#// im trying to revive this blog so im opened for asks and following back | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ambivartence · 2 years

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I was tagged by @drzibs @chanstopher @rumue (thank yall <333)

NAME: siyuan

SIGN: sagittarius

HEIGHT: 5'4" // 162-163 cm (idr)

TIME: 12:42 am

BIRTHDAY: 1997/12/19 🐂♐️😃

FAVOURITE BAND/ARTIST: skz, nct, svt, tbz, bts, ab6ix, p1h, etc etc the list is endless u already know

LAST MOVIE: i haven't watched a movie in literal months.... rewatched princess mononoke back in may lol i usually only watch movies on the plane or in theaters, if im at home i just want to draw or watch youtube tysm

LAST SHOW: yesterday i was watching House and the first ep of the new GoT house of the dragon show with my roommate

WHEN I CREATED THIS BLOG: foreverrrr ago but i revived it into a kpop blog late 2020 !

WHAT I POST: kpop art n gifs of so many groups :))))) the speed at which i collect new groups is a problem

OTHER BLOGS?: @dreambivartence art inspiration and @jacob-bae tbz jacob + idols with flowers (kpop aes blog?) and i'm working on a sideblog for just my art sort of like a portfolio idk im bored i'll drop the url soon 😃

DO I GET ASKS?: mostly when i ask for an ask game bc im rly bad at checking otherwise im sorry i usually end up taking at least 1-2 business days bc i just fORGET to 😭

FOLLOWERS: so many!!! too many!!! why r there so many of u guys >:( lol thanks for putting up w my multi shenanigans

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: my ideal is 9 bc im a babie when it comes to sleeping but i think i try to get at least 7 a day tho i usually only need 5-6 to function BUT ALSO i have a major napping problem i take the LONGEST naps like im talking 3+ hours each time so my sleep schedule is easily screwed over :')

INSTRUMENTS: i wish i could play an instrument :( i learned a little bit of piano n ukelele so i can at least read sheet music (uke/guitar tabs r still confusing to me) but i prefer to spend my time drawing :')

WHAT I’M WEARING: my pjs (free dropbox tshirt from college lol n sleep shorts)

DREAM JOB: "no job lmao." <- so real dreamy so real. "the platonic version of a trophy wife?" <- also real rumu <3 my roommate n i have actually been debating lately about which one of us needs to become rich so the other can be the platonic trophy wife lmao or let me be an idol makeup artist i want to do their pretty makeup i want to doll them up so bad !!!!

DREAM TRIP: taiwan / korea / japan / china (if it ever opens again 😭) also extremely niche but i really want to do the andean lakes crossing between argentina and chile near bariloche during the snowy season but idk if that would be too bitter cold to be enjoyable </3

FAVOURITE SONGS: rn it's villain by key & jeno and also doom du doom by p1harmony but all time is probably winter bear by v, side effects by skz, dream in a dream by ten, the truth untold by bts, cherry by ab6ix, zombie (eng ver) by day6, some by bol4

tagging (no obligation, sorry if u've already done thisss): @alrightyaphroditie @babytunninjadrac @decembermoonskz @efflorescing-mary @i-like-hockey-a-latte @lolacouldnotcareless @lvrli @myriad-of-colors @njaems @ofyoursilentreverie @peachjaem00 @pvddins-art @sulfurcosmos

#tag game #today was a four hour nap kinda day im so broken lmao

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books-and-dragons · 3 years

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pegoryu (pre-established) post-interrogation hurt/comfort fic. has mentions of nightmares, trauma, and implied physical assault. unedited and for that i big apologise in advance

___________

okay!!! so this fic has been sitting in my drafts for months (lol what else is knew i know, shush i’m getting to the point) and i was supposed to post it on ao3 at the same time as i did a couple of others, however never got around to it bc it needed editing and im too lazy for that

likelihood is, i will edit and post to ao3 at some point, but it needs some BIG rennovations and i just can’t be arsed atm

so yeah, apologies for the shoddy writing in advance xoxo

but for now, i wanted to post it on here. today. as a sign of goodwill for the year to come. (ie. i own p5r, still havent played it, need to play it, and hope posting this will kick me into gear)

so, hope you enjoy!! and lmao if not it’ll just get buried as i start to revive this blog so,...win win?

In the first few nights since the interrogation, Ryuji stayed awake, listening to the fragile shudders of Akira’s breath in the night. So sensitive to every breath of air restricted by broken ribs, Ryuji hadn’t needed to look across the room, to gaze at the beaten figure on the bed, to know how his face was contorted in pain- unmasked in sleep.

He refused to so much as close his eyes until Akira’s breathing levelled out, still shuddering and restricted by pain, but deep enough to assure him that Akira was asleep. Only then, Ryuji allowed himself to rest.

Nobody else stayed the night. They lingered until the last train, crowded around the attic bedroom, gaze worriedly resting on Akira until the final second, where they’d leave with the accompanying chime of Leblanc’s door closing. But not Ryuji.

Ryuji, who had refused to leave Akira’s side since the moment he’d returned to their arms, beaten and drugged up, hardly coherent, but so relievingly and perfectly alive.

Akira hadn’t been alone since, Ryuji ensured that much. Torn over so much as going across the road for a bath, he couldn’t leave the other boy alone- something pulled at him to never let that happen, a pit of fear in the bottom of his stomach that pulled at his every nerve.

Maybe it had something to do with the nightmares, the visions of Akira lying broken on cold tile, at the mercilessly unrelenting hands of the police, the images of Akira lying dead, blood pooling from his head, the way the images seemed to haunt him even when awake- but there was no point reading into it. It wasn’t important, especially not now.

What mattered was that when he woke up, breath haggard and skin shining with sweat under the light of outdoor streetlamps, Akira never woke. Wasn’t even perturbed.

Ryuji tried to be thankful for it, tried not to think about why Akira was suddenly such a deep sleeper. Ignored the puncture wounds on his neck, the bottle of painkillers by his bedside. Akira was resting, and that was enough.

Even if it didn’t make sense that, when morning rose, the dark circles under Akira’s eyes had grown. That he tried to muffle pained yawns behind bandaged hands, and begged for more coffee- even though Takemi had put him on a temporary ban.

Because Ryuji had seen him sleeping, watched the rise and fall of his chest as Ryuji reminded himself that Akira was alive and safe, it was the sight that lulled him back to sleep from a nightmare. So why did Akira always look so tired?

He tried not to let his growing concern show, there was already so much to be worried about, he didn’t want to add another. Especially not when it could be nothing but his own annoying thoughts.

It wasn’t until the next night, after a particularly painful and thorough visit from Takemi earlier that day, that Ryuji started to reconsider.

Blearily opening his eyes to the dark lighting of the attic, Ryuji didn’t need a clock to know it was well into the middle of the night, and that he’d been woken up from his sleep, again.

But it was weird. There was none of the usual constricting fear, the blind panic- he’d hardly even started seeing the figure of a beaten Akira surrounded by shadow, let alone begun imagining the worst.

About to blame it on the lumpy and painful springs of the couch and try to fall back asleep, Ryuji caught it. Quiet, as if muffled by something, but just loud enough to penetrate through the silence in the attic and reach Ryuji: crying.

No. Not crying.

Sobbing.

