#article I wrote on medium and decided to post here

[sowerrr]

The ‘cocooning’: A new clothing brand’s orgin story.

TW: depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation.

Hello! Hope you are having a great day. If you’re new, my name is Kennedy Harris, and I own the latest fashion brand: SOWER. In today’s article, I will discuss how the ‘cocooning’ was my most significant catalyst for starting SOWER. I will strive to answer questions like “What does SOWER mean?” “Did you even like fashion before the ‘cocooning’?” “What is the ‘cocooning,’ and why does it even matter to the brand’s creation?” So buckle up, get your tissues ready, and put on your blue light glasses, because this is gonna be an emotional one. Enjoy!

So now you might be asking: what was so crucial about sixth grade? Well, sixth grade was the first time that school did not come easy to me. I had just finished the best school year of my life (and that opinion still stands as I write to you in the 12th grade), and immediately once I entered middle school, I felt a very negative shift within myself. So many new changes were happening; I was going through some of the most pivotal changes that puberty had to offer, I was being separated from my peers, and, most notably, doing the schoolwork that my teachers gave me was actually hard.

These things led to a steady decline in my grades, and I couldn’t have been more distraught. Admittedly, I’m a bit competitive, so I wanted my grades to be high, and it felt like I was letting myself down. But, what really put the nail in the coffin for me was thinking that I was letting my family down, letting my mom down. And I couldn’t deal with that.

Anyway, before I knew it, my room was a mess, my sleeping patterns were ridiculous, I was exhausted all the time, and I cried every day after school. I knew that what was happening to me and around me wasn’t normal in the slightest. On top of that, I was also realizing that I didn’t trust anyone to know about this information. I thought that if I told my family how I was feeling, I would be burdening them, and I wouldn’t tell my “friends” because they were all gifted kids and seemed to be able to handle everything.

As I said before, I try to find ways to fix my problems, especially when I am in a bind and feel like I have no one else to turn to. So the first thing I figured was, “I need to earn money so I can get a therapist. And maybe, just maybe, I can go back to being my old self”. That goal wasn’t strong enough to rid me of my suicidal thoughts, however, and I continued my downward spiral. My grades were getting worse, my relationships were getting worse, my mom was expressing more and more disappointment in me, and I was getting closer and closer to the point of not being able to take it.

But one day, a particularly bad progress report graced my mother’s home screen. I had been lying to her about my grades. I mean, she still knew I was doing poorly, but she didn’t know that I was doing this poorly. And I thought to myself, “This is it; she’s going to give me a spanking.” I had never gotten a spanking before because of my good behavior and grades, and to think that my mother was finally going to give me one, really made me feel like I was a no-good, lowlife scum who was better off gone. I had finally driven the woman who meant most to me to the point of hitting me, of punishing me.

But she didn’t.

She gave me mercy. She believed in me and my ability to pull myself back up. And at that moment, when she told me that, I figured that I could do this, I could live for her. I can live, I should live, because someone actually believes in me. Once that was over, I started to hone in on finding a true purpose for myself instead of just living for my mother. I didn’t find it, however, until about the 7th grade.

I was still depressed during the seventh grade, so I couldn’t work on it in full force, but bit by bit, I started building a brand around the lemon drawing. I made descriptions for the first collections, I drew up a few sketches, and I could even vividly picture in my head how I wanted everything to go. I chose SOWER because it’s ‘power’ with an ‘s,’ and I thought it would be too on the nose to call the brand ‘sour.’ When the pandemic hit, I started taking SOWER more seriously by drawing up more mockups and establishing characters. Things were really starting to come together. However, the first year or so of me putting more force behind it didn’t bear any fruit. But I hope that this third year is really the charm!

Welp, that is all from me today! Hope you have a great rest of your day. Sorry, I didn’t get to talk about my new brand mascot today; I promise you that I’ll have all that information in my next article. Stay tuned!

Remember to be kind to yourself and accept yourself for everything you are and may be. Kennedy, signing off!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE EMAIL LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

↓

[jaeellec]

Damn the Stars Snippet

Oh hey I just realized since I've made Carmen's crew and relationship known, I can post these two scenes I wrote a long time ago! Really hope they still read well~ Still trying to decide how mature I want to go with this spin-off.

But anyway, read below the cut!

“What’s taking so long?” Carmen was clearly limited on her patience as she sat between Heat and Wire in an open-style tent. For pirates, this was luxurious: comfortable individual seating, wine, an abundance of bizarre fruit native to the island. Their rainforest hideout lacked the castle though, and some of the enemy crew stood in front of the tent while they, too, awaited the arrival of their captain.

Heat leaned in, “I was wondering the same. The Titan Pirates have an impressive reputation. Not impressive enough to be worth this wait though.”

"They're keeping me from my captain..."

“Budgie,” Wire got the attention of the two to gesture his head towards the approaching host; a surprisingly handsome and well-built man with smooth tan skin, a close-cut beard, and medium length wavy, dark hair that was appeared wetted and slicked back. He was accompanied by the rest of his crew.

An arrogant smile on his face, the enemy captain took his time in sauntering to his guests, “Ah, the Wandering Star, Carmen Amsel,” the captain had stopped several feet away. “You seem more party favor than pirate.”

Some of the enemy snickered at their captain’s little quip - an allusion to the first article about her after she took up the life of a pirate.

Heat and Wire’s faces instantly showed scorn, but Carmen seemed neutral. Almost amused, even, as she rose to give her own greeting.

“The Giant’s Bastard, Guillermo Greave,” Heat and Wire stood as she spoke. “You seem more bastard than giant.”

Greave lit up with laughter. “You know how to handle yourself out here! You’re earning quite the reputation and the bounty to go along with it. Taking out Rush Black and his Salty Dogs entirely. And it was you who claimed the head of the second-hand of the Leviathan Pirates, was it not? He had a mythical Zoan – a nasty one.” He raised an eyebrow. “I am very curious about the Devil Fruit powers you possess. I wonder how true some of the stories are.”

All the while he was speaking, Carmen and her crewmates had been making their way closer to him, closing the gap he had left.

“I could give you a demonstration, or we could conduct business as intended,” the hint of arrogance and impatience was beginning to come through. “You’ve kept me and my men waiting long enough.”

“My apologies. I was simply making sure everything was in order and giving you and your men time to relax and enjoy some wine. I think you will be very pleased with what I have to offer.”

She raised an eyebrow, “I’m still waiting.”

Finally cutting any of the flattery, Greave turned to give a nod to his crew, and three men disappeared while he began his proposal. “Pirate alliances have been breaking in the papers often recently. Straw Hat Luffy and the Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law. Your own captain’s alliance with Scratchmen Apoo and Basil Hawkins. Straw Hat and the Surgeon have outed the purpose of their alliance with events unfolding in Dressrosa – one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. So, tell me, Wandering Star…”

There was a certain sureness to her as she listened.

“Which Emperor is your captain after?”

“Our goals are of no concern to you. News of pirate alliances does not make you a part of ours.”

“Ah, not yet at least,” Greave smirked as the three men returned. Each carried a treasure chest and placed them directly and individually in front of the three Kid Pirates, the one in front of Carmen being opened to present its glittering gold contents. “Whichever Emperor it may be, I am highly interested in having a hand in their fall.”

Carmen’s inquisitive eyes lifted from the treasure at her feet to look back to Greave as he continued.

“Consider this my demonstration. This is only a small taste of what I have to offer for my part in the alliance. My men and I have been doing well for ourselves in the New World even before your Captain and his second hand were Supernovas on the other side of the Red Line. We are well-established, and our abundance of gathered treasure would surely be of use when it comes to preparing for a fight against one of the Four Emperors. In fact, Carmen Amsel, there is more treasure waiting aboard your readied ship.”

“My ship?” that caught Carmen’s attention, and even won over a keener tone with a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Oh, yes. It’s said that you have become the helmsman of the Kid Pirates - that above all, you love to sail. You will even take the ship out for fun, do you not? With your feats and talents, I say you have very well earned your own vessel. It’s the black ship at bay, fully prepared and ready to take to the seas! As I said, my men and I have done well for ourselves.”

Carmen lightly looked over her shoulder to playfully  address Heat, “This must be that impressive little reputation you mentioned,” she turned back to Greave, her eyes hard to read. “A nice island base, luxurious tents instead of a crumbling castle with plenty of gold and even a ship to spare…”

The Titan’s Bastard grinned at the recounting of his accomplishments, though his smile would soon fade with the turning of her tone.

“But what else have you done? What big names have you bested? So far, it seems you’ve left them all to us.”

“Like I said,” Heat spoke up – he wanted to make sure the entire crew could hear. “Not worth the wait.”

Greaves began to crack, his suave façade giving into frustration, “Not worth the wait?!”

“Trying to buy your way into an alliance?” Carmen maintained control. “Our first mate told me to expect this – that this might be the reason for you wanting an audience with us.”

“The first mate is who Eustass “Captain” Kid should have been wise enough to send to deal with such matters if he wasn’t man enough to face me himself. Instead, he sends his bitch!” he turned to his men to make a demand. “Take the gold!”

Two of the men reached for the chests in front of Heat and Wire while the captain himself outreached his hand to the open chest in front of Carmen. In unison, Wire stabbed his trident in front of his chest while Heat slammed his foot on top of his, leaning forward and in the position to breath fire. All this while Carmen dropped into a crouch, slamming the lid shut on her way down and nearly catching the Bastard’s fingers. She rested her cheek on her folded arms atop the chest.

“My gold,” she reminded him. “A gift given to me that I very much intend to keep.”

Angered and in shock, Greave took a step back and glanced left and right at her crewmates. “What are you doing?! We had a deal before you even stepped foot on this island. I promised no snipers and you promised me safe conduct! I’ve upheld my end of the deal and I expect you to do the same!”

“I promised not to use my powers,” she narrowed her eyes and darkened her tone. “No more. No less.”

"I've had my fill of you!” The Bastard’s demeanor was slipping even more into dissolve. “You are going to call your captain! I demand to speak with him!!”

She was growing evermore impatient – now flat and cold. “Tough shit, you’re talkin’ to me. I was sent because you were not worth my captain's time, and you were not worth the first mate’s time. If you were, the Massacre Soldier would have contacted you along with Scratchmen and Hawkins. But you were right…” she quickly opened the chest just enough to reach in and snatch a handful of the treasure inside. “This will very much help us. We’ll be sure to put it to good use.”

The enemy captain sneered at her, “You rancid little whore,” his words were dripping in disdain, and his men behind him readied their weapons.

“Careful, now,” she rose. “You make the first move and you’ll find your luxurious little hideout underwater.”

The tales of what could happen gave the enemy a pause.

“I’d rather not go back on my word today,” she continued and began walking away, her violet eyes on the fine jewelry hanging from her fingers. “Heat, Wire...do as you see fit. I think I’ll have a look at my ship.”

As Carmen set off towards the docks, flames spewed forth from Heat’s mouth.

_            _            _

Back at the Kid Pirate’s base, the three captains and Killer were finishing up lunch, their plates mostly clear save for Kid whose mind seemed to be elsewhere.

After enough bottled up agitation, Kid let out a growl, “They should be back by now. How long does it take to steal from a guy who has ‘bastard’ as a part of his title?!”

“Bastard?” Scratchmen questioned as he shoved half a slice of pizza into his wide-open mouth, an amused grin spreading across his face as he thought and chewed. “You sent her to deal with the Titan Pirates?”

“He said to steal from them,” Hawkins corrected his ally while gently dabbing the corners of his own mouth with a napkin. “Do you think that was perhaps not very wise?”

This delighted Scratchmen even more, “It’ll piss ‘em off, no doubt. You could have at least given the girl a little more backup! Would’ve let ya borrow some of my men if you had asked, Kid! Wouldn’t want our little Budgie getting hurt now, would we?”

