Community has been created, let's get this party rollin!!
love_resolution community is up and running!!! Thank you so much to eilowyn and lutamira for their help brainstorming and overall support. I love you, ladies.
In the spirit of the year ending and a new year beginning - I thought that we could all take the opportunity to start a new tradition (or at least try this idea on for size) and create a fandom New Year's Resolution.
In the spirit of the year ending and a new year beginning - I thought that we could all take the opportunity to start a new tradition (or at least try this idea on for size) and create a fandom New Year's Resolution.
This year, let's do a Love Exchange!!!
[Information, Brainstorming, and Wild Hopes]
We are here on the el-jay - most of my flist is, anyway - for an open exchange of love. We are fans who think deep thoughts and write beautiful words about the things that we unabashedly love things together. And we are bonded by certain things that we all love - we found each other through mutual love.
But there are things that we love and don't share. Things that we watch, read, listen to, and love that we don't talk about here - either because there are other places of love and sharing for us. Or because it's something just for us that we didn't ever think to share.
This following year, let's give a little back to each other. Let's exchange love.
One thing that you love in exchange for one thing that someone else loves. As a year-long project, that way no one feels overwhelmed or stressed by the implications of taking on something new. It's a New Year's Resolution of Sharing and Exchanging Love and Squee.
The main meme would be one post, hopefully opening up later this week depending on interest and staying open through the first week of January. This is a New Year's Resolution - so of course anyone can pop in during the year and pick something else up - but we want to make sure as many people connect at the new year as possible.
The reason for a community, and not just a meme through my personal page, would be so that there is a place where everyone can respond and post about the stuff they offered to do over the year. There's a high level of probability that more than one person will ask someone on their flist to watch Twin Peaks and more than one person will actually watch it - this comm will be a place where new loves are given, offered, and found. The idea is not just to find people who share your interests - but to introduce each other to new and lovely loves in our lives and share that new love with each other all year long.
This is an intro-post and a "let's get started" and a "start making banners and telling your friends" post. If you are the mod for another community and would like to share, share, share - I think that would be the most lovely of all lovely things.
Start thinking of what you want to share with everyone and look here for the main love-exchange meme by Friday, that way we can have the week to think it all over and the weekend to be shameless with want and love.
Each person's personal thread will look something like this:::
- I'll watch a season of any TV series if someone will watch the first season of insert series here
- I'll make a picspam of any character if someone will make me a picspam of insert wish here
- I'll write a 1000 word ficlet on the characters/fandom of your choice if someone will write me about something specific
Then underneath that comment, people would take you up on your offer, and wish-request back.
- Friend A will watch that series, if she watches something for me; etc.
Or we can do it as a series of wishes::
- I wish for a season of series
- I wish someone would read insert book here
- I wish someone would write insert prompt here
Then underneath that comment, friends would grant wishes and in turn, I would go to their thread and grant their wish. (This set-up allows for some more mash-ups of the wishes - I wish someone would watch Alias with me, and will in turn will write a fic for Friend A, etc.)
I am really hoping this catches on - even if it isn't huge or anything - because I'm that person who immediately picks up the things that other people love. It *could* be seen as a bad habit of letting go of the things that I love in order to take on what people around me find interesting - but that isn't the case at all. My loves are my loves. But, I'm of the mind that: if I like you and we get along, I want to know what you are interested in - I want to be interested in those things, too. I will throw myself into the things that you love to show you that I care about you... not to ~lose myself, but because I trust your interests. I will jump on that ship with you and ride it 'till there's nothing left to hold onto. It's how I show affection. (And it is a natural inclination that has not always served me well...)
And honestly - it's hard to get anything back. Not a lot of people are willing to leave their comfort zones and take up new interests and hobbies, to try new things. People get stuck in their interests and opinions and don't even notice how much effort others are taking in order to connect with them. We surround ourselves, in RL and here, with people who share like interests - so that we don't have to put in the effort of connecting with someone on their own terms. Or doing something new.
Which is sad, really. I think it's the most lovely feeling in the world - to find something new and beautiful because of someone else's unfiltered love. To bring someone else into that place with you.
So I thought - setting it up like this, as a wish exchange - we'd all be giving and getting. Everyone participating will grant and get and share and learn. And that's possibly the most exciting thing I think human beings can do. And everyone will be getting something back. And it will be something we can spread out over the whole year - hopefully with a final check-in around the first of October.
