Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

One night he was writing something and his wife noticed he was writing from right to left.  Since she was studying occupational therapy she realized he had a learning disability and started working with him.  He slowly began to learn to read, and at 26 got his GED and went to college.

His first year of college he took the lowest level math course he could take, 001.  Over the years he worked on learning what he needed to, ended up graduating with a biology degree.  He then went on to get his masters and PhD, graduating at the top of his class.  He is now an extremely accomplished biologist and professor.

Also in there: therapist, early childhood educator, then finally: web developer–because by then it was an actual thing that existed. I didn’t actually figure out what I “wanted to do when I grew up” until about eight years ago, when I was 36. I tried pursuing writing when I was 30, stopped, then started pursuing it seriously again when I was 40. 

I decided to create a masterpost that would help you with what you are struggling with. Hopefully any of the links below will help you! Reminder; You’re going to be okay. What you are going through will pass, just remember to breathe. 

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Distractions;

Here are some distractions to help keep your mind occupied so you aren’t too focused on your thoughts. 

-Draw something

-This website translates the time into colours.

-Create your own galaxy.

-Play flowing.

-Make a 3D line travel where ever you like. 

-Listen to music.

-Calm.

-Ocean mood, do nothing for two minutes.

Sleep issues; 

- 8 hour sleep music.

-Rainy mood. 

-Meditation.

-Coping with nightmares.

-How to cope with nightmares, 11 steps.

-Calm

-Foods that can affect your sleeping, both positive and negatively. 

 Uncomfortable with silence; 

-Rainy mood.

-10 hours of rain and thunder.

-3 hours of rain and thunder.

-Human heartbeat.

-Rainforest.

-Sound of rain on a tin roof.

-Autumn wind.

-Rain on a tent

-Traffic in the rain.

-Soft traffic. 

-Fan.

-Train.

-Simply noise.

-My noise.

-Rainy cafe.

Anxiety; 

-How to stop worrying. 

-Tips to manage anxiety and stress.

-The 10 best ever anxiety management techniques. 

-Self-help strategies for anxiety. 

-Helping a friend with anxiety. 

-All about worrying.

-8 myths about anxiety. 

Sad, angry and depressed/depression; 

-“I’m always sad”

-Feeling sad.

-Going through trauma.

-“I’m always angry”.

-Anger management. 

-All about anger.

-National helplines and websites.

-Self-help strategies for depression.

-Dealing with depression at work.

-Dealing with depression at school.

Isolation and loneliness; 

-Pets and mental health.

-All about loneliness. 

-“I feel so alone”

-10 more ideas to help with loneliness. 

-How to deal with loneliness.

 Self-harm;

-Alternatives to self-harm and distraction techniques.

-146 things to do besides self-harm.

-More alternatives to self-harm.

-Self-harm alternatives.

-How to take care of self-harm wounds/injuries.

-Getting rid of scars.  

Addiction; 

-How to help a friend with a drug addiction.

-What is addiction?

-All about alcohol and addiction.

-The facts about drug addiction.

 Eating disorders; 

-Helping a friend with an eating disorder.

-Eating disorder treatments. 

-Support services for eating disorders. 

-Self-help tips with eating disorders.

-Eating disorder recovery. 

-Recovering from an eating disorder. 

-100+ reasons to recover. 

-Understanding and managing eating disorders. 

 Dealing with self-hatred;  

-3 ways to ease self-loathing. 

-How to turn self-hatred into self-compassion.

-Self-hatred resources.

-10 step plan to deal with self-hate. 

 Suicidal; 

-International suicide hotlines (1)  (2)

-Preventing suicide. 

-Reasons to stay alive.

-Dealing with suicidal thoughts and feelings.

-Coping with suicidal ideation.  

 Schizophrenia;

-All about schizophrenia.  

-Helping a person with schizophrenia.  

-Understanding and dealing with schizophrenia.  

-Delusions and hallucinations.  

OCD;

-Managing your OCD at home. 

-Overcoming OCD.

-How to cope with OCD. 

-Strategies for dealing with the anxious moments. 

Borderline personality disorder; 

-Helping someone with BPD. 

-All about personality disorders.

-Treatment for BPD.

Abuse; 

-Healthy relationships VS abusive relationships. 

-Emotional abuse

-Overcoming sexual abuse. 

-Hotlines services. 

-5 ways to escape an abusive relationship. 

-Domestic violence support. 

-Signs of an abusive relationship. 

-What do to if you’re in an abusive relationship. 

-Surviving abuse. 

-What you can do if you’re sexual harassed. 

-Sexual assault support.

-What to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted or abused. 

 Bullying;

-How to stand up against bullying.

-How to protect yourself when it comes to cyber bullying.

-How to help stop people bullying you. 

 Loss and grief; 

-How to cope with a suicide of a loved one.

-Grieving for a stranger. 