Ice burning in his stomach, he carefully lifted the blanket and rose, wary of creaking springs and the sound of rustling fabric, towards the shaking figure on the bed.

His voice was barely above a whisper, carrying clearly and softly through the silence as he carefully extended an arm, not touching, only hovering, “Akira?”

The responding flinch broke Ryuji’s heart all the more, as a head rose from under the covers, bloodshot eyes wide and darting around the room in panic, hair wildly askew.

Moving as slowly as he dared, Ryuji sat at the side of the bed, “Hey, it’s okay, it’s only me.”

As the mattress shifted under him, Akira froze. Muscles tight and unyielding, back as ramrod straight as his broken ribs would allow, the entire body braced for something Ryuji didn’t even want to think about. His gaze was distant, somewhere far away from Leblanc, from the blond sat right beside him.

It reminded Ryuji of his Ma, in the months after the divorce. Curled up together on the dingy bed, they’d cling to each other so tight even in sleep, waking up in the morning sweaty and sometimes a little uncomfortable, never minding because they woke feeling completely safe. But there were the nights when his Ma’s screams would wake him in the early hours, recoiling and shaking even in her sleep. Ryuji would sit upright and watch over her until sunrise, would try to pull her from the memories he knew haunted her. Haunted them both.

Looking at Akira, the striking familiarity of the situation made him want to hurl.

He didn’t move, no matter how strong the urge was to reach out and console his hurting best friend. Instead, he kept his voice quiet, just audible above the laboured sobs, and waited.

“You’re okay, Akira. You’re safe, I’m not goin’ anywhere, alright? You’ve got me, it’s okay-”

Slowly, the frantic scanning of the room stopped. Staring at the artificial yellow light that bathed Leblanc’s street, following it into the shadows of the attic, where dark figures seemed to fade away. The flash of blond in his vision, perfectly still, aside from the hushed mutterings leaving chapped lips.

Akira focused on that sound. It felt safe.

As Ryuji uttered soft words of reassurance, he watched the tension slowly leave Akira’s body. Shoulders slightly slouched, jaw unclenched, his lip was bleeding- but he could worry about that later. All that mattered was the softening of Akira’s lines, as he slowly came back to Ryuji.

Delicately as he dared, he reached out. Hand brushing against bruised skin, careful not to as much as press on the marred areas. For a moment, there was no response. He waited, watching the panic continue to leave until, slightly trembling, Akira’s hand interlaced with his own.

“Ryuji?” The hazed look in his eyes was clearing, staring at Ryuji with a newly discovered relief, which was quickly overtaken by shame, “Shit- I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up, just go back to sleep I’m fine-”

“Hey no, no man it’s okay, really-” Feeling Akira begin to pull away, Ryuji let his thumb run over the back of his hand, determinedly meeting Akira’s gaze, “I don’t mind.”

Akira opened his mouth, ready to retort and insist, but found himself silenced by the look in the other boy’s eyes. Ryuji’s hand was warm, and for a moment Akira forgot there were even any injuries there at all, thumb tracing over them with such a delicate touch he hadn’t known the blond to have possessed.

Staring into Ryuji’s eyes, he wondered at how they were always so open and unguarded, never with anything to hide- a true reflection of his best friend, passionate and honest to a fault. It was something Akira had often envied, that ability to always be his true self, to freely display his emotions.

He almost took that back now, staring back into deep brown eyes. Eyes which so clearly reflected hurt and worry.

The raw concern so honestly displayed to him that, just in this moment, Akira decided he would allow himself to be vulnerable. Just this one time. Knowing that, as they had done for each other so many times before, Ryuji would never judge.

Hesitantly, Akira pulled his hand out of Ryuji’s and, ignoring the concerned look he got in return, allowed his hand to trace higher, around his forearm, pulling him closer with a silent plea.

As always, Ryuji understood.

Carefully reaching out, Ryuji wrapped his arms around Akira, pulling him to his chest. His touch is firm, but cautious of the bruising and bandages decorating Akira’s abdomen. Even then, careful as he was, the occasional shift sent twinges of pain up Akira’s spine. And yet, he found he didn’t mind- not when he was so surrounded by warmth and comfort and the steady beat of Ryuji’s heart just audible through his chest, that for a minute Akira feels like he can just forget-

Somehow, Ryuji shifts so they’re leaning against the back wall, Akira’s head resting high on Ryuji’s chest, ear pressed to his left side. Logically, Ryuji supposed now would be a good time to ask about what just happened, about the dark circles under Akira’s eyes and the fear still lingering when he caught sight of shadows in the room- but there would be other opportunities. When Akira wasn’t so damn exhausted and clinging to Ryuji like he’s the final lifeline holding Akira together. When neither of them would be waking up in the middle of the night, a frenzied mess, and worrying about suspicious strangers in public and carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Yeah, there would be other times to talk. But for now, Ryuji would stay with Akira and listen as his breathing mellowed out into deep breaths, as his grip on the blond weakened and he cuddled closer still, lost to the throes of sleep.

Ryuji will stay with him until the sun rises.

Neither of them were plagued by nightmares for the rest of the night.

#persona 5 #p5 #fic #pegoryu #akira kusuru #ren amamiya #ryuji sakamoto #omg when was the last time i posted under these tags #i miss it #lol im sorry this fic is kinda rubbish but also i wanted to share it somewhere? since who knows when i'll edit it #(also lmao yeah rainbow is big influence and i now own p5r just gotta PLAY IT)#(but it's a slippery slope im scared i'll get hooked immediately? which is a dumb concern i know but IT WORRIES ME A LOT OKAY)#it's been years since i been deep in p5 #like #2 years #but still #much time #((edit: 2 seconds before posting i suddenly remember POSTING ANXIETY EXISTS OLD BUDDY OLD PAL shit it's been a while))#((what a throwback emotion))

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trickstruth-a · 4 years

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Rules

Short, sweet, and to the point. Follow these rules and we all have a great time.

1. Mutuals only. I must be following you and you must be following me. Only those that I follow can like starter calls, send in character asks, and reply to posts.

1a. I will not interact with non-Mutuals, that includes asks, unless it’s done anonymously and it doesn’t have a url attached. Anyone who breaks this rule will get about a few pardons but after that will be blocked.

2. My time is limited here in what I can do. This means that I am very selective in what I reply to. Doesn’t necessary mean that I am ignoring anyone. Some days I reply to everything and everyone, others I am so burnt out from irl things or work that I just lurk and do the bare minimum. My mental health and well-being comes before anything else.

2a. Replies vary by length and time. I normally work eight to ten hours a day and experience a lot of exhaustion. Unless I don’t see a thread or an ask going anywhere and publicly make a post saying it’s been dropped, consider everything as pending / will do ASAP. Memes are okay to send in late unless it clearly states, not accepting. My timezone is Eastern Standard Time or EST. United States is where I am located at. I am usually online from 10 PM EST to 3 AM EST unless it’s a day off from work, which the online time will vary from 12 PM EST to 3 AM EST.

2b. Role-playing is a hobby, not a job. Do not pester me for replies or asks to be answered. I am not obligated to owe anyone anything on this website. I am human and can’t cater to everyone’s needs. Being persistent here is not going to make me answer yours faster than other people.