The redhead’s short fuse was already reaching its limit, and he glared at the captain of the On Air pirates, a low growl escaping his lips as he stared the grinning DJ down.

Just then, the door opened and a group of Kid Pirates, including Haikei, Oscar, and Noe entered the dining room.

“Sorry to interrupt lunch, boss,” Oscar spoke first, but it was Haikei who gave the concerning news.

“We just thought you’d want to know there’s a strange ship docked outside next to the Victoria Punk…”

“What?!” Kid shot up from his seat to look out the blasted part of the dining room wall, Killer doing just the same.

“What the hell…?”

“Dammit, Budgie, I told you I didn’t want them to join!” Kid quietly hissed to himself.

“Surely, she wouldn’t…”

That prompted Scratchmen’s signature laugh. “I’m not surprised! I heard the Giant’s Bastard is quite the looker! Seems like he charmed his way into our little alliance!”

“Shut up!”

From the doorway, the group of pirates seemed unsure. “Umm…your orders, boss…?” Haikei was hesitant with his inquiry while the Hawkins read a floating card spread, and the Sea Roar continued to roar with laughter in the background. But he himself shut up once Carmen used her powers to descend into the open room, a smile plastered on her face and her body decorated with gems and jewels and layered gold jewelry hanging from her neck and wrists.

The moment she landed, her captain stormed up to her, jabbed his finger to the ship and demanded, “What the hell?!”

“I can’t wait to tell you!” she beamed, her eyes bright and full of cheer. But her expression and tone dried up when she looked to the two allied captains. “Get out.”

“This is an alliance, sweetheart,” the Sea Roar suddenly wasn’t so happy. “Whatever you have to say, we have a right to know.”

“And I thought we already addressed the matter of how you are to speak to us,” Hawkins added, snapping his deck from the air into his hands. “You do not give orders. You are not a captain.”

That rendered Kid irate, “I am a captain. Get out.”

With tensions rising, Killer, ever the level-headed one, spoke up. “Just give us the chance to get everything sorted out and settled. If there’s anything worth mentioning, we’ll discuss it at the next meeting so no one is left in the dark here.”

“Out,” Kid sternly reiterated.

The captains’ cooperation was reluctant and contemptuous, and once left with only those on his crew, Kid turned to the grinning girl with a look that demanded to know everything.

“The men you sent with me took care of the Titan Pirates,” Carmen was quick to oblige. “Every single last one of them. During negotiations, they offered up the ship with all the gold you were expecting and more,” her excited tone turned sweet. “It’s perfect, and I really want it to be my ship. Can I have it? Please?” she gently bit her bottom lip and pressed her hands together in a plea, all but bouncing in anticipation. “Can I, can I?”

A light groan told he was just relieved she followed orders...and that she had come back to him. “If it’s what you want, Budgie…The ship is yours.”

With a cry of excitement, Carmen jumped and threw her arms around his neck, “It’s the Black Star!” She released and took his hand, a smile still lighting up her face. “That’s what I’m calling it! There’s another perfectly good ship back at their island, but I only had enough men to get the Punk and the Black Star back here. If you want it, I can take some men and go get it another day.”

Those gathered in the doorway exchanges excited glances, and the Massacre Soldier spoke up. “It may not be a bad idea, but it will still take some time to gather crews for both ships and beyond if we want to start expanding that much.”

“That’s a given,” Carmen looked to the Massacre Soldier. “Maybe someday you’ll be the captain of that one,” then she turned back to her captain. “Or maybe give it to Heat as the captain and Wire as the first mate? That is, if it is your order to retrieve the ship, Captain.”

“Of course we’re getting the ship!” once again that menacing grin appeared on his face just at the thought of how the future was shaping up for him and his crew. “Good job handling the ‘Bastard’, Budgie. You’ve outdone yourself this time.”

Carmen was pleased with the fact that her captain was pleased. “And this is just the beginning. We started today with one ship, and now we have three. The possibilities are endless and the seas be ours, Captain,” she looked up at him with sultry eyes as she moved one of the gold chains from around her neck to his, hanging onto it from either side of the link. “From Captain to Commodore…” she pulled on the chain, bringing his face mere inches from hers, her honeyed voice confident. “And then King.”

[aoi-424]

Classical Music in La Corda (Part 1)

Being a big fan of the La Corda d’Oro series for over 15 years, I decided to organise the list of classical music pieces that appeared in the game / TV anime throughout the series.

If you have never heard of the series, here’s a quick introduction I wrote: An Introduction to La Corda.

(Article also available on Medium)

===

La Corda d’Oro (Kiniro no Corda, 金色のコルダ), published by KOEI in 2003

The below list of pieces appeared in the game La Corda d’Oro that was first released on September 19, 2003. In the game, you play as the female protagonist Hino Kahoko, in which you could choose to practise any of the pieces below to perform at the concour (i.e. music competition).

*Background information: In the game, each piece is categorised as either elegant (清麗), vivid (彩華) or gloomy (愁情). A list of keywords is also associated with each piece (which is for selecting a piece that best fits the concour theme).

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Ave Maria (アヴェ・マリア)

Composer: Franz Schubert (シューベルト) Category: elegant (清麗) Keywords: fountain, wish, grace, peace, loneliness, prayer

This piece is composed as a setting for an Englishman Walter Scott’s narrative poem called The Lady of the Lake. In Scott’s poem, a young girl Ellen Douglas, sings prayer to the Virgin Mary, hoping that her father’s sins could be forgiven. As the opening words for Ellen’s song is “Ave Maria” (Latin for “Hail Mary”), over time people gradually adopted this song for the Catholic prayer and it is now commonly played at a mass.

While there are multiple versions arranged for the piano by Franz Liszt, my personal favourite is this version (with the violin and piano accompaniment) that has the main melody starting on Middle C.

Gavotte (ガヴォット)

Composer: François-Joseph Gossec (ゴセック) Category: vivid (彩華) Keywords: life, hope, future, nation, excitement, warmth, nature

The word “gavotte” is a genre of dance in France dating back to the 17th century. The typical rhythm consists of two light steps and one heavy step that is twice as long, and the end of each phrase corresponds to a break in the dance steps — as you can clearly see in this clip from the 1938 Looney Tunes film. Violin players would definitely find this tune familiar, as it is the piece that concludes Book 1 of the Suzuki Violin.

Melodie, from Orpheus and Euridice (メロディ)

Composer: Christoph Willibald Gluck (グルック) Category: gloomy (愁情) Keywords: lament, talent, disappointment, encounter, tragedy, ability, pride

This piece originates from Act 2 of the opera Orpheus and Eurydice (Orfeo ed Euridice in French). Gluck’s melodie, also known as “Dance of the Blessed Spirits”, was originally for solo flute and was later also transcribed for the violin (here is a version played by one of the greatest violinists of all time). It depicts the grief experienced by Orpheus, the legendary musician in Greek mythology who took a journey to the underworld to save his deceased wife Euridice.

===

I'll continue with the remaining pieces in the game in my next post :) Thank you for reading!

Reference: 金色のコルダ コンプリートガイド

[ameliasoulturner]

I Tried 10 Popular Ways to Make Money Writing Online — Here’s What Actually Works in 2025

Let’s be honest: the idea of earning money online just by writing feels like a dream, doesn’t it?

You picture yourself working from a cozy coffee shop, sipping on a latte while your words rake in dollars. No boss, no traffic, just you and your keyboard. I thought the same. And after more than a decade of writing books, blogs, and articles—and being neck-deep in the AI and digital publishing world—I decided to put 10 online writing gigs to the test.

I approached it like a human guinea pig: testing, tweaking, failing, retrying… all of it. If it worked, I kept going. If it flopped, I moved on. So if you're wondering, "Can I really make money writing online in 2025?"—you’re in the right place.

Here’s the no-fluff breakdown of what’s working, what’s overrated, and what I’m doing now to consistently bring in income as a writer.

1. Blogging for Passive Income — Slow Start, Big Payoff

Let’s kick off with the classic. Starting a blog can feel like yelling into the void for the first few months. But give it time, strategy, and solid SEO, and it becomes a money machine.

I built three niche blogs—one on AI trends, one on mental wellness, and another on productivity hacks. It took about 6 months to see real traffic, but by month 9, I started earning from affiliate marketing, ad revenue (hello, Mediavine), and info product sales.

Works best for: Long-term writers willing to commit Earning potential: $500–$10,000/month Pro tip: Find a high-demand, low-competition niche. Use tools like Ubersuggest or Ahrefs to research keywords before writing.

2. Freelance Writing — Fastest Way to Start Earning

When I needed quick cash, freelance writing saved the day. Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and ProBlogger still offer solid gigs if you have a killer portfolio.

At first, I took on $25 articles, just to build credibility. Within 3 months, I was charging $150+ per blog post, writing for tech startups, online magazines, and even ghostwriting LinkedIn thought pieces.

Works best for: Anyone with writing chops and a hunger to hustle Earning potential: $1,000–$7,000/month Pro tip: Specialize. Niching down into areas like SaaS, fintech, or health can double your rates.

3. Medium Partner Program — Easy to Start, Hard to Scale

I’ll admit, Medium’s Partner Program sounds dreamy. Write what you love, get paid based on engagement. I wrote consistently for 2 months and made... about $160.

But I realized the top earners on Medium usually have big followings or write within trending, “clappy” niches like self-help, entrepreneurship, and relationships.

Works best for: Passion writers and storytellers Earning potential: $20–$2,000/month Pro tip: Focus on building a loyal Medium following. Use a consistent tone and leverage Medium publications to expand reach.

4. Writing and Selling Ebooks — My Secret Weapon

Now we’re talking my language. Selling ebooks is where I’ve found the most creative freedom and passive income.

I've written over 20 short ebooks (10,000 to 20,000 words each) in niches like AI tools, mindfulness, productivity for solopreneurs, and even digital marketing. I sell them through Amazon KDP, Gumroad, and my personal website.

One book took me two weekends to write. It still brings in $300–$500/month on autopilot.

Works best for: Creators with a niche and knowledge to share Earning potential: $500–$10,000/month Pro tip: Keep it short and focused. Solve one clear problem. Great title + killer cover = sales.

5. Ghostwriting — Quiet Work, Loud Payouts

If you don’t mind writing in someone else’s voice, ghostwriting is gold. I’ve ghostwritten ebooks for CEOs, blog posts for influencers, and even dating profiles (yes, really).

Clients often pay a premium because they value time over ego. I once got $2,500 for a 20-page business ebook that took me a week.

Works best for: Writers comfortable with tone-switching Earning potential: $2,000–$20,000/month Pro tip: Get testimonials and samples (with permission). Build trust—you’ll get repeat clients easily.

6. Substack Newsletters — Great for Community, Tricky for Income

Substack’s exploded in the past couple of years. I gave it a go and launched a weekly newsletter on AI tools and writing hacks. It grew slowly but steadily.

The trick? Email marketing isn’t instant. It takes time to build trust and conversions.

That said, once I hit 1,000 subscribers, I introduced a paid tier. About 5% converted, bringing in $250/month to start.

Works best for: Writers with a strong voice and niche Earning potential: $100–$5,000/month Pro tip: Offer exclusive insights, templates, or mini-courses to increase paid sign-ups.

7. Content Writing for Businesses — Underrated Goldmine

Companies are always hungry for blog posts, product descriptions, landing pages, and email campaigns. I collaborated with agencies and directly with brands.

Writing B2B content might not sound sexy, but it pays well—and there’s no shortage of demand.

Works best for: Detail-oriented writers who enjoy research Earning potential: $2,000–$8,000/month Pro tip: Reach out directly to startups. They often need writers but don’t post on platforms.

