I want to write with other people.
I want to write nonsense with other people.
No, the most honest thing to say here is that I want other people to write nonsense with me.
I want the version of existing online that people had in 2004, and no matter how many people say, "same bestie, things were great then," I can't get any of them to commit to leaving social media and just writing nonsense.
Write nonsense! More than 300 characters! Put an image in the middle, or don't; I'm not a narc! Just say some stuff! Tell me about your day! Did you eat crabs? Crabs? I ate two.
Put it in a place with an RSS feed! Or don't! Write it in a text file living on Neocities' servers and link it in a group chat! I don't care how you do it, but if you want the web to be like it was in 2004, stop endlessly scrolling for a moment and write something!
It's the friction, isn't it?
I love friction. I have a friction fetish. I want maximum friction. Give me seventeen factor authentication for logging into the stupid thing so I can write my nonsense words; just don't ask me to provide you with a government ID or a video of me opening my mouth (you weirdo!).
Get back on Tumblr; I'll follow you on Tumblr. I'll figure out how to squeeze an RSS feed out of your Tumblr and follow you that way. (Didn't I just say I love friction?) Let's talk about it later. I'll write something and send it to you, too.
I'm so lonely, c'mon. I can't feel satisfied with just the occasional window into your day; not when we used to actually discuss real things. I still have those messages that I wrote, where I said, "We did all these things over the weekend, and you told me about xyz and it got me thinking — don't you think abc is also cool??"
I could do that here, but if I used a platform you aren't even on and addressed you by name, wouldn't it be weird?? All of you??? It was fine when you were here (the precursor to here, you know what I mean), but now???? It'd just be weird.
I want to write you a letter and get one back. I want to be able to jot little yearbook-style messages in the comment section. Are you well? Did you get over that cold you had the other day? How was that movie you told me you were going to see? I saw one recently and, even though it was the 40th time I saw it, it made me cry. Isn't that strange?
I just miss you. Even if we talk all the time in short little bursts, the only way I feel grounded to myself is through writing. The version of me who speaks is a much less honest version of me than this one — the one who writes — even though it's not like I'm trying to lie or anything. I wish someone still wanted to talk to this version of me, who's way more interesting!
Anyway, that's why I suggested we start a web forum. That's why I'd rather we just start a web forum. You'll never come back here; it doesn't have a shiny interface or a dedicated app or send push notifications. But Discourse does all of that.
There is so little of me left in my day to day life, you know. I'm constantly trying to kill the last bits of me, to kill my heart and become a salaryman, so it makes sense that there's not much there. The dregs might appear in 300 characters or less, but I'm mostly dead.
I would like very much if whatever's left of me found a home, but if it's not possible, I can just hibernate. Or write all of my feelings into the minds of Gundam characters and post it on AO3. Or put letters in bottles and throw them into the sea. (That last one is littering, you know.)
So you don't have to worry about me; I have options. I'll survive somehow. But I think things used to be better, and you told me that you thought so, too.
So can't we just write nonsense?
