if you help, the Separatists will see it as breaking your neutrality. Which means your entire planet will be at risk, your own economy could tank because you have vital contracts with us and it’ll force us to cease trade with Toydaria. You can’t just have a humanitarian base, you’ll get drawn into the war, you’ll be a military base, that’s how war goes. Bail Organa counters with that the Twi’leks didn’t ask to be invaded by the Separatists, they didn’t ask to be taken hostage and dying in a war they didn’t ask to join, either. Don’t let them suffer just for the sake of your neutrality! King Katuunko and his advisers debate for a brief while–all while clones and Jedi and Twi’leks are dying on Ryloth–and eventually says that we cannot get involved in this war. No matter that compassion is one of the most important tenets of our society, for the sake of my people, we must remain neutral. Stuff happens, King Katuunko eventually realizes that neutrality is maybe not actually a great thing when people are out there dying and you’re not doing anything to help–yes, even if that means you get drawn into the war. That’s it, that’s the message: When innocents are dying at the hands of invaders, neutrality is not a compassionate, caring choice. What of course made me sit up and take notice was the deliberate use of the word “compassion” being used as one of their tenets and we all know who that reminds us of: The Jedi have compassion as one of their central tenets as well. The Jedi, who have already been drawn into this war. And this is exactly why I don’t think the Jedi could have made any other choice, shouldn’t have made any other choice, about joining the war. Billions of lives are at stake–even Hera Syndulla says in Rebels, how she remembers that clones and Jedi working together saved billions of people, including herself. We literally see the innocent people of Ryloth suffering because the Separatists attacked them. It doesn’t matter that many of the people in the Separatist Senate and worlds who joined did so because they were sick of the Republic ignoring them and their valid concerns. (Doesn’t matter in the sense of whether or not it affects trying to remain neutral in the war, not doesn’t matter in the sense of trying to find peaceful solutions, that’s an important difference.) Because this was always going to happen. Innocent worlds were always going to be invaded and held hostage and murdered and stripped for resources because of who was running the show over there. Being neutral in such a conflict was narratively shown as the wrong choice, that’s why Katuunko realizes his error. That’s why Bail Organa (a character we know is caring and compassionate) argues in favor of the Republic, why Alderaan joined the war. That’s why Padme, even when she wishes she could remain neutral, argues her way back to saying she must try to change things from within.
This is a sentiment that’s at the heart of the theme of the episode, that Ahsoka echoes it in the classes she teaches to the Mandalorian cadets. And it’s one that’s important to the themes of Star Wars characters’ actions, especially in the prequels–that it’s the very heart of the Republic vs the Separatist war. Do you remain with the system and try to improve it from within? Or do you leave it and bombard it from the outside in hopes of burning it down to create something better? The answer depends on context and the situation and whether or not there’s hope for rooting out the corruption. For example, Padme believes that they’re at that point with the Republic. Bail believes they’re at that point with the Republic. That they still have the belief they can make it better. They still have hope. This is why Bail joins the Rebellion under the Empire, though. Because the Empire being worse isn’t just a matter of contrast, but it illustrates having passed a moral event horizon, where it’s not possible to salvage it anymore. The issue of the above and the issue of neutrality overlap a lot in this episode (”Corruption”), but the point of many in the Republic is that neutrality was not an option because it ignored that they could be doing something. And that’s why I cannot possibly imagine the Jedi not trying to help. I cannot possibly imagine them saying, no, we will abstain from this war, when people were going to suffer and die if they didn’t. That’s even setting aside that George Lucas describes them as literally being drafted into the war, that that was the narrative take-away, how could they possibly have refused? Even in Kanan: The Last Padawan, Depa says she thinks they made a critical error in accepting titles in the war, but the clones vehemently disagree, because she’s underestimating the importance of clarity of chain of command, so that people know what they’re doing and where they’re going and how to get organized, so they’re not half-fighting each other and half-fighting the Separatists, which would have gotten even more people killed. There’s no clean answer to that problem, because they can both be right–the Jedi accepting titles in the war led them into being seen as the villains of the conflict by those who were tired of the war (Star Wars Propaganda makes the very clear point of how this narrative was painted onto them, rather than what they created for themselves), but the clones are also right that unclear lack of chain of command would have made everything an absolute hot mess. So, neutrality was a really shitty option and, further, what does it even gain anyone? Satine Kryze fought so incredibly hard to keep Mandalore and the other worlds neutral, because she didn’t want to drag her people into war, and how did that end up for Mandalore? Even setting aside that they were refusing to help fight against the evils being inflicted in the galaxy, even setting aside that whatever points they made, they ignored worlds like Ryloth? It got them nowhere good:
Their neutrality still didn’t protect them from trade routes being closed to them and their world suffering through a supply crisis. This is what politics in the GFFA does. You cannot just ignore it and say, “Fuck politics! We’re not going to play that game!” because then you end up like Mandalore–starving and cut off from the connections you need to survive. That would have happened to the Jedi in a heartbeat. Their granted legal authority to help anyone? Cut off. Their Republic funds for their Temple, their home, their food, their clothing, their ships? Cut off. Add in scary mind powers and people would turn on them incredibly quickly, as well as they have the hauntingly clear illustration of what happens to neutral worlds when people are in a war and scared and not thinking clearly–they lash out, they react, they turn their backs. Mandalore managed to scrape by for awhile, but it was unstable and chaotic and we can see how that unfolded. It doesn’t make the situation right, not even close. But it’s the situation that you deal with, you work within the system of government you have, you do what you can to try to make it better, you try to help as many people as you can. And neutrality doesn’t help anyone but yourself–and, even then, ultimately that’s not true, either. We see that illustrated very clearly.