2c. Don’t follow, unfollow, and then refollow my blog. It’s not going to make me want to follow you back, ever. It’s annoying and no one is being crafty by doing that. If you continue to do this and it isn’t a tumblr glitch, I will be inclined to block and possibly report for spam.

3. If you do need to break mutuals with me, HARD BLOCK my blog. Don’t just UNFOLLOW or SOFT BLOCK because chances are that I could mistakenly follow you again. And that’s something we both don’t want since it would be quite awkward.

3a. I have the right to unfollow whoever I want to and so do you. Please don’t go on a hunt and try to guilt trip me into following you back again. Just don’t. I can and will tell you the reason why I unfollowed you but other than that, just let me leave in peace.

3b. Personal blogs and non RP blogs will be blocked on sight. Please, if you have a side blog let me know through asks so I don’t accidentally block you. IMs are not a good way to let me know since they are closed for non-mutuals.

4. Duplicates are welcomed to follow me. The more the merrier. I do not suffer from same muse anxiety and encourage any of the same muse to follow me. Only request is that you don’t steal my headcanons, edits or icons. Other than that, we should all be able to have a good time. I’m always up for twin verses or alternate universes shenanigans.

4a. Original Characters are allowed to follow me. However, they need to be a little flesh out before I make a decision to follow them back or not. Just a small backstory or biography is all that I need. Headcanons also work if there isn’t an about page but must have about one page worth for me to consider following.

4b. Crossover Characters from other shows are allowed to follow me but I must know about said muse or else I’ll have a hard time whether to follow or not. Few fandoms I won’t interact with because I have no interest in these series are: Avatar the Last Airbender, Avatar the Legend of Korra. ( more to be added ).

5. I am a multi-ship blog. All ships are separate in their own standings. Goro is 17 in the ORIGINAL game and ROYAL remake. I will only ship him romantically with muses that are in the ages between 15 years to 17 years of age ( for the ORIGINAL and ROYAL remake only ).

5a. I am open to all kinds of ships, not just romantic ones. I also enjoy platonic, rivalry, and familiar bonds. All ships are open to discussions through my IM(s) or otherwise known as Instant Messenger. Chemistry is key. As long as we interact a little, there’s always the chance that both muses can be in a relationship.

5b. Is there any ship that you do NOT want forced on you?: I personally don’t ship AkeShu / ShuAke ( the Protagonist x Goro Akechi ). Please don’t force this ship on me. I’ll only except a slow burn for both characters and only that when both the other mun and myself agree to do this.

6. Things for you to tag for me are: BIRDS, CHAIN LETTERS, ORGANS, DOGS. For the birds and dogs, just irl ones trigger me. I am fine with cartoon / art / video game ones as they are not real.

6a. This blog will contain sensitive themes from time to time. However, I will tag common things like those mentioned below. If you need anything tagged, please let me know through instant messaging / IMs. Things I’ll tag for you are but not limited to: BLOOD, GORE, DEATH, BODY HORROR, EYE HORROR, INSECTS, MAGGOTS, BRUISES, SCARS, GUNS, KNIVES, CLOWNS.

7. I am over the age of eighteen. However, I refuse to write smut as I am not comfortable with that subject to begin with and Goro is a minor. Please never force me to write this with you and if you keep sending things to me in this type of nature, I will report you, no questions asked.

7a. If I see any form of hate and I find out it was you that sent it, I will immediately BLOCK you. No questions asked. Life is too short to send unwanted hate, anon or not. All anon hate and hate towards me and my characters ( s ) in general will be reported and then blocked, no questions asked.

8. My pen name on here is SERE. Obliviously, that is not my real name but it’s what I go by. It’s short for ‘Serena’, the English name that DIC gave Usagi Tsukino in the Americanized version of Sailor Moon. It’s pronounced; SIR-REE.

9. I am not a meme source. If you need to reblog a meme from my blog and don’t plan to send me anything, reblog from the source. I hardly get asks as it is, and for you to just use me as a meme source puts a bad taste in my mouth and I feel like I’m being used, which isn’t a good feeling. If you wonder if you should send in a meme to me, please do. I love getting asks. I do hoard them from time to time like a dragon hoards treasure but I do get to them eventually. The more memes / asks, the merrier.

9a. Feel free to turn inbox replies into threads. Just remember to make separate post when replying. Do not reblog threads not meant for you and don’t reblog my headcanons. It’s okay to reblog my asks though if you want them to be keepsakes on your own blog. Also, it’s alright to reblog musings and images from me.

10. I usually am not considered spoiler free. However, I do tag recent released games, which is Persona 5 Scramble. All other games in the Persona 5 series ( original game, dancing in starlight, pq2, and royal ) will NOT be tagged. Follow at your own risk to avoid spoilers.

10a. Knowledge in the Persona series is about ABOVE AVERAGE, please don’t keep pointing out mistakes. I know and will correct them due time.

10b. Please tag the popular ship AkeShu / ShuAke ( Goro Akechi x Persona 5 Protagonist ) / ( Persona 5 Protagonist x Goro Akechi ). I am not a fan of this ship at all and would request it to tagged at all times. Tags can be as simple as ‘akeshu’ and ‘shuake’.

11. I rather not be bothered by callout posts and any potential drama that might accumulate. I am just here to have fun and I hope everyone else can too. Life is too short to spend on certain things that don’t matter in the long run. If I see multiple call out posts from you in a single day or that’s all you post, I will quietly unfollow you.

12. Out of character posts will be on here from time to time. Mostly talking about life in general or me venting once in a great while. If this annoys you, please remember that this is my blog, not yours. You are welcomed to unfollow / block at any time.

12a. The best way to interact with me is to send memes / asks / inbox things. I am always up for unprompted things in my inbox. Also, my instant messenger is always open if someone needs to contact me out of character or to plot something. Don’t hesitate to talk to me. I will try my best to respond.

12b. Not interacting after a month or two with me and my blog will make me silently unfollow you or result in a soft block. Or if you don’t interact with me at all, even out of character. Also, if you are gone for more than 6 months, I consider your blog inactive and will probably assume that you aren’t going to return.

13. I’m really laid-back in nature so don’t feel pressured to reply to anything I send to you. I understand that life happens and that sometimes you just need to unwind from the stress of daily life.

14. For pronouns; either SHE/HER or THEY/THEM is okay with me. My orientation is DEMIROMANTIC ASEXUAL. I love anime, manga, video games, music, drawing, and writing. If you read all of this, then thank you! I won’t ask for passcodes but please still try to remember these at some point. That’s all I ask. <3.

**DISCLAIMERS.

This revived blog has been established since May 23rd, 2020. Independent and not affiliated with any role play group. Written by SERE.

( rules may be updated from time to time so please check here once in awhile. I will also post when these are updated as well ).

#long post: tw #[ Hi. Welcome to Chili's. OOC ]#rules;;#laws;;#rules / laws;;

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amorecleverdevil · 4 years

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@shiftingsupport: 1 and 13? ↪︎ ask the mun about writing. [ 𝔄𝔠𝔠𝔢𝔭𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 ]

𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔩. Oh hell yeh! Question time! I threw your answers down below a lil read more because I’m what the kids like to call?? A rambler.

1). What does your writing process look like?

