#What online art do u never want to lose a copy of? What friend do u need backup ways to find?

[drumlincountry]

If the entire internet went dark tomorrow, what would you lose? What would you lose that you can't afford to lose? How do you save it?

[girls--complex]

I just came upon your blog and it's given me Lots of Thoughts, even though I don't particularly believe in any God (that is to say, I think there might be something more out there, though I don't think it's God as it's portrayed by any religion and I need some sort of tangible evidence before I can confirm or deny that something like that exists. All that to say I'm agnostic lol), but I do think you have some very good points about a lot of things.

I find it kinda hard to understand some of the things you write since you use a lot of long and complicated words that aren't in my vocabulary since English isn't my first language and I've never left my home country, but I'm doing my best! (With the help of an online dictionary)

Either way, I really love your art and I'm taking some inspiration from your style to practice, if that's okay with you! I just really like how flowy, creative and loose it is and I really need to loosen up a bit about making things instead of constantly adding more detail and perfecting it until I lose interest because it becomes stressful instead of enjoyable to create something.

I also wanted to ask, since according to your comics you've done shrooms before, how would you recommend going about shrooms to someone who's not used to doing much of any substance? (I barely drink alcohol and I smoke weed so rarely every time I do it I end up extremely disoriented until I manage to calm down no matter how little I smoke).

I'm asking cause a friend of mine whom I've known for years recently told me they have some, and that he'd be willing to share them with me, and I'm curious about trying them out and seeing if I can learn something from that experience, but I wanna stay safe while making the most of it :3

Hi thank you for a long & thoughtful message

YOU ARE ALWAYS ALLOWED TO COPY OR "STEAL" OR WHAT EVER FROM MY DRAWINGS seriously this is so normal and allowed. I do this with other cartoonists and all the cartoonists I know also do this. We do it to each other. "I like how she draws eyes" or whatever and we absorb it into our own style. Or just copying drawings/ paintings/pages. This is good. Do it.

Thank you for taking the time to decipher my words. I know I use lots of large/obscure words N trying to get better at making me language accessible (& maybe use my beloved obscure words in enough context that a reader can figure out the meaning).

I think using psychedelics is something better to talk about with people who know U in person and can respond to your needs and goals. Maybe your friend can give some guidance or knows someone who has a shamanic streak that can. Or you can always go on erowid or reddit whatever kids are using now to do a lil research.

I don't really feel comfortable giving specific advice or even general advice that might color the experience in a certain way, hope u understand...

Thank u for saying Hi

[treybriggsthewriter]

This makes me nervous, but I’m going to post it. I’m going to try my best to achieve my goals. I’ve put in a ton of work already, so I’m looking for additional help. 

From the campaign:

My name is Trey Briggs, and I'm a black woman who writes paranormal horror, speculative fiction, and other types of fiction. You can find my stories at MaybeTrey , Astrid the Devil , and on Instagram , Medium , and Wattpad .

My stories are aimed at black people who want to read dark stories that focus on original black characters that are complex and interesting. I genuinely believe Black audiences deserve a variety of genres to delve into, and I want to introduce them to paranormal horror, dark romance, and fantasy that they haven't gotten enough of in the past. I also believe that this can be done across multiple mediums, and I spend my money with black creative professionals to make these experiences extend beyond my words. For the last two years, I've run my stories on sites and Instagram to great reception. I like to craft complex experiences that offer looks at character backgrounds, side and backstories, full websites for each title, and more. I also provide encyclopedias, maps, audio journals, and other ways to get into each world. During these last few years, I've run into a lot of walls, jumped a lot of hurdles, and tried my best. I've worked with amazing black artists, voice actors, and actresses, musicians, designers, and more. I trust my ability to run a project, especially when it comes to planning and finding talent. My overall goal is to run a team of black creatives that crafts novels, graphic novels, audio experiences, and animated series for a dedicated audience.

Why I Need Help Long story short: I have the skill, I have the marketing/website building/business experience, and I have the drive. There's a lot I can do on my own, but there's also a lot that gets left behind because I don't have the money I need to proceed at a steady pace. I need help with funding so I can focus, hire the right people, and craft these stories the way they deserve to be crafted. I have thus far spent over $60,000 of my own money on my projects over the past two years - the writing and site-building are easy for me; the rest has to be hired out. I have art, site costs for hosting, domains, templates, specific plugins, and maintenance, audio (and vocal artists to pay), musical, and editing costs. I'm by no means rich or even particularly financially stable. I have taken on tons of extra clients for my digital marketing business, transcribed hundreds of hours of audio for dirt cheap, and taken out personal loans. I even worked a second full-time job along with my full-time business last year to afford to produce the content I love. It's starting to take a toll on my mental health. I plan on continuing to fund these projects out of pocket (and finding ways to do so), but having financial help, however big or small, would allow me to move a lot faster and with less stress. It would let me flesh out ideas and concepts that I have had to scrap because I can only physically handle so much extra work. I run a full-time marketing business from home, homeschool my autistic 10-year-old, and generally have a busy life. Some of the strain is taking a toll on me, and I don't want to give up. Having some financial backing could allow me to drop a client or two after a few months and focus on the work I love to do.

How You Can Help I mainly need a start—a sort of base. I want to emphasize that I plan to continue to provide the main bulk of funding for my projects. I know my goals are ambitious, and I know each step will take time and money. I welcome any help to make the process smoother and to get around the initial hurdles. I'd like to have ebooks and novels offered on my site by the end of the year (along with the free serials and stories). Funding means that I can broaden the projects, include more free aspects to my sites, and secure direct financing through sales of ebooks and audiobooks sooner. It also means that I can offer MORE stories, whether they are online only or fully fleshed out novels and sites. I am swamped with trying to work enough to cover all my bills and creative projects, so I lose a lot of time I could spend plotting and writing. If I have better funding, I can get my stories out quicker (and with fewer mistakes).

The Initial Stories Let's talk about my stories! If you're familiar with my work already, you can skip to the next section. My main story site is Maybe Trey . Currently, I have two big titles and a bunch of smaller ones that I am seeking help with funding: Astrid the Devil

Astrid the Devil is the complicated story of a girl who inherits not only her family's features and DNA, but their fears, struggles, and fights. It's the story of a condition called Devil Syndrome, the women who suffer it, and the monsters that devour them. It's the story of the fight to save the people you love at the expense of innocent lives. At its core, Astrid the Devil is the story of a woman who inherits the chaos of three generations before her. It's a look at what is truly passed down to our children, and how they're left to fight our battles in the aftermath of our failures. It's the tale of an indescribable monster and the women who struggle to defeat it. It's a journey into how their every decision could save or destroy an entire world. Astrid the Devil is the story of Astrid Snow, but her story can't be told without the story of the women before her.

Vicious: On MaybeTrey  and The Vicious site (in progress)

Somewhere, a war is brewing.  That's the only thing that's for sure to Junnie Gorton, a young horned girl suffering from a debilitating disease called Horn Rot. She typically dealt with her low survival rate and abnormally large horns by escaping the world with her best friend, Lewish. Now she's forced to figure out which side is which, save her entire species, and find out the truth behind the sudden uprising in her home. Horn Rot, a highly contagious and violent disease spreading through horned people, is causing mass amounts of madness and death. Normal horns grow in ways that will pierce, suffocate, and maim their owners, and the only one who can stop it is Junnie's mother, Lyria. As Lyria falls deeper and deeper into an anti-social revolt, the country reels. While Junnie broods, her entire species must prepare for mass extinction. Her brother plots with a group of people with less than good intentions and Lewish is quieter than usual. In a civilization brought up on extreme violence and competition, Junnie and Lewish try their best not to get swallowed by their culture, their lives, or their horns.

Bunni and Bosque :

Bunni lives. Bosque dies. We all know how this story starts. Bunni is obsessed with destruction and death. She comes from the healthiest Horned family in her country. She's from the oldest, purest bloodline in the world. And she's bored with it. Bunni spends most of her time trying to escape her duties as a pureblood. She wants things dirty, messy, foul, inconsistent. Having parents that are willing to kill to keep their bloodline pure is annoying. Knowing that she'll live a long, full life, produce more perfect children, and die unscathed is agonizing. Bunni wants something to mourn. We all know how this story ends. Bosque is destined to die an agonizing death, alone on his family's land. He's watched everyone he loved and grew up with perish. Sometimes it was because of their disease. Sometimes it was because of the malice and hatred of others. While he's absolutely withdrawn and satisfied with his life, Bosque has never had a chance to live it. He spends his days basking in the sun, bathing in wood baths, and contemplating the end. Bosque isn't interested in joining the rest of the world. He'd rather die out, alone, where his family belonged. Bosque wants to go peacefully. But neither expected to meet each other one day in a supermarket. Neither expected to fall in love, lust, and every vicious and dirty thing between. Neither expected to be so right for each other, all while being wrong for everyone else. You know the end of this story. Bunni lives, Bosque dies. But maybe something will change.

My smaller titles, Bunni and Bosque /Aite and Jude, can be found at Maybe Trey .

The Business Plan

The initial phase of my business plan is to get the sites populated with ebooks and audiobooks for sale. I also have prints that can be sold. Right now, I am in the audience-building phase while I save up for editing the full novels. 

In terms of an actual business with which to publish the stories, I already have a registered publication company in Illinois: Wolfless Studios LLC. I took this step earlier this year with plans to self-publish Astrid and Vicious. So that is paid for and done.

I have also gotten initial editing done on the first six chapters of Astrid, though it will need to be edited from the beginning again once everything is said and done. I've spent over $1000 on that so far, and it would go a lot faster if I didn't need to save up to edit each chapter.

Astrid the Devil is fully plotted, outlined, and only needs the last three chapters. Bunni and Bosque and Vicious are newer, but plotted and already deep into character development (all being shared across social and Wattpad for audience growth). Aite and Jude and other shorts are plotted, and three other unshared stories are plotted and at the editing phase.

Other costs and ways I would use the funding (I would still put in my own money and do as much on my own as possible):

Initial $30K

$6000 - $7000 Line and Copy edits for Astrid (currently at 250000+ words/expecting over 300000 at $0.02 rate)

$6000 - $7000 Line and Copy Edits for Vicious

$3000 - $4000 Line and Copy Edits for Bunni and Bosque

ISBN Purchases (Separate ISBN for each format for each book) - https://www.myidentifiers.com/identify-protect-your-book/barcode

Covers for Astrid/Vicious/B&B Print Versions

Site Hosting Costs and Maintenance for 2 Years

Site completion for all stories

Initial store and app development

40K - Marketing and Graphic Novels

Social, Print, and Web ads

Email Marketing Campaigns 

Booths at Decatur Book Festival (depending on COVID)

Social ads and promos

50 to 60 pages

First two chapters offered as free promo with email sign-ups

Audio journals for each character

Situational audio journals

Encyclopedia for Astrid (finishing up)/Vicious

65K - Hires and Next Phases

Ability to hire a Full-Time Editor 

Audio Series for each (professionally done)

Vicious Graphic Novel

Additional Title Added

Short animations for both Vicious and Astrid (with plans to fund more with book sales)

Fleshed out Story Sections (Novellas for each character of each series)

Short comic series with Astrid and Vicious side characters

Possible to plan out monthly subscription service with new stories and 'story package' deliveries

75K -

Astrid the Devil Graphic Novel

Vicious Graphic Novel

Astrid the Devil Animated Short

Ability to hire part-time Web Developer

Additional bigger title

Anything Over - I ascend into pure light. And also, I can add titles, cover more mediums, and eventually expand my publishing to other black creatives.

From there, I should be able to handle the funding via sales of books, comics, audio, and more. Again, I will always offer mostly free content across the sites.

I believe in proof of concept, and I have diehard fans on my social platforms. With no outside funding, I've been able to a lot on my own. I'd love to expand my business into one that does the same for other black authors, artists, voice actors, and animators somewhere down the line. 

Thank you so much for your consideration. I appreciate all my readers, present and future, and I appreciate any help!

See incentives and more on the actual campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-trey-publish-black-paranormal-horror-stories

Thank you so much!

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

get to know me tag

I was tagged by @ammocharis! thank you! :)

answer questions / tag blogs, u know the drill :)

nickname: Jade

gender: [dial-up internet noise] but she/her pronouns are fine

height: p much everyone I meet (online OR in person) assumes I am taller than I actually am, which is intentional. 

time(zone): its mountain time baby

song stuck in my head: the Orpheus & Eurydice song from the Hades soundtrack because my friend sent me a post about Orpheus 

last movie: Wolfwalkers!!!!!! It was so beautiful and charming. I recommend every movie Cartoon Saloon puts out this one included!

last show: some netflix competition show about glassblowing, as background noise while working. I’ve watched a lot of that sort of thing lately because I’ve been too busy to really devote my attention to anything :(

when did you create this blog: hm, I don’t actually know how to look that up. Sometime in 2016 after I’d been obsessed with DA:I for a while and decided it was enough content to merit its own sideblog off my main account. I would guess maybe March? 

what do I post: most of my Bioware reblogs go over here now, both Dragon Age and Mass Effect :) plus my original fanric, fanart, and bioware-themed crafting! Also some general writing advice/memes/etc since this is the account I interact with more fanwriters through. My non-fandom art, writing, and crafts go onto my main blog, @songofsaraneth!

last thing googled: “kinds of fruit spiky” becuase I was trying to remember the name of a new weird fruit I have eaten. My 2021 resolution is a continuation of my 2020 resolution, which is to eat more strange fruits! As in if I go to the grocery store, and there is a fruit for sale I have never tried before or not eaten in a long time, I buy one and sample it :) The fruit in question for this googling btw was “rambutan”! It was good, pretty sweet and sort of like a juicy gummy in texture. 

do I get asks: every now and then I get a fit of inspiration and reblog a bunch of prompt lists in a row, and then when people actually send them and I look in my inbox, I go “Hmmmm” and vanish for a week becuase writing is hard. so sorry if you have ever sent me a prompt, i promise you i made a word document with the prompt copied and pasted into it before i got moody and went out for a hike instead. No one wants to know what the inside of my WIP folder looks like...

why I chose my url: I was just desperately searching for any DA/Solas related url that wasn’t already claimed, at the height of the DAI fandom heyday. I’m sure many are free now.

following: 503... and so many dead

followers: 648 it looks like

average hours of sleep: depends on how early I have to be awake the following day. If I have no obligations I’ll sleep for ~7 hours or so. But if I do then usually less since I’m fairly nocturnal and it’s really hard for me to fall asleep. I’d guess 5-7 on average, but sometimes with bad nights of only 3-4.

instruments: I spent the last several years learning Taiko Drumming from an amazing group of older women in the town I lived in. I was heartbroken to move and no longer be able to drum last summer. I could still practice on my own just with the motions/no drum, but losing the group energy element of it really makes me too sad to do so. I also grew up playing classical flute from grade school through the start of college, and once in college transitioned a bit to tin whistle instead. I’ve collected a variety of flutes/whistles/piccolos over the years in different styles but am not good about playing them on my own.

dream job: literal dragon, but i’d settle for mermaid astronaut

dream trip: I’ve been recently obsessed with Greenland. Also, anywhere tropical. 

last book I read: I’m currently almost done with of A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

favorite food: cheese... like a really nice charcuterie board with a nice variety of cheeses + cured meats + jams + fruit + crackers. though Charis’ answer for this was homemade pizza and oh boy am I craving that now

nationality: All 4 of my grandparents were 1st generation americans! So I’m a mix of Lithuanian, Irish, Italian, and the other 1/4 is a German/Belgian/European mystery 

favorite song: gosh so many. I’ve recently been in a country/country-gothic/folk/folk-rock mood because of a D&D game I’m a part of, so here’s a link to the playlist for my character that fits that vibe

top three fictional universes: hmmm i’m going to go with besides the obvious DA/ME universes (which I love to play in even if i wouldn’t want to live in them)... so I’ll pick Middle Earth, Star Trek, and Animorphs :)

i will tag: @nug-juggler  @raposabranca  @thebookworm0001  @m-m-m-myysurana ohhhhhh thats all my brain will give me off the top of my head right now but everyone feel free to play along & tag me :)

[morifinwes]

hey laura!! yeah tumblr was acting up but i’m glad they’re going through now :3 that sounds like a good plan btw! (also oh no, hope everything is fine and that you get well soon! 💕)

oooo i’ll keep that in mind to wish you then ! tbh i never really know what i want for my bday so i just ask for books or smth that’s always a safe option fjdjs although i’ve gotten multiple copies of the same book on so many occasions i had to give them away to other people T-T

ahhhh that’s a smart choice!! you’re right that’s basically when the whole thing started going sideways (esp for wwx poor dude) it could possibly have *some* bad repercussions but like.... nothing can be worse than ur brother losing his core and you having to go through an excruciating process to give your core to him,,, right?

honestly, i would pick the same event, but if jc had to lose his core, then i would probably pick ‘wei ying come back to gusu with me’ bc a) wangxian wouldn’t have terrible misunderstandings for like . y e a r s b) the wens would have a better fate. gusu would suffer some consequences (i’m sorry lxc for all the diplomatic sht this would cause :p) and wwx would still have no golden core but ! it’s the best fix-it to canon after wwx gives his core to jc (if that makes any sense hdjd)

oooo omg i just googled dresden and apparently it’s famous for art museums? i could literally spend an entire day and then some at art museums (it’s actually happened once my friends almost abandoned me bc i was taking too long and ranting about impressionistic techniques :’)) so i’d love to visit! i’ve never been to germany but castles >>> especially the really old creepy ones oooo (and new zealand is an amazing place! esp if you enjoy hiking/extreme sports i would recommend kayaking there!)

okay today’s questions!

⭐️ cant think of any *deep introspective* questions today so,, top five wangxian moments? :3

⭐️ question about u! when did you join tumblr? and why?

ok that’s it for today! i should actually be studying so i’m sending this a bit early hehe >.< have an amazing day ! （＾∇＾）- 🍵

that sounds like a good decision!! ajsksk ngl now i'm curios about a wangxian fix-it au where wwx goes back with lwj to gusu. my family used to visit castles when i was young, we live in an area where a lot of castles are so for me it's kind of normal ig?

i've only seen pictures from dresden and ajkdksks i so badly want to go there. my sister went with my dad once, she really enjoyed it. also yeah art!!

top 5 wangxian moments (in no particular order)

1. when lwj carries wwx!!

2. the xuanwu cave when lwj hums/sings wangxian

3. you know the jingshi scene in cql? with the "luckily in this world somebody still trusts you?" yeah that one had me crying

4. the scene where wwx learns that lwj took in a-yuan

5. the bunny lantern scene in cql!!! (that one is just... so soft and lwj is soft and soft lwj is like !!!! also it was one of lwj's best looks)

i joined once in 2018 but i wasn't active really? one of my friends bullied me into it. then at the beginning of the year i got into it again, i deleted my old blog and made a new on which eventually resulted in the side blog. i actually didn't think i would enjoy it so much like i do now, it was just supposed to be some relaxing while being in quarantine etc. and then i got one of my online friends to get tumblr!! she's not very active but we talk a lot

ahssjs i know the feeling! have a great day 🥰💞

[mattkenzie]

My Highlights of 2019

So with 2019 coming to a close (and I have to say that the year has come and gone... but I strangely had times that slowed down). This year I recently started to use hashtags so that is a learning experience and maybe get myself noticed for a while.

