#Successful Internet Side Projects

[abcearning4]

The Top 10 Successful Internet Side Projects

The internet has become a breeding ground for innovative side projects that have grown into massively successful businesses. Whether started as hobbies, passion projects, or experimental ventures, these projects have captured the imagination of millions and, in some cases, generated millions of dollars in revenue. In this article, we’ll take a look at ten of the most successful internet side projects and how they evolved into influential platforms.

1. Craigslist

Craigslist began as a simple email list created by Craig Newmark in 1995. Initially, it was just a way for Newmark to share local events with friends, but as its popularity grew, he expanded it into a website where users could post classified ads for jobs, housing, services, and more. Today, Craigslist is one of the most widely Successfull internet side project used classified sites in the world, serving millions of users daily. Despite its minimalist design, Craigslist remains a dominant force in online classifieds.

2. GitHub

GitHub was started by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, and PJ Hyett as a side project to simplify version control and collaboration for developers. Initially developed as a platform for hosting Git repositories, GitHub quickly became the industry standard for software development. Acquired by Microsoft for $7.5 billion in 2018, GitHub now hosts millions of open-source and private projects, proving that a niche developer tool can grow into an indispensable platform.

3. WordPress

What started as a simple blogging tool by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little in 2003 evolved into the world’s most popular content management system (CMS). WordPress powers over 40% of all websites today, enabling individuals and businesses to create and manage online content with ease. The platform’s success has led to a vast ecosystem of themes, plugins, and hosting services, making it a powerhouse in the digital publishing industry.

4. Twitter

Twitter was born out of a side project at Odeo, a podcasting company, in 2006. Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams envisioned a platform where users could share short status updates. Initially called "twttr," it quickly gained popularity as a microblogging service. Over the years, Twitter has become an essential tool for news, activism, and global communication, boasting hundreds of millions of active users.

5. Instagram

Instagram was initially a side project of Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, who wanted to create a simple way for users to share photos with beautiful filters. Launched in 2010, Instagram quickly gained traction and was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion just two years later. Today, it’s one of the most influential social media platforms, driving trends in photography, fashion, and digital marketing.

6. Shopify

Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake started Shopify as a side project while trying to build an online store for their snowboard business. Unhappy with the available e-commerce solutions, they decided to create their own platform. Shopify officially launched in 2006 and has since become one of the most powerful e-commerce platforms, enabling millions of businesses to sell online.

7. Reddit

Reddit was founded by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian as part of a startup accelerator program. Originally designed as a simple discussion board, Reddit quickly grew into the "front page of the internet," featuring user-generated content across thousands of communities. Today, it’s a major hub for discussions, memes, and internet culture, with millions of daily users.

8. Product Hunt

Product Hunt started as a simple email list created by Ryan Hoover to share cool new tech products. It later evolved into a website where users could upvote and discuss the latest startups, apps, and tools. Since its launch, Product Hunt has become a go-to platform for discovering new products, with major investors and entrepreneurs participating in its community.

9. Canva

Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams launched Canva as a design tool to make graphic creation accessible to everyone. Initially started as a side project, Canva rapidly gained traction among non-designers and businesses. Today, it’s a multi-billion-dollar company used by millions of people worldwide for creating presentations, marketing materials, and social media graphics.

10. Duolingo

Duolingo began as a side project by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker, who wanted to create a free language-learning platform. Unlike traditional language courses, Duolingo gamified the learning experience, making it fun and engaging. Today, Duolingo has hundreds of millions of users and has expanded into AI-driven education technology.

Conclusion

These ten side projects demonstrate that successful businesses can emerge from passion, experimentation, and a keen understanding of user needs. Whether it’s an open-source tool, a social media platform, or an e-commerce solution, each of these projects started small but grew into a global success. If you’re working on a side project, these stories should serve as inspiration that your idea could be the next big thing on the internet.

[theambitiouswoman]

The Neuroscience of being delusional

The human brain is not just a logic machine, it’s a belief engine. And when you choose to believe in a reality that doesn’t exist yet, you’re activating one of the most powerful forces in your biology: which is neuroplasticity

We know that your brain is constantly changing, reshaping itself based on your thoughts, feelings, experiences. This is called neuroplasticity. Every time you repeat a thought whether it’s “I’m a failure” or “I’m going to build a billion dollar company”.. your brain carves a deeper groove in that mental path

The more you believe something, the more your brain makes it true...structurally, chemically, and behaviorally

They’ll call you delusional… until it works

So when you actually believe in your big “unrealistic” dreams, you’re not just daydreaming. You’re rehearsing your future self. This is why you can't believe what you think, if is negative and vice versa being important as well

Because your brain doesn’t distinguish much between what’s real and what’s vividly imagined. This is why elite athletes use mental rehearsal, visualizing themselves winning long before they ever step on the field

When you actually imagine yourself successful, confident, loved, your nervous system reacts as if it’s already happening. These imagined scenarios begin to shape your identity and you start to believe it

This is the science behind manifestation. It is not magic. Not fantasy. It is biology

We’re wired for survival at our core. That means your brain is less concerned with whether something is logical and more concerned with whether it feels safe

That’s why big dreams feel scary. They push you out of your current comfort zone. But when you normalize those dreams, when you talk about them, think about them, surround yourself with environments where they are normal, your nervous system stops seeing them as a threat

It stops resisting and starts building

Delusional belief triggers hope, motivation and drive.. all fueled by dopamine, the neurotransmitter of desire and action. When you believe something big is possible, your dopamine rises, making you more likely to take action toward it

Love science facts!

On the flip side, when you talk yourself out of your dreams, you train your brain to stay stuck in survival mode

So start ignoring negative projections

You’re not too much. You’re just finally thinking big enough Your vision isn’t crazy, it’s brave actually and very healing And "delusional" is just what they call people who see the future before anyone else does

The internet can call it manifestation, but really its your life. if you really believe in something bigger, your brain will build it

So how long does this take?

Your brain starts changing immediately when you begin consistently focusing on a new belief or vision. Keyword here is actually believing guys and rejecting intrusive thoughts the moment you start having them. Intrusive thoughts are normal. Do not think it wont work or give up when they happen. It is about handling them on the spot

0–21 Days: Your brain starts rewiring as you introduce the new belief, but your old patterns still run strong. This is the hardest phase... like I said, resistance, doubt and "this feels fake" moments are normal

21–66 Days: Repetition begins to override old neural pathways. Your nervous system gets used to the new idea. It starts to feel less foreign and more natural

66–90 Days plus: You begin living from the new belief. Your decisions, energy and even identity start aligning with it. This is when you often see results. Not because they appeared all of a sudden, but because you’ve become the version of you who expects and creates them

[skotoseme]

Betar traces its origins back over 100 years. The group was founded by early Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky as a far-right paramilitary force, one that explicitly stood against the leftist Jewish groups who dominated at a time when “Jewish” and “socialist” were seen by many as virtually synonymous. Jabotinsky believed that establishing a state in Palestine would require the creation of what he called a “new Jew,” one that would be willing to fight and die for Zionism. To this end, Betar was established as a fighting organization and received generous funding from conservative benefactors. Jabotinsky instructed members to swear an oath to the unborn Israel: “I devote my life to the rebirth of the Jewish State, with a Jewish majority, on both sides of the Jordan.” The creation of such a state, therefore, would require the mass extermination or expulsion of the region’s native inhabitants. Betar’s formal name was Brit Yosef Trumpeldor, named after a Jewish settler who was killed in 1920 in an early firefight with Palestinians over disputed land. It was exactly men like Trumpeldor who Jabotinsky believed were necessary in order to win, in contrast to the majority of European Jews, who he saw as passive and weak. 1920s Europe was a time of rising antisemitism, and despite their inherent anti-Jewish nature, many conservative Jews admired the discipline and organization of fascist paramilitaries such as Hitler’s Brownshirts. Betar was modeled on these groups, with Jabotinsky believing the Zionist project’s success was dependent on the establishment of such organizations. Because of their anti-communist, anti-worker outlook, conservative money flooded into Betar, helping it become one of the largest and most influential Jewish organizations by the 1930s, with membership rising to around 70,000 people. Betar leaders would go on to become key figures in Israeli politics. These included Prime Ministers, Menachem Begin and Yitzchak Shamir, as well as Benzion Netanyahu, the father of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On its official website’s “Our History” section, Betar writes (emphasis added):

“Betar thus became an incubator for the development of right-wing Zionist ideas and its supporters were sometimes referred to as “Jewish Fascists.” In Palestine, Betar members facilitated illegal Jewish immigration and were active instigators of disturbances and violence, frequently bombing Arab civilian areas in response to attacks and waging guerilla [sic] warfare against the British.”