((ps - I'm still a newb in all things ~everything, so any suggestions or recommendations or constructive criticism would be amazing - ergo an extra week to get things all settled and started.))
In the spirit of the year ending and a new year beginning - I thought that we could all take the opportunity to start a new tradition (or at least try this idea on for size) and create a fandom New Year's Resolution.
In the spirit of the year ending and a new year beginning - I thought that we could all take the opportunity to start a new tradition (or at least try this idea on for size) and create a fandom New Year's Resolution.
This year, let's do a Love Exchange!!!
[Information, Brainstorming, and Wild Hopes]
We are here on the el-jay - most of my flist is, anyway - for an open exchange of love. We are fans who think deep thoughts and write beautiful words about the things that we unabashedly love things together. And we are bonded by certain things that we all love - we found each other through mutual love.
But there are things that we love and don't share. Things that we watch, read, listen to, and love that we don't talk about here - either because there are other places of love and sharing for us. Or because it's something just for us that we didn't ever think to share.
This following year, let's give a little back to each other. Let's exchange love.
One thing that you love in exchange for one thing that someone else loves. As a year-long project, that way no one feels overwhelmed or stressed by the implications of taking on something new. It's a New Year's Resolution of Sharing and Exchanging Love and Squee.
The main meme would be one post, hopefully opening up later this week depending on interest and staying open through the first week of January. This is a New Year's Resolution - so of course anyone can pop in during the year and pick something else up - but we want to make sure as many people connect at the new year as possible.
The reason for a community, and not just a meme through my personal page, would be so that there is a place where everyone can respond and post about the stuff they offered to do over the year. There's a high level of probability that more than one person will ask someone on their flist to watch Twin Peaks and more than one person will actually watch it - this comm will be a place where new loves are given, offered, and found. The idea is not just to find people who share your interests - but to introduce each other to new and lovely loves in our lives and share that new love with each other all year long.
This is an intro-post and a "let's get started" and a "start making banners and telling your friends" post. If you are the mod for another community and would like to share, share, share - I think that would be the most lovely of all lovely things.
Start thinking of what you want to share with everyone and look here for the main love-exchange meme by Friday, that way we can have the week to think it all over and the weekend to be shameless with want and love.
Each person's personal thread will look something like this:::
- I'll watch a season of any TV series if someone will watch the first season of insert series here
- I'll make a picspam of any character if someone will make me a picspam of insert wish here
- I'll write a 1000 word ficlet on the characters/fandom of your choice if someone will write me about something specific
Then underneath that comment, people would take you up on your offer, and wish-request back.
- Friend A will watch that series, if she watches something for me; etc.
Or we can do it as a series of wishes::
- I wish for a season of series
- I wish someone would read insert book here
- I wish someone would write insert prompt here
Then underneath that comment, friends would grant wishes and in turn, I would go to their thread and grant their wish. (This set-up allows for some more mash-ups of the wishes - I wish someone would watch Alias with me, and will in turn will write a fic for Friend A, etc.)
I am really hoping this catches on - even if it isn't huge or anything - because I'm that person who immediately picks up the things that other people love. It *could* be seen as a bad habit of letting go of the things that I love in order to take on what people around me find interesting - but that isn't the case at all. My loves are my loves. But, I'm of the mind that: if I like you and we get along, I want to know what you are interested in - I want to be interested in those things, too. I will throw myself into the things that you love to show you that I care about you... not to ~lose myself, but because I trust your interests. I will jump on that ship with you and ride it 'till there's nothing left to hold onto. It's how I show affection. (And it is a natural inclination that has not always served me well...)
And honestly - it's hard to get anything back. Not a lot of people are willing to leave their comfort zones and take up new interests and hobbies, to try new things. People get stuck in their interests and opinions and don't even notice how much effort others are taking in order to connect with them. We surround ourselves, in RL and here, with people who share like interests - so that we don't have to put in the effort of connecting with someone on their own terms. Or doing something new.
Which is sad, really. I think it's the most lovely feeling in the world - to find something new and beautiful because of someone else's unfiltered love. To bring someone else into that place with you.
So I thought - setting it up like this, as a wish exchange - we'd all be giving and getting. Everyone participating will grant and get and share and learn. And that's possibly the most exciting thing I think human beings can do. And everyone will be getting something back. And it will be something we can spread out over the whole year - hopefully with a final check-in around the first of October.
((ps - I'm still a newb in all things ~everything, so any suggestions or recommendations or constructive criticism would be amazing - ergo an extra week to get things all settled and started.))