Ships of 2019 ❤️

Beau and Jester (Critical Role Season 2)

Catra and Adora (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Movies 🎥 🍿

This year my local cinema was closed for refurnishment so I never got to watch much movies this year. I used to like going to the movies but there is this unwritten rule where ‘you can’t go into a cinema on my own’ and ‘going to a U-Rated (Universal) as an adult without a child is frowned upon.’ So I think you know what? I’ll get the movie physically so I can watch it twice as it pays for my cinema ticket. Maybe in the new year I’ll hunt down the MCU Boxsets.

Avengers: Endgame 🥇

🍿 Captain Marvel 🥈

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse 🥉

Sonic the Hedgehog (So glad Sonic got an update!)

Avengers: Infinity War

Spider-Man: Far From Home

🍿 Steven Universe: The Movie

🍿 Black Panther

Doctor Strange

Frozen 2 (My principle still stands that I detest Frozen)

How to Train Your Dragon

💿 Lord of the Rings

💿 Thor Ragnarok

Guardians of the Galaxy

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Spider-Man: Homecoming

🍿 Toy Story 4

The Hobbit (ONLY the first 2 films!)

Spirited Away

Movie Characters

Live Action TV 📺

Animated TV 📺

TV Characters

Music Groups 🎤🎸🥁

Musicals 🎭

Just the one musical that I’ve enjoyed this year and that is...

Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice, being young and naive doesn’t mean that I’m an easy mark.)

Books 📚

This year I have promised myself that I’d read a new book once a month back in 2018 and it came back with a vengeance in 2019 and I have been enjoying reading more that I prefer fantasy and built such a small library. Yes, this year I’ve been spending less time watching television and giving my imagination a creativity an exercise. I think in 2020, I’ll try to give YA novels a chance... yet I noticed the YA protagonists are female. I want to try Leigh Bardugo’s Trilogy, The Throne of Glass, The Mortal Instrumentals and more of Rick Riordan. I do kind of feel bad for not reading The Simarrillion (as I never got into books as a child/teenager).

Harry Potter series 🥇

Percy Jackson and the Olympians 🥉

A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones)

Discworld

Good Omens

Authors and Poets 📚✒️

Video Games 🎮

So I’ve been spending less money on video games this year it feels like it’s a good thing but sometimes we have to be adult about things in this day and age because responsibility demands sacrifice. I do find life difficult at times but I know that I can pop in a CD and find enjoyment in the games that I want to play. So what about the video games that aren’t on the Tumblr fandom list? Well to abridge my list... Trails of Cold Steel 1 & 2, Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2: Enhanced Edition and Planescape Torment & Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, King of Fighters 2000, King of Fighters ‘97, Fatal Fury Special and Garou: Mark of the Wolves. I was ecstatic to hear Terry Bogard being in Smash. But what about those games that are no Tumblr but not on mine? It’s simple, I’m not interested in them.

Overwatch 🥇

Minecraft 🥈

🎮 Fire Emblem: Three Houses 🥉

Undertale

🎮 Pokémon Sword and Shield

🎮 The Sims 4

🎮 Persona 5 (I can’t wait for Royal)

Deltarune

🎮 Danganrompa

🎮 Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Can’t wait for the sequel)

Stardew Valley

🎮 Borderlands 3

🎮 Kingdom Hearts III

Detroit: Become Human

🎮 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

🎮 Ace Attorney (Still salty about not having Miles Edgeworth Investigations and The Great Ace Attorney though)

Taletale: The Walking Dead

🎮 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

🎮 Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Cyberpunk 2077

Dragon Age Inquisition

🎮 Fallout 4

Minecraft ⛏

I’ve stopped watching Minecraft videos for about 2 years now (as I loved the Yogscast), but I somehow do miss playing it on my phone or on a console, I think in 2020 I will get a copy on the Switch because one of my friends have been playing Minecraft on the Switch.

Mobile Games/Apps 📱

To be honest, I don’t do any form of mobile gaming (I’m mostly against the idea of ‘micro transactions’ just the sake of pay to win). Like when it comes to video games on computers and consoles I will gladly get the DLC to give my games more depth and longer replay value.

Video Game Characters

Raphael (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Pokémon

So with Pokémon Sword and Shield being released, I was having some mixed feelings about it. Did I like the Thanos snap? I can live with it. Did I like the new pokémon? Some of them are a hit and miss (I liked the starters, I chose Scorbunny at first but when I was spoiled with Grooky’s final evolution... I jumped ship). Do I like the Dynamax/Gigantamax system? To be honest I was hoping for Armoured Evolutions.

Brand New World

Grooky Gang

Anime & Manga

Web Celebrities

Web Series

So with me losing interest in television comes a rise in watching my shows online. I normally do enjoy watching Critical Role on Monday (as I need some sleep on Friday at silly o’clock in the morning) but I have enjoyed discovering Sander’s Side (YouTube’s version of Pixar’s Inside Out) and listening to The Adventure Zone that I bought the comics (I can’t wait for Volume 3) and Dimension 20’s Fantasy High.

Critical Role 🥇

RWBY 🥈

Sander’s Sides 🥉

The Adventure Zone

Camp Camp

Hazbin Hotel

gen:LOCK

Dimension 20

Memes

I will never understand memes (so please don’t ask)

OK, Boomer!

Raiding Area 51

Thicc is the new Phat

Tumblr Communities

So I stated that this year that I would be reading a book once a month and I have started to appreciate them more than I do with Television and Video Games so I’ve been blogging what books that I have read and eventhough I don’t know what is getting released (like I do with video games and movies). I have been enjoying starting out with bookblr.

Bookblr

Art Styles

Beauty & Fashion Brands 👕👖🥾

Sadly, I gained a lot of weight this year that I now have to get size 46 waist jeans and chinos so I buy clothing from Bad Rhino (I am not proud of myself for that), but the good news is that my brushing/flossing have been improving and I have stopped biting my nails ever since I bought myself nail clippers.

Astrology ♒️

I don’t really follow astrology but I like to look at the Aquarius posts for fits and gigs so apparently Aquarius is in 3rd place in the trending.

Aquarius ♒️🥉

Tumblr and Social Impact

LGBTQIA+

[achronologyofbits]

GOTY 2019

I wanted to write a personal Game of the Year list, but I realized I really didn’t play that many games that were new in 2019. So I’m ranking them, but it’s less a “top 10” and more a “10 games I played and how I felt about them.”  

10. Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III plays like a game from 2005.

I’m not sure I can fully articulate what I mean by that. Maybe I mean its combat is largely simplistic and button-mashy. Maybe I mean its rhythms of level traversal and cutscene exposition dumps are archaic and outdated. Maybe feeling like this game is a relic from another time is unavoidable, given how many years have passed since its first series entry.  

But there’s also something joyful and celebratory about it all — something kind of refreshing about a work that knows only a tiny portion of its players will understand all its references and lore and world-building, and just doesn’t care.

Despite all the mockery and memery surrounding its fiction, Kingdom Hearts’ strongest storytelling moments are actually pretty simple. They’re about the struggle to exist, to belong, and to define what those things mean for yourself. I think that’s why the series reaches the people it does.

Those moments make Kingdom Hearts III worth defending, if not worth recommending.

9. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Admittedly, I only played about 10-15 hours of this in 2019. Perhaps fittingly, that’s about the amount of time I originally spent on Dark Souls when it released in 2011. I bounced off, hard, because I didn’t understand what it was asking of me. Once I did — though, it has to be said, I needed other people to explain those expectations to me, because the game sure as hell didn’t — Dark Souls became an all-time favorite. And I’ve played every FromSoft game since then, and enjoyed them all. Until Sekiro.

Part of it is, again, down to expectation. Dark Souls trained its players on a certain style of combat: cautious movements, careful attention to spacing, committing to weighty attacks, waiting for counterattacks. In every game since then, FromSoft have iterated on those expectations in the same direction in an attempt to encourage players to be less cautious and more aggressive. The series moved from tank-heavy play in Dark Souls, to dual-wielding in DS2, to weapon arts and reworking poise in DS3, to the system of regaining health by attacking in Bloodborne.

In some ways, Sekiro is a natural continuation of this trend toward aggression, but in others, it’s a complete U-turn. Bloodborne eschewed blocking and prioritized dodging as the quickest, most effective defensive option. Sekiro does exactly the opposite. Blocking is always your first choice, parrying is essential instead of largely optional, and dodging is near useless except in special cases. FromSoft spent five games teaching me my habits, and it was just too hard for me to break them for Sekiro.

I have other issues, too — health/damage upgrades are gated behind boss fights, so grinding is pointless; the setting and story lack some of the creativity of the game’s predecessors; there’s no variety of builds or playstyles — but the FromSoft magic is still there, too. Nothing can match the feeling of beating a Souls-series boss. And the addition of a grappling hook makes the verticality of Sekiro’s level design fascinating.

I dunno. I feel like there’s more here I’d enjoy, if I ever manage to push through the barriers. Maybe — as I finally did with the first Dark Souls, over a year after its release — someday I will.

8. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

In December, my wife and I traveled to Newport Beach for a family wedding, and we stayed an extra day to visit Disneyland. As an early birthday present, Aubrey bought me the experience of building a lightsaber in Galaxy’s Edge. And the experience is definitely what you’re paying for; the lightsaber itself is cool, but it’s cool because it’s made from parts I selected, with a blade color I chose, and I got to riff and banter with in-character park employees while doing it. (“Can you actually read those?” one asked me in an awed voice, when I selected a lightsaber hilt portion adorned with ancient Jedi runes. “Not yet,” I told her. “We’ll see if the Force can teach me.”)

Maybe it’s because I just had that experience, but by far my favorite moment in Jedi: Fallen Order is when main character Cal Kestis overcomes his own fears and memories to forge his own lightsaber, using a kyber crystal that calls to him personally. It’s maybe the only part of the game that made me feel like a Jedi, in a way the hours of Souls-inspired lightsaber slashing didn’t.

I think that’s telling. And I think it’s because so much of Fallen Order is derivative of other works, both in the current canon of gaming and of Star Wars. That’s not to say it’s bad — the mélange of Uncharted/Tomb Raider traversal, combat that evokes Souls and God of War, and vaguely Metroid-y power acquisition and exploration mostly works — but it’s just a titch less than the sum of those parts.

Similarly, as a Star Wars story, it feels under-baked. There’s potential in exploring the period immediately after Order 66 and the Jedi purge, but you only see glimpses of that. And I understand the difficulty of telling a story where the characters succeed but in a way that doesn’t affect established canon, but it still seemed like there were a couple of missed opportunities at touching base with the larger Star Wars universe. (And the one big reference that does pop up at the end feels forced and unrealistic.)

When I got home from California, I took my lightsaber apart just to see how it all worked. Outside of the hushed tones and glowing lights of Savi’s Workshop, it seems a little less special. It’s still really cool…but I sort of wish I had had a wider variety of parts to choose from. And that I had bought some of the other crystal colors. Just in case.

That’s how I feel about Jedi: Fallen Order. I had fun with it. But it’s easier now to see the parts for what they are.

7. Untitled Goose Game

Aubrey and I first saw this game at PAX, at a booth which charmingly recreated the garden of the game’s first level. We were instantly smitten, and as I’ve introduced it to family and friends, they’ve all had the same reaction. When we visited my brother’s family in Florida over the holidays, my eight-year-old niece and nephew peppered me with questions about some of the more complex puzzles. Even my father, whose gaming experience basically topped out at NES Open Tournament Golf in 1991, gave it a shot.

I’m not sure I have a lot more to say here, other than a few bullet points:

1) I love that Untitled Goose Game is completely nonviolent. It would’ve been easy to add a “peck” option as another gameplay verb, another means of mischief. (And, from what I understand, it would be entirely appropriate, given the aggression of actual geese.) That the developers resisted this is refreshing.

2) I’m glad a game this size can have such a wide reach, and that it doesn’t have to be a platform exclusive.

3) Honk.

6. Tetris 99

Despite the number of hours I’ve spent playing games, and the variety of genres that time has spanned, I’m not much for competitive gaming. This is partially because the competitive aspect of my personality has waned with age, and partially because I am extremely bad at most multiplayer games.

The one exception to this is Tetris.

I am a Tetris GOD.

Of course, that’s an incredible overstatement. Now that I’ve seen real Ecstasy of Order, Grandmaster-level Tetris players, I realize how mediocre I am. But in my real, actual life, I have never found anyone near my skill level. In high school, I would bring two Game Boys, two copies of Tetris, and a link cable on long bus rides to marching band competitions, hoping to find willing challengers. The Game Boys themselves became very popular. Playing me did not.

Prior to Tetris 99, the only version of the game that gave me any shred of humility in a competitive sense was Tetris DS, where Japanese players I found online routinely handed me my ass. I held my own, too, but that was the first time in my life when I wasn’t light-years beyond any opponent.

As time passed and internet gaming and culture became more accessible, I soon realized I was nowhere near the true best Tetris players in the world. Which was okay by me. I’m happy to be a big fish in a small pond, in pretty much all aspects of my life.

Tetris 99 has given me a perfectly sized pond. I feel like I’m a favorite to win every round I play, and I usually finish in the top 10 or higher. But it’s also always a challenge, because there’s just enough metagame to navigate. Have I targeted the right enemies? Do I have enough badges to make my Tetrises hit harder? Can I stay below the radar for long enough? These aspects go beyond and combine with the fundamental piece-dropping in a way I absolutely love.

The one thing I haven’t done yet is win an Invictus match (a mode reserved only for those who have won a standard 99-player match). But it’s only a matter of time.  

5. Pokemon Sword/Shield

I don’t think I’ve played a Pokemon game through to completion since the originals. I always buy them, but I always seem to lose steam halfway through. But I finished Shield over the holidays, and I had a blast doing it.

Because I’m a mostly casual Pokeplayer, the decision to not include every ‘mon in series history didn’t bother me at all. I really enjoyed learning about new Pokemon and forcing myself to try moving away from my usual standards. (Although I did still use a Gyarados in my final team.)

As a fan of English soccer, the stadium-centric, British-flavored setting also contributed to my desire to see the game through. Changing into my uniform and walking onto a huge, grassy pitch, with tens of thousands of cheering fans looking on, really did give me a different feeling than battles in past games, which always seemed to be in weird, isolated settings.

I’m not sure I’ll push too far into the postgame; I’ve never felt the need to catch ‘em all. But I had a great time with the ones I caught.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

I have a strange relationship with the Zelda series, especially now. They are my wife’s favorite games of all time. But I don’t know if I’ve ever actually sat down and beaten one since the original Link’s Awakening. Even with Breath of the Wild, which I adore, I was content to watch Aubrey do the heavy lifting. I know the series well, I’ve played bits of all of them, but most haven’t stuck with me.

Link’s Awakening has. I wrote a piece once about its existential storytelling and how it affected me as a child. I love the way the graphics in this remake preserve that dreamlike quality. It’s pretty much a re-skin of the original game, but the cutesy, toy-set aesthetic pairs well with the heavy material. If this is all a dream, whose dream is it? And when we wake up, what happens to it?

Truthfully, some of the puzzles and design decisions haven’t held up super well. Despite the fresh coat of paint, it definitely feels like a 25-year-old game. But I’m so glad this version exists.

Oh, and that solo clarinet in the Mabe Village theme? *Chef’s kiss*

3. Control

I actually haven’t seen a lot of the influences Control wears on its sleeve. I’ve never gone completely through all the episodes of the X-Files, Fringe, and Twin Peaks; I’m only vaguely familiar with the series of “creepypasta” fiction called SCP Foundation; and I have never endeavored to sit through a broadcast of Coast to Coast AM. I’m also unfamiliar with Remedy’s best-known work in the genre, Alan Wake. But I know enough about all those works to be able to identify their inspiration on the Federal Bureau of Control, Jesse Faden, and the Oldest House.

Control is an interesting game to recommend (which I do), because I’m not sure how much I really enjoyed its combat. For most of the game, it’s a pretty standard third-person shooter. You can’t snap to cover, which indicates you’re intended to stay on the move. This becomes even more obvious when you gain the ability to air dash and fly. But you do need to use cover, because Jesse doesn’t have much health even at the end of the game. So combat encounters can get out of hand quickly, and there’s little incentive to keep fighting enemies in the late game. Yet they respawn at a frustratingly frequent rate. The game’s checkpointing system compounds this — you only respawn at “control points,” which act like Souls-style bonfires. This leads to some unfortunately tedious runbacks after boss fights.

On the other hand, Jesse’s telekinesis power always feels fantastic, and varying your attacks between gunshots, thrown objects, melee, and mind controlling enemies can be frenetic fun. That all comes to a head in the game’s combat (and perhaps aesthetic?) high point, the Ashtray Maze. To say more would be doing a disservice. It’s awesome.

The rest of the gameplay is awesome, too — and I do call it “gameplay,” though unfortunately you don’t have many options for affecting the world beyond violence. The act of exploring the Oldest House and scouring it for bureaucratic case files, audio recordings, and those unbelievably creepy “Threshold Kids” videos is pure joy. The way the case files are redacted leaves just enough to the imagination, and the idea of a federal facility being built on top of and absorbed into a sort of nexus of interdimensional weirdness is perfectly executed. And what’s up with that motel? And the alien, all-seeing, vaguely sinister Board? So cool.

With such great worldbuilding, I did wish for a little more player agency. There are no real dialogue choices — no way to imbue Jesse with any character traits beyond what’s pre-written for her — and only one ending. This kind of unchecked weird science is the perfect environment for forcing the player into difficult decisions (what do we study? How far is too far? How do we keep it all secret?), and that just isn’t part of the game at all. Which is fine — Control isn’t quite an immersive sim like Prey, and it’s not trying to be. I just see some similarities and potential, and I wish they had been explored a little.

But Control’s still a fantastic experience, and in any other year, it probably would’ve been my number one pick. That’s how good these next two games are.

2. Outer Wilds

Honestly, this is the best game of 2019. But I’m not listing it as number one because I didn’t play most of it — Aubrey did. Usually we play everything together; even if we’re not passing a controller back and forth, one of us will watch while the other one plays. And that definitely happened for a large chunk of Outer Wilds. But Aubrey did make some key discoveries while I was otherwise occupied, so while I think it’s probably the best game, it’s not the one I personally spent the most time with.

The time I did spend, though? Wow. From the moment you wake up at the campfire and set off in search of your spaceship launch codes, it’s clear that this is a game that revels in discovery. Discovery for its own sake, for the furthering of knowledge, for the protection of others, for the sheer fun of it. Some games actively discourage players from asking the question, “Hey, what’s that over there?” Outer Wilds begs you to ask it, and then rewards you not with treasure or statistical growth, but with the opportunity to ask again, about something even more wondrous and significant.

There are so many memorable moments of discovery in this game. The discovery that, hey, does that sun look redder to you than it used to? The discovery that, whoa, why did I wake up where I started after seemingly dying in space? Your first trip through a black hole. Your first trip to the quantum moon. Your first trip to the weird, bigger-on-the-inside fog-filled heart of a certain dark, brambly place. (Aubrey won’t forget that any time soon.)

They take effort, those moments. They do have to be earned, and it isn’t easy. Your spaceship flies like it looks: sketchy, taped together, powered by ingenuity and, like, marshmallows, probably. Some of the leaps you have to make — both of intuition and of jetpack — are a little too far. (We weren’t too proud to look up a couple hints when we were truly stuck.) But in the tradition of the best adventure games (which is what this is, at heart), you have everything you need right from the beginning. All you have to do is gather the knowledge to understand it and put it into action.