#star wars#jedi#praise the meta#neutrality works fine#when both sides are acting in good faith#and uhhhh#the bad guys in star wars#literally never act in good faith#conflict in star wars isn’t grimdark morally grey#The Good Side can have flaws within it to be sure#but the end of the day#the other side literally wants to murder and slash or enslave everyone#because that’s what the dark side does#neutrality isn’t a virtue in the face of extinction (via @hyperewok1) @hyperewok1 coming in with like THREE TAGS to sum up what I was fumbling my way towards on this complicated aspect of the bigger issue but hadn’t yet found the words for–’neutrality works fine when both sides are acting in good faith but the bad guys in star wars literally never act in good faith’, yes, thank you, that’s it.
Bookshelf Dioramas
Befana Novella on Etsy
Chloé Zhao, who just won an Oscar for best director, writes fanfiction.
That's the kind of validation I needed in my life. Thank you, ma'am.
iconic
It's smart too. One of the best things about ff is that you are purely being judged on your ideas, and just writing for people like you.
bob woke up and chose violence on this day
the sequel tho
The thrilling conclusion!!! 👏👏👏
my favorite scene in LotR as a kid was when Sam started miserably freestyling in the tower of Cirith Ungol and the only reason he ever found Frodo was because he deliriously tried to join in
…i did read some of the novels, but i couldn’t get through them entirely…
…and so i genuinely have no idea whether or not this is serious. coz i mean, obviously, it could be a joke. but it could also have legitimately happened. people who have only seen the films underestimate the amount of random things that happen in the books that could come off as utterly silly and ridiculous if removed from their context.
Haha, well, it is pretty much what happens. Sam is looking for Frodo in the tower of Cirith Ungol and is despairing that he will ever find him. He sits down and does what any self-respecting Tolkien character does during their moments of hopelessness and bursts into song.
It’s a really good song (ten year old Ship had it memorized) and as he begins the refrain a second time, he hears Frodo’s voice answering weakly from above. Frodo is poisoned and despairing and beaten but he is still a Hobbit and cannot resist a singalong even while on the brink of death.
Baws
Me before watching the video: What does “Baws” mean???
Me 30 seconds into the video: BAWS
everyone’s debating posts of the decade, best and worst, and i have yet to see anyone mention moon moon
for those who were not on here to experience this ridiculousness
Seriously. It caused so many memes.
Truly the greatest meme of our generation
I’m dying. I saw the original, but I’ve never seen any of the others. God bless you, Moon Moon.
MOON MOON WAS THE BEST
@thatotherentity
did not expect to see moon moon today
MASH knew Tumblr before Tumblr was Tumblr
it fucks me up that tolkien only died in 1973. dude has the vibe of a victorian scholar who wrote all his manuscripts by candlelight but then you look him up and realise that he knew what color tv was. what the fuck.
Tolkien had personal beef with the Beatles
He actively encouraged Led Zeppelin to write songs based on the LOTR series and considered it an honor
When the current queen of Denmark was young, she made illustrations for his books and sent them to him under a pseudonym. He liked them and they were printed in the Danish version of the book.
WHAT
HOLY SHIT, IT WAS THE ORIGINAL ONE
MAKE A WISH
the first post ever on tumblr
I WAS EXPECTING IT TO BE A REMAKE OF SOME SORT HOLY FUCK
WHO THE FUCK KEEPS BRINGING THIS BACK
World Heritage Post
like actually though. i’m in AWE of the notecount.
GOD I just want to be CREATIVE but all my energy is being used to survive
this is one of those "you put it into words" kind of posts. right on.
dems were like “$2000 checks, immediately” then they were like “okay so not IMMEDIATELY immediately. first we’re gonna put on a big show to impeach trump even though he’s not even in office any more. also those checks are gonna be $1400 now. also we failed to convict trump. also we forgot about the checks. you good though, right? anyway we’re going on vacation now. please keep voting for us :)”
also remember when we said we were gonna help you out with your student loans? yeah we’re not doing that either
Ugh. Do any of y’all actually know how the US government works or do you just like spewing stuff to make yourself sound cool and edgy?
Stimulus checks? Still working their way through Congress, for which they will need a majority vote to pass. Only then will they reach the President’s desk for approval.