-Common reactions to death. 

-Working through grief.

(Other loss and grief)

-Moving away from friends and family. 

-Coping with a breakup.

 Getting help; 

-Seeking help early. 

-All about psychological treatments. 

-Types of help.

-All about age and confidentiality. 

Things you need to remember; 

- Don’t stress about being fixed because you’re not broken.

-Remember to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Tell yourself that you’re proud of yourself, even if you’re not. 

- This is temporary. You won’t always feel like this. 

-You are not alone. 

-You are enough. 

-You are important. 

-You are worth it. 

-You are strong. 

-You are not a failure, 

-Good people exist. 

-Reaching out shows strength. 

-Breathe. 

-Don’t listen to the thoughts that are not helping you. 

-Give yourself credit. 

-Don’t be ashamed of your emotions, for the good or bad ones. 

-Treat yourself the same way as you would treat a good friend. 

-Focus on the things you can change. 

-Let go of toxic people. 

-You don’t need to hide, you’re allowed to feel the way you do. 

-Try not to beat yourself up. 

-Something is always happening, you don’t want to miss out on what’s going to happen next. 

-You are not a bother.

-Your existence is more than your appearance. 

-You are smart. 

-You are loved. 

-You are wanted. 

-You are needed. 

-Better days are coming. 

-Just because your past is dark, doesn’t mean your future isn’t bright. 

-You have more potential than you think. 

- Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.

 I agree that Yeon Joo can be sad and grieve BUT she was extremely passive prior to even knowing anyone was dead. She could draw a portal (like portals used by the killer) to reach KC. Her dad left after her, drew tons of things, spoke to HCH, and then somehow managed to get there almost at the same time she does. That’s what we mean by passive. She didn’t do anything and was only reacting to everything that was happening. How can a story end when villains die? How can the creator disappear just like that? So Hee deviated from her predetermined path. It makes absolutely no sense that dad can’t considering he is not even from that world. If his purpose is to kill KC, then he absolutely cannot disappear since KC is alive.

ok… before I even begin to break down your points. I want to preface this with, I realise everyone has their opinions. I know that everyone has their point of view. But you’ve come to the wrong place, if you expect me to agree with you and NOT defend a show that, from my tumblr you know I clearly love. I want to also tell you that there are many thoughtful and wonderful smart fans here on tumblr that VERY MUCH critique W. I’ve seen meta after meta that discusses Chul’s inner thoughts. I’ve seen meta after meta on here discussing the show in full length and it’s not just fangirling it’s real meta and discussion. I know someone who wrote an absolutely COHERENT AND WONDERFUL PIECE on W and it’s take on the entire multiverse theory. Don’t be so harsh and quick to judge us. 

I will admit when I think there is a fault. Because I for one preach that no drama is ever perfect. But you sound super judgemental by opening your ask with “dramabeans have more coherent thoughtful people on there”. So i’m not doing this for you who will probably still disagree with me after I break this down. I’m doing this almost in defence of us here on tumblr. We’re not any less coherent and thoughtful than those on dramabeans. 

You’re not very clear on what you mean by Han Chul Ho (the prosecutor) not causing his happiness? I mean he’s not supposed to be happy and he was written with the purpose of being a villain. An antagonist for Chul? And he didn’t exactly end happy, he died. I’d say more on this but I truly don’t understand what you mean. 

Kang Chul was not created by the dad and he was always human. He can’t become human.

If this is referring to something I said in my posts. Then I’m sorry I wasn’t clear enough. When I say he became human I don’t mean he wasn’t human in the first place. I don’t mean he wasn’t real. But he was the main character of a webtoon. He was living inside a world that didn’t feel real to him. To Chul that world was fake, and it’s one he spent the entire show breaking out of. Part of his arc was about coming to terms with the fact that he is human. That he’s real. 

And what do you MEAN he wasn’t created by the dad? He was created by Yeon Joo but it was the dads drawings that brought Chul to life. I literally do not understand where this statement came from? Chul didn’t become human in the literal sense, but he ended up living in the real world. In Yeon Joo’s world. Which is where it was always supposed to end up because another huge part of Chul’s arc was not only coming to terms with his own existence, but finding what was real. Separating fiction from reality. And for that to be complete he had to move/integrate into the real world. 

And here I go again defending my princess Yeon Joo. Because nobody calls her passive and gets away with it. I’m sorry, but my post did say FIGHT ME, and for Yeon Joo I damn will. 