And beyond those moments of logical and graphical discovery, there’s real emotion and pathos, too. As you explore the remnants of the lost civilization that preceded yours, your only method of communication is reading their writing. And as you do, you start to get a picture of them not just as individuals (who fight, flirt, and work together to help each other), but as a species whose boundless thirst for discovery was their greatest asset, highest priority, undoing, and salvation, all at once.

I don’t think I can say much more without delving into spoilers, or retreading ground others have covered. (Go read Austin Walker’s beautiful and insightful review for more.) It’s an incredible game, and one everyone with even a passing interest in the medium should try.

(Last thing: Yes, I manually flew to the Sun Station and got inside. No, I don’t recommend it.)

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

If I hadn’t just started a replay of this game, I don’t think I’d be listing it in the number one slot. I started a replay because I showed it to my brother when we visited him in Florida last month, and immediately, all the old feelings came flooding back. I needed another hit.

No game this year has been as compelling for me. That’s an overused word in entertainment criticism, but I mean it literally: There have been nights where I absolutely HAVE to keep playing (much to Aubrey’s dismay). One more week of in-game time. One more study session to raise a skill rank. One more meal together so I can recruit another student. One more battle. Just a little longer.

I’m not sure I can put my finger on the source of that compulsion. Part of it is the excellence of craftsmanship on display; if any technical or creative aspect of Three Houses was less polished than it is, I probably wouldn’t feel so drawn to it. But the two big answers, I think, are the characters and their growth, both mechanically and narratively.

At the start of the game, you pick one of the titular three houses to oversee as professor. While this choice defines who you’ll have in your starting party, that can be mitigated later, as almost every other student from the other two houses can be recruited to join yours. What you’re really choosing is which perspective you’ll see the events of the story from, and through whose eyes: Edelgard of the Black Eagles, Dimitri of the Blue Lions, or Claude of the Golden Deer. (This is also why the game almost demands at least three playthroughs.)

These three narratives are deftly written so you simultaneously feel like you made the only possible canonical choice, while also sowing questions into your decision-making. Edelgard’s furious desire for change is just but perhaps not justifiable; Dimitri hides an obsession with revenge behind a façade of noblesse oblige; Claude is more conniving and pragmatic than he lets on. No matter who you side with, you’ll eventually have to face the others. And everyone can make a case that they, not you, are on the right side.

This is especially effective because almost every character in Three Houses is dealing with a legacy of war and violence. A big theme of the game’s story is how those experiences inform and influence the actions of the victims. What steps are justified to counteract such suffering? How do you break the cycle if you can’t break the power structures that perpetuate it? How do good people end up fighting for bad causes?

While you and your child soldiers (yeah, you do kind of have to just skip over that part; they’re in their late teens, at least? Still not good enough, but could be worse?) are grappling with these questions, they’re also growing in combat strength, at your direction. This is the part that really grabbed me and my lizard brain — watching those numbers get bigger was unbelievably gratifying. Each character class has certain skill requirement prerequisites, and as professor, you get to define how your students meet those requirements, and which they focus on. Each student has certain innate skills, but they also have hidden interests that only come to the surface with guidance. A character who seems a shoo-in to serve as a white mage might secretly make an incredibly effective knight; someone who seems destined for a life as a swordsman suddenly shows a talent for black magic. You can lean into their predilections, or go against them, with almost equal efficacy.

For me, this was the best part of Three Houses, and the part that kept me up long after my wife had gone to bed. Planning a student’s final battle role takes far-seeing planning and preparation, and each step along the way felt thrilling. How can you not forge a connection with characters you’ve taken such pains to help along the way? How can you not explode with joy when they reach their goals?

That’s the real draw of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, I think: the joy of seeing people you care about grow, while simultaneously confronting those you once cared about, but who followed another path. No wonder I wanted to start another playthrough. I think I’ll be starting them all over again for a long time.

[lunasterial]

title: let’s fall in love (and fall apart) pairing: kth + jjk length: 5k+ words summary: Jeonggukk wonders where it all went wrong. author’s note: it’s been so long since i’ve posted something online and i really wanted to write taekook, so this is that. also, when will my taekook be something light and fluffy? the world will never know

read on ao3

If there’s one person Jeongguk would like to blame, it’ll only be himself.

He stands there, alone in his pyjamas, hair still messy as he left it most of the time these days. It’s around midday, and Jeongguk can see the straight line of dust coming from the window as the last hours of sunlight fall upon his small dorm. His nose twitches at the dust, moving his head slightly to avoid it. His hands tersely grip the brown basket filled with Taehyung’s stuff; Taehyung’s shampoo, Taehyung’s old teddy bear, Taehyung’s sketchpad, Taehyung’s copy of Peter Pan.

Taehyung. Taehyung. Taehyung.

Jeongguk stands there, alone. Although he’s never quite been this lonely.

He groans as he presses his palms into his eyes. No matter how many times he breathes, it doesn’t get easier. Taehyung took the oxygen with him when he left.

i need to get my stuff

He received a text and it was from Taehyung. He knew because he never actually deleted it when he told Jimin he did. He’s surprised Taehyung still has his number.

okay

what time is good for u?

It took a few minutes for him to reply, and Jeongguk dreaded every second.

around six?

Jeongguk stands there, alone, and until now, he doesn’t know what went wrong.

okay

Taehyung didn’t reply after that.

◌

Jeongguk was alone in his dorm, two towels draped on his shoulders as he made his way across the room. His feet made sound with every step he made across the floorboards. His dorm was still quite empty, most of his luggage were still unpacked. The dull hum of the air conditioner was the only other sound he could hear in the dorm. That was, until he heard a knock on the door.

On the other side was a sun-kissed skinned boy, eyes a dark brown, his hair the colour of sand and unkempt. In his right hand was a suitcase, a contrast to Jeongguk’s luggage bags, and to his left two reasonably sized boxes. As soon as he opened the door, the man shot him a hundred watt smile. It was too bright for Jeongguk to bear, especially since he’s just woken up minutes before.

“Hey,” the man breathes, almost as if he had been struggling to catch his breath. Had he carried all of his things all by himself all the way up here?

“Hi,” Jeongguk shoots back, and he looks at the mind from his head to his toes, stopping himself when he realized that that might’ve seemed rude. “Can I help you?”

The man lets out a silent “Oh,” and immediately lets go of his suitcase to hold out a hand.

“Hi, I’m Kim Taehyung. If this is 318, then I’m your new roommate!”

Jeongguk looks down to the outstretched hand before him. Kim Taehyung has very large, very manly, hands. Jeongguk wonders how his ones would compare in contrast.

“Oh,” Jeongguk says, and before he realizes it, the left side of his lips is turning up, forming a small smile.

He takes Taehyung’s hand. As expected (he didn’t realized he had expected anything), it was bigger than his, though only slightly. It’s quite rough, as if his skin started to show just how much he used his hands. He looked like the type of guy that had a lot going in life, or if he didn’t, he definitely did all he could to make sure a lot was going on.

“I’m Jeongguk.”

It felt a lot like the start.

◌

“Where are you off to, now?”

Jeongguk doesn’t mean to sound accusatory, it’s just the way his voice comes out. Plus, it’s four in the morning and he had been peacefully sleeping not two minutes ago, and now he’s lost his cuddle buddy. Taehyung, now in his uniform for his job at—god, where did he work now? Some sort of combini, he’s pretty sure. He’s approaching Jeongguk with a small smile on his face. Jeongguk is barely even up, his head still resting on his pillow as he squints at Taehyung coming to cup his cheeks. On instinct, Jeongguk reaches up to meet him halfways, pressing his lips against Taehyung’s quickly.

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung says as he pulls away slowly, “I wish I could stay but if I do I might get fired again.”

The guilt overwhelms Jeongguk immediately. Taehyung had been coming home so late from the art block and waking up ridiculously early because of his job. He was so tired these days that when he came home, he could barely stay awake to even talk to Jeongguk. Sure, Jeongguk felt lonely, but that didn’t give him the right to make Taehyung feel guilty about working hard.

Jeongguk sighs as he gets up, reach up to grab the hand that was on his cheek and wrapping them in his hands. Since the first time they met, Jeongguk has done this so many times, he’s already lost count. It doesn’t change the fact that his heart instantly beats faster every time he does it.

“M’sorry,” he slurs, voice still laden with sleep. He reaches up to wrap his arms around Taehyung and buries his own face into the crook of his boyfriend’s neck. He breathes in his cologne for a second, closing his eyes as he basks in the scent as this will probably be the only time he’ll be able to hold Taehyung like the for the rest of the day. Maybe if he closes his eyes hard enough time will stop itself just for Jeongguk to fully savour this moment.

But alas, his eyes open, and when he pulls away he places a small kiss to Taehyung’s cheek.

“I’ll see you later,” he says. He doesn’t ask because he knows Taehyung will be there, right next to him at the end of the day.

Jeongguk was just about to go back to his little cocoon blanket when Taehyung abruptly pulls at his shoulder, placing a deep kiss on Jeongguk’s lips. It’s sweet and slow, and the tender touch of Taehyung’s hand to Jeongguk’s chest makes him feel like he’s already dreaming. It’s always like this with Taehyung, Jeongguk learns, he’ll always never believe it’s even real.

The pull away slowly, as they both start to lose their breathe. Taehyung nuzzles his nose against Jeongguk before he says, “You know I love you, right?”

Before he could start wonder what that meant Jeongguk responds, “Of course,” and he takes the hand on his chest up to his lips, “I love you, too.”

◌

Seokjin looks like he’s looking at a kicked puppy that lost its legs in a car accident. All its legs. His legs are pressed close together and his hands are clasped atop his lap. His eyebrows are furrowed and he’s biting his lip like he’s trying to figure something out. He’s probably trying to figure out how Jeongguk managed to fuck this relationship up. Like he did with his last one with him.

It probably doesn’t do much good to hang out with one of your exes right after a breakup. Especially when hanging out with said ex was a contributing factor of the breakup.

“What?” Jeongguk asks after a long minute of debating whether or not it was okay to speak or to just let Seokjin gather his thoughts. He decided he couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

Seokjin looks up at him with a raise of an eyebrow, “What do you mean what?” he says.

He sounds like he’s distressed, as if he knew he did something wrong. Jeongguk knew that wasn’t true. This was Jeongguk’s fault. It was all his.

“You seem to have a lot of things going on in your brain. Come on, spit it out,” Jeongguk tries. He doesn’t know whether or not Seokjin was thinking actually. He just didn’t want him to say nothing.

“I—,” Seokjin starts, eyes lifting up to look at Jeongguk with a sad expression, “Jeongguk, you just told me you and Taehyung broke up with you and you’re asking me what?”

Jeongguk sighs as he takes a seat next to Seokjin. It’s unnerving how he follows his every move.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he says, instead of giving him a proper answer.

“Like what?” Seokjin scoffs, crossing his arms as if he were challenging Jeongguk.

Jeongguk would probably act the same if he were in his situation. Their brains worked the same way, they both noticed that quite quickly. Maybe that’s why they broke up; they were just too similar.

“Like I’m lost,” Jeongguk answers.

He doesn’t look at Seokjin. If he looks at Seokjin, he’ll just remember Taehyung and he doesn’t want to think about him right now.

“You’re not lost, Jeongguk,” Seokjin says, voice a lot softer than before. This was why he still wanted to be friends with him after they broke up. Seokjin was a good friend, even before they got together. “You’re heartbroken.”

There’s a hand atop his shoulder, and Jeongguk reaches up to wrap his fingers around it. Seokjin’s hands are a lot different from Taehyung’s. His fingers were slightly crooked but his skin is a lot more soft. His hand doesn’t fit in Seokjin’s as well as it did in Taehyung’s. He wishes it were Taehyung’s. He always wishes it was Taehyung.

“Don’t remind me,” he says.

He looks down at their intertwined hands, and he feels so, so empty.

◌

Taehyung’s late again.

He’s always late, it hardly even bothers Jeongguk anymore.

Today, their endeavours include meeting up at the rooftop to meet Saturn at four in the morning. Normally, Taehyung would be coming back home from his job at some toy shop at this hour. Jeongguk wouldn’t even be awake unless Taehyung padding into the dorm and securely locking Jeongguk in his arms once he settles in bed wakes him. His hair is still a bit messy, not bothering to shower just yet, so he put on a black beanie to cover up the nest. He has Taehyung's ridiculously oversized white hoodie on; the one with the holes in the sleeves. It was the first thing he saw so he threw it on immediately and left the dorm.

It was at least fifteen minutes after four when Taehyung showed up. He was still wearing his uniform, his hair probably as disheveled as Jeongguk’s but Taehyung always looked good so it didn’t matter. He’s wearing his signature smile and it’s aimed straight at Jeongguk. The way his heartbeats start to quicken whenever he so much as glances at Taehyung is alarming, but he’s getting used to it. He somehow finds himself getting used to a lot of things with Taehyung.

“Hey,” Taehyung breathes.

“Hey, yourself,” Jeongguk smirks as Taehyung approaches him towards the railing and stops as soon as he’s at Jeongguk’s side. “You’re late.”

“Sorry,” Taehyung scratches the back of his head, “Did I keep you waiting?”

Jeongguk smiles at him because he can’t help but smile whenever he’s with Taehyung.

“No,” he replies, “But you kept him waiting,” he points up at the slowly azuring sky.

Somehow, right now as Taehyung looks up at Saturn in between the clouds, the planet smaller than his thumb from their vantage point, Jeongguk thinks he could get used to this; the feeling of falling slowly, but surely, in love with Taehyung.

“Wow,” Taehyung says, exasperated, “I thought you were kidding me when you said Saturn was visible. I thought you just wanted to spend more time with me,” he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

At that, Jeongguk scoffs, shoving Taehyung’s face away from him playfully, “You wish.”

Taehyung gasps dramatically, placing a hand on his own chest when he says, ”And here I thought my dongsaeng actually loved me.”

Jeongguk rolls his eyes as Taehyung wiped an invisible teardrop from his eyes.

They laugh as Jeongguk practically tackles Taehyung with tickles making the elder squirm away from him. His hands land anywhere they can go and along it, follows Taehyung’s excessively cute giggles. Maybe that’s why Jeongguk liked to tickle him; he just looks so adorable.

Red in the face, Taehyung successfully pries Jeongguk’s hands off of him by grabbing them with his own.

“Stop, stop, stop!” he giggles as he squeezes Jeongguk's hands in his.

It’s like a scene from a film; the way Taehyung’s breathing starts to regulate the longer he stares at Jeongguk. Jeongguk can only think about the way Taehyung’s hands engulf his when he realizes Taehyung inching closer and closer.

If anyone were to tell Jeongguk that his first kiss with Taehyung was going to happen that day, he wouldn’t believe it. But here he was, the first rays of the sun shining down on them as the day begins, Saturn, even as a little dot, hanging high in the canvas called the sky above their heads, and Taehyung’s eyes looking towards him as if he were casting a spell. Come on, he enchants, make this inevitable.

As Jeongguk closes the distance between them for the first time, he does.

◌

The line is silent for a second.

“... Hello?”

“Jeongguk!” Taehyung exclaims from the other line. “I’m so glad you called. I was just gonna—stop it, s-stop—,” he giggles, "I was just gonna call you, actually.”

Jeongguk eyes the dinner table. He had cooked dinner today to surprise Taehyung because he mentioned he was gonna get home a little earlier today.

“Really?” he bites his lip nervously, “Why?”

“Me and—stop! Minjae—,“ he giggles across the line. “Stop tickling me! I’m on the phone!”

Jeongguk stays still, gripping his phone tightly. “Um.”

“Sorry! ” Taehyung says, “Minjae’s being a little shit. Anyway, I was just about to call to tell that I won’t be home for dinner so don’t wait up.”

Jeongguk’s face falls, “What?”

“Well, a few post-grads came over today to teach us and they offered to treat us dinner! Isn’t that cool? ”

Jeongguk eyes the table again. “Um… yeah,” he says quietly.

“Yeah!” Taehyung exclaims, “You alright, Gukkie? You’re being a little quiet.”

Jeongguk doesn’t know what to say to that, so he doesn’t speak, not yet anyway. And it gives him enough time to hear Taehyung playfully arguing with whoever the hell Minjae was. He sounds like he’s having a lot of fun.

“I’m okay,” Jeongguk says, nearly choking on his words, “Have fun at dinner, Tae.”

He shoves the food into the fridge and orders pizza instead, not wanting to eat it without Taehyung.

If Taehyung came home that night, Jeongguk didn’t notice, because the next day Jeongguk woke up to an empty bed.

It hardly even fazed Jeongguk, now that that happened more often than not. So, he went about his day like normal. That was until he opened the fridge and found the food he had cooked yesterday for Taehyung.

He takes it out and places it on the table. He considers eating it for dinner but it’s far too much for just one person.

He gets his phone out, scrolling through his contacts list to find Jimin or maybe Hoseok’s number  and ask them whether or not they wanted to eat with him. Instead, at the very end of the list, he finds Seokjin’s number. And before he can stop himself, he’s texting him.

hey, have you eaten breakfast yet?

◌

Jeongguk doesn’t know how it started. All he remembers is that it was supposed to be a nice evening. He had taken Taehyung out for dinner to compensate for—Jeongguk doesn’t even remember now. All he knows is that he’s seen his boyfriend all of three times the last week. It was his finals and all Jeongguk was spending his time on was studying and sleeping. He doesn’t remember which one of the two he was doing when he saw Taehyung, although he vaguely remembers Taehyung pressing little kisses to his chin before he fell asleep. Maybe that was dream? He can’t remember anymore.

It was supposed to be a nice evening. Taehyung and Jeongguk dressed to the nines and they were eating at a really fancy restaurant. Taehyung looked beautiful, as always, and he had been so happy they were going out today.

“How’ve you been, Gukkie?” Taehyung asked as he settled in his seat, “We hardly saw each other at all this week.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jeongguk replies with a sad smile, “I’ve been revising like crazy. I swear Jinnie hyung was hell bent on making my revision actual torture.”

Taehyung stopped playing with the napkins placed on their tables, the light in his eyes changing. Red flag number one.

“Um,” Taehyung looked around nervously, “You’ve been hanging out with Seokjin hyung?”

His voice came out slightly softer; his words careful, calculated. Red flag number two.

“Y-Yeah,” Jeongguk says cautiously. “He’s been sort of my vocal coach these days.”

“Oh,” Taehyung averts his eyes. Red flag number three. “You could’ve asked me,” he mumbles.

“Ask you?” Jeongguk laughs, “You hardly can hardly spare any time for me in general, Tae.”

Taehyung looks up at Jeongguk with sharp eyes, “Is that why you called Seokjin hyung? Because I wouldn’t spend time with you?”

Jeongguk looks at him incredulously, “Of course not,” Jeongguk says, “You know it’s not. Taehyung, where is this coming from?”

This time Taehyung scoffs, obviously frustrated. “Never mind, just take me home.”

Jeongguk’s eyes widen, “What?”

“You know what,” Taehyung says, already starting to get up from his seat, “Why don’t you stay? Why don’t you call your precious little Jinnie hyung to have dinner with you? You seem to enjoy his company a lot more these days.”

With that, Taehyung takes off. And Jeongguk has half a mind to do exactly what Taehyung told him out of pure spite. But he quickly gets up from his seat, sending a quick apology to the maitre d and following Taehyung outside.

“Taehyung,” Jeongguk says, as he catches up to his boyfriend. “Come on, you’re being ridiculous.”

“Honestly, Jeongguk,” Taehyung says with a lot more hostility than Jeongguk was prepared for. “How did you think I was gonna react?”