Thus, the organization does not shy away from the fascism label, and it proudly notes that it “frequently” carried out terror operations against Arab civilians in Palestine. (At some point in the past week, after it began receiving increased scrutiny for its connections to the Trump administration, Betar has removed both the “fascist” moniker and the boast about bombing Arabs, but the original page can still be viewed via the Internet Archive. Since October 7, 2023, Betar has greatly upped its presence in the United States, thanks to far-right Israeli-American businessman Ronn Torossian and Executive Director Ross Glick. In July 2024, it successfully applied for tax-exempt nonprofit status, meaning it is classified by the government as a charity. “Since our revival in 2024, Betar has made a powerful impact across the U.S. and is just getting started. We are recruiting, developing, and empowering Jews to become unapologetic Zionist leaders—defending Israel on campuses, in communities, and across all platforms,” Betar writes. Yet an investigation by The Electronic Intifada suggests that Betar might have been illegally fundraising. The same report notes that Glick has faced serious allegations of sex crimes. In 2019, his former girlfriend found nude images of herself posted on her company’s official Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages. Glick was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a computer and unlawfully posting the lewd pictures. He pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment, a violation, and paid a fine.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The majority of censorship is self-censorship

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me TONIGHT in SAN DIEGO (Feb 22, Mysterious Galaxy). After that, it's LA (Saturday night, with Adam Conover), Seattle (Monday, with Neal Stephenson), then Portland, Phoenix and more!

I know a lot of polymaths, but Ada Palmer takes the cake: brilliant science fiction writer, brilliant historian, brilliant librettist, brilliant singer, and then some:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/10/monopoly-begets-monopoly/#terra-ignota

Palmer is a friend and a colleague. In 2018, she, Adrian Johns and I collaborated on "Censorship, Information Control, & Information Revolutions from Printing Press to Internet," a series of grad seminars at the U Chicago History department (where Ada is a tenured prof, specializing in the Inquisition and Renaissance forbidden knowledge):

https://ifk.uchicago.edu/research/faculty-fellow-projects/censorship-information-control-information-revolutions-from-printing-press/

The project had its origins in a party game that Ada and I used to play at SF conventions: Ada would describe a way that the Inquisitions' censors attacked the printing press, and I'd find an extremely parallel maneuver from governments, the entertainment industry or other entities from the much more recent history of internet censorship battles.

With the seminars, we took it to the next level. Each 3h long session featured a roster of speakers from many disciplines, explaining everything from how encryption works to how white nationalists who were radicalized in Vietnam formed an armored-car robbery gang to finance modems and Apple ][+s to link up neo-Nazis across the USA.

We borrowed the structure of these sessions from science fiction conventions, home to a very specific kind of panel that doesn't always work, but when it does, it's fantastic. It was a natural choice: after all, Ada and I know each other through science fiction.

Even if you're not an sf person, you've probably heard of the Hugo Awards, the most prestigious awards in the field, voted on each year by attendees of the annual World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). And even if you're not an sf fan, you might have heard about a scandal involving the Hugo Awards, which were held last year in China, a first:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/science-fiction-authors-excluded-hugo-awards-china-rcna139134

A little background: each year's Worldcon is run by a committee of volunteers. These volunteers put together bids to host the Worldcon, and canvass Worldcon attendees to vote in favor of their bid. For many years, a group of Chinese fans attempted to field a successful bid to host a Worldcon, and, eventually, they won.

At the time, there were many concerns: about traveling to a country with a poor human rights record and a reputation for censorship, and about the logistics of customary Worldcon attendees getting visas. During this debate, many international fans pointed to the poor human rights record in the USA (which has hosted the vast majority of Worldcons since their inception), and the absolute ghastly rigmarole the US government subjects many foreign visitors to when they seek visas to come to the US for conventions.

Whatever side of this debate you came down on, it couldn't be denied that the Chinese Worldcon rang a lot of alarm-bells. Communications were spotty, and then the con was unceremoniously rescheduled for months after the original scheduled date, without any good explanation. Rumors swirled of Chinese petty officials muscling their way into the con's administration.

But the real alarm bells started clanging after the Hugo Award ceremony. Normally, after the Hugos are given out, attendees are given paper handouts tallying the nominations and votes, and those numbers are also simultaneously published online. Technically, the Hugo committee has a grace period of some weeks before this data must be published, but at every Worldcon I've attended over the past 30+ years, I left the Hugos with a data-sheet in my hand.

Then, in early December, at the very last moment, the Hugo committee released its data – and all hell broke loose. Numerous, acclaimed works had been unilaterally "disqualified" from the ballot. Many of these were written by writers from the Chinese diaspora, but some works – like an episode of Neil Gaiman's Sandman – were seemingly unconnected to any national considerations.

Readers and writers erupted in outrage, demanding to know what had happened. The Hugo administrators – Americans and Canadians who'd volunteered in those roles for many years and were widely viewed as being members in good standing of the community – were either silent or responded with rude and insulting remarks. One thing they didn't do was explain themselves.

The absence of facts left a void that rumors and speculation rushed in to fill. Stories of Chinese official censorship swirled online, and along with them, a kind of I-told-you-so: China should never have been home to a Worldcon, the country's authoritarian national politics are fundamentally incompatible with a literary festival.

As the outrage mounted and the scandal breached from the confines of science fiction fans and writers to the wider world, more details kept emerging. A damning set of internal leaks revealed that it was those long-serving American and Canadian volunteers who decided to censor the ballot. They did so out of a vague sense that the Chinese state would visit some unspecified sanction on the con if politically unpalatable works appeared on the Hugo ballot. Incredibly, they even compiled clumsy dossiers on nominees, disqualifying one nominee out of a mistaken belief that he had once visited Tibet (it was actually Nepal).

There's no evidence that the Chinese state asked these people to do this. Likewise, it wasn't pressure from the Chinese state that caused them to throw out hundreds of ballots cast by Chinese fans, whom they believed were voting for a "slate" of works (it's not clear if this is the case, but slate voting is permitted under Hugo rules).

All this has raised many questions about the future of the Hugo Awards, and the status of the awards that were given in China. There's widespread concern that Chinese fans involved with the con may face state retaliation due to the negative press that these shenanigans stirred up.

But there's also a lot of questions about censorship, and the nature of both state and private censorship, and the relationship between the two. These are questions that Ada is extremely well-poised to answer; indeed, they're the subject of her book-in-progress, entitled Why We Censor: from the Inquisition to the Internet.

In a magisterial essay for Reactor, Palmer stakes out her central thesis: "The majority of censorship is self-censorship, but the majority of self-censorship is intentionally cultivated by an outside power":

https://reactormag.com/tools-for-thinking-about-censorship/

States – even very powerful states – that wish to censor lack the resources to accomplish totalizing censorship of the sort depicted in Nineteen Eighty-Four. They can't go from house to house, searching every nook and cranny for copies of forbidden literature. The only way to kill an idea is to stop people from expressing it in the first place. Convincing people to censor themselves is, "dollar for dollar and man-hour for man-hour, much cheaper and more impactful than anything else a censorious regime can do."

Ada invokes examples modern and ancient, including from her own area of specialty, the Inquisition and its treatment of Gailileo. The Inquistions didn't set out to silence Galileo. If that had been its objective, it could have just assassinated him. This was cheap, easy and reliable! Instead, the Inquisition persecuted Galileo, in a very high-profile manner, making him and his ideas far more famous.

But this isn't some early example of Inquisitorial Streisand Effect. The point of persecuting Galileo was to convince Descartes to self-censor, which he did. He took his manuscript back from the publisher and cut the sections the Inquisition was likely to find offensive. It wasn't just Descartes: "thousands of other major thinkers of the time wrote differently, spoke differently, chose different projects, and passed different ideas on to the next century because they self-censored after the Galileo trial."

This is direct self-censorship, where people are frightened into silencing themselves. But there's another form of censorship, which Ada calls "middlemen censorship." That's when someone other than the government censors a work because they fear what the government would do if they didn't. Think of Scholastic's cowardly decision to pull inclusive, LGBTQ books out of its book fair selections even though no one had ordered them to do so:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/06/books/scholastic-book-racism-maggie-tokuda-hall.html

This is a form of censorship outsourcing, and it "multiplies the manpower of a censorship system by the number of individuals within its power." The censoring body doesn't need to hire people to search everyone's houses for offensive books – it can frighten editors, publishers, distributors, booksellers and librarians into suppressing the books in the first place.

This outsourcing blurs the line between state and private surveillance. Think about comics. After a series of high-profile Congressional hearings about the supposed danger of comics to impressionable young minds, the comics industry undertook a regime of self-censorship, through which the private Comics Code Authority would vet comings for "dangerous" content before allowing its seal of approval to appear on the comics' covers. Distributors and retailers refused to carry books without a CCA stamp, so publishers refused to publish books unless they could get a CCA stamp.

The CCA was unaccountable, capricious – and racist. By the 60s and 70s, it became clear that comic about Black characters were subjected to much tighter scrutiny than comics featuring white heroes. The CCA would reject "a drop of sweat on the forehead of a Black astronaut as 'too graphic' since it 'could be mistaken for blood.'" Every comic that got sent back by the CCA meant long, brutal reworkings by writers and illustrators to get them past the censors.

