Whenever I see tennis courts my heart aches

[arakura]

It's true, it's true, I must confess. I feel an inexplicable yearning every time I see them.

 

Hi, I'm ara and I'm mostly dumb, but hang in there with me, okay? I've been on fuwa for well over a year and now over 1000 posts. It's been pretty great and I've met a good number of people I very much enjoyed talking to. I made a lot of friends and stopped talking to just about as many, sadly. But the reason I post is because I actually want to talk about myself and my hopes and ambitions. I'd really appreciate it if you read my post with an open mind.

 

One of my greatest passions is understanding and appreciating stories (and characters). These things that people write, draw, animate, or film. And I'm sure there are a number of other ways of storytelling, but for me, the stories I read about in books, manga, and anime seem to hold a special place in my heart. And the thing is that I don't think anyone really sees things the way I do a lot of the time. I won't get ahead of myself and tell you guys about how special I am and how I have this great vision or whatever, but there's definitely something different in the way everyone experiences stories, right? I believe a lot of that comes from contexts and from the reader's willingness to open their heart to the story.

 

I care about many stories and I care about them in ways that I don't see people talking about. I care about facets of them that are often left undiscussed and it pains me every time I see someone bash something I love when it seems to me that they misunderstood "the really interesting part" or failed to appreciate the enjoyable uniqueness of the story. What I want to do is try to share my feelings with other people. I want other people to understand the way I feel and look at things with the same caring eyes that I do. I want to share with people the stories that I love and the things I love about them. Whether or not you may disagree, I think something wonderful can come from trying to transcend the singular context with which you read a story and see it in a new light. Or maybe it's just not very quality, but good in very specific and unique respects. That's cool too, right!? People, appreciate these things!!

 

So I've been musing for a while.

"I spend too much time talking to people online about nothing"

"But you like talking to people, you like connecting and fangirling over things with people and sharing your passions"

and thoughts like these, although recently they've been tainted with this general cynicism about online relationships. Yea, yea. Normal stuff. Sorry I'm not a hilarious breath of fresh air.

 

But what occurred to me is that I should try to write. Actually write for other people as much as for myself, to try to build a bridge between their understanding of stories and my own, and hopefully get people to love some of the things I do for the reasons I do. So I want to take my 1000th-ish post time in the spotlight to say two things.

 

1. If you're looking for someone to talk to or feel lonely or want a friend or someone to bash ur fookin' 'ead in, I'll try to be a mate for ya. You can message me on fuwa or add me on skype or whatever you want and we can spend all the day chatting idly about why $0$ is a hilarious nickname for s0s or whatever garbage comes up.

2. I'm planning on writing something that may be called postviews or something... Thoughts on stories I've read and things that I think other people might have something to gain in thinking about. I think I'll do this as a blog function or something but I'm not entirely sure. The process might end up being too formal for my fool-ass self, but I want to at least bring it up in the hopes that someone cares and maybe we can talk about stories. Because I don't like sitting around thinking about why I love this and that so much without having anyone to share it with. Life is better spent with a friend.

 

So, I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into my mind as I post this awkward post with a fittingly awkward title that only makes sense if you really really think about it. I swear I'm only a little crazy! But I hope that I can share some of my craziness with you guys in the future. It's been a pleasure being on fuwa, but I seriously need an outlet for all of my thoughts and I think people are getting tired of my incomprehensible explanations.

 

(Shoutout to HMN who won't read this but who is super amazing)

 

Also this thread will function as an AMA for anyone that wants to ask pretty much anything or just talk about things. Idk! I didn't think that  hard about this post, okay? gosh. Though I expect I scared most of you off with the text above.

[Flutterz]

Gratz on the 1000 posts! Although we haven't talked much until recently and I suck at actually messaging first I do appreciate having someone to talk to even though it might sometimes seem otherwise.

 

Since this is also an AMA, I'll start off with "In what way does the title make sense?"

[Kawasumi]

When did you came up with the idea of naming your thread after a potential indie rock album name?

[Chronopolis]

2. I'm planning on writing something that may be called postviews or something... Thoughts on stories I've read and things that I think other people might have something to gain in thinking about.