Impeachment? Needed 2/3 majority vote to convict. Didn’t get it.
Student loans? Haven’t even begun because the world keeps falling apart.
DO NOT FOR ONE MINUTE FORGET THAT THE US HAS THREE PARTS TO ITS GOVERNING BODY. The Senate, the House of Representatives and THEN the President. And guess who still holds enough power in two of those three to block every single thing that would actually help people and are using that power to do so because they don’t care about the people? REPUBLICANS.
The Republicans voted to acquit in the Impeachment because they’re all too scared or ignorant to do what’s right.
They have blocked or obstructed every single bill that would help people during this pandemic, because they don’t care about the common man, only the status quo. Half of them don’t even think the pandemic is real.
You were warned, in post after post, that the work wasn’t done yet. That flipping the Senate was only enough to BEGIN. That electing Biden wasn’t a magical cure all. It’s February 26th. He’s been in office for a single month and y’all out here trying to make out that he’s ineffective and ‘just like all the rest’ when he’s still working with a bunch of people who literally stormed the Capital and tried to overthrow democracy like 7 weeks ago.
Go learn how Congress works before y’all open your mouths. Don’t @ me about it until you do.
people on this website be like “it’s actually school’s fault that i don’t know how to read because i wanted to write my essay on the divergent trilogy and that BITCH mrs. clarkson made us study 1984 instead. anyway here’s a 10 tweet thread of easily disproven misinformation about a 3 year old news story and btw, who is toni morrison?”
i KNOW most of y’all are lying about being in the gifted program as children because none of you could pass the basic reading comprehension assessment they give third graders today
this post is mean and I never read divergent or whatever the fuck but 1984 sucks and is rape apologism so if somebody wanted to write about divergent or whatever good for them
this reply is like literally exactly what op is talking about lol. like firstly ops point isn’t “1984 is good”, ops point is that analysing complex stories teaches you how to form opinions and think for yourself. and like secondly in 1984 you’re supposed to think damn it’s fucked up that he’s thinking that way about her, i wonder if this ties in with the central theme of “a society like this will fuck you in the head”? (this is the thinking for yourself part). like do you think orwell just put that in for fun? do you think that just because winston is the protagonist you’re supposed to agree with everything he does?
You know I feel like this post just gave me an epiphany for what is wrong with how Tumblr Fandom/Internet Fandom responds to media-or not *wrong* but makes it very hard to respond to anything but a morally correct, and heroic protagonist.
When an English teacher, or reader, taught or picked up 1984, it wasn’t with the intention they were going to love the protagonist. They picked it up with the intention of reading a whole story and trying to grasp the theme or catharsis from the story. If the protagonist was a *shitty* person it played into the the themes or the story, because it wasn’t about morally judging the book or *liking* or feeling attachment to the protagonist. Sometimes and often times, books were just about gaining another perspective.
No one read Lolita expecting to endear, or like, or be inspired by Humbert. You are supposed to be upset by his behavior, you don’t read Lolita with the intention of being inspired. You read it to learn more about what the fuck is going on inside someone’s head when they behave like that. How children get sucked into abusive situations. Or read “The Great Gatsby” not because they want to fall in love with Gatsby or Nick, but to better understand and analyze the experience of the 1920s or destitution of the American Dream.
A lot of internet and fandom culture has changed that though. When we say something like “I love the Great Gatsby” it comes with the idea or association that means you must *love* or relate to one of the characters. And maybe you do, but the first assumption is not longer about the quality of the work or themes, or cathartic impact-it’s about character admiration. And with that character admiration, in tumblr stan culture, or kin culture, or exalting characters with fanart/romance/so on you don’t just ‘admire’ or find that character ‘compelling’ it now translates to ‘you LOVE that character’ or you ‘DIRECTLY relate to that character.’
You can’t say “I love how Humbert is written, it’s so fascinating and dark”, without it directly translating you somehow relate to a child abuser or condone his actions. Taking in media has become an act of worship and connection. We no longer watch meant to just see the story as a whole, we watch expecting to connect to a character and if we offer them our “worship” as it’s become, as opposed to just attention or interest study as it traditionally was, it means we are condoning the character or saying we directly empathize with all their actions.
I think that’s why there is often now so much fuss over *toxic* characters or not. Or whether that classical novel is showing good or bad things anymore. We’re treating the characters as people we should love or want to draw or write about. Sometimes a story is just about getting the the theme or catharsis or learning another perspective. We don’t NEED to like the character. Or we don’t HAVE to like a character to be impressed by how they’re written or intrigued by their behavior.
I think if internet culture could learn to view stories as small insights into other lives or single takes of one perspective instead of purposeful moral inspirations we’d be a lot less worried about how toxic or not toxic they are.
There is this idea that you’re supposed to identify with a protagonist, you’re supposed to see yourself in them, and therefore the protagonist has to be good, or at the very least sympathetic
If you dare to get into the head of a less-than-sympathetic character, it means that you sympathize with evil, and it apparently says something about you.
Luke in that cape though....