8. AI-Enhanced Writing Gigs — The 2025 Game-Changer

This is where my geeky AI side kicks in. Tools like Jasper, Writesonic, and ChatGPT have changed the game. I started offering AI-assisted content creation, saving time while maintaining quality.

Clients love it when I say, “You’ll get content 2x faster at no extra cost.” What they don’t know is I’m using AI to draft and then human-editing it.

Works best for: Writers open to tech Earning potential: $3,000–$15,000/month Pro tip: Don’t rely entirely on AI. Blend it with your voice. That’s your edge.

9. Writing for Affiliate Marketing — Slow Burn, Worth It

This one’s not for the impatient. I wrote product reviews, “best of” lists, and tutorials with affiliate links on my blog and Medium. Took months to see traction.

But once SEO kicked in, those posts became passive earners.

One post about “Top AI Tools for Writers” brings in $150/month through affiliate links alone.

Works best for: SEO-savvy, niche writers Earning potential: $100–$10,000/month Pro tip: Be honest and transparent in your reviews. Readers can sniff out fluff.

10. Scriptwriting for YouTube and TikTok — Surprisingly Lucrative

This one surprised me. I wrote faceless scripts for YouTube channels and TikTok creators who just needed strong, engaging storytelling. Think listicles, how-tos, and commentary.

I charged $50–$100 per 60-second script. Once I had a portfolio, I started working with content creators in bulk—writing 20+ scripts per month.

Works best for: Writers who can think visually and hook quickly Earning potential: $1,000–$6,000/month Pro tip: Watch top-performing Shorts and Reels. Mirror the pacing and tone.

So, What Am I Doing Now as a Writer in 2025?

I’ve carved out a nice mix that brings both joy and income.

Freelance writing for select long-term clients

Selling ebooks and templates on Gumroad and KDP

Running two niche blogs with affiliate marketing

AI-enhanced writing services for startups

Ghostwriting short ebooks for entrepreneurs

That blend gives me creative freedom, financial security, and most importantly—time. I choose when and where I work. No burnout. No chasing every trend.

Final Thoughts: What Really Matters?

The truth is, making money writing online is possible. But it takes more than writing well. You need patience, smart strategy, and the courage to experiment.

Start where you are. Try two or three of these methods. See what fits. You don’t have to be a New York Times bestselling author. You just need to solve problems, provide value, and keep showing up.

And hey—if a writer like me can do it, juggling deadlines, AI tools, and life’s chaos—you can too.

Let 2025 be the year you finally get paid for your words.

[d-criss-news]

20 Questions With Darren Criss: How Acting Has Helped Him Make New Music

While Darren Criss has graced our TV screens with a range of characters, from high schooler Blaine Anderson on Glee to serial killer Andrew Cunanan on The Assassination of Gianni Versace, he was last spotted just being himself, on our For You Page on TikTok. “I’m walking to rehearsal with a guitar on my back with a Trader Joe’s bag ... I did not bring an umbrella because I forgot that it was raining. I’m rocking that NYC musician life,” the Glee alum explained in the hilarious clip posted three days ago.

While Criss’ acting work has earned him acclaim and stardom, he leaned into making music during the pandemic. On Aug. 20, he dropped a new EP, Masquerade, featuring five new tracks that Criss says were inspired by the different characters Criss has embraced throughout his career. After Criss wrote songs for his musical comedy web series Royalties and Apple TV+’s animated sitcom Central Park before the pandemic struck the United States, he then used those experiences as a precursor to his new EP. As Criss continues to promote his new music, he answered 20 of Billboard's questions – giving us a peek into how his new EP came together, and how growing up in San Fransisco shaped him as an actor, singer and all-around artist.

1. What inspired your latest project, Masquerade?

Although I would have preferred that it come at a far less grim cost, I finally had the time. Before the pandemic, I had written 10 new songs for my show Royalties -- along with an original song for Disney and another for Apple’s Central Park. These were all assignments in which I was writing for a certain scenario and character. Go figure. It was the most music I had ever written in a calendar year. This really emboldened me to rethink how I made my own music— to start putting a focus on “character creation” in my songs, rather than personal reflection. The latter was not proving to be as productive. The alchemy of having this time and having set a new intention with my own songwriting and producing made me put on a few of my favorite masques and throw myself a Masquerade.

2. How do you think your background as an actor complements your music?

They are one and the same to me. I treat acting roles like musical pieces— dialogue is like scoring a melody; there’s pace, dynamics, cadence, tone. Physical characterization is like producing -- zeroing in on the bass line, deciding on the kick pattern. Vocal characterization is like choosing the right sonic experience, choosing the most effective snare sound, and mixing the high end or low end. It goes without saying that it works in the complete opposite direction. Making each song is taking on a different role literally and employing the use of different masques to maximize the effectiveness of the particular story being told.

3. On Instagram  you wrote that “Masquerade is a small collection of the variety of musical masques that have always inspired me.” Which track do you identify with most in your real life?

Everybody absorbs songs differently. Some key into the lyrics, some into the melody, some the production, some into vocal performance. When I listen to songs, I consider all of their value on totally different scales. So it’s hard to say if there’s any track I “identify” with more than any others, since I -- by nature -- identify with all of them. I think I just identify with certain aspects more than others. If it helps for a more interesting answer, I will say I enjoy the slightly more classical, playful -- dare I say -- more Broadway-leaning wordplay of “Walk of Shame,” but that’s just talking about lyricism. I enjoy the attitude of “F*kn Around,” the batsh--t musicality of “I Can’t Dance,” the relentless grooves of “Let’s” and “For A Night Like This.” All have different ingredients I really enjoy having an excuse to dive into.

4. What’s the first piece of music that you bought for yourself, and what was the medium?

Beatles audio cassettes: “Help” and “Hard Day’s Night.” I just listened on repeat on a tape-playing Walkman until my brother and I got a stereo for our room with a CD player in it, which was  when I just bought the same two albums again, but this time as compact discs.

5. What was the first concert you saw?It’s hard to say, because my parents took us to a lot of classical concerts when we were small. But I guess this question usually refers to what was the first concert you went to on your own volition, and that my friend, was definitely Warped Tour ’01. My brother and I went on our own— two teenagers going to their first music festival, in the golden age of that particular genre and culture. It was f--king incredible.

6. What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid?

My dad was in private banking and advised really, really wealthy people on how to handle their money. My mom was, by choice, a stay-at-home mom, but in reality, she was my dad’s consigliere. They discussed absolutely everything together. They were a real team, and I saw that every single day in the house. They both had a background in finance (That’s how they met in the first place.) and were incredibly skilled at all the hardcore adulting things that I absolutely suck at. They were total finance wizards together. So of course, instead of becoming an accountant, I picked up playing the guitar and ran as far I could with it. Luckily, they were all about it.

7. What was your favorite homecooked meal growing up?

My dad was an incredible chef. For special occasions, I’d request his crab cakes. They were unreal. I’ve never had a crab cake anywhere in the world that was good as my dad’s.

8. Who made you realize you could be an artist full-time?

I don’t know if I’ve actually realized that yet.

9. What’s at the top of your professional bucket list?

The specifics change every day, but the core idea at the top is to continue being consistently inconsistent with my choices, and to keep getting audiences to constantly reconsider their consideration of me. But I mean, sure, what performer doesn’t want to play Coachella? What songwriter doesn’t want to have Adele sing one of their songs? What actor doesn’t want to be in a Wes Anderson film?

10.  How did your hometown/city shape who you are?

San Francisco. I mean, come on. I was really lucky. The older I get, the more grateful I am for just being born and raised there. It’s an incredibly diverse, culturally rich, colorful, inclusive, vibrant city. By the time I was born, it had served as a beacon for millions of creative, out-of-the-box thinkers to gather and thrive. I grew up around that. The combination of that with having parents, who were unbelievably supportive of the arts themselves, laid an incredibly fortunate foundation to consider the life of an artist as a legitimately viable option. It’s a foundation that I am supremely aware is not the case for millions of young artists around the world. I was absurdly lucky.

11.  What’s the last song you listened to?

I mean probably one of mine, but not by choice. I know, lame. But I’m promoting a new EP, what’d you expect? But if you wanna know what I’ve been listening to, as far as new s--t is concerned: a lot of Lizzy McAlpine, Remi Wolf, and Charlie Burg.

12.  If you could see any artist in concert, dead or alive, who would it be?

The Beatles is an obvious "yeah, duh." Sammy Davis, Mel Tormé, or of course, Nat King Cole. I would’ve loved to see Howard Ashman give a lecture on his creative process and his body of work.

13. What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen happen in the crowd of one of your sets?

I feel like just having a crowd at all, at any one of my sets, is pretty wild enough.

14. What’s your karaoke go-to?

The real answer to this I’ll write into a book one day, because I have a lot to say about karaoke etiquette. I have two options here: I can either name a song that I like to sing for me, for fun, or I can name a song that really gets the group going. The answer depends on what kind of karaoke night we’re dealing with here. So I will say, after I’ve selected a ton of songs that services a decent enough party vibe for everyone else, then I would do one for me, and that would be the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling.”

15. What’s one thing your most devoted fans don’t know about you?

What I have up my sleeve.

16. What TV show did you binge-watch over the past year?

Dave is a stroke of genius. There are episodes that I believe are bona fide masterpieces. Also, My Brilliant Friend is a masterclass in cinematic television.

17. What movie, or song, always makes you cry?

It’s A Wonderful Life.

18. What’s one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

Get used to sharing everything about yourself and your life now, or more astutely, to the idea that you don’t necessarily get to control how your life is shared. I know it’s not really your thing, but you’re gonna have to get used to it, so start building up those calluses now. And don’t worry, all the stuff you love now will be cool again in your mid-thirties, so keep some of those clothes because you’ll be a full-blown fashion icon if you just keep wearing exactly what you’re wearing. Oh nd also, put money into Apple and Facebook.

19.  What new hobby did you take on in the last year?

I’ve always been a linguaphile. My idea of leisure time is getting to study or review other languages. This past year, I took the time to finally dive into learning how to read, write, and speak Japanese. Other than making music, it was one of the biggest components of my 2020-2021.

20. What do you hope to accomplish or experience by the end of 2021?

I hope I get to play live shows again.

[sauvryn]

Yes, this IS just terribly sad, but not for the reasons that everyone thinks. It's sad because it is slander.

Okay so I'm gonna finally talk about this garbage article, because I keep randomly finding it in search results. I need to get it off my chest and Tumblr feels like the safest space for a rant. I am Jason's wife in real life - his legal spouse of almost 10 years. The article that the OP linked to was written by Jason's oldest son from a previous marriage, whom I have never met and didn't have any particular impressions of. Apparently, it was published in December of 2022. Want to know when Jason and I found out about it? May 2023. And we only did because I happened to see a Babylon 5 fan on Facebook post a link to it in response to the B5 animated film announcement, in a reply to another fan wondering why Jason wasn't involved with the project. The fan speculated that it was perhaps because of how Jason was purportedly "difficult to work with" and "his character probably killed off" due to personality changes from his TBI, as it said in the article.

What? I was shaken. I read it.

I told Jason about it. He read it.

It was very painful.

We decided the best course of action was not to give it any more oxygen, though the desire was strong to write a point-by-point rebuttal to the absolutely stunning amount of misinformation, assumptions, and assertions present in the article. Little to none of the information had been verified directly with Jason, nor with his brothers or mother (two of which still don't know about the article, and we are trying to keep it that way for now). There's a lot of "I've heard..." and "I've been told..." in the article. Like, by who? Jason's ex-wife, maybe, who isn't exactly his biggest fan? Who are these sources? I looked on Twitter and apparently a fan brought the article to the attention of JMS (the creator of Babylon 5) and asked if it was true, and JMS said he never saw any aggressive, unprofessional, etc. behavior from Jason. Which is expected because - before TBI or after - that's never been Jason.