I think in talking about vn's (and other media), there is a wide spectrum of possible posts from methodical point-by-point critique to very personal discussion about what a work or element meant to you. The second is valid too, it's just so personal it's hard to bring it up anywhere. Other people might not be interested or know how to react. So I think a blog's a good place to put those thoughts.

My little piece of advice would be to decide what to present and what to filter out (you can't write every single impression something gives you), and make sure things are reasonably organized and coherent.

 

I care about many stories and I care about them in ways that I don't see people talking about. I care about facets of them that are often left undiscussed and it pains me every time I see someone bash something I love when it seems to me that they misunderstood "the really interesting part" or failed to appreciate the enjoyable uniqueness of the story. What I want to do is try to share my feelings with other people. I want other people to understand the way I feel and look at things with the same caring eyes that I do.

 

I think the people who view a work with a singular perspective, probably wouldn't bother hearing about someone else's viewpoint. It's the people who have a provisional understanding of the work but are unsure and open to suggestion, those are who will appreciate hearing another viewpoint.

 

There's an angle looking at a work for it's craft, how well it's constructed. How interesting is the story, how vivid are the characters, how effective the text and presentation is. But like you said, a work doesn't have to be objectively fabulous to inspire a reaction, to be a memorable, special experience for someone.

 

Some cases of why we love a work is because of a viewpoint -- that can be shared and understood --, but sometimes it's just result of who we are and the work reflecting off our set of notions (different people find different things cute, and wonderful). The latter can be shared...but is hardly a topic to discuss unless the opponent is interested by the fact that that is how you are, or that somebody is like that.

 

Or, in mourning of the underdiscussedness of such topics, you can write it all anyways. Just because next to no-one else will. Good luck on your blog!

[arakura]

Gratz on the 1000 posts! Although we haven't talked much until recently and I suck at actually messaging first I do appreciate having someone to talk to even though it might sometimes seem otherwise.

Since this is also an AMA, I'll start off with "In what way does the title make sense?"

Aww you <3333

And oshi- I thought I deleted that part after determining probably that no one would ever get it. In simple terms, it's goofy and I like to be goofy. Though I want to work on being more articulate, I want to hold onto at least some of that oddness that I think makes me interesting. And so I frontlined it because, truly, I don't know why tennis courts do what they do to me. Not quite sure if it makes sense. Not that I have any precedent of being anything but informal. I'll try my hardest!

Short ver: it's goofy, I'm goofy, deal with it. But also ima try to be more articulate in the future. It's like, my attempt at a turning point, yo.

I think in talking about vn's (and other media), there is a wide spectrum of possible posts from methodical point-by-point critique to very personal discussion about what a work or element meant to you. The second is valid too, it's just so personal it's hard to bring it up anywhere. Other people might not be interested or know how to react. So I think a blog's a good place to put those thoughts.

My little piece of advice would be to decide what to present and what to filter out (you can't write every single impression something gives you), and make sure things are reasonably organized and coherent.

I think the people who view a work with a singular perspective, probably wouldn't bother hearing about someone else's viewpoint. It's the people who have a provisional understanding of the work but are unsure and open to suggestion, those are who will appreciate hearing another viewpoint.

There's an angle looking at a work for it's craft, how well it's constructed. How interesting is the story, how vivid are the characters, how effective the text and presentation is. But like you said, a work doesn't have to be objectively fabulous to inspire a reaction, to be a memorable, special experience for someone.

Some cases of why we love a work is because of a viewpoint -- that can be shared and understood --, but sometimes it's just result of who we are and the work reflecting off our set of notions (different people find different things cute, and wonderful). The latter can be shared...but is hardly a topic to discuss unless the opponent is interested by the fact that that is how you are, or that somebody is like that.

Or, in mourning of the underdiscussedness of such topics, you can write it all anyways. Just because next to no-one else will. Good luck on your blog!

Mhm mhm, yea. Opening up reader contexts is something that I think could go a long way. Maybe it's not the greatest group of people who are open to viewing something in a new light, but just some would be wonderful.

Hnng that last part is so tempting! Stop it, you! You know just how to charm me!

I came up with the thread title when I was walking past the tennis courts here a week or two ago and I felt like people needed to know! Ive felt like this for years though