A mess?? Lmao nah;;; So, honestly it depends on what I’m writing, how long I’m going to be continuing the story revolving around it, and what my current mood is. In general, I am a person who has a hard time sticking to one particular style or approach because I just get bored of it a lot. I find it a lot of fun to come at writing in many different ways and I’ve found that it’s helped me really explore what I do and don’t like for each genre or character that I attempt to tackle.

That being said, though, I tend to have at least a couple consistencies. Basically, when I’m writing replies, the most important questions I ask myself tend to be;

What is my character’s reaction to what just happened?

What have I written that actively engages the other writer and/or their character?

Have I actually described the scene or merely provided dialogue?

Will this thread carry for at least two more replies and, if not, should I end it or can I add something to make it keep going?

I’ll go ahead and give you some examples using writing that I’ve previously written to paint what I mean with each of them. For the first point, that’s the one that most people I’ve seen tend to have the best grip on, obviously. People who do roleplay tend to really know their own characters and can write them really compellingly. Most of the time, this part of the writing comes from the other player setting up a question or scenario and my character basically engaging with it. Typically, reactions tend to be the first thing I’ll actually be the first thing I put into a reply and I think that they are really important to keeping a fluid transition from one character to the next.

In the above example, you can kinda see what I’m talking about. Basically, Izzy made Gwen say something and Billy here gave a very basic response to it. Most of the time, I find dialogue or verbal responses are the best because usually the other character should pick up on them, but I like mixing in physical reactions and more internal monologues alongside those verbal responses. Sometimes, if two characters are in tune enough with each other, it actually can be really rad to get away with only physical reactions and internal dialogues, but that often requires a certain connection and history between characters to make accurate conclusions about what might be going through their head. Here is a great example between one of my mains and Nay from my old blog.

Basically, Nay notices that Oswald is probably getting emotional over the fact they’re standing in front of this grave and looks down to get a better idea of who Oswald is getting so upset over. Oswald then follows his line of sight to the headstones, themselves. It’s a more sad scene, so not only is the lack of actual verbal responses very fun to play with, it’s also much more appropriate for the tone of the thread. This is something I love to try and play with a lot, but I avoid doing it as much with people who I have not already threaded with a few times.

After that, I then have to try to actively engage the other writer or create an opportunity for them to add to the thread as well. Especially when writing with someone new or for whom you may not have an immediate chemistry with, it becomes very important to throw them a bone, so I usually will do this as a follow up. I personally don’t love using questions to carry a thread, but it can be a good way to give an explicit indication of how the other person can contribute to it and it can be a lot more comfortable for people who are new to interacting with me and may be hesitant to just throw new ideas at me without having an extensive conversation about it. Here is an example where Naomasa responded to a question that Oboro poses and interacts with a nonverbal.

These first two bullets are what I usually consider the meat of the reply, so the most work is put into them. Everything else is filler and tends to be what actually makes the replies prettier and more interesting. In many cases, adding the last two can even happen naturally when you are trying to come up with ways to do the former, but it’s still something I keep in mind to look out for when I’m writing. Of the four points, I think that the one I probably struggle with the most is the one that revolves around describing the scene and I think that has been what’s kept me from reaching that multi-para/novella goal that I really wanna be able to do when writing threads, but I’ve been putting in more work to try and get on top of that one.

The final point is basically just thinking about what I can add to try and keep a thread engaging. This is when I really tend to bring in that plot and start advancing it. Introducing a conflict or a new activity in the scene that might not have otherwise been relevant before now can really revive a thread and I tend to do that a lot if I feel like a thread is dying out too quickly. Sometimes it takes, sometimes it doesn’t but it’s basically just my way of jumpstarting an interaction I feel like didn’t have enough substance to get off the ground in the first place. The example for this one is between Naomasa and Jasper - Yes, I know it’s the same person, again, but it’s because Fabgen is ridiculously good at doing the whole “yes and” thing and really we should all just take some time to appreciate them - in which the two of them are both responding to a crisis of some kind. I had felt the nature of the thread hadn’t given them a concrete way to continue to interact with each other, so I made up a random conflict that they both could work! In this case, it was some random kid running into danger.

After ALL of that, basically the last thing I tend to do for a thread is proofread and format. In a perfect world, I’d actually do the whole proofreading thing more often, but lmao nah. Basically, tldr, my writing process when doing threads is:

1). Respond to what the other person says. 2). Give them something to respond to. 3). Introduce a new plot point as necessary. 4). Fill in scene details and revise as necessary.

If you read back on my old threads, you’ll probably notice most of them follow this linear outline. Sometimes I’ll switch a couple things around, but 95% of the time you can literally cut my replies pretty into these parts without too much trouble. Also yall should go check out the people in these example threads because they’re all very talented and worth interacting with!!

13). What do you look for in an RP partner?

Hmm.... An excellent question let’s see...

Typically, these are things that make or break rp relationships:

Have concise rules/ooc pages that includes information such as their name, their pronouns, their age and their triggers. For certain fandoms, I also tend to look for stances on certain major discourse points.

Have the ability to para or multi-para threads and 3rd person POV. We don’t have to always do this, but I do really prefer this kind of RP.

Have the ability to participate in joke/crack posting

Read my character info or at least my rules before interacting with me. I know they are long and tedious and that I tend to ramble, but there are some important things in there that may vastly differ from many other people in the RPC and it’s important to me that everyone takes those things into account when engaging with me.

Have discord for OOC conversations and extended plotting or, at the very least, be comfortable chatting regularly via IM.

Follow me. It’s not necessary to interact with me and I 100% will interact with people who are not mutuals, but I typically tend to assume others around me are mutuals only regardless of whether or not they actually are and it’ll often put most of the responsibility on the other person to come interact with me if they want to thread.

I tend to main with people who will have OOC conversations with me about our characters and who are willing to adapt to fit into the settings / verses which I have already created for my characters. I am always seeking out familial relationships of ANY kind and will usually be quick to main people who do these kinds of threads with me. I do have ships for many of my characters that I tend to indulge in, but my mains tend to be people who actually get me to start shipping something because the characters just ended up vibing so well. I actually really love shipping my bi male characters with women, but there just really aren’t enough ladies in any of the RPCs to have lasting ships ;;y;;, so if we are able to get one going, I’d probably consider maining with ya’ll

I tend to like people who like continuous threads and verse building. I tend to like people who don’t mind having a million unfinished threads. I tend to gravitate to people who do formatting and icons, but I do not require it. I tend to shy away from people who are too self-concious about doubles or who tend to prefer being exclusive.

Overall, I’m open to at least trying to rp with everyone! And I’ve definitely formed lasting friendships with people who did not meet many of this criteria, but in terms of what I look for this is probably a pretty good list.

#ask ;; ooc #all ;; ooc #prompts ;; about writing #shiftingsupport #// thank u for the questions !!#srry that i talk so much lmaoooo n.n''''

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versacexs · 6 years

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i know that i’ve only really been here for a month or two, but a couple days ago i hit 300 followers (and i’m already almost at 400 wowie, ya’ll are crazy) i know that i’m absolute shit at getting to replies but i am trying to! school has got my ass whipped and i’m trying my best to love all of you. but i figured that since i hit a big milestone, i would make one of these...bias lists or follow forevers. i really love all of you.

BEST FRIENDS/PPL I REALLY CARE ABOUT A LOT !!