I'm not relating much of Jason's personal reactions here because I don't want it getting back to his son and causing additional drama (or, worse, another article) - that's something that needs to be worked out privately between the two of them eventually. As for my own reaction: the article personally angered and saddened me. It - intentionally or not - drags Jason's legacy through the mud with what amounts to honeyed slander while waving a clickbait title to drive traffic by banking on his fame and, worst of all, supposedly is written from a place of "compassion" and "love". It's disgusting to read and does a horrible disservice to fans of Jason by presenting supposed "truths" about his history, personality, and professionalism from what would otherwise reasonably appear to be a reliable source. Sadly, the comments on Medium do not appear to doubt the author's account in the slightest. From what I have heard from the fans I have talked to on Facebook that read it, they hadn't thought to question the article's validity either and some even believed it was published with Jason's knowledge, both of which couldn't be farther from the truth.

Do I think his son actually believes everything that he wrote? Yes, I think this is how he has rationalized his past in order to try and make peace with it.

Do I think his son is being purposely malicious? No. Again, I think he believes he's just telling the truth of his experience and may even believe he's helping others by relating it.

Does any of that make it better? Absolutely not. Ignorant slander is still slander, which is especially hurtful from a child who is likely getting their "facts" from the other divorced parent and the associated relatives.

Anyway, my advice to anyone reading this: if you have issues with a parent about your childhood, at least please try talking to them directly to ask about the reasons behind why they made certain choices that negatively affected you. Don't instead silently look for something to point at (an accident, a mental issue, etc.) to fantasize that parent into a total victim of that condition, in a misguided attempt to banish your anger by artificially transmuting it into pity.

Marcus was my absolute favorite on B5. This is just terribly sad.

[currently-exsisting]

Coins & Coffee Shop (Akaashi Keiji)

Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Pure Fluff, Second Hand Embarrassment

Word Count: ~1.5K

A/N: You can't tell me Akaashi's demeanor doesn't scream dark academia vibes and I'm totally here for it. Also, this is my first post here so I hope you guys like it and I'm always open for constructive criticism! (ꈍᴗꈍ)

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ

Everyone has little aspects about them that make them unique. No one has the same features as anyone else but people do share common traits among each other. (Y/N) was known to be many things. She was intellectual, indecisive, inquisitive, sometimes lazier than she would like to admit. But above all these things, (Y/N) was an honorary member of the klutz society. It’s not that she chose to constantly trip on her own feet or overlook the miscellaneous sock that somehow found its way out of the laundry basket, it was just that the universe had placed some unspoken curse on her that bound her to these actions in her everyday life. Some days seemed to consist of fewer misdemeanors than others. Today was seemingly one of those.

(Y/N) had just finished her second interview of the week and so she went to treat herself at a small coffee shop located in the quieter part of town. Although it is labeled as a coffee shop, the young woman was never a fan of the bitter drinks most adults fawn over. Her typical order consisted of a medium-sized hot, Darjeeling tea. She preferred to use honey as a sweetener because it added a unique flavor otherwise unattainable.

She entered the small coffee shop and made her way to the barista to place her order. She didn’t give her surroundings much thought, her mind was wandering, thinking about the latest article she wrote for the local newspaper.

“Hello miss, how may I help you today?” She placed her order with a lopsided smile, her mind still not completely present.

“That will be $3.25 please.” (Y/N)’s fingers fumbled around as she was reaching for the correct amount of change, causing a few dimes and pennies to fall on the haphazardly cleaned floor.

She muttered a small sorry as she scrambled around to gather the few coins, mentally cursing the mere existence of them. Just as her finger reached to pick up the last coin, a stranger’s long, skinny fingers brushed up against hers.

“Oh thank you!” (Y/N) pulled her hand away after the stranger gave her the discarded coin. She hadn’t looked at his eyes yet, far too embarrassed to even look at his face.

That was until her stranger let out his first few words. “It was no problem.” Quickly (Y/N) raised her head, causing a sharp pain to shoot up her neck. Her slight grimace faded into a nervous smile, completed with wide eyes. The boy- no, the man in front of her was nothing short of angelic. His face could easily be mistaken for that of a Greek god. His slightly shaggy, raven hair fell on his forehead, framing his face. His cerulean eyes looked like they were unintentionally piercing into (Y/N)’s thoughts. And, as if he was able to use those eyes to read her thoughts, a small smile gracing his lips. (Y/N) were in the presence of an angel, there was no doubt about it. However, her heavenly daydream quickly crash-landed back on earth when the barista let out a forced cough.

(Y/N)’s eyes widened even more- if that was possible- as she realized her situation. She quickly tore her eyes off the stranger without another acknowledgment and turned back to the counter. She grabbed her tea, nodding her head in both gratitude and apology. (Y/N)’s mind, still hazy from the multiple levels of embarrassment she caused herself, didn’t conceive the idea that the man standing behind her was also in line and didn’t, as she previously thought, move away after helping her.

She whipped her whole body around yet again, itching with the idea of escaping the immense tension she created and misplaced her feet. Her legs tangled together like a braid, causing her to lose what little balance and dignity she had left.

It’s not that she meant to trip and spill her tea all over him; it was just the way of her people. People that she never disliked more than in that singular moment. (Y/N) looked up at the stranger, who was now holding her shoulders back to keep from falling over, for the second time in the span of two minutes. Except, this time he was covered in a light yellow-brown drink, his face contorted due to the hot tea burning his skin.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so so sorry!” (Y/N) scrambled to grab some napkins that were placed on the counter. She pushed him down into a nearby chair as she dabbed the napkin over her shirt. Her hands came across his abdominal area and she felt the hardness of his abs. Her indecipherable tangent of apologies paused and her cheeks flushed to an even brighter red.

It seemed as if the tea had cooled off because the man let out a small chuckle. His hand reached down to grab her wrist but he didn’t pull it away. (Y/N)’s eyes were still stuck gazing at the light brown shirt, speckled with unorganized dots of darker brown. When he grabbed her hand she slowly lifted her face. And without meeting his eyes, she let out another meek apology.

“It’s alright, you won’t be able to remove the stains or the dampness with a napkin. I was on my way home anyway so don’t feel bad about it.” His face had returned to the relaxed, nonchalant expression he had on previously. His cheeks were tinted a faint light pink color but he attempted to force the color to seep back into its typical hue.

“But I have to make it up to you somehow.” Her eyes wandered around the small cafe, thinking of something she could do for the gorgeous man. “Oh! Let me pay for whatever you were about to buy! It’s the least I can do and I am not taking no for an answer.” (Y/N)’s expression lit up as she stood back up from her crouching position. Her cheeks that had just started to lose their pinkish tint flamed up again when she realized the man hadn’t let go of her hand.

He slowly, almost reluctantly, let go of her wrist as he let out a small nod and stood up alongside her. “What’s your order?”

“A medium Earl Grey tea” The man, as (Y/N) had picked up, didn’t say or do more than was necessary. It wasn’t that he was careless but rather extremely reserved. Noticing this, (Y/N) let out another smile.

“Do you prefer tea over coffee as well? My favorite is Darjeeling but Earl Grey is delicious as well, it has a sort of musky yet elegant taste.” The man shook his head in another slight nod but this time it seemed as if he was more intrigued by the conversation. His eyes were focused on her as she placed the order yet again, this time paying in full bills instead of reaching for change.

(Y/N) turned her head around, slowly this time, after she got both their drinks. Her eyes caught on his piercing blue ones yet again and she felt her heart skip a beat. She acknowledged the upward tilt of his lips but decided not to comment on it. “Do you mind if I join you?” Heading towards a pair of chairs set around a mini coffee table by the window. The man simply shook his head and sat across from her. They conversed about their lives for a bit until their drinks had cooled down and they seemed to be well acquainted with each other.

“Oh, where are my manners? My name is (Y/N) (L/N), and again, I'm so sorry for inconveniencing you.” She took a sip of her tea and placed it down on the table.

“Akaashi Keiji; and like I said, don't worry about it. You do have a way of attracting clumsiness though.” (Y/N) looked away, embarrassment creeping up on her again.

Nodding her head she let out a sigh, “I can’t help it. The more I think about fixing my klutzy nature, the more it becomes prominent.” She reaches her hand to grab her cup. “I need some sort of anti-klutz device.” Rolling her eyes, (Y/N) wasn’t exactly paying attention as to where her hand was headed. Just as her wrist knocked the edge of her cup, Akaashi’s hand jolted out to hold the drink steady. (Y/N)’s brows crinkled and she rested her head in her hands in frustration. “See!”

Akaashi’s smile grew larger.“I don’t know about an anti-klutz device but I’ve had my fair share of clumsy friends so I can be of some assistance.”

(Y/N) peaked out from between her fingers, “You mean you want to willingly spend time with a hazard such as myself.” She said that as a joke of course, but Akaashi still nodded in his nonchalant manner.

“ Did you know that it is a person’s nervous system that causes them to be more or less clumsy?” he hummed and continued, now looking at the young woman in front of him that had him infatuated in her, “I can’t change your clumsiness, but I can be there to catch you if it causes you to fall.”

[yvynyl]

// Letters to YVYNYL //

Little Fuss "Watch Out"

/ I've been a bit checked out of the internet this year, despite endless swiping my way through my dumb phone. I came across this letter today and it made me remember how many wonderful songs I get here and how great it is to touch base with artists who are still slogging along in this swamp as the rest of us. Have a listen to this new lovely new song from duo Cody Von Lehmden and Olivia Martinez.

Hi Mark!

First of all, I want to thank you for curating this blog and all you do for the music community. I know firsthand how big of an impact you have had on individual artists and creators as a whole. In fact, it feels like a wild, full-circle moment to be writing to you because, in a very direct way, YVYNYL is responsible for starting my own music career.

Nearly five years ago my brother, who was in my band, The Candescents, wrote to you in what we saw as a longshot that anyone would take a chance on a small, upstart indie band from rural Ohio. You decided to feature us, however, based on nothing but a self-produced song and a few grainy photographs. I remember waking up on the morning after it was released to a flurry of excited messages from my bandmates, and we watched as your blog post slowly caused the song to spread across the internet—gaining traction from an army of bloggers and deep-internet music lovers.

It was perhaps the most exciting and fulfilling moment of my entire life to see absolute strangers supporting something that I was a part of. Little did I know at the time, your decision to feature us and our music would start me out on a half-decade journey that would culminate with getting signed to Dirty Hit Records, going on several North American tours, and forming a life based around my love for music. While I consider myself lucky to have been a part of such a dream scenario, both my brother and I departed in early 2019—the reasons for which could be an entire article in itself!!

The world however keeps turning, and I have somehow found the past couple years to be even more exciting than the last. After leaving the band, I packed up all of my possessions and music equipment into my car and drove to the east coast—with little direction or purpose other than my desire to continue making music. I ended up in Boston where I auditioned for Berklee College of Music and was accepted to study in Valencia, Spain. While studying abroad, I met Olivia Martinez, and immediately we bonded over a shared passion for cheap wine and creating art. Since being kicked out of Spain due to COVID, we’ve remained singularly committed to growing together as artists, and our project, Little Fuss, has become our medium into which we have put all of our energy. Our single “Watch Out” and accompanying self-shot music video is the first taste from our debut EP.

Both lyrically and musically, this song represents the need for us to keep pushing forward as songwriters and not become complacent in following a set formula. The need for discovery is an intangible part of what makes this band so special, and that is perhaps best exemplified by our DIY approach to almost every aspect of our music. All of the supporting material, including the video and artwork, was completely done by ourselves during quarantine. The music video in particular was shot and edited over the course of two days and is our first foray into videography. We couldn’t be more proud to share this art with you that we care so deeply about, and we hope that you enjoy it!