The US government never censored heroes like Black Panther, but the chain of events that created the CCA "middleman censors" made sure that Black Panther appeared in far fewer comics starring Marvel's most prominent Black character. An analysis of censorship that tries to draw a line between private and public censorship would say that the government played no role in Black Panther's banishment to obscurity – but without Congressional action, Black Panther would never have faced censorship.

This is why attempts to cleanly divide public and private censorship always break down. Many people will tell you that when Twitter or Facebook blocks content they disagree with, that's not censorship, since censorship is government action, and these are private actors. What they mean is that Twitter and Facebook censorship doesn't violate the First Amendment, but it's perfectly possible to infringe on free speech without violating the US Constitution. What's more, if the government fails to prevent monopolization of our speech forums – like social media – and also declines to offer its own public speech forums that are bound to respect the First Amendment, we can end up with government choices that produce an environment in which some ideas are suppressed wherever they might find an audience – all without violating the Constitution:

https://locusmag.com/2020/01/cory-doctorow-inaction-is-a-form-of-action/

The great censorious regimes of the past – the USSR, the Inquisition – left behind vast troves of bureaucratic records, and these records are full of complaints about the censors' lack of resources. They didn't have the manpower, the office space, the money or the power to erase the ideas they were ordered to suppress. As Ada notes, "In the period that Spain’s Inquisition was wildly out of Rome’s control, the Roman Inquisition even printed manuals to guide its Inquisitors on how to bluff their way through pretending they were on top of what Spain was doing!"

Censors have always done – and still do – their work not by wielding power, but by projecting it. Even the most powerful state actors are not powerful enough to truly censor, in the sense of confiscating every work expressing an idea and punishing everyone who creates such a work. Instead, when they rely on self-censorship, both by individuals and by intermediaries. When censors act to block one work and not another, or when they punish one transgressor while another is free to speak, it's tempting to think that they are following some arcane ruleset that defines when enforcement is strict and when it's weak. But the truth is, they censor erratically because they are too weak to censor comprehensively.

Spectacular acts of censorship and punishment are a performance, "to change the way people act and think." Censors "seek out actions that can cause the maximum number of people to notice and feel their presence, with a minimum of expense and manpower."

The censor can only succeed by convincing us to do their work for them. That's why drawing a line between state censorship and private censorship is such a misleading exercise. Censorship is, and always has been, a public-private partnership.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/22/self-censorship/#hugos

[lexirosewrites]

for slick sunday, i've been thinking about this very specific idea for the last two days (it's been adjusted slightly to fit the "new" theme for this week just bc i think it's fun :) )

thinking of alpha eddie and omega steve in a secret relationship. they've been courting for ages, on the cusp of mating, but they've been waiting for the right time. neither of them were quite ready to take their relationship into the world, and that's exactly what would've happened had they mated. see, eddie is very much in the public eye. his band is, like, really out there. not quite world famous, but they do a lot of press and a bunch of different projects and such. eddie was recently featured on a relatively popular song, and the others have been in movies/tv shows as one-off side characters here and there. point is, people know who they are. and the paparazzi knows nothing about privacy.

it's not exactly easy to hide a mating bond (tho it is possible), so they just decided together that they would wait.

and then steve gets pregnant.

they still don't mate yet, but it changes everything for them. they know they're not going to be able to hide it for long. part of steve is a little relieved, honestly. he'd never say it out loud, but he missed the days before eddie got famous. when they could go out on dates and grocery shop together and just generally exist together in public, even though they were still keeping it pretty low-key back then too.

steve mostly stays home during the first several months of his pregnancy. it's hard on him, and there are days he can barely get out of bed because he feels so sick. he gets lightheaded easily, and he's constantly nauseous. the doctor said it's normal. he just needs rest and fluids. so that's what he does. and they talk, a lot. about everything.

eddie never makes a formal statement about their relationship, that's never been his vibe. he does, however, hard launch their relationship via one photo on social media. it's of him and steve on new years, standing in front of the christmas tree they hadn't taken down yet. they're wearing those headbands that have the year in giant, flimsy, gold numbers, facing each other. they're foreheads are pressed together, and eddie is grinning like a goddamn idiot bc of how in love with steve he is. steve's six-month baby bump is between them, and eddie's got his hands over the sides. it's captioned with a simple, "new year, new adventures with the love of my life"

obviously, that photo practically breaks the internet within two hours. it's everywhere. everyone is talking about it. the band doesn't say a word, outside of gareth logging into the band account to share it on their story, and the others sharing the post on their own accounts. they all just go on as normal, like nothing ever happened. they don't answer any of the comments. the band is seen coming and going from the studio a few times over the next month and a half, and then nothing. radio silent on all fronts. everyone wants to know what's going on.

it's at the end of april that people finally get their answer, in a series of photos posted to eddie's account. photos of a tiny baby; some with steve in them, some with eddie, but mostly just the baby. hailey jo munson (jo, after wayne, who's middle name is joseph; he definitely did NOT cry about that, thank you very much) was born on april 5th, happy and healthy and loved.

four months after that, eddie is seen leaving a grocery store with bags of baby supplies in his arms, a wedding band on his finger, and a fresh mating bite. no one is the least bit surprised by that one.

and no one is surprised in the slightest when a year and a half later, after corroded coffin's probably most successful album is released (there's a couple songs that are not-so-secretly about hailey, tho eddie really did try to be subtle), another pregnancy announcement goes live on eddie munson's account.

happy slick sunday my friends :)

i know slick sunday has ruined me because i kept waiting for something bad to happen😅 thank you for the fluff!!!

[biancasaidstfu]

FAVE ANON IS BACK 😎

A collection of statements I’ve seen recently:

“Nicola is so messy”

“She really leaning into that shit stirrer”

“Nicola has changed”

“I’m unfollowing her”

“She’s playing games with the fandom”

“She’s acting immature because of the new people she’s hanging out with”

“She really doesn’t want to be connected to Luke”

“She hates the Lukola narrative”

“It’s giving overcompensation, cringy and adolescent”

“Nicola just stop and tell us the truth”

The amount of these comments I’ve seen in the last 24 hours over an IG tag - are you fucking kidding me?! Everyone in this fandom needs to take a step back and grow the fuck up at this point.

Stop projecting your hopes, dreams, expectations, and insecurities onto this poor woman. She is a grown ass woman who has worked her ass off to get to where she is. She is independent, successful, and caring and it’s not her fault that you have a fantasy in your mind of who she should be.

Instead of spending your time spreading hate and disappointment about her and her personal life on the internet, how about you log off and find a new hobby?

And on a side note, today I saw a message online saying that Nic and Jake’s photo dumps portray a happy and successful first year of a relationship. Please IM BEGGING - everyone go get some therapy.

Listen to fave anon, please.

Feel like I need to go get drunk.

[pillowbugs]

idea: submas au(?) where pre-battle subway, both of them were already somewhat known on the internet, but for different reasons. maybe not super famous, but definitely notable in their various circles.

let's say emmet has a blog / vlog (iamemmet) where he and a couple friends (elesa, burgh, etc) just mess around and battle and stuff (think online / showdown battle videos on yt except they're actually irl). he does talk about trains sometimes, and is visibly excited whenever he does, but most of his fans are there to watch him battle more than anything.

meanwhile, ingo runs a train blog (Conductor I) where he posts long and detailed writeups of virtually anything to do with trains. he is known to be quite passionate, and has gotten into various extremely heated arguments with other railfans on internet forums over the merits of certain trains and railfan etiquette. maybe he collabs with other blogs covering other topics run by his friends (e.g. trains vs planes annual debate feat. highflyinggirl (skyla), starlight express review feat. spectralscribe (shauntal), etc). overall, though, he's fairly guarded regarding his personal life, and most of what people know about him, excluding his train-related opinions, is from whenever he collabs with other people.

they have collaborated with each other before, so people absolutely know they're twins. there is a running joke about how emmet's fans might actually know more about ingo than his own fans, simply because emmet is much more open with his personal life and inevitably that includes a lot of stuff involving his brother.

so one day, they both announce that they're taking an indefinite hiatus from their blogs because of a project. after almost a year of speculation - oh, look, there's a new battle facility in unova! wait, these guys look familiar... and it does happen to be a facility integrated into the subway...

so of course, their existing fans congratulate both of them on their new positions, everyone's celebrating. both of them do return to posting on their blogs after things have settled a bit more (albeit less frequently than before the hiatus, because they have a job now). however, with their newfound mainstream fame, comes a gigantic new wave of fans from the battle subway.

and this is where things get incredibly messy within the fandom. maybe less so on emmet's end - he's quite open on his blog about being a subway boss, and vice versa, and he acts more or less the same way on both accounts, so within his fanbase, the question is just "when did you find him?" because he's been the same throughout. he is emmet. that's it. though, there is of course still a bit of fan elitism from those who found him before the subway and know all the "deep lore" about him.

ingo's fanbase, however, is an absolute bloodbath. there are actual factions. the two most notorious are the subway-onlies, the ones who are most likely to be called fake fans by the rest because they're only interested in his persona as a subway boss; and the conductor purists, who only enjoy his blog and forum presence but not his irl job, and think he has gone downhill after achieving mainstream success. in fact, many of the subway-onlies don't even realise ingo has a 'personal' blog, or any social media presence besides his official account as a subway boss, while the most diehard conductor purists have disavowed the battle subway because in their minds, it's taking attention away from the blog.

a big reason for the divide is that ingo gives a very different image on his blog and as a subway boss; a passionate, friendly railfan who can be quite verbose especially in roasting people online, versus the professional, polite facility head with a serious demeanour. many fans who found him through the subway are surprised at the content of his blog, even if most of them also love seeing this side of him. a certain subset of the fandom is very insistent that the blog shows his 'real' personality, while his being a subway boss is entirely an act.

in short, big fanbase = problems. many people looking in are genuinely terrified and confused as to whatever the hell is going on in there. there is Drama. get the popcorn.