@athousandheartsandtwoeyes - i know that you haven’t really opened up for interactions with anyone else yet but i just want ppl to know that i love you lmao. dean, you’ve been my friend for fucking forever and finally really getting to write with you on here is a blessing. i love our ships and i’m honestly really proud how you took to tumblr rp’ing so easily !! you mean the world to me, ily.

@thecollectxve - friend!!! i know we haven’t really interacted yet on here, i keep trying to see when you post starter calls or memes but i always find them after they hit the cap number or days after they’re posted fsklhd and my anxiety is like ‘nah’ but! i seriously love you, you’ve been such a core person in my life and i know we don’t talk as much because i’m a shit with super bad messaging tendencies. but i love you and miss you so much !! you have all of my uwus

@mimos-psychi - aiden, you’ve been a friend to me since i joined the voltron rpc like...near the beginning of the year i think? i know i kinda was dead for a few months on my shiro blog, but i seriously love you and our ship with kuron, and i’m looking forward to interacting with you again with adam! and maybe we can revive our other ship. idk, i just seriously love writing with you. you’re the best <3

@stupidcvpid - um hi, hello, annyeong, this is my rp baby. we have so many threads but it’s all okay because i love every single one of them? and she has so many other muses that i want to love lmfao. i love writing with you katie, you seriously are so great and i really love talking to you ooc. you were like...the first person to make me feel really welcome when i made this blog because to be honest, i left my last one because the krpc can be so suffocating. you’re so sweet and i honestly don’t know what i would do without you!

@museaspect - another friend who i’ve rekindled our friendship with back from one of my old blogs. she was the first person i ever really had a singleship muse with and even now i can’t imagine shipping hyungwon with anyone else other than her muses? rome is like...my baby. they were engaged and i felt so bad for leaving my blog in the dust because she was the only thing i really kept enjoying on that blog. i know i’m a shit with replying but i really hope we can bring our babies back, i love them with all my heart. i also love hoshi too so uhm...👀 hit me up, i want my vampire boi back

AWESOME PPL WHO I’VE COME TO LOVE !!

@strawbxrryblxssxms - i know we don’t talk a whole bunch ooc because, again, my messaging tendencies are crap and i’m a lot better on discord, but i seriously love you. our ships give me some serious uwus, and your writing is great. we have like a billion threads but i don’t care because i love all of them and i love all of your muses!

@cheiian - hi, if you want quality follow this bb!! their blog is 10/10, their muses are 10/10 and honestly, i know we don’t talk much, but when i first made this blog they let me rant to them about monsta x because i had just saw them so like...automatic friend. plus they have k-drama muses which are...a rarity and i love them.

@fantasticbxby - we only recently started plotting/talking but!! i love you!! it’s really nice to have a fellow VAMPZ in the rpc, and i promise im gonna make the other gif icons for the boys so we can both use them lmao! i think you have more muses than me tbh but i just want to love them all, i seriously love your writing and i cant wait to actually write with you!!

@profcnd - i know we’re both new here but i love you, you’re just the sweetest bean and we already have like 3 things going on but i feel like we’re gonna have more because i just love your blog! so much! you’re also really understanding that i take a while to get to things and i appreciate that wayyyy more than you know. ily <3

@snhynwoo - hyunwoo and jimin ;;; they have my whole heart ;;; honestly, i never expected to get so whipped for a ship so quickly. normally, when i write jimin he’s really hesitant and hard to get to interact with anyone but he CLINGED to hyunwoo and now im...just trash for them. your writing is amazing, you’re super sweet and im sorry i take so long to reply sometimes!! you were one of the first people to make me feel welcome in the krpc, and ily friend <3

@hiddcnscrts - we’d been mutuals for a while but because i’m terrible at messaging people we only really started interacting recently? but uhm, i love kyle and chaewon, i love seeing you on my dash, and you’re the sweetest person i’ve met on here. you deserve so much love.

@trivic - we just met but!! hi, i’ve admired your writing on your old blog for AGES and i’m so glad we finally get to write together!! you’re like my writing senpai and ily, don’t be surprised if one day i just randomly spam you with ask memes!

@elskct - if you don’t follow them, do it. i know we haven’t interacted either but they have...all of my uwus. the mun is super sweet, the muses are great, and i just in general love them. they’re really supportive and just...follow them !! you were also my first follower so...i love you so much ; A ;

MUTUALS/PPL I HAVEN’T INTERACTED WITH MUCH BUT STILL LOVE UWU

@dashdasxorphans @limctless @featherxjimin @hoseokwrite @ycungwings @underpressurc @ofamoral @safehavens @ofwildblossoms @blvsphemovs @skyhighhell @sanctvms @gallaxians @monalisa-club @yvvra @busanbunnie @dancxtaem @ghculboy @bnnytrts @flcrdemaga @orientalskies @peachedsin @mervcilleux @criticalbeavty @siinbii @cnamity @hypericns @warsinmyhead

and of course, just all of my lovely mutuals in general (i have...a lot bc i love everyone tbh) it means so much to me that you all like my blog enough to follow my slow, dumb ass. i love all of you. <3

#more like hurricane tortilla (ooc.)

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waywarddivergence · 5 years

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Rules

My rules used to be really short, but certain encounters and trying to avoid confusion and confrontations has led to it growing into a monstrosity, sorry.

General Rules:

This blog is R18+ because of NSFW & TWs.

I am mid 20s. My Mun hub-blog, is Rave-RPs and I tend to follow from there first to check out RP blogs so I can keep my specific blog dashes curated to where I think interactions will happen.

This blog is selective, and low-moderate activity I will prioritize mains purely because in my work I have super busy seasons of October to May. In order to maintain activity I limit the number of threads I take on.

Thread limit doesn’t equal interaction limit! If I’m at my thread limit, I don’t mind having small interactions like asks or quickfire short-replies etc!

Para-style (1-2ish) is my tendency for general interactions. Multi-Para (3+) I save for threads. One-liners to single-Para replies will happen in spontaneous quickfire-interactions, dash commentary or shitpost threads.

Angst / Dark themes / Violence / Death will appear on this blog. If these bother you, Please do not follow me. Anything verging drastic will be hidden under cuts.

All my tags including trigger warnings appear on my links page. If I’ve missed tagging something or you want a tag added, message me and I’ll fix it. I do not have any particular triggers myself. My usual tw format is ‘tw Trigger’

No god-modding. Don’t control my muse. Minor implied things can be okay within reason, like opening doors, or if in a character moves some part of another character. But please be reasonable and fair. Injuries: check with me.

I use RP Thread Tracker to keep track of all my threads. Please let me know if you change your username so I can update my settings on it or I may not notice your reply.

When my threads start crowding I schedule thread releases to help stagger replies. My reply-times can range from same-day up to around two-weeks. (Depending on my backlog) But I tend to aim for a week-average on threads.

If after I’ve replied to a thread I haven’t heard back on it for a month (four weeks) and there hasn’t really been any discussion of the thread OOC between muns in that time, I consider the thread dead. This is so I can open up to other interactions rather than waste my limited time waiting for something that may never come. If a thread is dead please don’t just revive it without checking with me first.

If you wish to drop a thread for any reason (lack of muse, stuck or disinterest) you’re welcome to ask me to drop it too. That way we’re open for other interactions without stress! But please let me know, I need closure.