Over the past year, this project has served as a constant reminder to only look back as a means to appreciate what you have. Because of that, I don’t view Little Fuss through the lens of The Candescents, but rather as a completely separate and important entity. This song is just the start of what I know to be a long and fruitful songwriting partnership, and we would greatly appreciate it if you considered featuring us on your blog!

Thank you for reading!

- Cody Von Lehmden

Support YVYNYL, an independent music project here!

Got a story to tell? Submit it to Letters to YVYNYL.

Instagram + Twitter + Facebook + Bandcamp

[aion-rsa]

How Dear Evan Hansen Changes the Musical’s Ending

https://ift.tt/2XGJPiD

This article contains Dear Evan Hansen spoilers, both for the movie and the stage show.

No matter how you come to the story of Dear Evan Hansen, and regardless of the medium, things always have to end at the same apple orchard. It’s fitting since Evan’s first major lie about Connor Murphy, the boy who killed himself, was that they spent whole days in the then-abandoned orchard, talking about girls, boats, and whatever other fantasies Evan could concoct. And it’s here that Zoe Murphy, Connor’s younger sister, requests Evan meet her for the story’s final scene.

This is true of the stage show, which took Broadway by storm five years ago—winning six Tonys including for Best Musical and Best Actor for Ben Platt—and it’s the same for the movie, with Platt’s Evan coming to a now renewed orchard and sitting with the cinematic Zoe (Kaitlyn Dever). Among the trees, Evan can see at least one good thing that came out of his lies: The Connor Murphy Project reopened this small slice of paradise.

Yet how Dear Evan Hansen gets to that moment in the movie is drastically different from the stage musical. Then again, so is the world in the five years since the musical’s Broadway debut (and six since it was first performed in Washington D.C.). Hence why director Stephen Chbosky and screenwriter Steven Levenson, who adapted his own book from the stage, have attempted to adjust to our current social climate. The new ending addresses the harshest criticisms about the Evan Hansen character, and the values his tale might promote. This is, after all, a musical about a troubled young man who exploits the suicide of a stranger in his school to increase his popularity and to insinuate himself into the dead boy’s family.

But is the new ending an actual improvement? Well…

How Dear Evan Hansen Ends on Stage

The entire narrative of Dear Evan Hansen pivots on a misunderstanding between Evan and the Murphy family as the latter grieve over the suicide of Connor. When Connor’s parents, Cynthia and Larry, first misconstrue Evan’s letter to himself as their son’s suicide note, Evan attempts to correct them. However, they seem so heartbroken, and Evan is so desperate to please and be accepted—by anyone—he quickly goes along with it and begins spinning tales about his and Connor’s intimate friendship.

The musical is thus a rising crescendo that builds as Evan climbs higher and higher off his mistruths. So the inevitable moment where his house of cards comes crashing down is the narrative’s real climax. And yet, in the original version of Dear Evan Hansen, the story more or less ends right there. After Evan confesses in the song “Words Fail” that he lied about the letter and his entire friendship with Connor, the horrified Murphys walk away from him one by one, with various degrees of disgust. He then comes clean to his mother in the final big song of the show, “So Big / So Small,” where she comforts her son. She’ll never walk away.

The musical then quickly jumps one year into the future, with Evan revealed to be working part-time and attending community college, hoping to save up enough money to someday attend a university. Zoe, who’s now a senior in high school, invites Evan to the orchard where he thanks her family for never revealing his secret to the public—never telling the world he lied about Connor. And, rather incredulously, Zoe absolves Evan and the audience of any guilt. She says, “Everybody needed [the lie] for something.” She even goes so far to say it “saved my parents.” It brought her family closer together.

So while it’s still bittersweet since Evan’s relationship with the Murphys, including Zoe, is forever severed, there are still no real consequences for Evan other than Cynthia and Larry won’t pay for his college education. Even his guilt is assuaged, and he can brag to Zoe that he’s been reading the 10 books Connor said were his favorites in eighth grade. The show more or less ends in a figurative group hug by omitting through a time jump all of the messy fallout from his choices.

How Dear Evan Hansen the Movie Ends

In the film, “Words Fail” is still the climax of the story, with Evan confessing his sins and Zoe walking away. However, in one telling addition, Cynthia (played with delicate fragility by Amy Adams) is barely able to whisper, “I think it’s time for you to leave” while holding back tears. Since she was Evan’s biggest champion, that she is now the one who states explicitly he is disinvited from their home hits hardest.

Then after Evan’s heart-to-heart with his mother (Julianne Moore), we actually see Evan attempt to make amends for his misdeeds. For starters, the whole reason the truth finally came out in both versions of the story is because of the machinations of a schoolmate named Alana (Amandla Stenberg in the film), who accidentally unleashed a whole social media mob on the Murphys, with randos on the internet blaming the parents for Connor’s suicide.

On stage, this plot element is entirely dropped after Evan confesses to the Murphys, who presumably bear the brunt of the social media hate in quiet while protecting Evan’s secret. In the film though, Evan actually attempts to talk to Zoe in school the following week and she asks him to leave her alone. She also reveals the only reason her parents haven’t unmasked what Evan did is because “they’re afraid you’ll do something to yourself.” Like Connor.

Thus Evan gets on Twitter that night and tells the world, “[The Murphys] don’t deserve your hate. I do.” He confesses. Afterward, he again becomes a high school pariah, but we learn in montage he is more content this way as he tries to make further amends to the Murphys by not only reading Connor’s favorite books but tracking down someone’s phone video of Connor during his stint in rehab. Evan even finds footage of Connor playing his guitar, a feat he hid from his parents. The new song “A Little Closer,” which scores the final montage, is revealed to be a melody Connor wrote and sang in rehab, and Evan is able to at least mail that to Connor’s parents. He’s finally given them something true that they didn’t know about their son.

Only then, before the current school year ends, does Zoe invite Evan to an apple orchard and they reminisce about what might’ve been.

Does It Improve Evan Hansen and the Story?

The clear implication for adding these sequences, plus a song that the real Connor Murphy character can sing, is intended to fix the moral and thematic slipperiness at the heart of Dear Evan Hansen. Through a series of hummable ballads by songwriters Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, and some heartbreaking performances, including by Platt in the original cast, the stage production relies on the power of its emotions to overwhelm logic or deeper analysis. Some might even say it manipulates.

Yet over the years, the musical has had its fair share of detractors who pointed out how calculating and toxic the Evan Hansen character can appear. And the fact the musical just ends on the emotional high point without actually bothering to sift through the wreckage of what Evan did has always been a cheat.

Conversely, there are a few fleeting sequences in the stage version where the musical at least briefly seems to consider its darker implications. Evan’s loose group of (bad) friends in Alana and Jared contribute to this element in the song “Good for You,” where they sing in unison, “Well, I guess if I’m not of use, go ahead, you can cut me loose. Go ahead now, I won’t mind.”

The Alana relationship is particularly interesting in the show since it is only after she demands of Evan “how” will he raise $17,000 that he shows her Connor’s “suicide note.” He immediately protests after she decides to post it online, but did he not on some level show it to her in order for her to use it to raise $17,000 and reopen the apple orchard? After this scene, Alana ghosts him, suggesting she was herself only using Evan to brandish her social clout in the school and, eventually, her college applications.

The Dear Evan Hansen movie tries to wipe even this thorniness away. The context of Evan showing the note to Alana is handled slightly differently, but as a consequence there’s no ambiguity on why he showed it to her—he did not intend for her to share it online. She also, like Evan, is softened around the edges when she does answer Evan’s ringing phone on-screen and cries that she tried to take the letter down but it’s still all over social media.

The logic behind the change would seem to make both Evan and Alana more purely sympathetic and blameless for their mistakes. In Alana’s case, she isn’t a master manipulator, and in Evan’s case it is beyond his control when others take things too far. He then puts in the work to help the Murphys, beginning by admitting to the world his dishonesty.

Read more

Movies

Will Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Reignite Love for Movie Musicals?

By David Crow

TV

Hawkeye Trailer Finally Brings Captain America Musical to the Stage

By David Crow

These were obviously conscious choices made after the five years and full lifetime which passed since 2016—a year where Barack Obama was still president and the #MeToo movement hadn’t yet occurred. Now in an age where social accountability, especially in online life, and alleged authenticity are valued more than ever, having a hero who lies to the world and gets away with it is inherently problematic. So the flaws in Evan’s choices, and even Alana’s, are “fixed” with crocodile tears of regret from Alana, and then Evan making an actual effort to atone for his mistakes.

Yet I would argue it doesn’t actually improve the fundamental issues with the musical. In the case of Alana, having a character show the ugly side of social manipulation, even among ostensibly sympathetic figures, was one of the truer impulses in a story that otherwise glorifies the healing power of finding validation from strangers on the internet. While both the film and show also depict the downside of online life with a discordant singing hydra coming after the Murphys, it’s only because of a couple of misguided mistakes. And in the case of the stage show, the larger message is Evan’s musical platitudes are simply too powerful (or profitable) for the Murphys to shatter.

In 2021, Evan and his creators make the choice that he can admit his mistakes. Yet the story still attempts to justify Evan’s actions, which ironically puts the film at odds with itself. It basks in the splendor of Evan’s self-help ballad, “You Will Be Found,” and then shows him suffering comeuppance for lying—even if Zoe still gives him final absolution.

The one significant change that clicks for me is Evan at least seeking out some hidden truth about Connor, and sharing it with the real people who actually loved him instead of strangers, who in turn would only again offer performative gestures and signaled virtue toward a kid they otherwise ignored. Hearing Colton Ryan’s Connor sing for himself—for the first time in any medium—and not merely be a puppet for Evan’s self-serving fantasies was a significant, moving improvement over how this thread is resolved on the stage.

Still, I think going further in that direction with Evan realizing the crassness of what he created, and the emptiness of his bromides, would’ve made this a more interesting narrative. But what do I know? My instincts wouldn’t have turned this into a Broadway anthem for Generation Z. So how about yourself? Do you like the new ending to Dear Evan Hansen?

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post How Dear Evan Hansen Changes the Musical’s Ending appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2ZlN281

[leechonspeeddial]

500 Milestone Celebration

A couple of days ago I promised I'd post the only surving fanfic I wrote from back in elementary school.

So without further ado, here we have the whole thing including author's notes. Truly, it's such a throwback.

Here's the link if you prefer reading it from the source.

So I edited this story because I found that editing helps you find mistakes and find how weird something may or may not sound like :/. So please review, I want to know what you think, even if you hate it, even flame me if you want. All I want is feedback so I know how to improve my writing.

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

xXx

Of in the distance he could hear the church's bells strike midnight, even if it was at least a mile away. The cold winds of the night blew harshly and got inside the barn he was in; it didn't bother him, it barely even affect him, the strong winds of winter felt like ghost hands on his skin, and they didn't feel cold at all, he was never cold; not since that day, and he didn't care.

The only thing on his mind at the moment was the girl on his arms. She was so pretty, her blonde hair was long, it reached her waits and it felt like silk. Her skin was her skin was pale, but not overly so, unlike his, his was a dead white. And her eyes, oh her eyes, they were blue, so beautiful almost violet, but they were close at the moment. Over all she was fragile and weak, so easy to break, like a little china doll. However, the most enchanting thing about her was her smell, it was desirable and captivating. He couldn't wait to taste it.

He sank his teeth into her neck slowly; the taste of her blood was intoxicating, it was the sweetest blood he had yet tasted. It was somewhat exotic. Blood drops made a trail down her neck and down his fingers. He could feel her live leave her body, he could feel the heat leaving and being replaced by coldness. She would not feel it as she was knock out cold. He detested when they struggled and creamed, it was very unattractive and more often than not made the whole thing not pleasurable at all.