Jeongguk scoffs before he can stop himself, “We’re friends ,” Jeongguk repeats for the umpteenth time since the first time he’s said it.

“Friends?” Taehyung asks. His eyes are already starting to turn red. Normally, Jeongguk would immediately wrap his arms around Taehyung as soon as he sees tears start to build up in his eyes, but this time he doesn’t. “Jeongguk it doesn’t matter. He’s your ex. I don’t like that you’re hanging out with him.”

“Oh, and you have a say in who I get to hang out with?” Jeongguk bites back. “God, Taehyung. It’s not like I know who the fuck you’re meeting up with everyday. Honestly, Tae, it’s like you’re in a completely different world from me now.”

Taehyung sighs, “What’s that supposed to mean?” he says, angry tears falling down from his face.

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Taehyung,” Jeongguk says, “You hardly get to see me these days, and you’re meeting up with different people everyday. I get that you’re starting your painting career and all, but it’d be nice to be able to be a part of it sometimes, you know?”

Taehyung hates this. Jeongguk knows he does, he can see it from the way the fat tears fall from his eyes. But he doesn’t stop.

“What?” Taehyung asks, “Jeongguk, you know that’s not true—”

“Well sometimes it doesn’t!” Jeongguk snaps, “Maybe that’s why I call Jinnie hyung every now and then; because I want somesort of consistency. Someone who'll actually come home to me, and not at some ungodly hour. Sometimes, I don’t even feel like I’m your boyfriend anymore, Taehyung.”

He doesn’t realize he had said those words until after he’s said them. And his words hang heavy in the air, like a looming cloud above spitting its raindrops on top of them that they can’t ignore. Taehyung seems to realize this, too, eyes stopping to look up at Jeongguk with an expression he has never seen before.

“Well what does that means for us?” Taehyung pushes.

His eyes are so red, tears still streaming down from his eyes and they show no signs of stopping. This time, Jeongguk swallows his pride, and he lets his feet take the steps towards Taehyung. His arms wrap themselves around Taehyung. He’s surprised that Taehyung doesn’t push him away. In fact, he squeezes him tighter, burying his face into Jeongguk’s chest, and sighing in relief. Although, Jeongguk doubts Taehyung is anywhere near okay.

“I don’t know, Tae,” Jeongguk says, placing a hand atop the elder’s head. “I don’t know,” he repeats.

◌

Jeongguk paces in his apartment, grabbing anything that looks out of place and hiding them where they can’t be seen. Taehyung’s basket of stuff is on the coffee table, after its contents has been rearranged again and again, until Jeongguk eventually realized it didn’t matter.

He’s just nervous, is all. He hasn’t seen Taehyung in two weeks.

He needs a drink.

Just as Jeongguk grabs a bottle of beer, his eyes flash to the cupboard for only a second. He spots the little Ice Bear mug Taehyung used all the time when he lived here.

He wonders if he should put it in the basket. It wasn’t his, Jeongguk bought it while he was in high school and brought it with him when he was in college. Taehyung hadn’t claimed it as his, but he used it more often than Jeongguk did.

Opening his beer, Jeongguk opens the cupboard and takes the mug. He eyes it for a moment, taking a sip of his beer and slightly grimacing at the taste.

He puts it in the basket, it reminds him too much of Taehyung.

◌

“We need to talk,” Taehyung says.

He’s wearing a white shirt that was definitely Jeongguk’s. His hair is a nice brown shade and it slightly shines in the sunlight coming from the window. His hands are nervously tapping on his Ice Bear mug, looking up at Taehyung with a serious expression.

“Okay,” he takes a seat.

Taehyung stills as soon as he does. He eyes don’t exactly meet Jeongguk’s, staring at his chest instead.

Jeongguk knows exactly what’s about to happen.

“I think—,” Taehyung pauses, plays with his mug for a few seconds, eyes still averting his eyes.

Taehyung looks so tired, with large bags underneath his eyes, his shoulders slumped. He’s even drinking coffee, and Taehyung never drinks coffee.

He doesn’t even look the same way as Jeongguk remembers. When did he dye his hair like that? Are those contacts in his eyes? When did his eyes even start to get bad?

“I think we should break up.”

He doesn’t even realize it when he’s said it, the words escaping Jeongguk's mouth before he can even stop himself.

“What?” Taehyung exclaims. “W-Wai—”

“Was that not what you were gonna say?” Jeongguk asks, “I can’t even recognize you, Tae.”

This isn’t Taehyung. Taehyung would’ve greeted him with a smile, would’ve immediately pulled him in for a kiss, would be drinking tea instead of coffee.  

“You… You’re a completely different person, now. You don’t answer any of my calls or texts. You’re out with other people every night. God, Taehyung, you don’t even have time to say hello to me these days.”

There are tears in his eyes again. Taehyung cries at everything.

“Jeongguk,” he says, “That—That’s not true. I’m still me. I’m—,” he takes Jeongguk hands in his, “Jeongguk, no. We’re not—we’re not breaking up. How could you say that?”

Taehyung’s hands are gripping onto Taehyung’s like it's his last lifeline. Something in Jeongguk thinks that he’s not holding onto Jeongguk because he wants him to stay. It feels like he’s holding onto him because he had nowhere else to hold onto.

“I’m holding you back,” Jeongguk says, “You’re starting a completely different life outside of me. A-And you look so happy out there, Taehyung. Who am I to keep you from that?”

Taehyung looks at him like he can’t believe this is happening.

“I don’t want a life without you, Jeongguk. I—,” he swallows, “I’m sorry if I’ve ever neglected you, b-but, Jeongguk, we’re not—w-we can’t—,” he shakes his head, “Jeongguk, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Tae,” Jeongguk says easily, like a reflex. “But I can’t do this anymore.”

He doesn’t remember much about how they broke up. All he knows is that he left the dorm to get fresh air, and when he came back Taehyung was gone.

◌

Taehyung looks exactly as he remembered him.

“Hey,” he breathes.

He’s wearing a plaid shirt, a pair of ripped jeans, and black trainers. He greets him with a small smile, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted to smile. He still has brown hair, weirdly enough. And Jeongguk wonders if he’s ever dyed it since the last time they talked.

“Hi,” Jeongguk replies. “Come in.”

Taehyung walks in like he never walked out, placing his bag on the corner they used to shove it in. Although, he eyes the dorm as if it’s the first time he’s seen it.

“You’re stuff is in the basket on the coffee table,” Jeongguk says as he makes his way into the dorm. “Can I get you something to drink?”

It feels… awkward. This was the first time he’s ever talked to Taehyung in a while and he’s not sure what to say.

“Water is fine,” Taehyung says as he approaches the coffee table.

When Jeongguk comes back from the kitchen Taehyung is holding the Ice Bear mug.

“This isn’t mine,” Taehyung says, gesturing the mug.

“I know,” Jeongguk answers, “But you used it all the time and, I don’t know, I guess I didn’t want anything that reminded me of you.”

The words surprise both Taehyung and Jeongguk. Taehyung looks up at Jeongguk with that same unreadable expression he had the day they broke up, and Jeongguk—Jeongguk honestly doesn’t know what to do.

Before Jeongguk can stutter up an apology, Taehyung slams the mug on the coffee table.

“Is that it?” Taehyung says, the same anger in his voice that night when they fought, “Is this it? You’re just gonna erase me from your life as if it’s that easy?”

Jeongguk places the glass of water on the table, “Taehyung, you know it’s not easy—”

“Then how come it is for you?” Taehyung interrupts, “You’re the one who gave up on us! You’re the one who up and left when things got hard, and you did all of that like it was so easy for you. As if me slipping away wasn’t hard at all—”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Tae!” he raises his voice, “You have no fucking clue how hard it is to have no one come home to you, to wake up in an empty bed. You have no fucking how much I wanted it to be easy for me, but it’s not! It never will!”

He’s crying. He can feel the ugly tears streaming down his face, but in his blurry vision, he can see Taehyung crying, too.

“I wanted—,” Taehyung gulps, “I wanted us to work. That day when we broke up, I was—I was gonna suggest that we talk things out, b-but then—”

He doesn’t finish his sentence. He only rubs at his eyes harshly, wiping away the tears.

“I thought you didn’t want me anymore,” Jeongguk says.

“Oh, Jeongguk,” Taehyung sighs, “I’ll always want you. Even now, I’m stupid enough to want you.”

It’s quiet for a while. Neither Jeongguk nor Taehyung know the right words to say. He lets Taehyung stop himself from crying. He was always such a crybaby.

“I’m sorry, Taehyung,” Jeongguk says, and it feels like a breath of fresh air. “It’s just—you were changing. You were changing so fast and I couldn’t catch up, it felt like you were just dragging me along into your new world. And I didn’t even fit in when I was there. When I talked to you, I never actually got to talk to you,  it was like you were a different person.”

“That’s not fair,” Taehyung says, “I’m starting up my career, Jeongguk.”

“I know that,” Jeongguk says, “And I know you didn’t mean to neglect our relationship. Not when you were living a life that was just fine without it.”

Taehyung looked up at him like he was hurt, “Jeongguk.”

“You don’t have to say sorry,” he says, “I did a lot of wrong things, too. I should’ve stopped hanging out with Jinnie hyung the first time you mentioned you were uncomfortable with that, I’m sorry.”

“He—That doesn’t matter to me—I’m—”

“It did matter, Tae. It bothered you so much, stop acting like everything’s okay and that by the end of the day we’ll get back together. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Well, why can’t it?” Taehyung pushes, walking towards Jeongguk, “Why can’t we just get together?”

“Because, Tae, what will change? You’re still going to be busy. You’re even graduating soon, you can’t handle a relationship now.”

Taehyung bites his lip in frustration, stopping as he steps right in front of Jeongguk.  

He grips onto his hands. They just like he remembers them

“Jeongguk, please. I love you.”

Taehyung looks so small like this. His eyes begging, his mouth pouting. All Jeongguk ever wants is to give Taehyung everything he needs.

But this, what they have, Taehyung doesn’t need this.

“Get your stuff, Taehyung,” he says, “Go home.”

◌

“You’re not okay, Jeongguk,” Seokjin tells him.

He’s buried in his blanket cocoon, trying to fall asleep, but whenever he closes his eyes he sees Taehyung.

One day, he’ll be able to think of Taehyung and not want to cry.

“I know,” he says.

Seokjin’s already helping him out of his blanket and frowns when he sees the tears on Jeongguk’s face. He had been crying silently all night.

“Oh, Jeongguk.”

One day, he’ll be okay.

Seokjin gathers Jeongguk in his arms and lets him bury his head in his shoulder. And Jeongguk—Jeongguk cries. With all his might, he cries, cries,cries.

“I love him,” Jeongguk sobs, “I still love him, so much. It hurts so much, Jinnie hyung.”

He knows what he did was right, but that doesn’t change the fact that it hurt. It hurts so much.

“I know,” Seokjin whispers, rubbing soothing circles into his the small of his back. “I know.”

One day, it won’t hurt.

“I love him,” Jeongguk repeats, “I love him so much.”

◌

Jeongguk stands there alone, wallet in hand. He’s looking up at the large, chalkboard menu and internally panicking because he’s next in line and he hasn’t decided on what to drink.

“Good morning, what’s your order?” the barista asks the man he’s at the back of.

“Earl grey, please.”

Jeongguk scoffs at his choice, he only knows one person that would order tea at a coffee shop and that’s—

“Jeongguk?”

Jeongguk stands there alone, although no he’s not really alone now.

“Taehyung?” he says incredulously. “What are you doing here?”

He’s changed a bit, although Jeongguk’s not sure what about him changed. His hair is still a little bit tussled and his eyes still have that little sparkle in them when he first met him. There’s a little stubble on his chin, but he somehow still looks so young, despite it being years since the last time they saw each other.

“Buying tea, of course,” Taehyung chuckles. “How’ve you been?”

“Excuse me, sir. Were you going to order?” the barista asks. It’s only then that Jeongguk remembers that he was supposed to buy coffee.

“Oh, yes,” he says, quickly scanning the menu again and says, “An Americano, please. No space.”

The barista tells him the price and he quickly places down a few bills to pay.

Taehyung chuckles at Jeongguk’s haste. God, he’s missed that smile.

“You wanna sit with me?” Jeongguk asks, before he can stop himself.

Taehyung hesitates for a second, but soon enough, there’s a smile adorning his face, and it’s directed right at Jeongguk.

“Yeah,” he says, “I’d love to.”

[ourlittlebitofnothinguniverse]

All for the video game ask. (do I need to mention only if u r comfy w/ it at this point). Love you!!

alright u done done it now bitchhhhhhhh are u READY 4 THIS SHIT (dshfa;lkj thamk i am so pumped ur my biggest enabler) i already answered a couple of these for anon but i’ll go ahead and answer them here as well

1. First game you played obsessively?hmmmm i wanna say the legend of spyro the eternal night? i played it so much i could beat the whole game in four hours. i’ve heard lots of ppl actually hated the legend of spyro trilogy but honestly they can suck my ass i loved them

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc.uh besides my answer for anon of skyrim not many games have actually just straight up influenced my art style but i’ve been playing this game called Fe (not fire emblem just Fe) and i really want to draw fanart for it bc it’s super cute if that Counts as influence?

3. Who did you play with as a kid?if this is meant in terms of co-op games nobody bc we didn’t have anyif just in general, my sister for the most part. i’d watch her play things like resident evil and she’d help me with the hard parts in medievil and crash bandicoot warped (read: racing levels)

4. Who do you play with now?myself lmao i don’t rly like co-op and multiplayer games and i prefer to play most games by myself

5. Ever use cheat codes?like i told anon, no bc i don’t know how they work and i’d probably only use them for the sims anyways

6. Ever buy strategy guides?not really? once we bought the collectors edition for diablo II when i was little and it included the strategy guide which i stayed up all night to read (bc i had run out of other reading materials in the house) but like i don’t really use them idk

7. Any games you have multiple copies of?the sims three and i know you know the reason why but in case anybody else wants to know: i didn’t know they had actually completely changed the game since i had played it last probably a decade ago so i bought it @ walmart this year and then i got mad bc it apparently SUCKS ASS now so in search of a copy of the original version i bought a second one from amazon bc the Image being used WAS of the original case but it really was the new version so now i have two SHITTY SHITTY VERSIONS of a game i used to love that i will never play bc it’s shit except maybe i will bc apparently it has real life music in it just replaced with sims language which is amazing and this response is far too long for the question but i asked u if u were ready so u signed up 4 thisi also have an xbox version of it tht i got for like christmas or smth years ago and a,,,,,, ds version??? that i got last year bc somebody was selling “the original version of the game including every expansion pack” for only like $30 and it definitely said disk version but when i got it it was this Pre-owned Dirty Ds Cartridge Covered In What Looked Like Strawberry Jelly and when i tried to contact them they shut their page down so there’s that which equals four shitty shitty copies of the sims three and i will never be more mad about anything than i am about this

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection?uh well back when i had a job i spent A Lot of money (to me it was a lot) to get the collectors edition of the last guardian so that would be my most expensive. other than that i would have to say one of the hardest to find (maybe not rare but not common)games i have currently is medievil for ps1 bc it took me like a week of searching to find a copy in good condition online for sale bc i rly wanted to own it again since we had to sell all my old games when we moved to oregon which sucked bc we had a Bunch of cool games (mostly early ps era)

9. Most regrettable purchase?did you see my rant about the sims three for answer 7? yeah

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours?never lived in an area where that is A Thing

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games?i wanna make a homestuck joke here (srsly probably not like i said i don’t rly do any type of co-op or multiplayer games so)

12. Ever get picked on for liking games?not really?? is that a Thing?

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has?uh idk literally any COD game, basketball games, Fallout games, overwatch, anything that’s co-op, shooter games or sports related etc idk i’m a simple fellow these types of games don’t appeal to me

14. Favorite game music?idk what this means? like genre-wise??? idk abt stuff like that i just like good game music but i’ll tell you the fuck what, hiveswap music fuckin SLAPPED

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick?fuck shit idk man i don’t rly want a tattoo maybe uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh smth that could be vague

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL?idk rip lmao

17. Ever lose a friend over a game?Nah man i can’t even imagine smth as dumb as that unless they’re screaming racist or sexist slurs bc then friendship is terminated but otherwise like wtf it’s just a game,,,

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming?i mean?????? sure????????????? they don’t have to game with me??????????? unless they tell me I can’t game bc they don’t like it in which case Bye u controlling piece of shit

19. Favorite handheld console?u kno those games that used to come in sonic happy meals? yah (jk uh i don’t have much experience w/ handheld consoles besides nintendo ds-es and they’re cool)

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand?like i said i played spyro the eternal night so often i could beat it in four hours so probably that one.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now?the only games i didn’t like as a kid i p much still don’t like now

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories?i am Poor

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into?currently skyrim or stardew valley

24. First Pokemon game?I didn’t get to play any pokemon games until this year actually but i got myself pokemon y and ultra sun so those are my first two! although you Could technically say pokemon go bc i played that for the first time like One month before i got y and ultra sun but like idk if tht counts so *shrug emoji*

25. Were you ever an arcade game player?i never lived where arcades were a thing tbh

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries?Why

27. Game that makes you rage?there’s this absolutely adorable and INFURIATING game called so many me that’s a puzzle platformer but the controls are so ridiculously precise that it’s absolutely the WORST to play bc unless you do it just right at just the right millisecond you will die over and over and over

28. Ever play in a tournament?nah

29. What is your gaming set up?the livingroom tv and my mom’s xbox one or my bedroom with my ps4 i got for my birthday and my xbox 360 that i got like 7 years ago

30. How many consoles do you own?alright so If ds-es count i own,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, roughly seven? i have my new ps4 i got for my birthday last year, my 7 year old xbox 360, another xbox 360 i bought from a kid @ school, a ps1 i bought last year for the Nostalgia that’s in rly good condition, a rly old ds lite a rly old 3ds and my new pokeball 2dsxl. i would also say that the ps3 my aunt left when she died is mine bc my mom never used it and she had bought most of the games For Me and Her to play together anyways so the idea that she left it to my mom is,,,, Weird but my mom claims it was left to her so Shrug emoji

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches?“virtual boy” i love it omg. uh not really i don’t use my ds-es that often bc i don’t have a just wild amount of games but when i do use them it doesn’t rly mess w/ my brain or eyes too much

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic?probably not?