I will try to respond to memes / asks / tags / mentions, however, this usually takes some time to get around to due to my activity levels. I can’t promise replying to random thread starters due to thread limits, so please message me if you want to start something. :3

Canonical characters preferred. May consider OCs but typically only if I know the mun.

For my own dash curation purposes I don’t tend to follow multi-muses unless I’m familiar with all fandoms on it. (May still follow from Rave-RPs instead.) but you are welcome to interact from a multi-muse!

Discord is available for mutuals. Please, I prefer it over Tumblr IMs!

Spectators & Non-RP blogs:

Please do not reblog my threads (Unless you are the specific RP partner that thread is with.)

Please do not reblog any headcanon-posts or ooc posts I make. These are specific to my portrayal of my muse, or to myself specifically.

I do not mind if you comment on my dash commentary posts. (Please note this allowance is specific to me, other RPers may not like comments on their dash commentary. But on mine: you have permission.)

I’d love to hear from you if you’re enjoying things in IM!

Ships & Smut:

I Multi-Ship. Chemistry preferred, gender irrelevant.

UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE: ALL SHIPS, EVEN WITHIN A VERSE, EXIST IN SEPARATE MINI ALTERNATE VERSES.

Please do not pre-establish a relationship with my muse without discussing it with me. Talk to me first if you are interested in that.

Smut will appear on this blog, but if you want to write it, let’s discuss it first privately. Once any flirting progresses to smut it will be tagged accordingly and hidden under a cut.

Reguarding grey-zone ‘Problematic’ topics: Please be aware that any threads containing as such serve a plotted narrative purpose and are not fetishization of the said matters. I’m not changing my content. If you have a problem with grasping this concept, please leave my blog. Relevant tags will be in my tags list on my links page in case you wish to block them.

Formatting:

I will semi-format my replies by bolding dialogue, and italicizing character thoughts or emphasis, and the occasional strike through, but that’s it.

I am both dyslexic and my sight isn’t amazing. Special formatting using multiple indents and multiple special text-icons confuse me easily. If we are threading I will ask please don't use small-text for the body of replies. I don't mind specific occasional uses to emphasize things, but if I have to squint to read a whole reply: I won’t. If it’s only a smaller interaction of a few short replies and not an ongoing thread, I don’t mind the use of special formatting small-text, it’s just my eyes and brain don’t cooperate and I can’t endure large amounts of it. It’s nothing against muns or their chosen aesthetic.

Please cut posts in replies. Or if you’re continuing an ask, either make a new post, tag me and link back to the ask, or reply-comment on the original ask. If you’re mobile-based and can’t, just let me know and I’ll be fine cutting things since I only RP on my computer.

I use icons by default, however if my RP partner doesn’t, I will match iconless.

___

If you interact with me, I will assume you have read these rules in full. While I tend to check most blogs rules on following, if I send anything or reply to anything then I have definitely read your rules. (I don’t do passwords.)

If you do anything in breach of my rules, I’ll bring it up with you privately. If a reasonable solution cannot be reached, I have no qualms un-following or blocking people.

Also if at any point for any reason you wish to un-follow me, that’s totally fine: You curate your experience and make that choice, its totally okay! I totally get dash cleaning. You’re not obligated to follow my blog, I don’t do this for a following. And as a friend of mine says: un-following doesn’t have to mean unfriending.

If you don’t wish for me to follow you then you are welcome to simply block me to avoid accidental re-following. No questions asked.

Last update: 23/10/19

#WaywardDivergence | Info

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misspattylowell · 5 years

Text

Updated: 31st March 2020

General Rules:

This blog is R18+ because of NSFW & TWs.

I am mid 20s. My Mun hub-blog, is Rave-RPs and I tend to follow from there first to check out RP blogs so I can keep my specific blog dashes curated to where I think interactions will happen.

Thread limit doesn’t equal interaction limit! If I’m at my thread limit, I don’t mind having small interactions like asks or quickfire short-replies etc!

Angst / Dark themes / Violence / Death will appear on this blog. If these bother you, Please do not follow me. Anything verging drastic will be hidden under cuts.

All my tags including trigger warnings appear on my links page. Mutuals may request tags. If I’ve missed tagging something or you want a tag added, message me and I’ll fix it. I do not have any particular triggers myself.

I use RP Thread Tracker to keep track of all my threads. Please let me know if you change your username so I can update my settings on it or I may not notice your reply.

When my threads start crowding I’ll schedule thread releases to help stagger replies. My reply-times can range from same-day up to around two-weeks. (Depending on my backlog) But I tend to aim for a week-average on threads.

If after I’ve replied to a thread I haven’t heard back on it for a month (four weeks) and there hasn’t really been any discussion of the thread OOC between muns in that time, I consider the thread dead. This is so I can open up to other interactions rather than wait for something that may never come. If a thread is dead please don’t just revive it without checking with me first.

Canonical characters preferred. May consider OCs but typically only if I know the mun.

Discord is available for mutuals. Please, I prefer it over Tumblr IMs!

Spectators & Non-RP blogs:

Please do not reblog my threads (Unless you are the specific RP partner that thread is with.)

Please do not reblog any headcanon-posts or ooc posts I make. These are specific to my portrayal of my muse, or to myself specifically.

I do not mind if you comment on my dash commentary posts. (Please note this allowance is specific to me, other RPers may not like comments on their dash commentary. But on mine: you have permission.)

I’d love to hear from you if you’re enjoying things in IM!

Ships & Smut:

I’m a multi-shipper, so free free to ask me about ships. I don’t have particularly set ships, though there are some muses Patty would be more inclined towards. They key is chemistry, really. Gender fairly irrelevant.

UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE: ALL SHIPS, EVEN WITHIN A VERSE, EXIST IN SEPARATE MINI ALTERNATE VERSES.

Please do not pre-establish a relationship with my muse without discussing it with me. Talk to me first if you are interested in that.

Smut will appear on this blog, but if you want to write it, let’s discuss it first privately. Once any flirting progresses to smut it will be tagged accordingly and hidden under a cut.

Patty will not be involved in smut in her kid verses. In specific verses themes of grooming may be present, but will not contain smut. Do bear in mind the same plot-thread may span time and thus later end up with smut, but in an older verse. Threads with these themes will will be tagged for those that wish to avoid them.

Formatting:

I will semi-format my replies by bolding dialogue, and italicizing character thoughts or emphasis, and the occasional strike through, but that’s it.

I am both dyslexic and my sight isn’t amazing. Special formatting using multiple indents and multiple special text-icons confuse me easily. If we are threading I will ask please don't use doubly-small-text for the body of replies. I don't mind specific occasional uses to emphasize things, but if I have to squint to read a whole reply: I won’t. If it’s only a smaller interaction of a few short replies and not an ongoing thread, I don’t mind the use of special formatting small-text, it’s just my eyes and brain don’t cooperate and I can’t endure large amounts of it. It’s nothing against muns or their chosen aesthetic.

I use icons by default, however if my RP partner doesn’t, I will match iconless.

___

If you do anything in breach of my rules, I’ll bring it up with you privately. If a reasonable solution cannot be reached, I have no qualms un-following or blocking people.