DRAW A PORTAL? I’m sorry but really? When was drawing a portal ever an option? She can draw just about anything but a portal was never something that was explored on the show (a portal that could be drawn). And to be frank. Introducing a new idea like that in the last episode would have completely thrown everyone. And for a fanbase that was clamouring for a less complicated show, you all are sure disappointed when it doesn’t complicate things further. What do you mean she did nothing prior? What do you expect her to do when she had no fucking idea where CHUL was? She couldn’t drawn him medical aid, or other ways to save him because she had no idea where his location was. But guess what this “passive” woman did? She drew a car to get to Chul, and 100% if she was able to save him before getting dragged back into her world then she would have done it. Because how can you call her passive when she’s saved him countless times and put herself in danger for not only Chul but basically everyone. Reacting to things is not being passive? By definition it means you’re doing something, so technically you’re not being passive by reacting to the world around you. Life is a series of reactions. And Yeon Joo only reacts to everything around her in the last episode, because there is literally nothing more she can do to fix the situation. It’s out of her hands pretty much. Did you expect her to be the one to save Do Yoon (bodyguard)? That always had to be Chul. Honestly i’m at a loss on peoples criticisms of Yeon Joo’s character because she is literally such an amazing strong character. I’m not sure what more you want from her. She’s not physical fighter? And at this stage what else can she draw? Get the portal out of your mind because like a said it’s not only too new an idea to introduce in the last episode, but she didn’t even know where Chul was. HOW DO YOU EXPECT A PORTAL TO AN UNKNOWN PLACE. She found out where Chul was AFTER she had already left the tablet and driven to find him. Again I want to reiterate that Yeon Joo did her best in the situation that she was in. And I don’t understand what everyone wants from her because she’s a fucking hero. But she’s not always going to be the one to save the day. Even hero’s need a break. 

The story ends when the villains die, because then the hero wins. And yes the webtoon didn’t show Chul’s happy ending, but I think it didn’t have to. It was programmed to stop when the villains died because a villains death signals the end of a story. It signals a win. And Chul’s entire path was about defeating these villains so when they died, even if he “died” too, that’s where the story ended. I think everyone forgets that the comic W itself wasn’t a story about romance. So why would it stop to show Chul’s happiness with Yeon Joo? Why would it stop to show he’s alive when it’s ended on cliffhangers with him dying before? It’s not going to. When you look at the show, Chul’s death was never the answer to ending the webtoon. It only cares about the villains being defeated. That’s what it was working towards. 

Ok. Did you forget that Sung Moo’s soul was linked with the killers? So when the killer died (I forget the name they gave him). But when he died, a part of the killers soul was still intertwined with his. He still retained all the memories of what the killer did. And that made he start to lose his mind because shooting his own daughter was not the only evil act he committed. He’s a monster. Now how I understood it was that he was dragged into the webtoon world not only because he was the creator, but because of that part of his soul linked with the killers. I think the reason he disappeared is because he was an inbetween, for lack of better word. He wasn’t quite the killer but the part of his soul that WAS the killers was affecting him. It was made stronger when in the webtoon. He’s constantly fighting against it. Your statement is contradictory because you’re saying “why can’t Sung Moo deviate from his predetermined path” and in the same breathe asking “why did he disappear when his (the killers) purpose was to kill Chul and Chul was still alive so he shouldn’t have disappeared”. I think by disappearing that was deviating from the predetermined path. Because he’s not the killer remember? He’s a monster but he’s not THE KILLER. He’s something entirely different. A different breed of monster because he’s part Sung Moo, part killer. His soul was confused, and because of this he didn’t have a predetermined purpose like everyone else in the webtoon. Sung Moo was undeniably damaged and I really saw no way he was going to not disappear. He had to. I think when they said that the villains had to die, they were referring not to Sung Moo, but the killer who died before sung moo, and then Han Chul Ho. The Sung Moo who disappears, was a monster, but not really the villain of Chul’s story. You know? 

I’m sorry for this really LONG response. But I couldn’t not reply to this. Because this show is my heart. And because you dissed people on tumblr for not being coherent and thoughtful when critique’ing W. I hope this was thoughtful enough for you. If it isn’t then please proceed to be swayed by negative comments on dramabeans and continue about your day. Smile, and be kind of people. Whether it’s dramabeans or tumblr, or another blogging social media platform, don’t be so quick to put one set of fans into a corner. Ok. That’s all I have to say on this, have a lovely day and i’m sorry if i’ve said anything to offend you. But you should know from my blog how passionate I am about this show. xx  

> do you meant to sound butthurt? because you sound pretty butthurt getting in someone’s tumblr inbox to tell them that tumblr sucks compared to dramabeans. fine, cool. go back to dramabeans and leave us alone. it sounds to me like you’re implying dramabeans is better because it’s full of people that agree with your analysis of the show, not because they’re actually more coherent. neato have fun in your echo chamber with the rest of the salt squad and let us have our own analyses which differ from your own. they’re still quite good, I can assure you, but then you’d know that if you’d actually read any of them.

> if you don’t “agree” on anything that happened in the final ep, write your own damn show. if you don’t understand what the writer’s doing or you somehow have a grasp of the rules in this show that makes the final episode not make sense to you, you’re obviously reading it wrong.