The only thing he needed to do was getting close enough to charm them; the most beautiful, gullible and... With weaker abilities of observation were the ones he wanted. He only needed to show his God-like face, and then everything else fell nicely on its place. First, planting the seed; giving them enough doubt for them to pursue them. Second, make them want him yet making it seem impossible for them to be together; this only increased their curiosity and intrigued them into falling deeper. Third, show some unbelievable powers; again, to get them to grow an interest for him. Fourth and final step was admitting what he was to them. Those steps got him so many beautiful preys at his finger tips, and their taste was simply exquisite.

Now he held her corpse; Rosalie Hale was her name, she was 19 years old and the daughter of a very influential businessman. However, he would never find out she died this gruesome dead, he had left a note telling him they had decided to elope, that she would never forgive him for refusing to give them his blessing and that she would never speak to him again.

As much as he loved to see Rosalie's dead face, a face full of pain and discomfort, he needed to get rid of it. It wasn't hard, the dogs always did an excellent job, and he couldn't help the smile that broke on his gorgeous face. He stayed as the dogs fought with each other over the girl's dead body, as they ripped her skin, viciously bit her bones and body, and like animals they were, sloppily dismembered her body.

Suddenly someone banged on the doors of the barn, there was screaming outside and it sounded like a crowd was trying to make his way in. He snarled, he most have tuned out the outside noises; he did enjoy watching them too much. He left the dogs and made his escape, by dawn he would miles away from here.

After that day, he became less careful...

xXx

The police entered the warehouse; the smell filled the air around them, the smell of dead, of rotten. Somebody had called; they had heard some screaming and barking and thought somebody was breaking and entering on the abandoned warehouse. The sight that greeted them was horrifying, some of the officers had to throw up, Leah Clearwater's body laid there, not that they knew who she was as her dismembered body was too mauled and too ripped to find her identity, her blood spilled on the floor and splattered on the walls. She lay on a pool of blood, but not only her own, flies flew and ate the remainder of her body, they also found the corpses of dead dogs, and they seemed starved and beaten. They knew this scene too well this is what greeted the police all across the country, no one could ever catch the killer, and it has been going on for over a century, no one knows how it's possible. But they know they will do everything possible to catch it. There was always hope, wasn't there?

xXx

Forks was a very rainy city. He enjoyed it thought, it made him think of England; he had always wanted to go there but wasn't able to live the country he grew up on. He sat on the small cafe pretending to drink coffee, he had moved 2 years ago and the area held a great amount of beauties and delicious blood. He never moved away immediately after killing that was too suspicious, instead he stayed for a while before deciding where to go next.

As he sat reading the local newspaper, which had a one page article on the murder of Leah Clearwater, a young brunette walked by, she had medium colour brown hair and pale skin; she was pretty, but not on the same page as his past victims. He knew who she was; she was Isabella Swan the daughter of the police chief. He had seen her before, and had the pleasure to witness her extreme clumsiness. What happened was she had tripped over her own feet and bumped onto his back, he settled her so she didn't fall and then her scent hit him like a brick wall; it was something he had never smelled before, no words could describe it. Since that day he swore he was going to drink it no matter what.

Isabella, 'Bella' he mused, spotted him and smiled and waved at him; he did the same. Little he knew what was crossing her mind at the moment. That the clumsy beauty smiling and waving in front of him was going to end his cruel ways once and for all, little did he know she knew all the lives he had ended and the pain he had caused, little did he know she was worse than him and was hiding a greater secret than he could ever imagine...

xXx

PS: If you didn't know who it was, it was our charming Edward Cullen.

PPS: REVIEW!

[alfrett]

My first Sims 4 home 🙂🙌🏼

Hi there! After a week thinking about in my first post on tumblr, finally i’ve decided to post my first Sims 4 content.

So this is my first Sims 4 home, well ... actually this is the 2nd, because when i started to play i’ve lived in one of the small apartments at the Fashion District (Zen View) but it was technically impossible to build or decorate because of the tiny size. At this time i’m playing without the money cheat, so it took some time to my sim would affords a new apartment and finally after having it fully furnished i could show my home. 🙂

Welcome to the 122 Hakim House! Located in the Arts Quarter, this historical trait apartment offers extraordinary views to the other side of San Myshuno Bay and of course a lot of space for my two sims who live inside (in another post i’ll be telling you more about their story).

First of all, my sims love the natural appearance of materials such as: wood, concrete, stone, marble, metals, glass, leather, etc ... so i’ve mix them with contemporary iconic furniture to give a young fresh air to this apartment where my two young adult sims live.

Let’s start the tour! 😁

At the entry we have a small hall with the essentials: a marble console, a lamp, a round mirror, one coat rack ... and also we have this black and gold Art Déco wallpaper on the background wall which matches the runner rug in the hallway that connects with the study double door.

My sims needed a private space for developing the writing skills asked in their job and also a quiet room for reading and creating social media content, so we got this amazing office at home. I really love the geometrical wood panel at the back wall that also has a big window that allows the natural light to comes in the room and of course that bitonal rug that i’ve got in real life in my living room hahaha.

This office is just perfect for receiving visits or clients for a quick business meeting without any disturb.

And we have arrived to my favorite part of the apartment: the big social area! At the dining room we have this six seats glass round table that allow us to have many friends diner during the week, i choose this amazing Magis One chairs in black iron that goes in a perfect match with the white round faux fur rug and the gold nordic ceiling lamps in the area 😍

Of course our guest could enjoy their favorite shows during their visit on the 65” Samsung Serif Smart TV that doesn’t breaks the environment with the easel style support.

My sims love to have a lot of plants inside the house so they have this special variety of plants in front of the full sized windows ... another detail i love is that we saved a lot of space with that functional bar trolley instead of having a big bar counter and that decision give us the space for having a piano next to the dining room.

The central part of the apartment belongs to the open central kitchen which has its counters and cabinets in medium walnut wood with chrome details and white marble tops. The floor and walls are in geometrical black and white patterns, and i decided to give that high contrast accent with a shiny orange color applied in the exterior walls and in the Kartell Ghost barstools, all the appliances are in stainless steel finish but the ceiling lamps was selected in bright gold to highlight their particular shapes.

The living room is just a dream! 😍 We have this Scandinavian fireplace in black iron that goes in perfect harmony with the furniture: a central Noguchi coffee table in glass and walnut wood, two Wegner Shell chairs in walnut wood and black leather, of course a Barcelona daybed in brown leather with another two sofas in black and white leather.

The geometrical lattice in medium walnut wood divides the social area from the guest bathroom and the Master suite creating another small hall in that part of the apartment.

The guest bathroom is fully in black Argos marble with a white vessel sink, a simple white toilet complementing with the solid black floating counters.

The bedroom is spacious, we have a normal double bed with a closet area, a marble desk that allows to work or entertain with the laptop and a mini lounge with a bench and a chaise longue in front of the 55” Smart TV.

All of the seats in this room are in saddle leather with black or chrome metal parts matching with the wood and marble coffee table and side table

The private bathroom in white Carrara marble, is the positive version of the other bathroom.

We have a pair of white porcelain vessel sinks whit a huge mirror in front of the glass shower cabin, a toilet with a hand-held bidet shower system, and of course a white ceramic clawfoot bathtub.

This apartment offers spectacular views by night, so you can organize fancy parties and diners whenever you want with the guarantee that your guest will be absolutely impressed 😍

Here is the layout plan if you was lost on the tour hahaha 😉

Finally I would like to thank infinitely to all of the CC creators that make my game possible in this way, i have a lot of CC in my game so is kind of impossible to mention each of you in this post, but i sincerely appreciate your work and passion in every single object you made. ALL OF YOU ARE JUST AMAZING! 🤗 ❤️

Thanks a lot to YOU if you read the full article, I wrote it for all of your who read me!

Hope to see you again here 🙌🏼

Sul sul! 👋🏼

Alfrett

[alissable]

I finished reading this over the weekend and have thoughts.

First, I really want to read the original essay online (if it's still around). Luna originally posted an article on Medium and it took off, so she added a bit more context, other people's stories, and a lot of graphics. I mean, A LOT. To the point where it was distracting and difficult to read.

The idea behind it is to help you find your passion. You live your life according to Shoulds, which are basically other people's expectations of you. You SHOULD go to business school, you SHOULD do that internship, you SHOULD get a good job in this field. But what is your MUST? What do you feel like you must do, if all the other Shoulds didn't matter?

I do appreciate she had some guidance to the usual excuses and reasons. I can't just quit my job to do X because I have bills to pay. She helped appease those (real, rational) concerns by readjusting expectations and having you reevaluate what you really need.

While I'm not super inspired to upheave my life, it did remind me that I love telling stories. I'm not sure entirely what medium is for me, but I do enjoy writing. A few years ago I wrote an entire detailed outline and some basic history to an epic fantasy series, and I found those last night. Rereading those, I'm finding inspiration to get back to it... sorta. I want to learn how to write, and write well. I don't think I'm up to the task of writing a full fledged series... yet.

I did decide to start a separate tumblr and post some stories I'll be writing. No guarantee they'll be any good or of interest to you, but if you want to check it out here it is: alissatrieswriting

[things2mustdo]

Bitcoin is further evidence that the “glass ceiling,” the idea that women are kept from reaching the ranks in corporations and in financial success because of a nebulous “patriarchy,” is nonsense.

Economists have disproved the glass ceiling on more than one occasion in the past, so the more well-read will not be shocked by this. Yet, the existence of the glass ceiling has remained a major talking point for feminists. The silence of feminists during the rise of Bitcoin has been deafening.

Bitcoin is an interesting case study because it is modern and doesn’t have the excuses that you hear when the glass ceiling argument breaks out. There is no Bitcoin establishment or “old boys’ club,” because Bitcoin has no establishment. Bitcoin is hardly established, and there is no one central authority.

Feminists claim that “institutions have always had biases” and “it’s a man’s game,” but Bitcoin didn’t come with any biases. It didn’t come with anything. It was nothing ten years ago, and its meteoric growth is well-known.

Bitcoin was created in 2009, a time where women had established themselves in various industries, most notably tech (see: Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sandberg). Nine years later, only three percent (at most) of Bitcoin use (suggested through Bitcoin community engagement) is by women.

Is this the patriarchy keeping women from investing? No. There is nothing that stops women from investing in Bitcoin. Women don’t even need to go to banks to introduce an intermediary which could discriminate against them.

So why aren’t more women investing in Bitcoin? There are a number of reasons for this.

1. Bitcoin is Boring

There are no emotions involved in cryptocurrency investing. Women are more likely to get involved in areas that stir their emotions, from the social sciences to humanitarian work to political rallies.

Bitcoin is mathematical. It was created with a white paper and some computer programming. Since more women take up studies in the arts or humanities than math, it is more difficult to understand the concept and takes more work.

Also, because women prefer soft subjects to hard ones, women end up in jobs related to the arts and humanities versus the hard sciences. They will be more likely surrounded by men and mostly women that also did not study math and computer science and will not be interested in—or understand—Bitcoin.

In addition, Bitcoin isn’t tangible. You can’t feel it in your hands, so you cannot wave it around to boost or lower your status without hopping on a male-centric Reddit page (HODL!!). This reduces the emotional connection to it because there is no physical thing to attach a feeling to. Where money can be a sign of prosperity or options, the numbers in a bit wallet are less tangible.

2. There Is A Lot Of Risk

Women generally value security and strength, which we have seen in relationship dynamics and the number of careers chosen as opposed to entrepreneurs. Men are more willing to take chances.

One of Bitcoin’s tenets is that it is less risky than fiat dollars because it is not subject to inflation and to crumbling governments, so it should be more stable. However, Bitcoin is still young and has a wildly fluctuating value. It is this perceived value that people see as risky, not the idea. It is these wild fluctuations in value that appeal to men.