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games?i don’t think so tbh

34. Do either of your parents play video games?my mom does but she really only plays like three games (the newest assassins creed, skyrim, and stardew valley)

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop?nope

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game?man have u ever heard of brotherhood a tale of two sons? mom told me abt it and she didn’t warn me abt how it ended and i had to leave the room and cry bc it broke my heart

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination?i didn’t know that was a thing

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like?i can’t think of any tbh. oh wait i take that back sonic unleashed it’s terrible but i love it

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make?maybe not a sequel but they rly need to come out with another stardew valley type thing or maybe expansions or smth so that you can talk to and befriend more ppl and stuff

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls?never been able to try them but they look super fun and i can’t wait to see how they improve the technology

41. A genre that you just can’t get into?multi-player games period. also first person shooters and sports games. there’s more but i can’t remember the title of the game bc i don’t know what genre it would be lmao

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness?i assume this means game related nerdiness not just my inherent nerdiness in general so probably the very first spyro game

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else?all the time my dude

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters?none

45. How are you at Mario Kart?probably shit i’m not good @ steering in games

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon?i love them! i have like 100+ hours logged into stardew valley and i only got it in like november of last year

47. Do you like competitive games?not really

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character?so long. i either have to make them gorgeous or beautifully hideous

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character?yah tbh lmao. i have like eight thief stone khajits in skyrim rn

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create?i have a Lot of ideas and not all of them are good

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep?forgetting to sleep, yes. forgetting to eat? no 

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid?i was a very sheltered kid i didn’t know about new games coming out when i was little bc we didn’t have any way for me to find out About Them. i’m making up for it by begging as an adult for ni-no-kuni II and the new spyro trilogy remastered

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days?depends on the game tbh some of it is good and a lot of ppl who make mods are rly talented but sometimes the big companies just make dlc to make more money so it can be rly shitty so it’s kinda a 50/50

54. Do you give in to Steam sales?heck yes rn i’m waiting for house flipper to go on sale bc i’ve been waiting for it to come out since i found out abt it

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them?no my style of playing the sims was more along the lines of make a hundred houses that are all P Much The Same House and making a hundred familys and never playing literally any of them hadflskja;sdfjdslkhja i just liked building stuff and that’s why i’m pissed abt how much they changed the sims three bc it used to be Way Better

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests?we didn’t have it but i did have zoo tycoon and i’d release the dinosaurs sometimes

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements?legend of spyro the eternal night

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick?uh!!! that’s too much pressure and i would get so bored playing them for the rest of my life even if i loved them so i will not choose

59. Do you play any cell phone games?sort of? i’m big into abyssrium and i like viridi if those Count?

60. Do you know the Konami Code???????????????????????? guess not

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever?keep them forever!

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game?i got the last guardian before getting the ps4 does that answer ur question? (jk that is not the only reason i wanted and got the ps4 but it was One big reason)

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament? nah

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming?not really? i just use whatever i currently have bc i am lame

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file?nope

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it?not a nokia but we had this one handheld thing that had a bunch of games in it that included snake i just can’t remember what it was it had like letters and numbers and it needed like regular batteries and you could only play the games that came programmed on it 

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share?i cannot think of any right off the top of my head even though i know i played a lot of video games and loved them when i was little. hm it might not count as like a gaming-related childhood memory and more of just a memory of a game but we did have one really interesting little game that i absolutely loved i think we only rented it but u were a scientist who could turn into a mouse and it was absolutely amazing i loved it i have no idea what it was called hm

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool?not really we didn’t have arcades around where i grew up

69. In your opinion, best game ever made? there are a lot of rly good ones i can’t choose a best game

70. Very first game you ever beat? like i told anon i’m p sure it was crash bandicoot warped

WHEW this was rly fun thank u for enabling me it took me like two hours to answer this i’m so happy. ilu 2 man hope ur day has been rad!

[themariotheme]

okay i am Not Having  A Good Time Right Now not BAD but just... weird not as in “weird” like how i say when im actually depressed this is a different weird it’s just incomprehensible and i feel very annoying to everyone especially on my stupid twitter so i shall be spewing garbage here so

okay so right now i feel like the world is horrible and like i could never be happy in it but im not depressed abt it im just numb so im not upset about how capitalism means there are people dying and everything is bad but i need u to know that i AM upset about it actually isnt it weird ?? i need to make sure that it is understood that these things upset me but like, not right now. is that just me being defensive because ive always felt like i need to justify feeling my feelings like i KNOW other people have it worse i KNOW im a privileged upper middle class chinese girl who has Had Everything okay i KNOW i just

i dont know

 am literally rotting and being useless all the time at home because im not in school im literally doing nothing im doing nothing all day im doing nothing im useless im just on this earth consuming and using up my parent’s money and contributing to climate change by having my air conditioning on even though i know individuals aren’t to blame for the climate crisis it’s companies and billionaires who suck Major Ass!!! u see how i have to justify but then also justify?? i am simply like this with Everything it’s so exhausting and i kind of want to cry now

like i Know individuals aren’t to blame for the climate crisis. artists arent selfish for making art how could i think i that???? i DONT think that i wouldnt look at someone who has their air conditioning on all day and think badly of them, i wouldnt look at artists and think “ugh what a selfish piece of shit, how could they look at the state of the world and choose to make silly art when  they could be a doctor or journalist or politician or ANYTHING that would Help People” BUT WHY DOES THAT NOT APPLY TO ME ???? WHY DO I STILL HAVE TO FEEEL LOUSY ABOUT IT ?? I FEEL SO STUPID im literally just ?? arguing with myself in my head but it ends up leading nowhere i just cant not feel terrible and guilty about everything i do

whatever. i dont know

okay but right so for the past 2 weeks that i was gone from tumblr because staff are PUSSIES who SNIPED me for NO REASON and then didnt reply to my emails i was mostly on twitter because i m useless n Do Nothing At All with my time so im on twitter because im lonely and crave interpersonal connections so i tried to make friends which i did ! i think i have had some success at least in making friends online . i think i can say that maybe perhaps for sure (maybe). but yes i have made some friends on twitter i think evie and maya and noga r great and i love them this is not th point sigh

okay im just going to explain the Nonsense Teenage Drama that went down and i will be (maybe) just namedropping cause none of them r even names anyway it doesnt matter actually

but i just need to feel like ??? im not insane and overreacting to this entire thing which like some ppl have confirmed !! and yet (??)

okay tw for suicide ed self harm n bullying cause i ended up ranting abt those things :(

SO. this Person C got into some. drama with M and J. this is all friendship related i think personally C is in the wrong and M and J have the right to be mad at them for it. BUT C was also very obviously suicidal in the “i am crying out for help and attention right now” kind of way . maybe i am just sympathetic because i have been that before idk. but drama unleashed, M and J publicly got into it with C. right so everyone witnesses this. including Person D. THIS PERSON. has TIME AND TIME AGAIN shown themsevles to be terrible terrible u know what idc im just gonna copy and paste screenshots idc idc idc AAAAAA im so djfdskmg idk

like ??? THIS WASNT IDK I DONT KNOW . i dnt know i dont know i AM over this but i had a panic attack over this and i was in a depressive episdode this was 3 days of hell and it didnt even involve me ??? the most i was involved w was like being personally offended because her friends called me a bitch or whatever but like ?? there r some of her friends who r friends w my friends and it makes me feel like idk :( like why do mar n mia hate me lol am i so terrible for thinking she should go get help for her ed isntead of telling ppl to slit their wrists n off themselves online lol idk idk idk yeah okay

like i feel like im overreacting , and taking personal offense to being called a bitch because i did end up calling her out in a very long series of tweets lol and like ?? someone would screenshot my tweets n she’d tweet abt them n say im obsessed n her friends would like her tweet and those ppl would be friends w my friends :( idk i feel like im just being a fool and over reacting idk sigh this is old news by now i am actually in fact Truly over this /gen but yea my cramps r bad today fuck periods we shld just reabsorb uterine linings like rats do why cant we be more like rats

/rant

my tweets for context idk i know no one will read this all but i feel the need to make myself clear because god knows fucking why idk idk idk 

https://twitter.com/urlowbeams/status/1364932184629338122?s=20

https://twitter.com/urlowbeams/status/1364928910916378634?s=20

https://twitter.com/urlowbeams/status/1364729355448983552?s=20

and scroll down from there i guess

man i was rlly going thru it huh

idk ALSO she like ?? said “if ur ugly u should die i cant breathe the same air as u” in response to someone’s selfies like ?? idk man idk idkdikddnfjfdnsjgdj im going to sleep night night im not losing my mind i swear /gen

[goodlucktai]

introductory course

recently i asked u guys which tmnt series i should work on next, and the answer i received was largely a toss-up between the mummy au and this one. i wrote a little something for the mummy, and now i offer you this for the ghost hunters, because i am on a slow roll

the rest of Give Up the Ghost is here

"wait, where’s woody? he’s an important and well-loved character,” said no one, “surely he’s going to play a part in this au!”

and they were absolutely right

x

A knock on the door is an uncommon occurrence, and very rarely good news. It echoes through the warehouse-like meeting place of the two-man club, and Mikey puts down his radio to look at Leo, who sits across the table cleaning ash off the nicer of their two cameras, in consternation.

"We already paid the fee this month, didn't we?" Mikey asks, standing slowly. "And there hasn't been any property damage in weeks. We've been super under-radar, right?"

"Don't borrow trouble," Leo says calmly, gesturing for the door. "It could just be someone who got lost."

Mikey doubts that. The student committee tucked their club in the farthest corner of campus, making them all but inaccessible to anyone who wasn't up for a half-mile hike uphill from everything else.

The knock comes again, a little hesitant this time, and Mikey hops up the steps to the door and calls, "It opens out, hang back a bit."

"Oh! Gotcha!" an unfamiliar voice says, and Mikey shoves open the ancient door with curiosity well in the front of his mind.

He's met with smiling amber eyes and a grin to match them, all but buried under a mop of tumbled yellow curls. The friendly-faced young man looks about his age and several inches taller, thin and long-limbed the way Donnie used to be.

"Hey," he says, offering a hand. "I'm Woodrow, but you can call me Woody."

"Michelangelo," Mikey replies, warming to the other man already as he shakes his hand, "and any shorter variation is fine by me. So what are you doing way out here? You're not lost, are you?"

"Man, I hope not. This is the paranormal society, right? I couldn't find your membership application online, so I thought I'd drop by for a copy. It took me almost an hour to find this place. You're a pretty well-kept secret, huh?"

Mikey does his best not to look as stupefied as he feels.

"Uh," he says eloquently, "wait a sec. You want to join the club?"

"Definitely," Woody replies. "We had a similar club at my old school, but it was mostly just watching horror movies and looking up spooky EVPs on Youtube, y'know? I mean, it was fun, but - not really what I was going for."

Standing back to let him in, Mikey says, "So you just transferred here?"

"Sure did. I live with my uncle. We moved from Manhattan to be closer to his sister and her kids. She's going through an ugly divorce and she could use the extra help." Woody smiles at Leo, lifting a hand in greeting and trading introductions before he goes on. "I was going to a Visual Arts school before, but the admissions counselor told me my credits would transfer no problem, so I could finish my film degree here. Tuition is way cheaper, so I'm down with that."

He looks around their club room as he talks. Mikey can't help waiting for condescension or the always-fun, super-incredulous "are you guys for real?" but it never comes. Woody's face stays open and eager, eyes catching on the equipment on their listing table the way of a sticky-fingered kid in a candy store.

Mikey likes this guy.

"We'd be happy to have you, obviously," he says, and laughs when Woody's face lights up. "What, you were worried?"

"Well, a little!" Woody drops his bookbag on a chair and runs a hand through his hair, relieved enough now that he must have been nervous. "I mean, I'll be real, I got a few chuckles when I asked around about you guys. And half the people I talked to didn't even know there was a paranormal society here. Maybe if that's all I had to go on, I'd be a little iffy."

He smiles, and points at Mikey.

"But I found a subforum online, local ghost stuff. People with the same problem all saying the same thing. Some scrawny college kid showed up and helped them, and left without leaving a name. But this city isn't that big, y'know, and there aren't a lot of dudes that look like you and do what you do. You weren't hard to find."

Leo is smiling, a soft, full thing he directs at his hands, probably rightly guessing that Mikey wouldn’t fully appreciate it at the moment.

"A forum?" Mikey says weakly. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Woody looks fond, somehow, for all that they only met about a minute ago. "So, sure, you might be a bit of a joke around campus, and it looks like you get, like, negative funding, but - " He shoves his hands into his pockets, and shrugs, and says around a grin, "You're the real deal. How many people can say that?"

Mikey sinks into his chair, and promptly buries his face in the scorched tabletop.

"So is there a membership fee?" Woody asks cheerfully, somewhere above his head.

"Nothing like that," Leo replies, sounding amused. "We'll get you a club shirt if you're interested, and add you to the official roster online. Meetings are daily, but there's no attendance requirement. We're actually going to check out a possible passive haunting next weekend, which is plenty of time to get you familiar with all the equipment."

"Nice. I have a Canon at home that I would swear by. Want me to bring it in?"

"Not if you're that attached to it," Mikey interjects without lifting his head. "We lose a lot of gear."

"Duly noted," Woody says, dropping into the chair next to his. "Is it dangerous?"

"It can be," Leo says honestly, "but we're always careful. And Mike usually takes the risky jobs by himself without telling me, because he's the worst club president in the entire world."

"Ouch?" Mikey sits up to look at him, wounded. "Tell me how you really feel, Leo."

Ignoring him, Mikey's best friend goes on without missing a beat. "Fifty percent of our time is going to be spent either corralling him or running damage control when his brother finds out what we've been doing with our free time."

Woody grins. "Protective, huh?"

"Almost to a fault," Leo says dryly. "But you probably won't see him much, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Considering he died a year ago, neither Leo or Mikey add aloud.

"I do a lot of babysitting for my aunt, so I think I'm probably overqualified to keep an eye on Mikester, here." Mikey squawks in indignation and Leo chokes on a laugh, and Woody pushes his sleeves up, reaching across the table for one of the battered cameras. "Mind if I help with some of these?"

It takes two days and most of a third afternoon for Woody to become a regular fixture in Mikey's life. He's hard-working and immensely likable, and ignores Raph's bark and bluster when he comes around with an unflappable ease that blows Mikey's mind.

It takes three months after that for Mikey to work up the courage to introduce him to his always-absent brother. Woody doesn't move for several minutes and when he does, for some reason, it's only to stand and pull Mikey into a hug.

Within a year, Woody is as comfortable with cramming into Mikey's wheezing double-bed as Leo is. His arm is warm across Mikey's waist, his heartbeat is familiar, and Donnie watches over them with a fond smile as they sleep.

And Woody laughs one day, bright and uncontrived, as they wait outside a burning shack for Leo to bring around Mikey's Jeep. They're covered in dirt and soot and some sort of clear, ectoplasmic slime that is a very new development and one Mikey doesn't want to think about for too long until he's had a very hot shower, and Woody slings an arm around Mikey's shoulders. 

"Man,” he says, “I'm glad I’m here."

[bethestaryouareradio]

Surviving Summer!

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/672296/0a3dd7c6f7/288055965/bbd34d3431/      Click to view this email in a browser : 

SURVIVING SUMMER!

  MIRACLE MOMENT®

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by each experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do." 

                         Eleanor Roosevelt  1884-1962, Former First Lady

    MESSAGE FROM CYNTHIA BRIAN, Founder/Executive Director

According to reports, more that 1/3 of the population are currently depressed. With the deadly pandemic, civil unrest, political upheaval, unemployment, climate change, travel restrictions, school closures, and stock market ups and downs, it’s no wonder that people feel disoriented. Although we are all in this together, every situation is different. And when we feel burdened, sad, or disillusioned, it doesn’t hurt any less because others are experiencing the same. 

  We are in pain. We feel the ache, the anguish, the agony, the loneliness, the sorrow. We feel human.

  The good news is that as long as you are feeling something, anything, you are alive with  the possibility and potential that things will get better. Summer is normally a time for fun, family, friends and vacations. This year, we all just want to survive the chaos.

  Make an effort to get out of the shadows of fear and stand in the sunshine. Reach out to help someone and you will feel better. Being of service to others has that effect. Give yourself a break to walk in nature. Listen to the birds. Watch the passing clouds. Smell the roses. Feel the wind on your cheek. Taste a freshly-picked tomato. Roll in the grass. Run through a sprinkler.

  “This too shall pass!” We just don’t know when. We will survive this horror. In the meantime, hang in there. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Stay at home when feasible. Be brave. Be strong.

  Living with gratitude, 

  Cynthia Brian

Founder/Executive Director

Be the Star You Are!®

PO Box 376

Moraga, California 94556

Cynthia@BetheStarYouAre.org

https://www.BetheStarYouAre.org

http://www.BTSYA.org

    BE UPLIFTED WITH BE THE STAR YOU ARE!® RADIO BROADCASTS

  As part of our Be the Star You Are! Disaster Relief Outreach program (https://www.bethestaryouare.org/copy-of-operation-hurricane-disaste), StarStyle® Productions, LLC and Be the Star You Are!® are showcasing authors, artists, actors, poets, musicians, and many others, all of whom had had their gigs canceled and are out of work. We believe in supporting creativity that provides escape and joy, especially during tough times. You’ll even meet the cast of the new film by director, Sean McNamara, “Mighty Oak”. 

  Tune in to StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!® on Wednesdays at 4pm PT for “Wednesdays with Writers and Performers” LIVE http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2206/be-the-star-you-are as well as our teen program, Express Yourself!™ airing on Sundays at 3pm PT for “Super Smart Sundays” https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2014/express-yourself

  Both programs broadcast on the Voice America Network, Empowerment Channel and will be archived on that site. You can also listen to all of our broadcasts on the following platforms:

Places to Listen to StarStyle Radio:

  Live Show: https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2206/be-the-star-you-are

  Apple itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/id669630180?mt=2

  Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iftzhum24ektnw3ocfq3keduefq

  Tunein: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Motivational/StarStyle---Be-the-Star-You-Are-p46014/

  Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voice-america/be-the-star-you-are

  IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-starstyle-be-the-star-you-31083110/

  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zDdwzlsHH44caWiMQdD25

    Places to Listen to Express Yourself! Teen Radio

  Listen at Voice America Network: https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2014/express-yourself

    Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id481894121

  Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iiee6vo3fccc7qc4ac4naqvjnc4

  Tunein: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Young-Adult/Express-Yourself-p401071/

  Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voice-america/express-yourself

  iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-express-yourself-31136273/

  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/24ol79nCzJ1wzao8pTYysj

  PANDEMIC FREEDOM

  by Andrea Smith

  Living during a global pandemic can feel extremely isolating and lonely. We are social people living in a social world. Suddenly our world is completely turned around. Before quarantine we had never-ending things to check off the daily list. Think about it, when was the last time that you took 15 minutes just to sit and breathe? The society we live in is constantly moving at a rate so fast that we must sprint to keep up. 

  Unfortunately, the consequence of this is that the beauty of solitude is long forgotten. We lose sight of the bigger picture in life, what in the end will make us happy rather than what society says will make us happy.  If we aren't attuned with ourselves, how can we possibly be truly attuned with others? 

  At the start of quarantine, I began writing each night in a journal. My diary acts as a best friend, for paper will always listen, never judge, and never tell. The act of writing brings you to a place where time no longer moves, where you can finally take a moment and breathe. Sadly it's an art that has been lost, hidden under the shadows due to the boom in technology. But like any art, it has the power to change your life. 

  Art gives you relief from the pressuring norms of society and allows you to become more than your accomplishments or failures. Art liberates us, lets us go where we want to go, and be who we want to be. Grab a piece of paper, start writing, and let yourself free. 

  Andrea Smith is our newest reporter of the segment “In the Spotlight” and host on Express Yourself!® Teen Radio. She is a high school senior who loves swimming and everything related to the ocean. She is extremely passionate about Model United Nations and ways to live a happy and healthy lifestyle! https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2014/express-yourself

  “I am so happy to be a part of this team! The past weeks have been an absolute blast and I can't wait for what is to come!! :) I am so grateful for you! Thanks again!” Andrea Smith

  THE VIRTUAL VIRTUOUS WOMAN

By Priscilla Mac

    Being a responsible woman of virtue on the internet means being resourceful and giving back to others who are your audience. You can do this in any way that is in sync with your brand and talents but the best way to be resourceful is to make your audience think. 

  How?