> no fricking duh Han Cheol Ho didn’t cause him happiness. he beat him with a metal pipe. unless you’re a literal masochist (which you might be, considering that you’re literally asking to get dragged putting this kind of crap in AJ’s inbox) then that’s not going to cause you happiness either. what does this even mean

> “he was always human,”

> “he can’t become human”

> pick one

> she cannot draw anything, “portal” included. she does not know what the bus stop looks like. she can’t draw without a reference do u even art

> dad even had a reference for the studio as well as every location he drew, there’s no location they can affect in the manhwa without even knowing what it looks like. even Oh Sung Moo took a car to the bus stop when he’s been drawing right and left until now. wonder why this is? oh right because he doesn’t know where it is

> “portals” are not a thing in this show. you claim to know the rules and to have seen critiques that make more sense than the ones on here, so you should know this. if you’re referring to the door the killer used to disappear, Oh Sung Moo drew that for him, similarly to how Yeon Joo erased the hotel room door when Chul was hiding from the police. they have references for both of these locations, there’s no mystical warping bs and plus, they couldn’t warp THEMSELVES even if there were, they’d be stuck drawing a door for someone else to walk through. besides, the killer seems to be a special instance in this regard, because he’s basically a glitch character who doesn’t follow regular rules. he’s not even a proper character exactly, he’s part of the “setup” which became a trap that Sung Moo fell into to save Chul from it. I will make a post explaining this setup because it seems some people can’t get it on their own for whatever reason.

> Yeon Joo did not know where she was going when she left, is why Sung Moo got there “faster.” she left as soon as possible so she could get there on time. she could not have gotten there faster considering when she started driving she didn’t have a fricking destination, she was waiting for his call. would it have made you guys happier if she’d just waited around for him to call her back or would you be bashing her then too?

> during the time it took him to call her, Sung Moo was able to draw stuff like you said and then leave on his own to get there slightly after she did. it’s not complicated.

> you using the pronoun “we” is slightly creepy. are there more of you? do I have to spray my inbox before going to bed at night to make sure I don’t wake up to messages like this?

> “only reacting to everything that was happening” I’m sorry. I can’t hear you over the sound of Yeon Joo trying to find the tablet and then immediately making missing posters for her dad and handing them out instead of freezing or staying stuck in denial. she literally saw Chul die right in front of her. what do you want her to do? the webtoon is over my friend, she can’t draw anything else. there’s nothing for her to do but deal however she can with the literal trauma of seeing someone she’s been fighting to keep alive for the entire story, her FRICKING HUSBAND, die right in front of her while she’s helpless because if she tried to go to him she’d be hit by a truck. by saying that she has to be taking action all the time to be a strong person, you’re very much devaluing Yeon Joo’s essential strength, which is an emotional strength and resilience that even Chul doesn’t have, despite the fact that he’s set up to be the one with the unbreakable will. who’s really unbreakable here? my girl Yeon Joo, who doesn’t lose her will to live and carries on, despite having lost everything she cared about.

> let me tell you a little bit about how a plot works. there is something called conflict, and it’s caused by protagonist goal vs. antagonist goal. the two goals always conflict, and there you have the essence of your plot. in W, for the plot to end does not require one or the other winning, it requires them losing. the way the rules in this manhwa work, a side loses when they either a) die or b) fade out of existence once their goal no longer serves the main conflict. they have to play their part until then by continuing to engage in said conflict, because W is not real life and they aren’t allowed to have a normal, peaceful existence. they have to stay locked in this struggle, this setup, until someone loses, because W was never meant to have a happy ending. that doesn’t mean Chul can’t, but W itself must end badly for at least one party, that’s the kind of setup it is and that’s been implied very heavily throughout the course of the show.

> the creator can disappear because he’s given his identity to a part of the plot, which has then absorbed him into its setup and roped him into the struggle involuntarily. he can’t escape and he knows this, therefore he chooses to disappear rather than win by killing Chul. I thought you said this was the part you understood.

> So Hee is not a main character. she is not part of the core setup the way the villains/protagonist are, and therefore has the freedom to deviate from her own setup as long as it doesn’t run her character into a hole the way it did the first time, where she literally has no aim. So Hee isn’t required to have a pre-specified aim, she’s just required to have a goal in order for her to exist.

ugh i wish i could write a long monologue about all the ontological questions the writer rises in every episode and discuss further about all the philosophy concepts she’s referencing (e.g. allegory of the cave) in order to explore and develop the many themes -motifs and symbols- she’s using to provide the narrative of her story with more color and substance.

I mean yes, W is basically a drama but after a close inspection you can see how it operates on a rich numbers of complex themes.

I love the use of recurring symbols like mirrors and reflections in specular surfaces, number 10, primary colors -in lights, clothing, filters...- .

Devdas (2002)