Bitcoin is also a long-term investment. Bitcoin believers believe the cryptocurrency will be more durable than fiat and will be a superior currency. Women are much more likely to spend and distribute wealth than to build it through investing.

3. Bitcoin Is Competitive

Men eat what we kill. We evolved to eat the animals we hunted, and we still do that in the modern economy. In a tribal setting, the man that hunted the most for his tribe was rewarded with more power and more women to bang. We evolved to be competitive and to fight for the top spot.

These days, men are more likely to participate in sports and more likely to try new things to get ahead (see here). Bitcoin is competitive with other cryptocurrencies as people (men) race to market and grow their currency of choice. Bitcoin is also competitive as a store of wealth. The more men own, the more men can use our primal brains to associate with power and sex.

These are the reasons why only three percent of Bitcoin users—a completely decentralized, open world without bias—are women. These are the same reasons that men make more money than women in the workplace. It isn’t the patriarchy. It’s the evolutionary and behavioral differences in men and women that decide the numbers.

Men are competitive, find freedom in long-term wealth, and are more excited about new ideas and a new, selfish way to increase wealth. At least, more than women.

Read More: Bitcoin Is Creating A New Class Of Millionaires

Right at this very second, the largest transfer of wealth in the history of humanity is underway.  It has been going on since 2009, but it’s really picked up speed in the last 6 months.  A couple of days ago, I wrote a detailed post on RVF explaining Bitcoin in layman’s terms.  I strongly suggest that every reader of this post spend 10 minutes on that explanation, but if you’re too lazy then here’s the summary:

Bitcoin is the world’s largest cryptocurrency, essentially money for the Internet.  It is an open source Internet protocol, like HTTP.  It was hypothesized and first developed by an anonymous author or group under the name “Satoshi Nakamoto”.

Bitcoin is pioneering the idea of a deflationary currency, something which has never been possible before in humanity’s history.  Gold and silver come close, but not all of it has been dug out of the ground yet.  The only two possibilities for Bitcoin are that its value goes to zero, or increases.  There is no possibility that the value ever decreases or stabilizes (in the medium term).  In the long term, Bitcoin’s value will increase at a decreasing rate, but never stop, as it can be lost but not replaced.

Unlike gold and silver, Bitcoin can be essentially perfectly subdivided, and transmitted anywhere on the planet for almost nothing between any two parties with an Internet connection.

Bitcoin is decentralized like the Tor network, so it cannot be regulated or controlled by any government or authority body.

One Bitcoin has climbed from less than $200 to peaks over $1000 in the last month.  Every currency and medium of exchange on the planet is down against the Bitcoin over the last year, including gold and oil.

Innovation Means Winners And Losers

There is a hard limit of just under 21 million Bitcoins.  That means less than 1 in 300 people could own a full one, even if evenly distributed, which they are not (there’s already a number of investors that own hundreds or thousands or more).

One Bitcoin can be subdivided down into 100 million Satoshis (the smallest unit).   Even if the world’s money supply was entirely Bitcoin, one Satoshi would be worth just a couple of cents in today’s USD, allowing for small transactions.  If this were to happen, many many people would be reduced to poverty, living their entire lives on a few Millibits (thousandths of a Bitcoin) or Satoshis.

The new 1% is anyone that currently owns at least one Bitcoin, the world just doesn’t know it yet.  Like this, but on a world scale.  For the most part, this includes white, technically-minded, middle-aged American men but increasingly comprises Chinese technophiles and a cross section of society in economically unstable countries like Cyprus and Argentina.

The US government is starting to clue in and realises it needs to know what’s going on, but all they need to understand is that they can benefit from supporting it, or be trampled as they attempt to regulate something beyond their control.

I can’t say it any better than one of the commentators on the linked article (although I disagree about the inevitability of war and death), so here’s “Dumbhandle”:

US Government: Pay attention. You have almost destroyed the future of our country by retarding bitcoin usage in the US with the ham fisted application and mismanagement of various regs. Wealth is fleeing already to China and accelerating. You have a very short time to deregulate in order to attract bitcoin wealth to the US before the bitcoin black hole inevitably sucks in all world fiat currencies and the flow of XBT wealth to China and other counties accelerates.

Against all odds, your Chinese colleagues have realized this and are working as a team to effectuate capital accumulation over there. They are winning, because they understand fiats and the petro are finished. You need to immediately pull in some experts from the bitcoin community to explain this to you so you can take proper emergency evasive action to reverse the flow back to the US. Here is your goal: deregulate to reverse the capital flight. Then watch the global conversion of fiat to bitcoin. Watch bitcoin accumulate in the most innovative place in the world, the US. Sit back and watch a golden age bloom here and it spreads globally. Any other course will result in wars and death on a massive scale. Now we will watch you screw it up.

Bitcoin Doesn’t Care

Just like hypergamy and evolution, Bitcoin doesn’t care.

It doesn’t care if you didn’t know

It doesn’t care if you don’t understand

It doesn’t care if you don’t believe

The critics will cry that “Bitcoin is just a bubble” (alternatively: pyramid scheme), and they’d be right.  It’s a bubble in exactly the same way as the US dollar, which also gets its value entirely from community consensus (the paper it’s printed with cannot be eaten, used as construction material and is pretty poor fire fuel).  I am more prepared to trust a democratic, distributed, deflationary technology than the self-serving government printing press, and I suspect a lot of others might too.  I’m not alarmed by Bitcoin’s incredible growth, it’s just following the same S curve that tech giants like Facebook and Twitter tend to.

Absent any flaw being found in the source code (which has been publicly available and reviewed for years), or more likely one being introduced by the core development team (still a vanishingly unlikely proposition), I believe 1 Bitcoin will be worth at least US$ 100 000 by 31st December 2016.  The Winklevoss twins think even higher.  Max Keiser thinks even higher.  Even Peter Thiel (Paypal co-founder) agrees the revolution has begun.  Although ultimately, we’re all pure speculators on a very untested new technology.

The only other potential issue is advances in quantum computing that smashes apart current encryption standards, but that would cause far larger problems with all online privacy.  If anyone would come out on top it’s the forward-thinking and technically-minded Bitcoin community.

Adapt or live with regret among the masses.  You have been warned.  At the very least, do some reading and make an informed decision.

Bitcoin daily closing prices on MtGox for the last 4 years (to Nov 29), from sub-5 dollars to over $1000.  The closing of illegal, anonymous online marketplace Silk Road knocked the price off for a while, but it freed Bitcoin from any accusations of being useful only for drug deals.  The road up is going to be rocky, but there is no stopping the train now.

NB:  In the time taken for this post to go through the ROK submission and editing process, closing prices have doubled.  The original version of this article had the graph below finishing at $450.

https://www.returnofkings.com/10595/there-is-no-hedge-against-inflation

[uwunnie]

Second Week Recap (Nov. 15, 7:00 PM US Mountain Time)

Another week of the fight has passed and though these seven days brought difficulties, Monbebes emerge victorious.

Let’s summarize!

-

Nov. 8:

Follow music show promos ended.

MX won 2nd place at Music Bank!

Minhyuk said he was satisfied with this rank and that he was glad to see Monbebes happy.

MX members wore various pieces of Wonho’s clothing. Photos below.

Wonho won STARPLAY!

A MX ad in the Philippines was put up in their Mega-Mall!

Star1 Magazine Interview articles were released.

https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/415/0000003232

https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/415/0000003233

https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/609/0000200362

Nov. 9:

Another MX Philippines ad went live!

Here’s the link to their performance.

Here’s a little bit of Shownu’s speech.

At their fan-sign, an OT7 backdrop was hung!

A fan passed CK a note with different options to circle. He circled different words to make it say, “We’ll/Let’s be together.” This post shows what I’m referencing.

CK also wants us to know that it’s okay, he’s here.

A fan passed Shownu this note that also shows his answers.

Sambakja confirmed.

Dr. Nunu.

Monbebe spotted in Rooster Teeth Extra Life livestream.

This post provides a summary of the Medium articles posted.

Nov. 10:

MX performed Find You at their fan-sign and utilized the original version with Wonho’s vocals. Video here.

Minhyuk was asked what the happiest number is and he said, “7.”

Shownu posted this letter to the fan-cafe.

SBS, a SK news channel/agency, showed OT7 in their broadcast. 

BitLife changed their vibe and decided to replace their once slanderous message with a nicer, more supportive one:

Follow promotions officially ended.

Follow mv reached over 11 million views. 

Android users able to download STARPOLL app here. Tutorial on how to use it here.

(Speculation) CK’s selfies captioned ‘Luh You’ may have been telling up to keep fighting. The reason stemmed towards his lyric in Disaster where he says, “I LUH this misbehavior.”

Nov. 11:

Minhyuk updated his Talk Tok:

That was it. That day marked the first day of silence, really.

Nov. 12:

Elhae posted this to his Twitter.

That was it, again. Prepare, MBBs.

Nov. 13:

SS removed Wonho’s card from the official site. I wrote this open letter of what to do.

Archives began for completely cautionary reasons. They’re still underway, so I’ll make an official post when they’re finished.

SuperStar STARSHIP game posted that WH’s cards will be removed December 22.

Nov. 14:

I think it was this day that Sing With Us was posted to MX’s Spotify. The post explaining it can be found here.

CK updated Talk Tok with this.

Wonho was removed from MX’s fan-cafe. Please read my post here explaining why this removal may have occurred. 

Kihyun posted selfies.

_

Reminders:

Please ensure you’re utilizing Twitter correctly! Here’s some tips.

Remember this letter.

I created an official MX update site.

MAMA voting is seriously so important. Please, please, please participate in it! Here’s the post explaining everything with direct links.

Include [WONHO] in the title if you write him a fc letter.

Do not feed the trolls. Do not interact with 🐍‘s.

Do not create or participate in projects that can potentially harm the boys and our movement.

Do not start fights with one another.

Do not start fights with other fandoms.

Do not spam what’s going on in other groups pages. (Example: Stop spamming WJSN’s Instagram page - especially during their comeback time)

Remember:

Everything will be okay. The fight is still on and we will continue going strong until justice is served. If the outcome isn’t positive, it’s not the end.

-

(Posting: Nov. 17, 6:21 AM US Mountain Time because tumblr ate my other one as I tried posting it)

[blackgirlblues]

Being A Black Girl: And Chasing Your Dreams.. Yikes.

Hi, 

It’s me, your resident black girl back with some new shit to rant about. I’ve been posting a few screenshots of short poems and paragraphs I’ve been writing on my phone as a way to heal and get over Capricorn boy from my last post on here and I see you guys like and reblog. Thank you for showing love, although it makes me sad that so many of you seem to be going through the same range of emotions I am. I’m sorry. 

I know it’s a lonely place to be in. 

But, on the bright side, I’ve got a lot of new followers joining the diary/manual/rant page that is blackgirlology and it’s nice cause I think it’s becoming a little bit of a community. So, in a way, were never really going through any of these emotions alone. If you’ve found this page-you’re part of a community. Bask in it. 

Anyways, that aside, a lot has happened since I last spoke to you. I don’t know if any of you may remember, and for some new people this will be a surprise. But I’m actually a singer songwriter from Ireland. Moved to London a year and a half ago to pursue my music dream and that’s how I met Capricorn boy whos been the source of all my poems. 

Throughout this time in between, I’ve been trying to chase my dreams, and chase them relentlessly. and this summer i did just that, let me tell you, what im about to tell you guys, is to put it simply, wild. I’ll just cut to the chase. 

It all started in July. I’d been in London for quite a long time now, over a year and now have a manager who’s my best friend first and foremost. We’ll call her Maya. I met her in my first week of moving to London in the student halls I was staying at and we became best friends pretty quick. She studies music business, so it made sense and she just naturally ended up taking up the role as my music manager. Shes seen everything. The songs I wrote about Capricorn boy, the tears, everything. And she saw everything this summer. 