If you don’t wish for me to follow you then you are welcome to simply block me to avoid accidental re-following. No questions asked.

0 notes

wineanddinosaur · 4 years

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How Japan Created the Modern American Bourbon Market

It was 1975 and bourbon sales in America were tanking. The brown spirit had hit its peak just five years earlier, selling some 80 million cases in 1970 — but it all went downhill from there.

Baby boomers coming of drinking age were rejecting the stuffy-seeming whiskey their parents drank, instead favoring beer, cheap wine, and, most especially, clear booze like vodka and tequila. The American whiskey industry was reeling and running out of ideas.

“This was a daunting task since the market was totally Scotch-taste oriented,” William Yuracko, then head of Schenley International’s export division, told the The New York Times in 1992. Japanese people mostly drank Scotch — the country had lifted all restrictions on imported spirits in 1969 — or their own homegrown whiskey, which was likewise based on a Scotch flavor profile. “Bourbon was unknown and a total departure from the taste pattern,” he wrote.

Remarkably, within a few short years, Yuracko (who would would become Schenley president from 1975 to 1984) and others would create a frenzy for bourbon in Japan. In fact, the country’s desire for very well-aged, high-proof, premium-packaged, limited editions and single-barrel bourbons helped Kentucky survive when the American bourbon market was dead as disco.

The U.S. would, in turn, follow Japan’s lead and, as the world entered a new millennium, start latching onto these trends and introducing products that helped revive America’s fervor for the once-humble spirit, ultimately and unwittingly turning it into something now rabidly pursued by connoisseurs the world over.

A Critical Mass of Bourbon

Yuracko first started taking reconnaissance trips to the Far East in 1972 and quickly realized that getting Scotch-swilling Japanese old-timers to switch to bourbon would be nearly impossible. He decided to instead focus his efforts on Japan’s youth, the “post-college consumer,” he told The Times, “whose tastes were not yet formed and who was attuned to Western products and ideas,” like Coca-Cola and Levi’s.

“They were having their own youth revolution, [like] what we had gone through in the ’60s they were going through in the 80s,” explains Chuck Cowdery, author and bourbon historian. “Rejecting their parents’ generation, including what their parents’ generation drank. They were open to trying something new.”

Enter bourbon. Then, as now, it was very hard for foreigners to make headway in Japanese business. Yuracko knew he’d need a local liaison, so he offered a distribution partnership with Suntory, the Japanese whiskey brand that already controlled 70 percent of the local market. Brown-Forman, another American whiskey powerhouse and Schenley’s best competitor, would eventually offer Suntory the same deal.

“I cannot overestimate the importance of the decision taken by Schenley management to place their most important brands in the same house with their major competitor,” Yuracko explained in a paper he wrote for the Journal of Business Strategy in 1992. “This would be tantamount to Ford and General Motors giving all their top models to Toyota to market in Japan.”

It was a major gamble for everyone involved. Suntory could, of course, intentionally torpedo all bourbon sales to assure Japanese whiskey would never again have a competitor; or it could favor one bourbon brand over the other. The fact was, however, neither Schenley nor Brown-Forman had much to lose. If they didn’t take the gamble, bourbon might not even exist by the end of the decade.

Suntory didn’t want to simply do a trial, either. According to Yuracko, Suntory wanted a “critical mass” of bourbon, “a product for every taste and price level … and each brand was given its own identity and market niche.” Schenley offered Suntory Ancient Age, J.W. Dant, and I.W. Harper. Brown-Forman handed over Early Times, Old Forester, and Jack Daniel’s.

Since most drinking in Japan was done outside of the home, Schenley and Brown-Forman together began setting up bourbon bars all over the country. The bars had “an unsophisticated atmosphere that would appeal to young people already attracted to American clothes, cars, and customs,” Yuracko explained, playing country music and serving American food like hamburgers and chili, and only pouring Suntory’s six bourbon brands.

Instead of buying single glasses of bourbon, young customers purchased bottles, stored in cabinets along the bars, each adorned with a neck tag denoting whose was whose. In an era before TikTok, it became a youthful challenge to see who could drink the most personal bottles. Thanks to heavy advertising from Suntory, one brand quickly began to rise above the others.

“I.W. Harper was the eye-opener,” explains Cowdery. A bottom-shelf product in America, it was naturally able to be sold at much higher prices in Japan, before Schenley eventually fully repositioned it as a premium, 12-year-old product. If it was only moving 2,000 cases internationally in 1969, I. W. Harper eventually became the largest-selling bourbon brand in Japan at more than 500,000 cases per year by 1991. Cowdery explains, “It was profitable to buy cases of I.W. Harper on [the American] wholesale market and privately ship them to Japan.”

Eventually, the U.S. had to take I.W. Harper off the market stateside in order to satisfy demand in Japan. Soon enough, other brands took notice and decided to see if they, too, could become “big in Japan.” By 1990, 2 million cases of bourbon were headed to the country every year.

More Brands Head to Japan

In a sleepy Osaka suburb, a three-story building that has been everything from a hotel to a brothel is now a bar styled like a western saloon. It serves American food like fried chicken, thumps Dylan and the Beatles on a vintage jukebox, and mixes up classic cocktails like the Mint Julep and another called the Scarlett O’Hara. This is Rogin’s Tavern in Moriguichi, a bourbon bar that opened in the 1970s that remains a shrine to Americana and its governmentally protected spirit, stocking more and arguably better bourbon than pretty much any single bar in America.

“I tasted my first bourbon in the basement bar of the Rihga Royal Hotel, a famous old place in Osaka,” claims Seiichiro Tatsumi, Rogin’s owner since 1977. He quickly became obsessed, reading everything he could about bourbon via literature provided by the American Cultural Center in Osaka. He finally visited Kentucky for the first time in 1984 and fell in love, driving its country roads, stopping at off-the-beaten path liquor stores, and acquiring numerous dusty bottles to bring back to Japan. He now owns a second home in Lexington.

Over the years, Tatsumi claims, he has probably “self-imported” some 5,000 bourbons from America back to his bar. “I stop at every place I pass, and I don’t just look on the shelves,” he says. “I ask the clerk to comb the cellar and check the storeroom for anything old. I can’t tell you how many cases of ancient bottles I’ve found that way.”

It wasn’t only Tatsumi. Japan gave these old bourbon brands a new lifeline. For example, Four Roses had long fallen out of favor with American drinkers by the 1970s. In 1967, Seagram’s turned the once-venerable brand into a dreaded blended whiskey, cut with grain neutral spirit and added flavoring.

“[B]y the time the ‘90s rolled around it was just an average blended whiskey,” the late Al Young, Four Roses’ former senior brand ambassador who worked at the company for 50 years, told VinePair contributor Nicholas Mancall-Bitel last year. But in Japan it was legitimate straight bourbon whiskey, packaged in sleek Cognac-style bottles with embossed silver roses, and it was a big hit. Just as Schenley and Brown-Forman had partnered with Suntory, in 1971 Four Roses struck up a partnership with Kirin, Japan’s top beer brand.

If brands like I.W. Harper, Four Roses, and Early Times were saved by Japan, others were specifically created for it. Blanton’s, for example, was spawned in 1984 by two former Fleischmann’s Distilling execs, Ferdie Falk and Bob Baranaskas. The two had acquired the Buffalo Trace distillery (then known as the George T. Stagg Distillery), as well as Schenley’s key bourbon, Ancient Age. Believing, like Yuracko, that the future of bourbon was overseas, they called their new company Age International.