  By sharing knowledge and allowing them to take action steps of research. Posting books, articles and blogs that you find online and even newsletters like the one you are reading now help your audience grow. It's also a great conversation piece to share ideas, opinions and other virtual findings that your audience has access to that perhaps you do not. It all begins with the brave step of putting it out there. I know we tend to think that what we are interested in others aren't but that's not always true sisters. Being a Virtual Virtuous Woman involves being brave, bold, bright, and beneficial to others. 

  You must see yourself as the key that unlocks mysteries of the mind and do your due diligence to be a virtual contribution to the positive information load of the internet. We have been virtuous women for some time but today there is an additional platform to shine on called Social Media. 

  Be sure to share intelligent, fun and quality content so that you attract like minded citizens. 

Continue reading at http://www.btsya.com/resources.html

  Priscilla Mac is volunteer with Be the Star You Are!® and Christian Television Talk Show Host of a program called "Still Learning Still Developing" which airs on Preach The Word Worldwide Network.During her 5 years of service in the U.S. Army she specialized in Logistics and is currently a Digital Systems Analyst for Voice of America International Broadcasting.. www.priscillamac.com

  HELPING CHILDREN TO DEVELOP LITERACY SKILLS-OTHER COMPONENTS

  By Stephanie Cogeos

    There are ways to help children develop literacy skills. Literacy is generally defined as being able to read, write, communicate. There are more deeper levels of literacy that are just as important.

  Establishing predictable routines to help children learn to anticipate events. With routines, children can begin to learn about objects and vocabulary associated with certain activities. Participating in all steps of a routine can reinforce concepts and language skills. Routines can also help children learn about a sequence – first this, then this, or start to finish. Examples would be setting a table, laying out clothes or arranging materials for any activity.

  Children who are visually impaired or blind also need the opportunity to experience things through hands-on activities.  They would need more instruction because of lack of learning through incidental learning. A book about a farm will be more meaningful if one can visit an actual farm, pet different animals, listen to their calls, etc.

  Using a wide range of vocabulary and concepts are important to have good literacy skills. Using lots of adjectives and more detailed descriptions can help expand a child’s vocabulary. Examples would be “let’s put on your red rubber boots today” or “get the blue pitcher of cold milk”. 

  Many children benefit from reading aloud. It can give them special attention, reinforce language development and to work on book handling skills. Continue reading at http://www.btsya.com/resources.html

  Volunteer Stephanie Cogeos is our Book Review coordinator. She is now doing research to provide resources for the public to learn about the importance of literacy, positive media messages, and empowering women families, and youth. You can keep up with the resources at this link: http://www.btsya.com/resources.html

  by Karen Kitchel

  Kindness is contagious. When we find simple ways to spontaneously bring joy to others, we bring joy to the world.

  Lyrics in the play Hamilton raise the question:

   “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?”

  Thought for today:  

  When my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell my story?

  Karen Kitchel who penned two chapters in the book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World, is the Kindness Coordinator volunteer with BTSYA. She serves meals to the homeless and is a volunteer teacher, writer, job coach, and mentor. www.scatteringkindness.com

      SUMMER SURVIVAL READING

Our Star Teen Book Review Team is busy reading and writing reviews for you to enjoy this summer. Reviews are honest and the personal experience of each writer. 

Check them out at our website, http://www.btsya.com/book_reviews.html, and at our partner, The Reading Tub, https://thereadingtub.org/books/be-the-star-you-are/.  

  Many thanks to our Book Review Coordinator, Stephanie Cogeos, for keeping us on track. If you are interested in joining our team and you are genuinely interested in being of service to others, you can find the info at http://www.btsya.com/book_reviews.html

  READ AWARD-WINNING ARTICLE ABOUT FIRE SAFETY

Fire season is ramping up and with the recent winds, wildfires could easily ignite. Make sure to cut any tall grass or weeds, trim low hanging branches, clean gutters, and remove debris from around your property. 

  GardenComm: Garden Communicators International notified Cynthia Brian that out of 160 entries, she won the 2020 Media Awards Silver Medal of Achievement for a Journalism Newspaper Article,  the Lamorinda Weekly article, Scary, scary night. 

  Read the article to help you prepare your landscaping for fire resistance. With this Covid-19 pandemic, the smoke from wildfires has the potential to be extra dangerous or deadly.  Read Scary,scary nightat https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1318/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Scary-scary-night.html

  Read about the award here:

http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/cynthia-brian-receives-silver-medal-of-achievement-in-the-national-2020-gardencomm-media-awards-1296930.htm#

  Get in touch with the outdoors, nature, and gardening. 

  Be prepared. Stay safe this summer.

    SHOP ONLINE WITHOUT A MASK!

Since we need to stay at home and only go out when absolutely necessary, these are on-line shopping portals that will sell you what you need, offer discounts, and assist our mission as a nonprofit. Please use these web sites for all of your shopping essentials, 

    1. AmazonSmile donates .5% of purchases https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3333882

2. Discounted books at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shops/be_the_star_you_are_charity

    3. Giving Assistant: Shop. Earn. Give! Use Giving Assistant to earn cash at 3500+ popular online stores, then donate a percentage to BTSYA:https://givingassistant.org/np#be-the-star-you-are-inc

  & buy from your favorite stores. 

4. Search and GoodShop: Choose Be the Star You Are as your charity to support. You can log in with Facebook, too! https://www.goodshop.com/nonprofit/be-the-star-you-are

  5. Shop at over 1300 stores on IGIVE: http://www.iGive.com/BTSYA

      6. Buy “Read, Lead, Succeed” black tanks $19.99  and books at StarStyle® Store: http://www.starstylestore.net/

      7. Are you a gamer, lover of new software, or other digital content? Buy all of your favorites at Humble Bundle. http://ow.ly/cYs130iN6n4

  Direct Links you can use for Be the Star You Are!®

Positive Results: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/positive-results

About Us: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/about_us

Programs: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/programs

How to Help: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/how-to-help

Blog: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/blog-1

Events: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/events

Contact us: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/contact

GREAT NON PROFITS REVIEWS: https://greatnonprofits.org/org/be-the-star-you-are-inc

GUIDESTAR/CANDID: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/94-3333882

  We invite you to volunteer, get involved, or make a donation. Make a DONATION through PAYPAL GIVING FUND and PAYPAL with 100% going to BTSYA with NO FEES:  https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

  PLEASE DONATE

            BTSYA receives no government or corporate support. We count on YOU to help us help others. During this pandemic, all of our fundraising events have been canceled, yet we continue to support those in need. We appreciate a direct donation most of all via PAYPAL GIVING FUND at https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

  Checks can be sent to PO Box 376, Moraga, California 94556

http://www.btsya.org

    Classified Ads:

If you’d like to advertise your service or product while supporting Be the Star You Are!®, we are now accepting approved ads that will benefit readers. Contact info@BetheStarYouAre.org for details. 

  GET SOCIAL

          FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/BTSYAcharity/

TWITTER

https://twitter.com/BetheStarYouAre

TUMBLR

https://bethestaryouareradio.tumblr.com

  BTSYA BLOG

https://www.bethestaryouare.org/blog-

  Keep your face to the sunshine and you won't see the shadows. Stay strong and resilient,

    Sending sunshine, sunsets, and starlight. SHINE!

You will survive summer!

  Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3

PO Box 376

Moraga, Ca.94556

www.BetheStarYouAre.org

www.BTSYA.org

  Mo

[goddessgardener]

Surviving Summer!

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/672296/0a3dd7c6f7/288055965/bbd34d3431/      Click to view this email in a browser : 

SURVIVING SUMMER!

  MIRACLE MOMENT®

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by each experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do." 

                         Eleanor Roosevelt  1884-1962, Former First Lady

    MESSAGE FROM CYNTHIA BRIAN, Founder/Executive Director

According to reports, more that 1/3 of the population are currently depressed. With the deadly pandemic, civil unrest, political upheaval, unemployment, climate change, travel restrictions, school closures, and stock market ups and downs, it’s no wonder that people feel disoriented. Although we are all in this together, every situation is different. And when we feel burdened, sad, or disillusioned, it doesn’t hurt any less because others are experiencing the same. 

  We are in pain. We feel the ache, the anguish, the agony, the loneliness, the sorrow. We feel human.

  The good news is that as long as you are feeling something, anything, you are alive with  the possibility and potential that things will get better. Summer is normally a time for fun, family, friends and vacations. This year, we all just want to survive the chaos.

  Make an effort to get out of the shadows of fear and stand in the sunshine. Reach out to help someone and you will feel better. Being of service to others has that effect. Give yourself a break to walk in nature. Listen to the birds. Watch the passing clouds. Smell the roses. Feel the wind on your cheek. Taste a freshly-picked tomato. Roll in the grass. Run through a sprinkler.

  “This too shall pass!” We just don’t know when. We will survive this horror. In the meantime, hang in there. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Stay at home when feasible. Be brave. Be strong.

  Living with gratitude, 

  Cynthia Brian

Founder/Executive Director

Be the Star You Are!®

PO Box 376

Moraga, California 94556

Cynthia@BetheStarYouAre.org

https://www.BetheStarYouAre.org

http://www.BTSYA.org

    BE UPLIFTED WITH BE THE STAR YOU ARE!® RADIO BROADCASTS

  As part of our Be the Star You Are! Disaster Relief Outreach program (https://www.bethestaryouare.org/copy-of-operation-hurricane-disaste), StarStyle® Productions, LLC and Be the Star You Are!® are showcasing authors, artists, actors, poets, musicians, and many others, all of whom had had their gigs canceled and are out of work. We believe in supporting creativity that provides escape and joy, especially during tough times. You’ll even meet the cast of the new film by director, Sean McNamara, “Mighty Oak”. 

  Tune in to StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!® on Wednesdays at 4pm PT for “Wednesdays with Writers and Performers” LIVE http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2206/be-the-star-you-are as well as our teen program, Express Yourself!™ airing on Sundays at 3pm PT for “Super Smart Sundays” https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2014/express-yourself

  Both programs broadcast on the Voice America Network, Empowerment Channel and will be archived on that site. You can also listen to all of our broadcasts on the following platforms:

Places to Listen to StarStyle Radio:

  Live Show: https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2206/be-the-star-you-are

  Apple itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are/id669630180?mt=2

  Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Iftzhum24ektnw3ocfq3keduefq

  Tunein: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Motivational/StarStyle---Be-the-Star-You-Are-p46014/

  Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voice-america/be-the-star-you-are

  IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-starstyle-be-the-star-you-31083110/

  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zDdwzlsHH44caWiMQdD25

    Places to Listen to Express Yourself! Teen Radio

  Listen at Voice America Network: https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2014/express-yourself

    Apple iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id481894121

  Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iiee6vo3fccc7qc4ac4naqvjnc4

  Tunein: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Young-Adult/Express-Yourself-p401071/

  Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/voice-america/express-yourself

  iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-express-yourself-31136273/

  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/24ol79nCzJ1wzao8pTYysj

  PANDEMIC FREEDOM

  by Andrea Smith

  Living during a global pandemic can feel extremely isolating and lonely. We are social people living in a social world. Suddenly our world is completely turned around. Before quarantine we had never-ending things to check off the daily list. Think about it, when was the last time that you took 15 minutes just to sit and breathe? The society we live in is constantly moving at a rate so fast that we must sprint to keep up. 

  Unfortunately, the consequence of this is that the beauty of solitude is long forgotten. We lose sight of the bigger picture in life, what in the end will make us happy rather than what society says will make us happy.  If we aren't attuned with ourselves, how can we possibly be truly attuned with others? 

  At the start of quarantine, I began writing each night in a journal. My diary acts as a best friend, for paper will always listen, never judge, and never tell. The act of writing brings you to a place where time no longer moves, where you can finally take a moment and breathe. Sadly it's an art that has been lost, hidden under the shadows due to the boom in technology. But like any art, it has the power to change your life. 

  Art gives you relief from the pressuring norms of society and allows you to become more than your accomplishments or failures. Art liberates us, lets us go where we want to go, and be who we want to be. Grab a piece of paper, start writing, and let yourself free. 

  Andrea Smith is our newest reporter of the segment “In the Spotlight” and host on Express Yourself!® Teen Radio. She is a high school senior who loves swimming and everything related to the ocean. She is extremely passionate about Model United Nations and ways to live a happy and healthy lifestyle! https://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2014/express-yourself

  “I am so happy to be a part of this team! The past weeks have been an absolute blast and I can't wait for what is to come!! :) I am so grateful for you! Thanks again!” Andrea Smith

  THE VIRTUAL VIRTUOUS WOMAN

By Priscilla Mac

    Being a responsible woman of virtue on the internet means being resourceful and giving back to others who are your audience. You can do this in any way that is in sync with your brand and talents but the best way to be resourceful is to make your audience think. 

  How?

  By sharing knowledge and allowing them to take action steps of research. Posting books, articles and blogs that you find online and even newsletters like the one you are reading now help your audience grow. It's also a great conversation piece to share ideas, opinions and other virtual findings that your audience has access to that perhaps you do not. It all begins with the brave step of putting it out there. I know we tend to think that what we are interested in others aren't but that's not always true sisters. Being a Virtual Virtuous Woman involves being brave, bold, bright, and beneficial to others. 

  You must see yourself as the key that unlocks mysteries of the mind and do your due diligence to be a virtual contribution to the positive information load of the internet. We have been virtuous women for some time but today there is an additional platform to shine on called Social Media. 

  Be sure to share intelligent, fun and quality content so that you attract like minded citizens. 

Continue reading at http://www.btsya.com/resources.html

  Priscilla Mac is volunteer with Be the Star You Are!® and Christian Television Talk Show Host of a program called "Still Learning Still Developing" which airs on Preach The Word Worldwide Network.During her 5 years of service in the U.S. Army she specialized in Logistics and is currently a Digital Systems Analyst for Voice of America International Broadcasting.. www.priscillamac.com

  HELPING CHILDREN TO DEVELOP LITERACY SKILLS-OTHER COMPONENTS

  By Stephanie Cogeos

    There are ways to help children develop literacy skills. Literacy is generally defined as being able to read, write, communicate. There are more deeper levels of literacy that are just as important.

  Establishing predictable routines to help children learn to anticipate events. With routines, children can begin to learn about objects and vocabulary associated with certain activities. Participating in all steps of a routine can reinforce concepts and language skills. Routines can also help children learn about a sequence – first this, then this, or start to finish. Examples would be setting a table, laying out clothes or arranging materials for any activity.

  Children who are visually impaired or blind also need the opportunity to experience things through hands-on activities.  They would need more instruction because of lack of learning through incidental learning. A book about a farm will be more meaningful if one can visit an actual farm, pet different animals, listen to their calls, etc.

  Using a wide range of vocabulary and concepts are important to have good literacy skills. Using lots of adjectives and more detailed descriptions can help expand a child’s vocabulary. Examples would be “let’s put on your red rubber boots today” or “get the blue pitcher of cold milk”. 

  Many children benefit from reading aloud. It can give them special attention, reinforce language development and to work on book handling skills. Continue reading at http://www.btsya.com/resources.html

  Volunteer Stephanie Cogeos is our Book Review coordinator. She is now doing research to provide resources for the public to learn about the importance of literacy, positive media messages, and empowering women families, and youth. You can keep up with the resources at this link: http://www.btsya.com/resources.html

  by Karen Kitchel

  Kindness is contagious. When we find simple ways to spontaneously bring joy to others, we bring joy to the world.

  Lyrics in the play Hamilton raise the question:

   “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?”

  Thought for today:  

  When my time is up, have I done enough? Will they tell my story?

  Karen Kitchel who penned two chapters in the book, Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World, is the Kindness Coordinator volunteer with BTSYA. She serves meals to the homeless and is a volunteer teacher, writer, job coach, and mentor. www.scatteringkindness.com

      SUMMER SURVIVAL READING

Our Star Teen Book Review Team is busy reading and writing reviews for you to enjoy this summer. Reviews are honest and the personal experience of each writer. 

Check them out at our website, http://www.btsya.com/book_reviews.html, and at our partner, The Reading Tub, https://thereadingtub.org/books/be-the-star-you-are/.  

  Many thanks to our Book Review Coordinator, Stephanie Cogeos, for keeping us on track. If you are interested in joining our team and you are genuinely interested in being of service to others, you can find the info at http://www.btsya.com/book_reviews.html

  READ AWARD-WINNING ARTICLE ABOUT FIRE SAFETY

Fire season is ramping up and with the recent winds, wildfires could easily ignite. Make sure to cut any tall grass or weeds, trim low hanging branches, clean gutters, and remove debris from around your property. 

  GardenComm: Garden Communicators International notified Cynthia Brian that out of 160 entries, she won the 2020 Media Awards Silver Medal of Achievement for a Journalism Newspaper Article,  the Lamorinda Weekly article, Scary, scary night. 

  Read the article to help you prepare your landscaping for fire resistance. With this Covid-19 pandemic, the smoke from wildfires has the potential to be extra dangerous or deadly.  Read Scary,scary nightat https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1318/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Scary-scary-night.html

  Read about the award here:

http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/cynthia-brian-receives-silver-medal-of-achievement-in-the-national-2020-gardencomm-media-awards-1296930.htm#

  Get in touch with the outdoors, nature, and gardening. 

  Be prepared. Stay safe this summer.

    SHOP ONLINE WITHOUT A MASK!

Since we need to stay at home and only go out when absolutely necessary, these are on-line shopping portals that will sell you what you need, offer discounts, and assist our mission as a nonprofit. Please use these web sites for all of your shopping essentials, 

    1. AmazonSmile donates .5% of purchases https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3333882

2. Discounted books at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shops/be_the_star_you_are_charity

    3. Giving Assistant: Shop. Earn. Give! Use Giving Assistant to earn cash at 3500+ popular online stores, then donate a percentage to BTSYA:https://givingassistant.org/np#be-the-star-you-are-inc

  & buy from your favorite stores. 

4. Search and GoodShop: Choose Be the Star You Are as your charity to support. You can log in with Facebook, too! https://www.goodshop.com/nonprofit/be-the-star-you-are

  5. Shop at over 1300 stores on IGIVE: http://www.iGive.com/BTSYA

      6. Buy “Read, Lead, Succeed” black tanks $19.99  and books at StarStyle® Store: http://www.starstylestore.net/

      7. Are you a gamer, lover of new software, or other digital content? Buy all of your favorites at Humble Bundle. http://ow.ly/cYs130iN6n4

  Direct Links you can use for Be the Star You Are!®

Positive Results: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/positive-results

About Us: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/about_us

Programs: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/programs

How to Help: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/how-to-help

Blog: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/blog-1

Events: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/events

Contact us: https://www.bethestaryouare.org/contact

GREAT NON PROFITS REVIEWS: https://greatnonprofits.org/org/be-the-star-you-are-inc

GUIDESTAR/CANDID: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/94-3333882

  We invite you to volunteer, get involved, or make a donation. Make a DONATION through PAYPAL GIVING FUND and PAYPAL with 100% going to BTSYA with NO FEES:  https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

  PLEASE DONATE

            BTSYA receives no government or corporate support. We count on YOU to help us help others. During this pandemic, all of our fundraising events have been canceled, yet we continue to support those in need. We appreciate a direct donation most of all via PAYPAL GIVING FUND at https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

  Checks can be sent to PO Box 376, Moraga, California 94556

http://www.btsya.org

    Classified Ads:

If you’d like to advertise your service or product while supporting Be the Star You Are!®, we are now accepting approved ads that will benefit readers. Contact info@BetheStarYouAre.org for details. 