[linkemon]

I won't say I'm in love (Shroud Idia x Reader)

Friendly reminder that English is not my first language. You can check my Masterlists both in English and Polish here. Consider supporting me on Ko-fi. You can also check out my commissions if you’re interested.

Other oneshots can be found here.

ɪᴅɪᴀ ᴛʀɪᴇꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇᴀʟ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴᴄᴏᴍꜰᴏʀᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ᴍᴜᴄʜ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ᴍᴇɢᴀʀᴀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜᴇʀᴄᴜʟᴇꜱ. ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʏ, ʜᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴏᴛᴏᴍᴇ, ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴀɪɴ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʀᴘɢꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀ ᴡʜʏ ɪᴛ ɪꜱ ꜱᴏ ʜᴀʀᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛ ɪᴛ.

— Ortho, can you repeat that again? — Idia blinked rapidly.  

He stared at his brother as if he had suddenly sprouted three heads. In the darkness, illuminated only by the light falling from the screen, he had the impression that the dark, robotic silhouette had turned into Cerberus. A huge dog standing guard in the doorway. He would love to cross to the other side of this imaginary Styx but he couldn't. Such betrayal? His own brother stabbing him in the back?  

— Bro, you don't have to be so dramatic…— Ortho shook his head. — I invited [Reader] because you haven't seen each other for a long time and...  

— And you don't see any problem? You're a huge red flag for doing this behind my back. —The older brother hugged the pillow. The huge dakimakura seemed to help him shut out the world.  

The youngest Shroud turned on the light. The glow of LED bulbs seemed to peer into every corner. It was looking for colourful wrappers from sweets imported from abroad. It skimmed over every screw and scrap of metal from failed projects. It even discovered piles of comic books mixed with records falling out of their packaging. The room was a mess. Ortho was aware of this. However, he stated that it was not worth turning the knife in the wound. He did not comment on the state of affairs. Instead, he turned on the quick cleaning mode. Idia joined him reluctantly. Silently, with a suffering face, he threw the garbage into a large bag.  

Ortho wondered what exactly he had done wrong. According to his information, [Reader] and Idia did not have a quarrel. On the contrary. Since everyone had returned from S.T.Y.X. HQ, he felt like his brother had finally made some friends. People he likes spending time with. They played games together and sometimes he even let them take him outside, which was a big success in itself. The prefect didn't mind his enthusiasm for fantasy. She seemed happy to learn about the media that reigns supreme in Twisted Wonderland. She hadn't had much opportunity to explore this side of the world, so Shroud was quietly happy to introduce the, as he put it, noob to the most important corners of Internet.  

The contact ended quite suddenly. Ortho didn't need special programs to notice that something was wrong. He asked [Reader] directly but she said that Idia was apparently very busy with a new project. He would have believed it if he hadn't lived with him. How busy can you be watching the same old Premo concert for the thirty-third time in two weeks? His brother looked like he couldn't find a place in his own beloved room and didn't want to say what was going on. So Ortho did what he always did — he pushed him. The invitation was the first step. What he will do with this fact will be his initiative alone. With that thought he left the room.  

There was a faint knocking sound through the metal door. Idia felt like he had just had a heart attack. He had a choice:  

a) pretend he's not there (20% effective, most people on campus knew it wasn't true because he used this attack too often)  

b) say that he is sick (an even worse plan, because someone will definitely take him to the hygienist)  

c) ask [Reader] to go away (a tragic choice in RPGs that causes you to lose a companion; if she hasn't hated him by now, she definitely will after this option)  

d) open the door like a civilized person his parents tried to raise him to be (he will be given the fearful status but will gain +10 courage)  

He decided on the last option and, taking a deep breath, opened the door.  

— Hi! — [Reader] immediately went to her usual place on the huge pouffe. She fell on it like a giant starfish from the Octavinelle aquarium.  

The boy expected anything. Or at least reproaches. He didn't fully understand himself. Was he such a good liar? NO. He wasn't stupid. He knew his capabilities. He was never great at this. Unless we're talking about framing someone from the opposing team in games but that's not the case. Maybe he was annoyed that she didn't miss him as much as he missed her...  

— I brought us a new game. Cater recently mentioned that his sisters had some to give away because they were bored of them, so I took all they had.  

— What do you have there? — he risked a safe question.  

The girl handed him a colourful package. He guessed that the record was second-hand. The colourful cover looked like it had seen better days. However, after seeing a crowd of pretty 2D men, he guessed what genre he was dealing with. Visual novel. And not just any kind. In his hands he held an otome…  

— Reincarnated in a fantasy world with six princes after being run over by a carriage... Okay, this title is so long it doesn't even fit on the cover. Meet them all: rules-loving, wild, THIS ONE IS A MERMAID?!  

He didn't feel like reading the rest. Idia wasn't a noob when it came to otome. On the contrary. He ate his teeth on all possible game genres. Usually, however, he made sure that they maintained any level. However, this title seemed to him like a bunch of random tropes. Someone on the other side just had to wait to throw them all together and create their fan dream.  

— I guess we can just take making choices — he said, inserting the disc into the console.  

— Don't worry, good people, for ladyknightskibidi:3 has arrived! — announced the prince with the archetype of the mysterious figure.  

— Idia, you have the humor of a seven-year-old — said the girl, seeing the MC nickname written on the screen.  

— But admit it, you're enjoying it. — Shroud handed over the controller.  

The heroine's long hair waved in the wind. Her eyes seemed to contain the light of all the stars. Rose petals were floating in the air and their strong scent seemed to captivate everyone around. Even though it was the middle of winter and they basically should be dead...  

— You can even choose the colour of the horse. Do you think this is important to the plot? And what if we miss the illustration? — [Reader's] hand hovered over the controller.  

— It's an obvious move. They want us to think that white is assigned to the pretty guy and black is assigned to the mysterious guy. Meanwhile, it's quite the opposite. I don't know who the last one is assigned to but it doesn't matter — Idia said.  

The white steed, a brave companion on many journeys, headed towards the main gate, where ladyknightskibidi:3 met the archetypal prince with a heart of gold who was talking to an NPC. She made her purchases, although they actually had no impact on the plot and were just a cash grab to force players to buy new outfits for the characters. So she left without a new dress, which was highlighted in the illustration by the armor that did not match the idyllic setting. After all, who says you can't kiss in full armor on the beach...?  

— There's no way we're going to pay for any DLC. Who do they think they are?  

— Do you know what the process of publishing indie games looks like? They have to make money somehow.  

— I don't care, we don't pay! I got this from Cater. Free is a fair price.  

The heroine saw the ultimate villain of the series, whom she had to defeat. With the power of kindness, friendship and, of course, sarcasm. Mostly sarcasm. Dressed in completely mismatched clothes because good stats are the most important. Even if it means you get married in a neon hat... The most important thing is that MC and her groom rode off into the sunset. Good ending unlocked. Now just repeat this a few times and multiply it by each save to also make bad endings...  

— Is it the end already? I understand they had to cram in a few routes but this is so short. — Shroud shook his head.  

The screen showed a colourful collage of obtainable illustrations. The end credits and the creators' names were scattered between them.  

The chosen one of MC's heart seemed to be smiling mockingly at Idia from behind the glass. Here is another story where someone like Vil from Pomefiore wins a girl's heart. Handsome, rich and famous. The complete package.  

— Oh yes, beautiful and perfect type. Why am I not surprised that bishōnen won? — Shroud mumbled into his sweatshirt sleeve.  

Unfortunately not quiet enough.  

— Idia, need I remind you that you also made half of the choices. You're also responsible for the outcome — [Reader] commented, putting down the controller.  

— I chose exactly as normies do in real life.  

— It's not about the game at all, is it? — [Reader] looked straight at him. — You've been avoiding me for two weeks. — So he really wasn't a good liar after all, he thought. — I don't think I gave you a reason to be offended but if I did, just tell me. And if it's another S.T.Y.X. problem, I'll try to do something too but I can't help you if you don't talk to me at all.  