I saw an ad for a record label opportunity in London. It was advertised on my university facebook page; a new indie label, looking for demo submissions for a competition they were setting up to find their new signee. I sent a screenshot to Maya who agreed I should send my stuff in. I did, they liked it, I got a meeting, we were sent terms and conditions for the competition. We signed it, the rest was supposed to be history. 

Big yikes. 

There’s so many layers to this story that I will be shortening it, just because it can get very draining for me to talk about or even write about. I’ve healed from it i think, but I still want to put it here and write it about to finally close that chapter and be done with my feelings about what happened to me and my music. 

Basically, the whole competition, the record label, the dickhead CEO, it was all a scam. I had accidentally signed away the master rights to my new song to a record label started by a fake CEO who was committing fraud and known for tricking young artists into handing over their master rights so he could profit off of them, for power. 

It was a mess. Another contestant told me and Maya when we were outside of their office. Just minutes before we were under the impression that I was doing an interview for Billboard Magazine. Honestly, I never truly believed it. Shit was too good to be true. 

But she told us everything. How he was actually a run away from Spain, where he was caught and exposed for doing the exact same thing to artists there, how he didn’t have any money to fund the competition he had somehow roped all of us into, how he was illegally avoiding paying his team, how none of the creatives we had collaborated with for photoshoots etc were paid, how everything was a lie, how he didnt have any connections, and how he was trying to convince me specifically to sign a 360 deal with his label. 

Which, guys, I’m not stupid. After the first week of being with the label for the competition and letting my song live through their disastrous marketing campaign, Maya and I long decided that regardless of what they said, I would not under any circumstances be signing anything with any entity of their company. 

After being told the truth, I had to sit down. You see, when I came across this opportunity, I thought this was finally the life I’d been manifesting coming true. I had begun to grow in my spirituality and start journaling, writing down my manifestations, and getting to work with a record label who would later offer me a fair contract before I turn 20 was one of the manifestations I had written down every night before I went to bed. However, what I’d gotten was the exact opposite. 

I remember, me, Maya, and 2 of the girls from the competition all stood around in a circle outside of their new office that the CEO also hadnt paid for wondering what our next move would be with this new information. There was still 2 other contestants inside who had no idea what was really going on was an elaborate scam. One of them wanted to go in and expose them on the spot. I said no, we had to go in and pretend like everything was normal until we figured out what to do afterwards. 

So in I went, plastering the fakest smile on my face and pretended like I still thought I was about to be speaking with Billboard Magazine. Once I got out, I broke down in Maya’s arms. 

I went home to my flatmates, Ellie and Bea and cried for hours before I had to go work a 7 hour shift at a pizza place. 

I stayed in bed, and cried, and cried. and cried again. I didn’t get out of bed unless I needed too. The only people I talked too were my flatmates E and B and Maya. 

Everything was sorted out eventually, a lot more happened, but as I’ve been writing this article for you guys, I realised that all of that stuff is no longer relevant to my journey and isnt something I want to bring back into my energetic circle because I’ve made peace with the fact that a lot of people who betrayed me when I was at my lowest, peace with the fact that these contestants who wanted to “work together” to get out of this mess, actually wanted to save their own asses and leave me in the cold. 

But I still got out of it and I’m still here. 

I nearly got sued by a man with less than 20 pound to his company account online, but hey, I’m here.

I guess why I’m telling you guys this really short account of my summer is to both record it for myself but also to say its okay to flop, its okay to fail. I did both this summer. and thank god i did. it was the best thing that ever happened to me. 

following your dreams is scary, doing it as a black girl is terrifying because society has already kind of set you up to fail. there’s already misconceptions about what you do, who you are, where you come from and how good you’re going to be at what you do. its almost like we cant fail and we need to work 10 times harder to obtain half of what the average white person will get. and sometimes it can feel like we dont have any space to fail or make mistakes because of this but let me tell you thats not true. 

if anything, the universe will put you in places that will force you to grow through the mistakes you make. and thats exactly what happened to me this summer. 

i chased my dream so relentlessly i ended up in an environment i thought i manifested, i thought was good for me, only for the universe to show me that that specific environment i’d been wishing to be in is the furthest from what i need right now in my life. 

this so called failure showed me that not everybody who smiles can be trusted, and that people can be way more deceiving than i ever thought, especially when push comes to shove and they need to save themselves. you start to see the real them when it starts to get tense. the people who seem to be around you when you’re doing good will most likely dissapear when things start to go south, including some of your oldest friends. you will get radio silence on their end. be upset. cry. but after that be glad that this situation revealed their true colours. 

and then never put any more energy into them again. 

this failure showed me how fucking strong i am. how resilient and kind i am even in the face of disrespect and actual evil. it showed me how much i can care for someone who i believe is at a risk of losing it all, and showed me that this will not always be reciprocated. and for a while i thought that meant that i had to harden myself up and grow a shell. but i dont think so. i will not allow the things ive been through to make me into a hard person when i was born soft. i mean now, im a little rough around the edges, jagged enough to cut anyone who comes too close with some of that bad energy, but soft enough to hold myself tight and glue myself back together when i need to. soft enough to hold the people who held me this summer. soft enough to help people who i know deserve it. 

im a good person in a shitty world, i don’t need to match the world and become a shitty person to survive. 

after all of this happened, i stopped writing music. 

i haven’t written anything properly or produced anything in months and sometimes i get worried that ive completely lost my talent. but thats another thing that this failure taught me, i can never truly lose whats meant to be mine. i know that i was put on this earth to create change, to inspire, to be an activist and a voice for people who dont have one. i know i was put here to do it through a creative medium and right now i still think that is music. 

i think i just need to stop being so scared to start again, to learn my craft again.

i used to be so scared of failure but now i am so thankful for it and the lessons its taught me. i had so much hurt and pain and hatred in my heart for the universe for, in my head, doing this to me. but then i realised that the universe never does anything to you, it does it for you. all of this happened in my best interest and while i definitely didnt understand at the time, i get it now.

thank you universe for the worst summer of my life. 

and my black ass will be continuing to chase my dreams relentlessly, failing, tripping and falling on my ass until i get to the very top. 

besides, if everything had just gone right, that wouldnt have been very interesting, would it?

[tempestaurora]

Also! As you're studying creative and professional writing: do you have any writing advice? Anything you picked up along the way that's incredibly helpful with your original fiction and fanfic?

alright, i’m gonna try and culminate the last three years of my degree into the most helpful advice i received that i can remember and it might be completely useless to you all but who cares:

adverbs are the enemy. if you can say she smiled prettily you can sure as hell take another four words to describe what was pretty about her smile instead. (if you gotta keep 1 or 2 adverbs in, fine, but purge the rest.)

kill your darlings is usually relevant but only because that one sentence you love so much is usually only loved because it doesn’t actually fit in with everything else. if your darling fits and works, don’t go killing it - raise everything surrounding it to that standard.

when posting articles/content online (especially on websites like medium), post towards the back end of the week, in the second half of the day. wednesday and thursday are the best ones for it. the algorithms of medium and other websites will make sure the article ends up trickling into friday, when bored employees go online during their breaks, and if enough of them read it, it’ll be especially popular over the weekend. (case in point, i did exactly this for this essay on depression.)

be warned though, popularity can be down to your tagging system, your title, any featured image and subtitle. just because you post at the exact right time doesn’t mean you’ll get the reads. here’s a masterlist of free stock images you can use, just because i’m nice.

read everything you can

read where we came from as much as new books. i don’t like classics but even i have to admit that reading ray bradbury can provide important and helpful tips and tricks, as much as reading the hunger games can.

try as many genres as you can, but if you know what genre you want to write in, focus your energy on that. a teacher of mine once said that he regrets dividing his energy between literary fiction and horror. he reads and writes both, but because he spent his time split, he never mastered either of them. if he had focused on one over the other, his talents with it would be much more than they are. (though, note, if you want to focus on multiple genres, do it anyway. i can’t decide between sci fi and fantasy, so i’m willing to master neither so i can enjoy them both.)

write everyday if possible. my teachers all recommend morning pages - you write a page in the morning before you get up and leave. do it during breakfast or when you’re still in bed. it can be about anything - word association, prose, poetry, whatever. it also does not have to be good. here’s a good book we were recommended on the subject if you want help with this.

for fan fic specifically: write in third person. unless you’ve got something super Artsy and Forward Thinking going on, your readers will only find themselves uncomfortable with first person, as we’re already trained to consider these characters as outside ourselves. putting first person in makes us the same person as the character, and whether readers are aware of it or not, that’s not the experience they came to fan fic for.

try to observe the trends of fan fiction when you can. i did this when i wrote for the 100 (i noticed that more people wrote during the hiatus between seasons, but more people were reading during the season airing and immediately after it finished) - you’ll find you’ll get more reads than you expect.

on tagging, just because it’s relevant to me: tag however you want on ao3, but tumblr only pays attention to the first 5, so make them the most important ones that are most likely to be read. from 6 onwards, tumblr won’t put your post in that listing when searched, so don’t bother.

don’t make the same mistakes i did with the prose around dialogue. it’s not:

“Hey there,” Jackson said. Emily smiled.

“Hey!”

as soon as your prose stops relating to the dialogue and jackson, you gotta start a new paragraph. even if you’re going into exposition or description - it doesn’t belong on the same line as the dialogue and it’ll start confusing the reader. especially when you stop saying things like “jackson said” and the reader starts attributing the dialogue to incorrect characters. try:

“Hey there,” Jackson said.

Emily smiled. “Hey!”

be as economical in your writing as possible. seriously. i love purple prose but we don’t need it everywhere. sometimes the reader just needs the facts and not three paragraphs of adjacent information. (sometimes, however, the reader wants that information, so it’s about being economical with how often you’re economical.)

for correct formatting for scripts, use the BBC writer’s room. they also have contests and open submissions. very occasionally, the people who submit can get hired to the BBC.

let yourself be shit at writing. it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Reading List:

here’s the best books i can offer you for writing. some may be helpful, some not so much for you - but these are the books my teachers recommended and i connected with.

The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler is a staple, okay? it was the first book we were told to buy, because it breaks apart a story into so many pieces and shows you how they’re to be employed. it’s not an enjoyable read, but it’s a really good place to be starting from.

The Elements of Style, Strunk and White. Another staple. Very short and apparently, very important.

if you want help with novel writing, Thomas Emson’s How To Write a Novel in Six Months is my go-to. he came in and delivered a lecture, the book takes only 40 minutes to read, and it comes with a lot of great advice you can pick and choose from. i reference him every time y’all ask for writing advice and it’s because the things i took from his book are the most helpful to my process.

Stephen King’s On Writing is pretty good. I was bored as heck through the first half, where he writes his life story, but the second half is all writing advice and super helpful.

as mentioned in the morning pages point: The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron.

The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting, Syd Field.

The Ode Less Travelled, Stephen Fry. if you’re interested in writing poetry, this is a very good one to use.

On Writing Well, William Zinsser. if you want to write non-fiction, this is the one for you. get the most recent edition you can, the edits are worth it. (for example, zinsser originally wrote ‘he’ when talking of the writer, and eventually changed to ‘they’ and ‘he or she’, because he learned feminism lmao.)

my playwriting teacher recommends The Art of Writing Drama, Michelene Wandor which i haven’t actually read yet but i plan to.

Heussner, Tobias, et al. The Game Narrative Toolbox is good (though a lil expensive) for when it comes to writing for games.

so is Rusch, Doris C. Making Deep Games: Designing Games with Meaning and Purpose, but again, recommended for games.

sources: i’m a third year creative and professional writing undergrad, taught by professional writers in fiction, experimental literature, poetry, non-fiction, playwriting, young adult and children’s literature and game design.