  GET SOCIAL

          FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/BTSYAcharity/

TWITTER

https://twitter.com/BetheStarYouAre

TUMBLR

https://bethestaryouareradio.tumblr.com

  BTSYA BLOG

https://www.bethestaryouare.org/blog-

  Keep your face to the sunshine and you won't see the shadows. Stay strong and resilient,

    Sending sunshine, sunsets, and starlight. SHINE!

You will survive summer!

  Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3

PO Box 376

Moraga, Ca.94556

www.BetheStarYouAre.org

www.BTSYA.org

  Mo

[wjwilliams29]

Copy: 23 Rarely Used Copywriting Techniques to Create Fascinating Content

Writing is an art and discovering the secrets of boosting your readers’ engagement can transform you into a master of copywriting. Setting the right tone, answering to questions, drawing attention, adding personality and bringing your content alive with visuals or interactive data are just a few techniques that can get you where you want.

You know that warm feeling you get when you speak with one of your friends? You talk, he listens, he asks questions and so on. You understand each other. A similar feeling can be established with your readers as well. How, you may ask? It’s not a bulletproof formula but for sure it will be extremely helpful to follow the next 23 rarely used copywriting techniques to help you boost your engagement.

Use the Serial Position Effect

Make Your Visitors Feel Important by Offering Exclusive Content

Use the “Bizarreness Effect” to Draw Attention

Use “Powerful” Keywords like “New”, “Free”, “Now”

Use Copywriting Formulas to Create Captivating Content

Be a Unicorn in a Field of Horses

Take Advantage of the FOMO Technique

Include Emotions, Promise, and Main Keyword to Make Your Headlines Viral

Create a Persona Based Content Strategy

Be the First to Jump on Trends

Ask Your Target Audience to Contribute

Pack More Personality into Your Content

Perfect Your Writing Tone to Your Readers

Craft Good Stories That Sell

Give Your Content a Quick Credibility Boost

Leverage Emotional Triggers in Your Content Marketing

Build Social Media Friendly Content

Use Statistical Data to Enhance Your Content Marketing

Transform Your Q&A into an Article to Help Your Audience

Use Social Proof to Back up Your Content

Make Your Content More Visually Interactive

Define the Purpose Behind Everything You Write

Make Your Content Familiar to Resonate with Your Audience

  1. Use the Serial Position Effect

  The serial position effect refers to the situation when a person recalls the words from the beginning and the end of a list rather than the ones from the middle. According to a study made by Indiana University, the participants were able to remember the first and last words from a list of 20.

  Following this technique, you should write the key points of your sales pitch or any other important information at the beginning and end of your blog post.

  Source: https://copyhackers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/serial-position-effect.png

  2. Make Your Visitors Feel Important by Offering Exclusive Content

  Another technique you can use to boost your engagement is to offer content your readers couldn’t find elsewhere. Make them feel important; they will start to appreciate you more. Don’t you love it when someone is sharing with you a piece of information that has never been said to anyone else?

  Exclusive content comes in different forms: a webinar with a script for those who sign up, training opportunities, e-books for subscribers, news from conferences and events in the industry turned into blog posts.

  3. Use the “Bizarreness Effect” to Draw Attention

Using ridiculous material to be better remembered instead of common material translates into the bizarreness effect. This technique is borrowed from Psychology. Studies have shown that people were able to recall nouns presented in bizarre sentences such as “The dog rode the bicycle down the street” rather the nouns from the common counterpart “The dog chased the bicycle down the street”. On the other hand, some specialists say the bizarreness isn’t the thing that enhances the memory, but rather the distinctiveness of the meaning.

  You can use the bizarreness effect to be spontaneous and say something indubitably wild.

  4. Use “Powerful” Keywords like “New”, “Free”, “Now”

  Another valuable copywriting technique is taking advantage of powerful keywords in your content. Persuading words can have a stronger impact compared to other types. When talking face to face, it is easier to make a point due to the use of intonations and body language. In writing, it is a bit harder. The best call will be to use strong keywords to point out key notes in your content.

  You can take advantage of powerful words in order to convey emotions. For example, you could use:

ridiculous instead of stupid;

entertaining instead of funny;

delightful instead of nice;

magnificent instead of beautiful.

  Beside using vivid adjectives, you might try having verbs that are more expressive. It is recommended to use first person pronouns such as “I” and “you” to give the impression of having a dialogue with your reader. Also, try to use causal prepositions such as “because” or “due” to give arguments and demonstrate your affirmations. It was proved in a study where people have shown more will to heed to a request after the word “because” was used.

  Words like “new”, “now” and “free” can also have a strong impact on the audience if they are used at the right moment.

  5. Use Copywriting Formulas to Create Captivating Content

Whether we want to tell a captivating story, write a killer content or have inspiring headlines, you can use these formulas to boost the engagement. Until now, I’ve mentioned the 4 U’s Formula: Urgent, Unique, Useful, and Ultra-specific. A similar formula is the 4 C’s: Clear, Concise, Compelling, Credible.

  If you want to offer benefits through a blog post, you could use the Before – After – Bridge formula. “Before” is the situation where you imagine a problem that doesn’t exist. “After” is the situation where you resolve the problem. The “bridge” is the way to get there.

  A formula that has been used for a long time is AIDA, where you have to grab the reader’s attention, offer interesting information, develop desire and create the action.

  You could also try the Picture – Promise – Prove – Push (PPPP) formula. Using it, you can paint a picture to grab the reader’s attention, then make a promise, provide support for your promise and determine your reader to take action.

  A good way to catch the reader on the “hook” is by using the Open Loop tactic. It is used more often in books to create suspense through a cliffhanger. At that moment you hold back information to grab your reader’s attention and make him read the whole post.

  The “3 reasons why” is another formula to help you write engaging content. You have to answer three questions, as the name says it:

Why are you the best?

Why should I believe you?

Why should I buy right now?

On the web, you’ll find lots of other formulas that can help you discover what works best for you.

  6. Be a Unicorn in a Field of Horses

  Be smart and seek guidance from tools such as BrandMentions to spy on your competitors who write about topics you’re interested in. Search and read what they’ve written to find ways to have vivid content, and different approaches to the topic to “steal” their audience. If you have something new to write about, make a research to see if your competitors wrote something similar and how they handled the topic.

  After you’ve done your homework, tie it all together with a value proposition. A well-known quote says “Be a unicorn in a field of horses”. For that you can apply the 4 U’s formula: be urgent, unique, useful, and ultra-specific.

  If you follow some of the lesser-known copywriting techniques we’ve talked about so far you can create your own formula to differentiate yourself from the competition.

   7. Take Advantage of the FOMO Technique

  FOMO is the acronym for fear of missing out, and some of you may know this feeling. Taking advantage of this technique involves using information such as limited offers, discounts, and other exclusive events, to lead your readers towards an action.

  An example of a limited offer from Starbucks can be seen in the next photo:

  This technique works very well for millennials. From a study made by Eventbrite of 2,100 adults (507 of whom were millennials aged 18 to 34) it resulted that 69% of millennials fear missing out social events.

  Due to FOMO, it is a blooming era for live events. It works very well for “selling” experiences through blog posts out of a product such as meeting your favorite influencers at a conference, having a personalized balloon ride in your holiday, exceeding your dreams by doing the sport you like, listening live your favorite singers at a festival and so on.

   8. Include Emotions, Promise, and Main Keyword to Make Your Headlines Viral

  Headlines have a significant impact on whether your content gets opened or not. You have a headline for a blog post, for a SlideShare presentation, for a video, for an infographic, for a news article, for an ad, for a webinar, for a guide, for an e-book, for almost everything you write online.

  Around 80% of readers never make it past the headline, leaving almost 20% of them who will read. But before that you need to past the test of showing awesome in the search engines. And these statistics say a lot about how important the headlines are. You should have clickbait headlines to increase the open rate.

We live in the fastest phase of human history, and we can’t afford to make the reader lose interest in our site/blog after reading the headlines. We must create desire and interest from the beginning. Say no to low CTR!

Below you can see an example of a compelling headline for a webinar. Isn’t it true that it makes you sign-up?

It gives you the guarantee you’ll find out hints to recover your site if it got hit by the Penguin penalty.

  While searching online, you’ll find lots of useful resources that can offer you guidance on how to create top headlines. Learn how to write killer headlines and to increase your readers’ engagement by following Jeff Goins’ formula. There are five elements. If you combined them, you would be able to trigger the desired actions.

Number – 3, 10 are best used in the headlines. Using a number in the headline is highly convertible. 36% of headlines use now a number.

Adjective – use unique adjectives to create a powerful emotion. For example: brilliant, atrocious, stunning, smart, bizarre, dazzling.

Rational – the way you offer added value such as reasons, tips, secrets, hacks, tricks. Please, don’t ever use things.

Keyword – a short phrase that tells us what the content is about.

Promise – what’s in it for me? For example, our headline promises “copywriting techniques that will boost your engagement”.

This is the formula designed for success: Number + Adjective + Rational + Keywords + Promise

Using Jeff Goins’ formula, you can transform lifeless headlines into sparkly ones. For example, “Best Travel Destinations in Europe” can turn into “5 Brilliant Travel Destinations in Europe That Will Spark Your Wanderlust” having “travel destinations in Europe” as a keyword.

  Below you can see an example of an inspiring headline for a webinar following the formula written above:

Source: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/buzzsumo-webinar-march-20161-160323161442/95/10-ridiculous-hacks-to-5x-clickthrough-rates-1-638.jpg?cb=1458838636

  Also, you can try using BrandMentions to help you to find inspiration for your headlines by looking at your competitors.

  It’s important that your content covers all the elements you wrote in the headline.

   9.Create a Persona-Based Content Strategy

It is mandatory to know your audience before you even start writing. Start studying what your reader likes, dislikes, what his habits are, what type of content he consumes, in what part of the day he prefers to read, where he comes from, where he is from and other similar demographic and interest characteristics.

  After you’ve collected data about your audience, use it to create your content marketing persona. Track your analytics and set metrics to help you deploy trends.

   10. Be the First to Jump on Trends

  Every copywriter should follow trends in his industry to bring fresh content. A smart way to engage your audience and attract new readers to your site is having worthy content. You can do that by keeping up the news to bring valuable information to your visitors.

  A good way to start would be to subscribe to news sites, specialists in the field, watch Google Trends, read publications in your industry, create a Twitter list of influencers you know they deliver hot news as they happen, follow trending hashtags about your main interest. These are just a few ways to keep your eyes open to trending stories. After you’ve gathered all the information, you need to start writing about a trending topic to make your blog post newsworthy.

   11. Ask Your Target Audience to Contribute

  Smart copywriters know that asking their readers to contribute is an influential copy writing technique. People are anxious to see their work promoted by a brand.

  One of the most used ways to ask your audience to contribute is to share photos on social media. Sending emails to contacts to answer a survey, asking questions on blogs or using real reviews to write a blog post are other ways to contribute. Be bold, and try other unique ways to do that.

  Kenneth Cole came with an excellent way to make people contribute. The company organized a selfie contest. The brand offered fans the possibility to take a selfie and enter a contest to win free shoes every month for a year.

  If you know you visitors take selfies, you should try something similar. Selfies are widespread, and it’s simple to engage with the audience. They are personal and can easily lead to an action. The owner will receive likes, comments, and new followers. You can write an article about the pictures you receive and start a story.

  Another example is the Christmas Story by the travel agency Rolandia Travel. Last December, the company wanted to offer its readers a soft presentation of how the Holidays are celebrated in Romania.

    Travelers could send a short story about how they spent their Christmas in Romania along with a few pictures as a gift of sharing for those who were far from home, but not only. The best stories were published on the blog every week.

   12. Pack More Personality into Your Content

  Personality is that something that makes you unique. Personality is that something that can differentiate you from the mass, is that something that defines your personal style. Just like a person has it, a brand should have it also. Brands have been developing through the time; they began to have anthropogenic qualities and be more humanized. The personality of a brand can be translated into a unique selling point, a motto or other forms of expression in order for people to know that is about the brand and nothing else.

  For example, the personality of Coca-Cola might be connected with happiness, fun, friends, family, being together due to the images and messages communicated consistently in numerous Coke campaigns. Below, you can see how a Coca-cola ad looked like in the 1940:

  Source: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/coke-ads

Now, in the 20s this is how an ad from Coca-Cola looks like:

Source: http://www.realites.com.tn/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/coca-cola.jpg

You can see that the message and the way of showing smiling people remain. Both images express happiness, friends, fun.

  For a content, personality can be expressed through a unique voice, a style, maybe a personalized closing or a type of personalized covers for articles and so on. Besides that, the content should always reveal the personality of the brand.

  13. Perfect Your Writing Tone to Your Readers

  For a copywriter having the right copy tone is like having the perfect light for a photographer to shoot the subject. For a painter it can be the right muse.

Your writing tone can either create interest or kill it. The wrong tone can wreck a good piece of information.

When you talk with someone and use a certain tone, you can determine how your interlocutor will respond. A similar situation can be when you use a specific tone in your writings. If the piece of information is entertaining, then the reader will feel cheerful, if it expresses anger he will get angry, if it’s painful he will feel the pain, if it’s boring he won’t have the patience to read it entirely and will leave your site.

  There are multiple ways to express your opinions. Take a look at this questions, for example:

Would you mind if I borrowed your pen, please?

Can I have your pen?

Pass me that pen.

  Make a difference between formal and informal writing. If you started writing in a casual mood, then stick to it. Don’t make sudden changes, inject unexpected signs of cuteness to become casual or start using a technical language to become more formal than usual. If you have multiple collaborators that write on your blog, make sure they follow the same language. Avoid being inconsistent.

  Here are a few marketing tips to help you shape your tone:

don’t be too casual or too stiff;

don’t use dialectic or slang language;

don’t use offensive language (swear or use racism);

be clear by ordering your words properly in a sentence;

use singular pronouns (me, you);

have a personal way of expressing your opinions and wisdom within a topic.

  Now, ask yourself: “Do I sound like my visitors expect me to?”

   14. Craft Good Stories That Sell

  There is no doubt that a good story can captivate us really bad. Let’s be honest. Hasn’t it happened to you to stay up at night reading a good story to find out how it ends? If you succeed sketching a story in the right manner you could transport the reader down the funnel in order to determine him to take an action.

A good story has the gift to help the reader get into a state of well-being.

But how could you do that, you might be asking? I’ve picked up a few tips to help you with that:

paint a picture: use imagery and lots of details to be more expressive.

appeal beyond those 5 senses: remember that there are different types of people. Some of them are more visual, others more auditory or olfactory and so on. Make sure to take advantage of sensory words.

suspense: you can capture their attention by adding a tint of tension and get them to finish the whole article. Try giving your audience something exciting to read.

killer opening paragraph: a good story can be used as an opening paragraph to allure the audience into getting to the main part of your topic.

have a model: To make your arguments stronger, you can use a model to show the changes it suffered. You can take examples from your experience or the ones you’ve heard of. Your audience can relate with the people who went through a similar situation.

   15. Give Your Content a Quick Credibility Boost

  It is ok to write your opinion and give advice, but are you credible? Are people trusting you?

Credibility can be a point sale. People can decide to buy your product depending on whether they trust you or not. Your affirmations should be based on data.

You can build trust if you follow a few guidelines:

cite sources: well-known field specialists usually offer credibility due to their background. Search for credible sources and specialists to back up your claim.

take advantage of your years in business and your experience.

name innovations and awards: if the context asks for such kind of references, use them. These are evidence of your success.

offer independent survey results: if you’ve run a small research, use the data to back up your arguments.

have media coverage: a great impact on your readers’ credibility would be to have presence in the news and business publications. If your brand is newsworthy, then you will also get authority in the field.

   16. Leverage Emotional Triggers in Your Content Marketing

  On the web, you can find lots of bloggers that offer great advice, write captivating content and give informative tips, but don’t know how to connect with their viewers on an emotional level.

  The content can have emotional or rational triggers if we follow the classification regarding consumer behavior from psychology. Leveraging emotional triggers is a technique used in psychology to persuade. It can also be used as a copywriting tip, for the same purpose.

  In order to stimulate emotions, you have to write content that helps the reader and make him experience a sensation while reading. You can be informative, but try not to exaggerate using a cold voice. If you do so you risk losing your readers because they won’t recall a thing and might never return to your site. We must remember that we write for people, to create a connection with them and to be on the same wavelength. This means you could talk from your experience in a friendly manner, share personal examples, be authentic, ask your audience questions and try to answer to them, share experiences together.

“Emotions are complex and move in various directions. Modeling emotional feelings and considering their behavioral implications are useful in preventing emotions from having a negative effect on the workplace.” – Boundless

Psychologist Robert Plutchik created a wheel of emotions. The most comprehensive way to illustrate the emotions experienced by a human being.

Source: http://www.efoza.com/postpic/2014/03/plutchik-s-emotion-wheel_309528.png

  Studies have shown that the positive emotions toward a brand have a higher influence on the loyalty of the consumer rather than its trust. Also, they can help you to communicate more effectively.

  Negative, as well as positive emotions, have an influence on a person. When someone experiences something like that they want to do something to avoid the bad feelings. If you talk to your readers and provoke them negative emotions, they will follow you more carefully to reduce their discomfort.

When people are involved with the message, they listen attentively and process using the central route. Emotional appeals create involvement.

One of the most important characteristics of the emotional triggers used as a copywriting technique is they can lead to actions.

  Before you take a step forward, it is crucial you know your business and your audience very well. Although connecting with your readers on an emotional level is important, make sure you resonate with them. Be careful to make your audience feel the emotions you wanted it to experience.

   17. Build Social Media Friendly Content

  After you wrote your post, you should promote it. To make your life easier and not work twice as much, try and make your visual data expressive and relevant to your content. Always make a cover for your content to boost your reach. It is proven that tweets with images receive 18% more clicks and 150% more retweets.

  The cover can be used as social media content. Also, I recommend you to make a short description about your topic that you can write as an intro or meta description, as well as a tweet on Twitter or as a post on Facebook and so on.

  If you follow these simple guidelines, your readers could easily share your content, too. The visibility of your content will be improved, and other Social Media metrics could experience growth.

   18. Use Statistical Data to Enhance Your Content Marketing

  Cartograms, scatter plots, time series, diagrams, charts, histograms, matrix, dendrogram, area maps are just some ways of portraying statistical data in your content to make it more animated. To have traffic-driving content type you can create visual content out of statistics.

  You can try and create interactive charts or use gifs to maintain your audience focused on your content and increase the user experience. This is just an example:

  Source: https://d13yacurqjgara.cloudfront.net/users/57127/screenshots/1917495/attachments/329078/productpage2-2.gif

  You can use Visme for animated charts and Canva or Piktochart for static charts. Below, you can see how a chart in Piktochart looks like.

    If you use charts, it is easier to understand and to visualize the information, rather than reading chunks of text and numbers.

   19. Transform Your Q&A into an Article to Help Your Audience

  You can find value in your Q&A. More than that, you could find value in the questions you receive from your readers. First, you should make a list with all the questions you have, then categorize them. Make them sound actionable and sell the idea behind. After you’ve done the final list, you can start writing your blog post, give examples.

  Another great source of this kind is Quora. You can search for the best answers in your industry in Quora and transform them into a new blog post. There is a good chance you will get some helpful information and good feedback from your readers.

   20. Use Social Proof to Back up Your Content

  “Social proof” is a phenomenon where people think that how others are acting in a given situation is the right way to respond in a similar event.