Communication was never his default stat. However, he had to admit that he rarely tried to put any points into this skill tree. He just didn't develop it. He really wanted to start but just thinking about it felt like the ends of his hair were starting to change colour. The edges of the metalic chairs reflected an embarrassing red. As always, his hair had to betray him.  

Idia was a nerd. He thought through the situation in several hundred different ways and came up with tons of potential solutions. So why wasn't this conversation in any of his plans? Why was it so difficult to put any of the imaginary conversations into action? His brain went into a glitch because he had to face this hopeless truth that he didn't want to reveal even to his own brother.  

What could he say? [Reader] didn't deserve this prolonged, embarrassing silence. But she waited patiently despite two weeks of being ignored. So he did what was the only thing that came to his mind.  

— I'm an NPC — he finally said.  

— Okaaay. — Prefect of Ramshackle tilted her head uncertainly.  

— No, you don't understand — he sighed, rubbing his forehead. — For example, take the MC from Reincarnated in a fantasy world... uh... the MC from this game. You are like her. The main character is always running around and helping all the characters around her, without looking at herself. She doesn't even realize that she is smart, selfless and beautiful. She always knows what to say to bad guys and is not afraid to fight. And then a prince arrives on a white horse. He's pretty, rich, and provides her with everything she needs. There are no flaws because that's not how you write ikemens. They just should be cool and that's it. Then these two come together and boom! Good ending. At their wedding, the creators will put the NPC who sells you items in the crowd because they don't want to make a new model, so they can use it. In the sequel, maybe he'll even say a few words and you'll find out that he has a brother, a magic workshop and will repair your carriage but that's where the relationship ends. He will stand by the gate and sigh because he loves her but he will never tell her because he is not even in this game. He was never selected so he didn't make it to the cover...  

Everything he said came to him with a delay. When it came to games, his brain had always thought faster. But now he cursed him inwardly because the statement seemed to hang heavy in the air.  

[Reader] looked at him searching for something. She seemed to weigh her words. But he was prepared for anything. He played so many bad endings. This one will just be another one of them. So why was his heart beating so terribly fast and he was silently praying to his favourite idols to just take him away?  

— There are almost always secret routes in otome — the girl said.  

— Huh? Idia blinked rapidly. — I've played more otome than you, I don't know if you should educate me…— [Reader]'s raised brow made him stop talking.  

— The truth is, I played it a little with the Cater's sisters. This game also has a secret route. The seventh romance character is hidden. You unlock it when you pass…  

—…all routes — Shroud interjected. — Okay, I'm seriously shutting up now — he added, looking down.  

— This character is an item NPC. — [Reader] paused in case the boy was to interrupt her again but nothing happened. — What I mean is that the MC can also choose an NPC. If only he tells her how he feels and wants to take part in the game.  

The screen illuminated her face with a pale glow and the boy realized that in the darkness she really looked like the main character. How can you seriously say something so cool, as if nothing happened? She stared at him with silent expectation. He wanted to scream into dakimakura but he probably wouldn't look too cool doing it. So he mentally prayed to his idols. If there was ever a time the Premos should help him, this was it.

— In the game, the MC makes decisions, so technically she has no causative power and... Ahem. Okay. I know that I'm going too far. Sooo... would you like to go on a date with me? But it's best not to go to Mostro Lounge because there are a lot of people there and for the first time it could be tragically scary and...  

— Idia?  

— Yes? — He swallowed loudly.  

— I'll go on a date with you but your hair is burning the controller right now...  

[queenilyrian]

Henry Cavill smear campaign -Part II

Loyal fans,cringe concern and tagging”

Step one that had everyone fooled was “we as loyal fans/we have been loyal fans/he betrayed loyal fans” making it seem as if there was an entity that’s different than every other of 34 million fans across social media. As if saying “I’m a loyal fan so my OPINION is better than your opinion” hold water. I have seen probably 30 people with 30/50 fake accounts each and by playbook (and I want you to pay attention to this) they are always crying how “Henry owes them his career/ only they watch his movies/ as loyal a fan they can hate him and his family”.

Unless you’re using his family as a pawn in a smear campaign why hate or mention them in your posts?

Exhibit A

A random hateful post but check the tags. Classic case of smear campaign. This person has been persistent with smear campaign for the past 4 years. If this is just a “loyal fan” who doesn’t “like Henry’s personal choice” why tag his family? His friends? His coworkers? Even the watch company that sponsors him? What ,besides smearing his name and attempting to control what jobs he gets and what people he works with ,is the point of tagging his brothers and his mom? What is ,besides pressuring his family to join them in smearing Henry’s name, is the end game here? Does she think his family ,people who know him and Natalie, chose to side with an internet hater? That will family will disown him and join “loyal fans in witch hunt”?. I’ll let you think about that.

Exhibit B

Such a lovely open letter by a “loyal fan”. Or is it? Why is a 42 year old successful man,a father and soon to be husband portrayed as this weak ,afflicted,lost, controlled,who is also in a way abusing his mother??? Destruction? What destruction? He is seeking for justice? Against what? For what and who? Again? Let’s pay attention to the tags.

Tagging Jeff Bezos? Very calculated move. “Hey Jeff this poor man, this messy man, this untrustworthy man who is abusing his mother and putting her through pain by having a child with the woman he loves, isn’t really a material for James Bond. Voltron ,Enola Holmes production, Amazon studios - is this the man you want to work with? We as fans don’t want to support him unless he gives up on his girlfriend and his child. Hollywood walk of fame was just a random thing? Nothing is random with these women…. It’s a playbook smear campaign wrapped around in “loyal fan love”…

There wasn’t a single event or an interview that Henry Cavill ever said or gave the impression that his private life is not making him happy or that he has any problems. He did however mention during Ungentlemanly warfare premiere that “I’m enjoying this stage in my life very much so”. He also said “Natalie and I are very very excited(about becoming parents). On many occasions he said that “Natalie Viscuso has given me so much confidence in myself”. Not to mention him saying that finally NOW he is smart and choosing the projects he likes. Why his “loyal fans” never mention this?

Because that doesn’t fit their smear campaign.

[evelmiina]

I'm going to be asking a lot of artists I follow this question, but how did you develop your style? It SEEMS like most people find their style and stick with it forever, just making improvements and iterations. I tend to work in a lot of different styles because I enjoy doing that, though I know there are things I gravitate towards as well. But I wonder what your journey was and how you got feedback and improved while staying true to what you enjoyed?

Hi, thank you for asking. Sorry I cannot answer shortly it is kinda big subject

My style is just tons of little and big things that add up at some point in a way that simply makes sense to me. It is kind of like a personal sandbox or garden I've built and I can see what I can do there, what to add or remove and what to improve on. In my personal work I rarely ask outsiders for feedback but I am lucky to have partner and friends who I trust give me well constructed comments. Less on the style side and more like "that arm is wonky, here's how to fix it". I've never really had problem of being too swayed or persuaded by someone else's opinion on style or visuals and in fact I used to be a bit bad at taking criticism. I'm really thankful to having received kindness and patience even when I'd get sulky and dramatic. I really started to improve faster when I started to respect fundamental drawing skills, and it didn't take anything away from "me" or "my style". On the contrary. It's not always enjoyable to do art. With any work there are parts that are just processes and execution and after the kind of honeymoon period of simply loving creating, or being energized by new project fades, it becomes more about being able to appreciate parts of it and accepting sometimes it's not very fun I think an artist can have multiple "aha" style moments in their life, where they feel like everything clicks and they want to stay in that sandbox for some time. Internet makes it seem like in order to be good/successful artist one has to be a brand and only do this one thing, but it's not the full picture. I follow many artists who seem content in making just one specific niche, but I don't know what other artistic pursuits they have outside internet. I don't know if that style is their heart and soul, or just something that pays the bills. I post variety of things and I'm aware some have much wider appeal and some feel more interesting only to myself. I still try to pursue what feels most honest to myself and it is sometimes scary not knowing where it goes, feeling like I should stay safe and only focus on the successful thing. But I want to incorporate new things and see what comes out.

[rainbowsky]

I just want to address this because I've seen a lot of international turtles freaking out and getting all excited about it - the supposed movie GG and DD are set to star in together.

I'm a bit surprised that anyone takes this even remotely seriously. Just a reminder that Douban is a user edited site just like IMDB and Wikipedia. Don't be sucked into ridiculous things like this. I put the chance of GG and DD starring in a film together at about 0.05%.

As I have said in the past, GG and DD are highly unlikely to ever work together again - at least not in the foreseeable future. Their fans wouldn't stand for it - and we should all know this by now. The fan wars would be horrible, unprecedented and potentially career-destroying on both sides. The arguments over which got higher billing than the other - that alone would burn down the internet.

They're also both top stars, so it's unlikely a production could afford them both, or that their schedules would coincide in such a way as to make a collaboration like this possible.