“[T]he brand chased the profitable high-priced segment,” writes Fred Minnick in his book “Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey.” In this case, that meant introducing the world’s first commercial single-barrel bourbon, specifically designed for Japan, and packaged in a now iconic grenade-shaped, horse-stoppered bottle.

Blanton’s was such a hit in Japan that by 1992 Japanese company Takara Shuzo had purchased Age International for $20 million. It immediately flipped the actual distillery to Sazerac, while retaining the brand trademarks for Blanton’s.

Aged Bourbons Claim a Price

Accustomed to Scotch, once Japanese consumers “moved onto other types of whiskey, they already had these expectations built in for 12-, 15-, 18-year age statements,” explains John Rudd, an American who formerly lived in Japan and runs the Tokyo Bourbon Bible blog.

Bourbon in America had typically been released after about four years — it got too oaky if it aged much longer, it was believed at the time — and few consumers particularly cared about lofty age statements. Not so in Japan and, luckily, the glut in America allowed many bourbon distilleries to unload what they thought was over-aged junk.

“With a depressed market in America, lots of bourbon, especially extra-aged bourbon, was shipped to Japan where it could command a higher price,” Rudd says.

There was Very Old St. Nick, specially created in 1984 for the Japanese market, some as old as 25 years. There was Old Grommes Very Very Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which in the late 1980s started sending Japan bottles as old as two decades. A.H. Hirsch, aged 15, 16, and eventually 20 years, landed in Japan as early as 1989, and is still some of the most coveted bourbon of all time (so much so that Cowdery wrote an entire book about it).

Heaven Hill, today the largest family-owned and operated distillery in the U.S., specifically bottled an Evan Williams 23 for the Japanese market and created new brands like Martin Mills 24 Years.

“Japan considered bourbon a prestigious, highly coveted consumer good,” says Jimmy Russell, Wild Turkey’s master distiller who started visiting Japan in the 1980s. Every year he returned with special bottlings from his company, some as old as 13 years, a lofty age that never existed in America. “Back then, you’d see private bottle programs at prestigious bars where high-level executives would have their own bottles of bourbon designated ‘my bottle.’”

Rogin’s Tavern, for one, started tapping distilleries for its own private, cask-strength bottlings. Willett provided a 25-year-old labeled “Rogin’s Choice.” Julian Van Winkle III, scion of the soon-to-come Pappy dynasty, offered a 12-year bottling. Van Winkle III, in particular, kept his nascent company afloat in the mid-1980s and onward by providing special bottlings, many under a name you could easily now call the entire Japanese whiskey marketplace: Society of Bourbon Connoisseurs.

Van Winkle III first released Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 20 Year in America in 1994; by the mid-2000s, Pappy had become the most coveted whiskey in the country, regularly selling for thousands of dollars per bottle.

“Bourbon became popular here [in America] again,” explains Rudd. “And people quit thinking it needed to be young.”

The American Bourbon Revival

America’s bourbon malaise would last nearly three decades, reaching its nadir in 2000, when a mere 32 million cases were moved stateside. Of course, it’s always darkest before the dawn, and, thanks to Japan’s example, things were already being put into place for bourbon’s homeland revival.

Like at Four Roses, where Jim Rutledge took over as master distiller in 1995 and made it his mission to get the company to start letting American consumers finally taste the high-quality bourbon Japan had been enjoying for decades. As Mancall-Bitel explained, however, “The bourbon was performing too well overseas and the company didn’t want to rock the boat — until it was rocked from within the company.”

Seagram’s collapsed and started selling off its assets. Rutledge convinced Kirin to buy Four Roses, and the eventual Japanese CEO, Teruyuki Daino, moved his offices from Tokyo back to the distillery in Lawrenceburg, Ky. By 2002, once again, Four Roses bourbon was sold in America. Today it’s one of the bourbon world’s most revered brands, introducing geek-friendly products like Single Barrel in 2004 and the Small Batch series in 2006.

Japan proved that well-aged, premium bourbon actually had a place in the world. Bourbon didn’t have to be Scotch’s economical, bottom-shelf brother. Blanton’s, when it was finally sold in America, was priced at $24 a bottle — then a massive price point — and was advertised in such upscale places as The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and Ivy League alumni mags. Around the same time, Japanese drinkers were gladly paying $115 per bottle.

Bourbon’s rebirth in America has caused many brands to pull back their products from the Japanese market and raise prices on the little still sent there. Japan’s taste for bourbon has dwindled. At the same time, American tourists were heading to Japan to clear shelves of old stock.

“It all corresponded with the American bourbon boom getting out of hand,” explains Rudd. He believes Japan is no longer the bourbon oasis that it once was, even as recently as 2014, when he lived near a liquor store that stocked rare bottles like Society of Bourbon Connoisseurs, gold wax A.H. Hirsch, Van Winkle 1974 Family Reserve 17 Year, and Buffalo Trace Antique Collection offerings from the early aughts.

Rudd says he’d buy a few bottles here and there, always resting assured that more would be there any time he returned. “Then one day, I went back to the store and nothing was left,” he says. “I asked the owner what happened and he told me, ‘Some American guy named Alex came by and purchased all of it.’”

The article How Japan Created the Modern American Bourbon Market appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/japan-created-american-bourbon-market/

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johnboothus · 4 years

Text

How Japan Created the Modern American Bourbon Market

It was 1975 and bourbon sales in America were tanking. The brown spirit had hit its peak just five years earlier, selling some 80 million cases in 1970 — but it all went downhill from there.

A Critical Mass of Bourbon

More Brands Head to Japan

Aged Bourbons Claim a Price

“With a depressed market in America, lots of bourbon, especially extra-aged bourbon, was shipped to Japan where it could command a higher price,” Rudd says.

Heaven Hill, today the largest family-owned and operated distillery in the U.S., specifically bottled an Evan Williams 23 for the Japanese market and created new brands like Martin Mills 24 Years.

“Bourbon became popular here [in America] again,” explains Rudd. “And people quit thinking it needed to be young.”

The American Bourbon Revival

The article How Japan Created the Modern American Bourbon Market appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/japan-created-american-bourbon-market/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/how-japan-created-the-modern-american-bourbon-market

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isaiahrippinus · 4 years

Text

How Japan Created the Modern American Bourbon Market

It was 1975 and bourbon sales in America were tanking. The brown spirit had hit its peak just five years earlier, selling some 80 million cases in 1970 — but it all went downhill from there.

A Critical Mass of Bourbon

More Brands Head to Japan

Aged Bourbons Claim a Price

“With a depressed market in America, lots of bourbon, especially extra-aged bourbon, was shipped to Japan where it could command a higher price,” Rudd says.

Heaven Hill, today the largest family-owned and operated distillery in the U.S., specifically bottled an Evan Williams 23 for the Japanese market and created new brands like Martin Mills 24 Years.

“Bourbon became popular here [in America] again,” explains Rudd. “And people quit thinking it needed to be young.”

The American Bourbon Revival

The article How Japan Created the Modern American Bourbon Market appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/japan-created-american-bourbon-market/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/191000805079

0 notes