If they were to take a chance on working together again - and for countless reasons it would be a huge risk for them both - I doubt they'd do so unless the project and the production team were so high profile and undeniable that fans on both sides couldn't help but be excited for the opportunity and couldn't help but accept that it was a good choice for them. Wong Kar Wai, Ang Lee and the like. Even then, I'm not sure fans would accept it.

Never lose sight of how deeply the hatred runs between their two fan groups, or of how massive an impact that's going to have on their future choices, or on any chance of their appearing together.

All that aside, GG and DD are individuals who've worked hard to forge their own separate careers and build their individual successes. I don't think they'd be eager to throw back in together on a project so that they can be further lumped together and so there can be further public speculation about them and their relationship.

We're 5 years out since the Untamed and GG and DD STILL can't even appear on the same stage at an awards show, and turtles seriously think they're going to appear in a film together?

Please wake up and stop setting yourselves up for disappointment. Such ideas are nothing more than a wild fantasy, no matter how appealing they may seem. I urge every fan to try to come down to earth, take care of yourselves by being realistic and not buying into ridiculous rumors.

We're unlikely to even get a statement about this fake project. At most it will quietly disappear from Douban.

Remember: Melons are to be enjoyed but never believed.

[centrally-unplanned]

To share another thought on the Folding Ideas video I Don't Know James Rolfe from my last post, while I enjoyed it a ton I do think its core "meta" element fails to reach the heights it could. It is never made that explicit so I am making a subjective read here, but essentially while most of the content of the video is textually about James Rolfe, there are dozens of moments where Dan performs actions that mimic or parallel James, culminating in his own parodic angry video game review as the finale. The idea is something of a "there but for the grace of god I go" point, that perhaps all youtubers, and Dan specifically, are too close for comfort to Rolfe's reality of limited creative options and a hostile fanbase clinging to the past .

But I can't really say for sure! Because he is very adverse to making this concrete enough for the audience.

At times the visual parallels are incredibly direct. There is one moment, where Dan is explaining the real skill and craft of being an internet clown on demand, where he mimics Rolfe's style of rant to explain it while projected AVGN videos that were looping in the background flash over his own body:

And it really works, the meaning shines through; it is a moment you can see back through time where the idea for this shot was, spiritually, the impetus for the film, that this idea must have come to him and he built the essay around making it happen.

Other visual parallels are less explicit; when the parody sequence starts, Dan - who has built a 1/12th scale recreation of the Rolfe's "video game basement" aka studio set in order to "understand" him like normal people do - represents himself in that room via a tiny hand puppet

Which is cute if, like probably most people, know him as the guy who makes videos about NFTs or Qanon. But close to a decade ago, when he was first making ~20 minute media analysis takes, he represented himself on screen with a wooden puppet like this:

It is even like the same color, I am confident this is intentional, it is saying "yeah this could have been an alt version of me; I was not so far from this".

All these symbols function to make the emotional impact; but an emotional impact in service of...what? So in the essay he discusses the film Wavelength, a 1967 avant garde film that is almost entirely composed of filming the side of a room with minimal camera movement while actions occur around it. It is a movie that never gives you a meaning, and therefore you must project meaning into it, bring yourself to the table. That makes sense for Wavelength, and the aggressive cinematography of I Don't Know James Rolfe - which is stellar to be clear - is making the film out to be sort of its own personal Wavelength for YouTube.

But then we go back to that text, which is over an hour of Dan directly talking to the camera about a real person. It is incredibly concrete and detailed, with explicit points being made over and over. And through what those explicit points reveal... I don't think Dan Olsen is like James Rolfe! Does he have an hostile fanbase trapped in nostalgia? Do people acuse him of being cucked by his bitch wife? He has evolved as a filmmaker, intensely so, he does things completely differently than Rolfe does and completely differently from how he himself used to. He doesn't have a shitty biography that self-outs his own creative narcissism, he isn't obsessed with remaking his own childhood films - I am pretty sure as a kid he had never heard of NFTs, they didn't really exist! The final line of the film is "maybe you aren't a filmmaker either" - but idk, Dan, I kinda think you are! If documentarians can be filmmakers you have to qualify.

Now I'm not a fool, I understand that the film could be suggesting these are differences of degrees and not kind; that Dan is equally "trapped in the room" making vlogs for the net, just with more outward trappings of success. But, in the ruthless specificity and detail of his treatment of Rolfe...this film cannot be Wavelength. I am not capable of forging my own meaning from the pieces, he connected way too many of them. This is the trap of avant-garde; you are tempted to help the audience, but once you try to answer some of the questions, it forces the hand of the rest, they all have to fit into that schema. And the film is just too coy with Dan's own parallel life for me to figure the schema out. I make my guesses and I lack confidence in them, they feel "contradicted" by the text.

More detail would have been the easier path; less detail and more symbolic expression would have been the harder path. But right now the balance is just a bit too out of whack for it to come fully together.

[honeybewrites]

Writeblr Intro!!

Figured I should do an introduction for my little crevice of the internet! 

I go by HoneyBe, or just Honey, or just Be, or really any other name you feel like! I mostly use she/her, they/them pronouns, but feel free to use whatever. I’m in my 20s and on the AroAce spectrum. I’ve been writing on and off since middle school and I’m hoping to get better at improving my skills, because 12 year old me didn’t care about that but 20 year old me does. I’m hoping to find (or build) a little community to support and help each other with all the writing things. Mostly though, this is just me gaslighting and guilt tripping myself into thinking that by not writing and posting, I will disappoint a nonexistent audience on the internet and not just myself, because apparently that’s the only way my brain will cooperate with me. 

Couple other little tidbits about me:

Big fan of the found family trope. Literally will make me squeal at a highly obnoxious volume.

LOVE extensive world building. I want to know every detail of a magic system and how a planet operates. I will listen to you rant about lore for hours, just please let me do the same every once in a while. I am begging, please, I want to tell you all the things.

I’m a little funky photographer trying to start her own little funky photography business, mostly to give myself more time to travel and write and also to get out of my full-time retail job (it’s pure hell and I hate it with an unholy, unmatchable heat of a thousand suns).

I love flowers. They’re just so pretty and as a little honeybee myself, it’s part of my job.

If you mention dragons, you will summon me. I have an obsession with the magical creatures and it knows no bounds.

My Main WIP, or I guess world, is what got me into writing in the first place, and I’ve been messing with it for years. You’d think that would mean I have it decently fleshed out, right? Nope. Unfortunately, The Plot keeps escaping my basement and causing a train wreck. If anyone has better restraint suggestions, let me know. My neighbors are starting to get concerned.

Anywho! The whole world is called The Seven Realms, or as my docs are titled, 7R. I know, so original. She wants to grow up and be a series with little series siblings, all connected in one Big Family. Seriously, I have OCs all over this world’s history and very vague vibes, aka, The Plot, to go along with them. Here are my two main ones.

Eclipse of War Chronicles (EoWC)

Colliding Stars (supposedly book 1)

The Realms are in chaos. A war started nearly a hundred years ago, still raging today, has wrecked both sides. The original intent of the war has long left everyone’s mind; it’s now a fight over territory and unification. The Realms border on complete and totally collapse from the strain of this ongoing blood bath and neither side refuses to admit defeat.

Project Viall, created during the hight of the war, was set on creating superior fighters. After many failed attempts, two successful subjects were created from the genetic experiments.Trained side by side to be flawless and merciless loyal weapons of death, they end up on opposite sides of this vicious war. Both intent on destroying the other, while their partner and closest friend hides behind the mask. Bonds are tested. Secrets revealed. Loyalties made and destroyed as two partners threaten to destroy the entirety of the Realms in their hunt for blood.

Legend of the Ancients (LotA)

The Fallen Dragons (supposedly book 1 of another series)

A brutal war has left the dragons all but extinct. To preserve the species, the remaining dragons have gone into hiding, leaving behind a subspecies borne through the war to fend for themselves: the Tanimoriem. Generations later, no one has seen or heard of a dragon, leaving the Tanimoriem as their only remains to once was. Knowing little of their history and being hunted simply for being kin to dragons, the Tanimoriem learned how to fight viciously and keep to themselves, earning a reputation as vile, unfeeling demons.

Accepting a bounty mission, Ryuk, a seasoned Tanimoriem, gets more than he bargained for. He had been told this was another monster that needed killing. A dangerous beast. Instead he’s met with a child who finds his horns and wings fascinating. Ryuk is forced to look after the child until he can figure out what secretive plot is brewing, because it might just involved the Tanimoriem.

Of course, my goblin brain has given me plenty more snippets and random characters in different times in this world that I have yet to do much with. The world of the Seven Realms has consumed me for years and I have been shown no mercy. I’m planning to do a proper intro post to each WIP and their characters at some point… *puts twenty reminders in phone to write intro posts*

Also!! I will take all asks, tags, and DMs you can throw at me. Literally. Ask me about anything. Books, WIPs, OCs, hell, even ask about my least favorite color or my favorite bread. I do not care. I will answer. I want to be friends will all of you!! I don’t sting! I promise!!

[pukanavis]

"Sink Into Corrupted Love～Usezakicho Never Sleeps" Track 4

Location: Photography Studio

RYU: …How’s this?

Artistic Devoured Princess: Perfect! Hold that pose.

What do you think?

RYU: Woah, that’s amazing…! Ambassador Utaro's princesses don't play around! You’re like a pro!

Artistic Devoured Princess: I’m not ‘like’ a pro, I am one! As a trained photographer, I've made it my duty to improve everyday so that I can preserve Utaro-kun’s charm in film!

RYU: Great stuff! Hey, KiKi, you’re still recording footage for my promo vid, right?

KiKi: Yes, of course.

Utaro: Mmmn…

RYU: …Ambassador? Is there something wrong?

Utaro: I’m bored.

RYU: What?

Utaro: You don’t have any sex-appeal! Be sexier! I should be feeling suffocated by your erotic rabbit pheromones! 

Artistic Devoured Princess: I see what you mean. Photocard-style business cards are super in right now, so it's common for princesses to show off their host's card in the back of their phone case.

That’s why it��s REALLY important to have a picture that princesses want to flaunt! You'll notice that the more popular a host is, the more effort he puts into perfecting his business card.

Utaro: Do a sexy pose, RYU!

RYU: A sexy pose…!?

Utaro: Lift your chin, arch your neck, and show off that Adam's apple. Do something sexy with your left hand too!

RYU: H-How’s this!? Is it sexy!?

KiKi: …I think this footage could come in handy.

Utaro: MORE! Make me go weak at the knees!!

RYU: Gh…! How about now!? Am I sexy!?!?

KiKi: …I’m sorry to interrupt the photo shoot, RYU-sama, but I’ve completed your short promotional video.

RYU: Wait, seriously? You’ve already edited it and everything?

KiKi: Yes. Would you like to review it?

RYU: Yeah, lemme have a look!

KiKi: I've edited together a few clips from your pursuit of sexiness with Utaro-sama just now into an ‘ocean of passion’ style.

People often believe that hosts do not take their job seriously, but I am certain that this will make it clear that you are truly passionate about your work.

Utaro: Ooo, that's a smart thing to focus on!

KiKi: The host club industry is rather exclusive, so live streaming and sharing videos on the internet is an invaluable way to familiarise yourself in the minds of the public.

RYU: Thanks, KiKi!

You know, I was thinking…it’d be easier to get my feelings across if I said a few words in the caption of the video too.

I want to feel like an otome game character brought to life, so I've been working on making a heart-stopping poem.

Utaro: Heart stopping!? You mean no deflating your ears, or booping things with your butt!?

RYU: W-What?

KiKi: An otome game…you're referring to female-led works with a gameplay focused on romancing, yes? You're familiar with the genre, RYU-sama?

RYU: I mean, not exactly. I’ve just picked up some second hand knowledge.

Anyway! Would you mind having a look at what I wrote? No rush.

KiKi: Of course, I'll review it now.

"When I see a princess working harder than me, I don’t waste a second before jumping to her side.

I want to become a giver that returns the love he receives tenfold. That’s who I want to be, not just as a host, but as a rabbit."

RYU: …H-How is it!?

KiKi: There are some improvements that can be made if you want it to be on par with the viral content produced by other hosts. For example, “A princess working harder than me” could be tweaked.

Let’s change it to “A princess working harder than me, fighting through her broken heart, her worries, her tears, her pain.” 

I’d also suggest adding an additional line that says “A host that can’t work harder than his princess shouldn’t exist.” This will make the piece more emotionally impactful overall.

RYU: Nice, you’ve made it 10 times better…!

Utaro: Nfufu~, Project RYU-furbishment is looking to be a tremendous success ♪

Location: Usezakicho Main Street

RYU: Ambassador Utaro, Princess, KiKi, I owe you guys for today!

Utaro: Mhm! Oh, and this is for you!

RYU: What is it…?

KiKi: Eye drops, I believe.

Utaro: These are the Princess Dreamifying Eye Drops I invented!

Just drop the liquid into your eyes and my genius creation will make the princess in front of you look like the person you treasure most in the world.

Your pesky pride makes you embarrassingly embarrassed when you try to do customer service, but that’ll all be gone with just a drop of these!

RYU: I don't really follow, but…thanks, I’ll try em out.

(To think a bit of begging was able to get me all this help. I’m definitely making my first sale tonight!)

Location: Club NETHER

KiKi: Taking your budget for tonight into account, and assuming that you will live until 120 years old, I have calculated the optimal order for you, princess. Please confirm whether there are any issues.

Analyst Princess: That'll work just fine, thank you. I know that we don't have our drinks yet, but may I start asking for your advice regardless?

KiKi: Of course you may. You wanted to discuss if you should continue paying rent on your property, or if you should invest your money into real estate that will retain its value, yes?

Let’s make a calculation based on JPN’s demographic transition and global interest rate policy trends. Hypothetically, if you were to purchase this property, the return rates within the neighbourhood are generally—

RYU: Re…return rates…? Do you always do a bunch of maths with your princesses?

KiKi: Assisting princesses with navigating onto a better life path is my specialty as a host.

RYU: (Woah…so this is the type of service KiKi offers.)

Supervisor : RYU, you’re needed over here.

RYU: …Sorry, princess. I'm afraid we have to part ways here.

Supervisor: I’ve assigned you to a debutante table.

RYU: I'm on it.

(Wait, I still have those eye drops Ambassador Utaro gave me.)

(...Well, there’s only one way to know if they work.)

Toi?: Oh, are you next?

RYU: !?!!?!

ーFlashback

Utaro: There are the Princess Dreamifying Eye Drops I made!

Just drop the liquid into your eyes and my genius creation will make the princess in front of you look like the person you treasure most in the world.

ーEnd of flashback

RYU: (This is what he meant…!?)

Toi?: Is there something wrong?

RYU: …Sorry, it’s just that my world froze the second I saw you. I never thought I’d get to see you here of all places.

—The person…I treasure most in the world.

Toi?: k…

KYAAAA!!!!! ♡♡♡♡

Nyúl: I believe this was next debutante table…oh my?

Infatuated Princess: Kyaa! Kyaaaaa!

RYU: Haha, what’s with that noise?

…It’s so cute. Can I hear it again?

Supervisor: RYU, your time at this table is up. Please swap places with Nyúl.

RYU: Oh, sure thing.

I hope you’ll let me sit next to you again. Promise me you’ll ask me to escort you out later, okay?

Infatuated Princess: KYAAA!!

Nyúl: …Oh?

Toi?: I wuv you, RYU-kun. I wuv how destiny works. I want to be wib you forever!

RYU: I’ll never leave your side. Shouldn’t you already know that I'm gonna stay with you forever?

Supervisor: Pardon me, princess. I'm afraid your time is up, but would you be interested in a palate cleanser?

Toi?: No one could be better than RYU-kun!!!! I've never wanted a palate cleanser more!!!!

RYU: (...!? I got a palate cleanser…!)

…Thanks, princess. You don’t know how happy it makes me to get to stay with you a little longer.

I’ll make sure you don’t regret choosing me…so don’t look at anyone else from now on, okay?

Toi?: AWWWW!

RYU: (Now's my chance. I’ve gotta use this opportunity to guarantee my first sale!!)

KiKi: Pardon me.

RYU: KiKi?

KiKi: …I rushed over as soon as I heard you received a palate cleanser. I will do everything in my power to support you.

RYU: (This guy…!)

KiKi: —Princess. RYU-sama was telling me this morning about how much he’d like to see a ferris wheel.

Toi?: Really?

RYU: ? Yeah…a ferris wheel doesn’t sound half bad if I’m with you…?

Toi?: Okie then! I'll get you a carrot cake ferris wheel ♡

RYU: …A what?

Supervisor: Thank you for ordering a carrot cake ferris wheel, princess! Your generosity marks the dazzling moment of RYU’s very first sale!

RYU: Wait, that's—

(I see these on Nyúl and Utaro’s tables all the time. So this is what a ‘ferris wheel’ is…!)

…I never thought I’d see this view for myself.

I want to treasure you forever for being the first to show it to me. You’ll never leave my side, right? As long as I have you…there’s still a light in my world.

Toi?: KYAAAAAA!!♡♡♡♡

RYU: I would’ve made sure you got home myself if I didn't have a meeting to go to…don’t make any detours on your way back, alright?

Toi?: Okie ♡ I don’t need to go see the boys at bars or con-cafes anymore ♡ I pwomise I’ll go straight home♡

🐰 con-cafes: Concept cafes. They come in a variety of themes such as idol, butler, vampire, prince ect.

RYU: Perfect. Text me on PeChat as soon as you’re home.

KiKi: Please make it home safely.

RYU: …YES!!

I owe you one, KiKi! I made my first sale thanks to you…!

KiKi: I’m afraid there’s a more important matter at hand. Please look at this.

RYU: Huh? Isn’t that the account I made?

KiKi: I followed your request and posted the otome-style heart-stopping poem with the video we filmed, but…

—The video is trending. It won’t be long before it becomes a viral hit.

Back | 🐰 | Next

[liviawildrose]

𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞

trigger warning: mention of abuse, bullying, self harm.

hello everyone, i’m livia wildrose. welcome to my digital diary, a safe place to share my “levelling up” journey with you. i’m starting this blog to document my glow-up journey from scratch to show what “leveling up” really looks like, beyond all the polished internet advice and perfect images. i’m done with the nonsense advice and the idea that growth is supposed to be linear or that a glow-up only means outer transformation. i want this space to be real and raw, to share all the messy details of glowing up that nobody talks about. it’s for anyone who’s also navigating this journey, a place for self-discovery, growth, and sharing the tips and tricks i learn along the way. this blog is a part of my journey. like my little journal that’s here for all of you.

this blog isn’t just a side project, it’s my way of reclaiming my story and taking control of my life. for so long, i’ve felt pressure from people and circumstances that made me feel small or unworthy. i want this space to represent my decision to rise above all of that and become my true self. starting from scratch, i’m determined to show the real side of transformation. everything from the highs and the lows to all the challenges no one talks about. it’s about leveling up physically, mentally, financially, spiritually, career-wise and socially. it’s about glowing up not for somebody else, but for yourself. this blog matters to me because it’s a record of my journey toward self-love, resilience, triumph, happiness, and independence.

on this blog, you’ll find more than just tips and advice. here, i’ll share my personal experiences: the lessons i learn, the mistakes i make, and the small victories, the successes and results. i’m not gonna pretend that this is easy, i’ll tell you guys how it is. you can expect posts about the practical and emotional sides of glowing up, from self-care routines and self-discovery exercises to overcoming setbacks and finding motivation. i’ll also be sharing rituals, journaling exercises, life updates (gossip lol) and insights on spirituality, mental health, manifestations, witchcraft, psychological tricks, subliminal audio, religion (hinduism), relationships (family, relatives, friends, colleagues, and romantic), and building self-love.

ultimately, this blog is a space for all of us who want to become stronger mentally, achieve our dreams and empowered whether you’re just starting or you’re already on your journey, there’s a place here for you to connect, share, and grow. if you’re also trying to build yourself up, you’ll find a space here where your journey is respected and valued. you’re not alone in the process, and i want to create a community where we can support each other’s growth.

as i approach my eighteenth birthday, i find myself reflecting on my life and the immense changes i need to make. a transition into adulthood. for so long i was trapped in the cycle of abuse and negativity, particularly at the hands of my parents, friends, relatives, people i love, etc. their toxic behaviour has kept me from pursuing my dreams, making me feel unworthy.

the years spent feeling small, unvalued, and unheard. led me to self harm too that are hard to ignore. the emotional toll of living in a hostile environment, where love feels conditional and support is nonexistent, has shaped my self-perception and kept me from believing in my potential. i’ve allowed their words and actions to dictate my self-worth for far too long.

my experience with bullying from boy i loved and his friends has only added to the weight on my shoulders. being mistreated by those i cared about deeply made me question my value and my ability to trust others. i’ve often found myself doubting my dreams and my worth, feeling like i have to prove myself to everyone around me.

these girls from my class who bullied me, and even indirectly insulted me in-front of the whole class, my entire friends group leaving me the day i decided to set some boundaries, my dad who never misses an opportunity to taunt me. just a few days ago my mom slapped me, i feel nauseous while attending any family event because of the remarks my relatives throw at me.

and there is so much more, my ex calling me “leftover shit” being beaten up by my dad while i was merely 5 or 6 year old (with a belt) all these things cannot to explained in just one post. there are so many things that which i will tell you guys in upcoming blogs too in more detail.

no one deserves this, not me and neither you. i hope to inspire others who have faced similar challenges, reminding them that they’re not alone and it’s never too late to reclaim their lives and pursue their passions. this is my time to shine and with each step forward, i am determined to create a life of my dreams one filled with love, happiness, success, joy and prosperity.

“this is my life and i won’t let anyone take that away from me.”

warning to all readers: this blog is about showing the real side of glowing up, and it’s not always going to be pretty. i’ll be sharing raw, unfiltered photos and maybe even videos to document every part of my journey. even tell you guys the most graphic things ever, cause believe me when i say this. if you want to be the top 1% of the world, there’s no clean and easygoing way. and my desire and suffering has led me here, i ain’t going back. this means you’ll see the highs and the lows, the messy parts, and the not-so-pretty side of transformation. my goal is to be real with you and show you exactly what it takes to grow from the ground up no filters, no fake aesthetics. so if you’re ready to see what real change looks like and you’re not afraid of a little graphic honesty, then follow along. this is my unfiltered journey, and i’m inviting you to see it all with me. (with hardwork, a strong mindset and some magic we’ll make this happen)

if you want to join me on this journey of becoming our highest self please comment, like reblog and follow button and let’s embrace the glow-up together!

[rat-n-atty]

MEET MY SMG4 OC CLOVE!

(fucking finally)

(Also a bit of a redesign since I kinda changed my style a bit lmao)

Meet Clove! (Enid) a 22-year-old "mad" scientist who has made the poor decision to be Smg3's assistant but who exactly is she? What's her lore? What are her goals? Why is she an Ex-villain? and all the other amazing questions you might have (or don't idk) will all be answered here!...hopefully...

"Enid Gadd" (Backstory)

Enid comes from a long line of talented and successful scientists (like her grandpa, E. Gadd more on that in a bit) but she was always seen as a black sheep of the family in short.

Ever since Enid could even talk, she has always aspired to be a great scientist just like her family but it seemed like everything she did, it meant nothing so she became E. Gadd's student when she was young (considering she was practically raised by the guy damn)

It seemed like everything Enid did though was still not enough for her parents so she said "fuck it" and decided to become someone else's assistant in hopes that she could be a better scientist than all of them and that is when Smg3 comes in...

"Clove" (assistant days)

Now, Bowser was a terrible assistant so Smg3 decided to get a new one instead so one day while Clove was just walking around the Mushroom Kingdom city; she saw a purple Mario recolor next to a stand on the side of the street with a sign that said LOOKING FOR AN EVIL ASSISTANT (WILL NOT GIVE VACATION DAYS) (why would look for one in broad daylight you dumb bitc-)

So she took her shot, lied to 3 about being "inherently evil" but she also added that she was pretty good at making bombs (which was also a half-truth) so she became Smg3's assistant from that day on.

She didn't really know what to expect at first and she thought that Smg3's main goal of being a villain at the time was kinda dumb but it was better than home so she stayed and she stayed for a long time.

She eventually became evil and she got better at her inventions and her scientific studies all for the goal of ruling the world with Smg3 and telling her entire family (not including E. Gadd) to suck it...which now brings us to the YouTube Arc...

YouTube Arc (this is where shit goes down)

Smg3 and Clove had just started on their goals of making Snitch Productions but after Smg4 destroyed it all for no damn reason (like wtf man?) they wanted revenge and they wanted it bad (Smg3 more so than Clove)

So they came up with the anti-cast and got to work but after that failed Clove said "fuck it" and started her own projects again but she found out about the YouTube remote while she was doing her research ("The World's Cursed and definitely Powerful Objects that would destroy the world if laid on the wrong hands" (great title I know) ) So they all came up with the plan to steal it.

Things had started to take a toll after they had successfully stolen the Remote per sae because now Smg3 was drunk with power to the point where it was kinda concerning Clove a bit and this is the part where Clove found out Smg3's true intentions of using the YouTube remote; It was so much more than taking over Smg4's channel, it was deleting Smg4's and his crew's entire existence. Clove knew it was too much, even for 3 but she kept quiet about her conflicting feelings (but put a pin in this later )

A big-time skip later where Clove had actually caught Mario trying to steal Smg3's phone (to hopefully get everyone out of the graveyard, you probably watched the Arc lmao) but she betrayed Smg3 by giving it to Mario anyway and freeing the entire cast out of the internet graveyard in order to stop Smg3; Everyone was confused why but they didn't ask.

WOTFI 2020 (redemption arc begins)

The final battle was here and after Clove was revealed to be a traitor and helping the Smg4 crew, it's no wonder that Smg3 lost but he was never expecting his assistant, no...someone closest to him like a friend to betray him like that.

Since Clove was the only one who really knew how to work the remote (and she was the one who had it in her hands at the time) she was the one who sent Smg3 to the Internet Graveyard for the greater good of everybody else but now that 3 was gone...she felt like she had no meaning...no purpose anymore...

After she had gotten forgiveness from Susan, Smg4 offered Clove to stay with the rest of them at the castle but she declined and said she would just lock herself up in her lab instead.

Clove's lore goes on for ages...so I'll have to make a part 2

BI GUYS!

(update: there is a part 2)