  Imagine you want to go to a restaurant and have dinner. You have the possibility to choose from a crowded restaurant with a waiting list and an empty restaurant. You probably think the second one has crappy food. The waiting list is proof that the first restaurant has good food, right? You’d chose the crowded one, wouldn’t you?

  Psychologists name this behavior “social proof”. If there is a crowd, that means it is good. The more the people, the more it means something better must happen there, you’d think. Following the crowd is in our nature. It is a simpler decision.

  You can attract your audience with the “social proof” technique if you make a blog post out of reviews for your product, have endorsement for your brand, use testimonials in an e-book, write a best practice post from your clients’ experience, write case studies from the data you extrapolated about your customers.

   21. Make Your Content More Visually Interactive

  Visual content includes infographics, videos, gifs, pictures, presentations. Images are a great asset because they are stored in our long-term memory. It’s not a secret that infographics are highly shareable.

  70% of all your sensory receptors are in your eyes. Sources say it takes us less than 1/10 of a second to understand a visual scene.

  The article’s cover comes first on the content. You should be very careful how it looks since it’s the first image the reader sees. Having puppies wearing boots might be captivating, but they are not always relevant.

Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9a/57/db/9a57dbd3367259a2db12a34a71cbcd0c.jpg

  Along with a strong headline, the cover is a core element for boosting engagement, so make sure you chose wisely.

  Get creative and combine the visuals to be interactive, to surprise the visitor and engage him and make him stay more on your site. For example, you could create an interactive how-to guide, or you can simply display unique information. Check the next screenshot to see an example:

Source: http://blog.thinglink.com/marketing/interactive-infographic-arsenal

  If you hover over the plus sign (+) you can see a pop-up box with additional information.

  Biz Brain created an interesting way of displaying information about “where does coffee came from”. It shows a journey from bean to cup through a fun and attractive infographic.

    It gives the right amount of information without overwhelming the reader. You can scroll down the page to see the whole process.

    It is one of the most detailed infographics I’ve seen. More than that, it offers an experience. The fact that is interactive gives you the feeling you take part in the whole process. In the end, you “receive” a cup of coffee. You engage in the act of planting the seed, harvesting, processing the beans, milling, exporting, inspecting, roasting, grinding and brewing.

  It is an excellent way to captivate the reader and share useful information in a way he can remember. You can work with an agency or a freelancer if you want something more complicated or search for tools to help you create the desired visual impact.

  More tips to create interactive content:

make an interactive calendar to follow past and future events;

have a virtual assistant for an online product or service right on your site;

create an infographic from a how-to video;

turn presentations into gifs;

compile interviews into an e-book;

upload customer’s videos about your product on your website;

   22. Define the Purpose Behind Everything You Write

  While the content is blooming and lots of marketers start to write for the sake of having news content on site, the internet becomes crowded. Don’t get me wrong, it is fine to have a big library of content as long as the information is useful, it has a purpose and answers pertinent questions. Don’t get lost in the pile of dull blogs and boring content.

  Make a list of topics, research and see which one will bring more traffic, correlate with the trends and what your audience wants. After you’ve done the analysis you can make a plan/structure for your topic to cover it all. Then implement it. Start writing and always remember what you’ve promised in the headline. Your purpose is to bring arguments and examples, show case studies or other types of information that will confirm your affirmations.

   23. Make Your Content Familiar to Resonate with Your Audience

  Your content should provide value to the readers. What better way than make it personal? But what does personal mean?

  Personal content can be written from your own experience. You can collect data and present it through case studies on the blog, convert your presentations into new articles. Below, you have an example of a SlideShare presentation turned into a blog post.

  Another way to have personal content is by sharing information from a conference you’ve been to or follow up from a webinar you’ve organized. Beside that, you should use informal writing such as “don’t” instead of “do not” or use the first person pronoun: “We have the possibility to look at our analyzed site and make a conclusion”.

  Conclusion

  Writing has never been an easy job. Especially now when the internet is constantly changing and the readers are harder to attract on the site.

  Think about the fact that you need to be convincing and express more in words to draw attention. People can be easily distracted if you don’t captivate them and keep them engaged. If you are using words that have more sway than others, you might have a positive change in their engagement. Following the “seductive” techniques we’ve talked until now, you’ll have a good change to get the results you’re expecting. Make sure they follow your brand guidelines.

  Design your plan and try to implement it correctly. After that, always follow the results and your metrics to increase conversion rates.

The post Copy: 23 Rarely Used Copywriting Techniques to Create Fascinating Content appeared first on SEO Blog | cognitiveSEO Blog on SEO Tactics & Strategies.

[nchyinotes]

How to launch an independent magazine, by Delayed Gratification

February 22 2018

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-launch-an-independent-magazine-22nd-february-2018-tickets-40937174190?aff=es2

In this class you will:

-Learn how to turn your magazine idea into reality

-Find out how to identify a successful editorial niche

-Understand the nuts and bolts of commissioning writers and designers

-See how to pull together a winning subscription, distribution and marketing plan

-Discover how to survive and thrive beyond the first year

You will leave with a good insight into the independent publishing industry and a strong idea of how to set about launching an independent magazine.

 Thoughts: I actually found this event on eventbrite a few months before it happened, sent it to my friend who I knew would be interested (hi Ayesha!) and then forgot about it. Then the day before, she asks if I want to go because her friend cancelled so she had an extra ticket, so I ended up going with her haha. I’ve always been vaguely interested in starting a magazine, and was actually the co-editor of an online art magazine aaaages ago with my online friend (hi Angela!), but was never really serious about it. While some of this information was not new for me (a lot of it overlapped with your typical entrepreneurship/startup advice, ie. finding a niche), the advice that was specific to launching indie magazines (logistics and business aspects) was very useful and interesting, and I really appreciated the numbers they threw in from their own business. Overall, was a very fun and honest look at the business, and the organisers were super friendly. Also left with a free copy of Delayed Gratification (their mag), which was cool to read.

  EDITED NOTES

 Introduction

Met early 20s in dubai, journalism students, working as time out editors, learnt how to make print mags together / fell in love with it

Went in different directions, and then all ended up back in london at 30

Just over 7 years now

Named independent magazine editors of the year 2017

Most independent magazines are losing if not hemorrhaging money - lots of vanity projects, made as a shop front for creative agencies.

Attrition rate is extraordinary. Intense desire to make them, but the number that make it past issue 2 / 3 is very low.

Lower barriers to entry than ever before - people are used to them, a lot more need for them (solace in print from digital world) + tools are there + there are all these places to sell them now (mag culture!)

Bad news: will probably break your heart, high failure rate, odds are against you, difficult economic model to make work, are not immune to pressures in mainstream press (but don’t face: massive debt built up in 80s/90s for rapid expansion, pensions liabilities, offices)

Were dreamers + journalists: novices at nuts and bolts of making money/funding

90% of success is turning up - determination to keep going even in early years

Maybe expand into documentaries / books in the future

Key lessons

1) you probably shouldn’t launch an independent magazine - sink which you pour your money, dreams, hopes

Brainstorm: Why do indie mags fail?

Not thinking about how you pay for issue 2 → run out of cash v quickly (where frequency comes into it, ie. weekly)

Just getting visibility: Hard to find your audience - with so much competition, etc

Often have expertise in one area, but lack expertise in another function that’s vital to bringing product to market

Content burn out, esp. If you make big commitments (launch with huge interview etc) - second album syndrome? Not to create too many structures that need to be filled in early days.

2) ^ can be overcome with a niche - you need a niche

Fat brad magazine

Terrible people magazine

Slightly foxed, nutmeg (scottish football periodical), mc1r (only about redheads)

Their niche: slow journalism, something to champion

What it did for them:

issue 1 cover was by obama’s hope poster artist (+ issue 5, limited edition posters, interview = all for free)

Content by Interviews (henry kissinger, etc) + writers - because it resonated with them, wanted to support it = can use those people’s credibility to add to theirs

Coverage + press: something to talk about (today program on radio 4: one 6 minute interview got them ~400 subscriptions = able to be condensed and easily explained/summed up)

Could have been slightly more bullish about fast news in the start, should you be worried about alienation??

Brainstorm: A name and niche

Colors magazine - activism & protest issue

Trend (mindfulness) vs Niche

Helps to sort of person we appeal to, what need am i filling that hasn’t been filled, what is my spin

Need to be passionate (committed, reason without a doubt), not egotistical, believe in your idea, ask for help a lot, honest

3) you need to think about the business

Beyond issue 1, what it is to run a magazine business (VAT returns, subscription systems, fb ads)

Frequency & cost

Weekly or monthly is really really fast. Always easier to go from quarterly down, because it shows you’re getting better, etc (awks if you have to go the other way).

Issue 1: 12 pounds, issue 2: 10 pounds.

When setting price for individual issue, what would you charge for a year’s subscriptions? You want to offer subscribers an appealing discount (that you’re not losing on each subscription)

Christmas is key for the indie mag industry - big burst of subscriptions as gifts. So don’t launch in jan or feb lol, christmas run is key, be well established for this! 50+% this year was from last 5 weeks of sales

Don’t launch in summer - nobody gets subscriptions then, more newstands then

Print, digital, or both?

People don’t want to pay for digital issues, not that captivated by complicated stuff you can do on there.

You have to charge VAT + pay percentage to platform for digital copies

People expect to pay less for digital copies

But there are some digital projects that are fascinating - de correspondent (similar premise, crowdfunded, purely digital in dutch, really collaborative / self contained digital ecosystem. / community driven)

Physicality - You can get people to pay for a physical / tangible object that they just don’t for digital, they have relationships with them.

Latterly (weekly newsletter, after building huge online audience for free, now printed publication)

^ merits of this?? Passion project more bc of time sink??

Subscriptions vs newsstand

Subscription systems

Gocardless (pay direct debits)

Chargebee - portal

V difficult to make money out of newsstand sales - 50% of the cover price, 3-6 months after mags are sold, and they generally only sell 60% of the ones you’ve sent them. Treated as marketing for subscriptions.

Not difficult to set them up

In London / UK: Ra&Olly, MMS, Smiths (difficult + unresponsive + dont fulfill, but have a stranglehold on mags in country)

Paid: gold star media (get you in to salons, hotels, airport lounges, etc)

Is your magazine one that a company would like to support? Team up because they really like it

Customer

Site sales: shopify

Fulfilment: newsstand

Adjust your expectations

4) take subscriptions!!

Newsstands are hard

It’s money upfront, will help with print bills, cash flow, etc

Community building

More chances for someone to like someone

Alternatives: Kickstarter, indiegogo (to test out if appetite is there)

Subscription renewals / Direct debits ?

Do not build your business model around advertising, it’s so diffused + competitive, can’t do trackability on print issues

No ads > bad ads

Corporate work - if you prove you can make mags, you can make them for other people too

Magazine as a broader way of selling your skill set

plan for issue 2/3/4 already + worst case scenarios

5) you need to make something special

Making your magazine:

Commissioning editorial content

There are a lot of really good writers out there desperate to work for you

Draw up a commissioning form - rights and responsibilities, deadlines, etc

Approach writers that you like - tell about mag & ask them to pitch OR give them a story and ask them to write it

Longer form + freedom

Always pay! You have a contract, leverage, etc

Editorial pagination * av word count * word rate = commission

First: 10p/word

Now: 25p/word

Industry average: 30p/word

Interviews / verbatim interviews: with an expert in the subject. Get it without having to pay a word rate, take what you need from it, may tighten it up for free anyway when you send it back for approval  

Ask people who just brought out a book

Finding a designer - they expect a very carefully designed product

Don’t be afraid to let things evolve - keep moving/changing things around

First issue is not going to be perfect, important thing is that it exists

Look at magazines / things you like + get in touch with them

Have your favorite designer create a template (or a regular design) for you - easier for recent grads etc to follow, at a cheaper price

Design software: considerable expense

Indesign, photoshop - creative suite, expensive monthly. Worth looking at older versions (old DVDs on ebay - work with designer to save it down a version)

Pagination (80-100), size (delayed gratification is too big/wide to fit through most letterboxes, something smaller / standard sizes are better), GSM (cyclical trends), binding (perfect bound, saddle stitch / staples are much cheaper)

Costs of the last issue, excl. Wages (which has come up a huge amount, 7-8k in the beginning bc lots in house and paying less) : 23.8k pounds

West ale ?? printers company

Approach the printers

The only thing that’s going to push your price up is if its special paper they have to order 4 u

You’ll get inundated with calls once you start up

You want a printer that will work around you (missed deadlines or changes post-proof stage)

6) you need to tell people about your mag

Brainstorm: how are you going to get noticed?

Making waves - Print someone controversial, getting into mainstream press

Power of positivity vs negativity (attract passionately negative people? In emails? Lol. prepare yourself for backlash)

Collaborating with influencers / people with followings / associations that make sense / endorsement (within the niche) - genuine

Loving print means embracing digital - lots of new people come from digital content

Weekly newsletter : manageable amount of content, keep engaging (mailchimp), moving people through the marketing funnel

Events - sense of community, benefit for subscribers.

Free is not recommended. Commitment.

Indie mag community - swap inserts in different titles/issues/newsletters, nicer fit, more interest

Podcasts

Questions

Usually print about 1000 copies of issue 1

Issue 0 - proof of concept (rarely done in indie mags)

Limited run projects - must be pitched to advertisers / subscribers before hand as such (will probz break ur heart at issue 6)

[ensemblebxl]

20 essential Moodymann tracks selected by Kong & Gratts

Catch Kong & Gratts warming up for KDJ this Saturday at Stereo Club in Brussels. In anticipation, both ensemble residents made a personal Moodymann top 10 for you. Read on below - in no particular order.

KONG

Moodymann is everything I love about house music: soulful, raw, enigmatic, unconventional, from Detroit, … I remember hearing Shades Of Jae for the first time as it was yesterday and when I started listening to his albums, I was completely hooked to his sound and vision. Visiting Detroit a few years ago stimulated my fascination for him (and the complete Detroit scene) even more. In 2014 I was booked to warm up for him for the first time at a Deep In House party in Brussels, in a back to back session with Antwerp’s finest Eklektiker. We were asked to play 3h and the room quickly filled with enthousiast punters. Eventually Moodymann was one hour late, which created an incredible anticipation in the audience. I will never forget the amount of energy that went through the room, definitely one of my highlight sets. Full recording is online by the way.

1. Moodymann - Dem Young Sconies (Planet E)

What a torpedo when you throw this to a dance floor. The power this beast holds is huge. Amazing sampling of the Belgian synth-pop tune ‘That’s The Game’ by Wet by the way. I often play them together in the mix, works well in both directions.

2. Moodymann - Mahogany Brown (Peacefrog Records)

This is the theme tune of his second album Mahogany Brown from 1998. I’m simply in love with this track. It’s so well crafted and designed, I can keep on listening to it. Check his track ‘Black Mahogany’ from 2004. It’s another variation on the same theme, equally good.

3. Larry Heard - Another Night (J.A.N. re-edit) (Track Mode)

When Kenny and Larry, two of my biggest heroes, appear on one release you know magic has happened. Moodymann gives this beautiful Larry Heard tune that little something extra, not much more than a cherry on the cake (some extra Detroitesque details here and there), but nevertheless a very sweet one. 

4. Kenny Dixon Jr. - January (Soul City)

Moodymann released most of his music on his own label KDJ, on Carl Craig’s label Planet E and on Peacefrog. One of my most favourite MM records got released on Soul City though, the red coloured Mike Banks imprint. He only did one release on Soul City, under his real name Kenny Dixon Jr. It holds four classic deep house gems that I often play in my sets. Prices are high for this one, but it’s a good investment that will never lose value.

5. Rick Wilhite - What Do You See? (Moodymann remix) (KDJ)

Fellow Detroiter Rick Wilhite is a good friend of Moodymann and this EP is a good example of the Detroit house scene power. It got released in 1996 on KDJ and has two tracks by Rick Wilhite being remixed by Theo Parrish, Moodymann and Rick himself. I got my copy when Rush Hour re-issued this in 2009, always works on any dance floor.

6. Moodymann - Come 2 Me (KDJ)

From his latest album, released in 2014, with Nikki-O on vocals. A kinda of super sexy slow burner. ‘Take Me By Surprise, Like A Thief In The Night’.

7. Moodymann - Music People (KDJ)

The B-side of ‘I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits’. Particulary love that little funny melody in the intro of the track, before he brings the ‘Welcome To Our World’ sample of Mass Production.

8. Moodymann - Backagainforthefirsttime? (Peacefrog Records)

Had to include a track from ‘Silence In The Secret Garden’, my most favourite Moodymann album (and cover art). The crying baby gives it an uncanny vibe, a recurring mood on this album and an overall quality of his music.

SILENCE IN THE SECRET GARDEN by MOODYMANN

9. Amp Dog Knight's -  I'm Doing Fine (Mahogany Music)

Amp Fiddler on Moodymann’s other label Mahogany Music, with the boss himself on production. Soothing jazzy house. It samples Syl Johnson’s ‘Is It Because I’m Black’, needless to say the African-American roots of house music is a strong subject for him.

10. Dewayne Davis ‎– It Shows (Extended Mix by Kenny Dixon Jr. & Norma Jean Bell) (Pandamonium)

Moodymann’s work with Norma Jean Bell is another highlight in his discography. Wanted to put a lesser known track here, one that is still for sale at a reasonable price and will always perform well on the floor.

GRATTS

Moodymann has been one of my favourite artists since I first discovered him as a young teenager. The mystery, the records, the imagery, the personality, the spoken words, the odd catalogue numbers on his KDJ imprint, the untitled tracks, alternate versions and B-sides… it all fascinated me a lot. For every gig, I seem to be able to dig out a KDJ record that will fit the occasion, his music often makes it into my dj-sets. Arguably a lot has changed since I first heard about Kenny Dixon Jr. I’ve seen him play countless times since, in very different circumstances, and with his rise to fame some of the mystery vanished. But in all honesty, I’ve yet to hear a bad set from the man and he always adds something interesting to the table. I’d choose KDJ in a shit mood over almost any other dj any day. Making a top 10 of Moodymann favourites wasn’t an easy task, but here’s an attempt.

1. Moodymann - Long Hot Sex Nights (Feat. NJB) (KDJ)

First Moodymann I ever possessed. I actually bagged it from the guy that I bought my first pair of Technics decks from. I remember him saying he’d never expected a fifteen year old kid to be into this record. Such an amazing live groove that I will never get sick off. One thing’s for sure, I certainly wasn’t around when the “original version (was) done live 12/3/94 at Jimmie D's Supper Club” in Detroit.

2. Moodymann - Your Sweet Lovin (KDJ)

First heard this track on the Forevernevermore album on Peacefrog, my second ever Moodymann purchase. (I got it from ‘33’ record store on the second floor of my favourite bar Apero in my hometown Leuven.) The whole album is one long trip that made a huge impression on me. I must have listened to it a thousand times. ‘Your Sweet Lovin’ was also released on KDJ 23-A, which is the version that I’ve played out a lot over the years.

3. Moodymann - Me And My Peoples Eyes (Instrumental) (Peacefrog Records)

Probably my most played out Moodymann track of all time. Though I could have easily picked the B-side ‘Don't You Want My Love’, another firm favourite, instead.

4. Moodymann - I Feel Joy (KDJ)

Timeless house music. Those chords, that scat! I have this one the ‘Inspirations From A Small Black Church On The Eastside Of Detroit’ record. (It also includes Theo Parrish’s seminal ‘Lake Shore Drive’ with that clever Tasha Thomas sample.) True story: my copy of this used to be warped as fuck. After reading about it online, I tried straightening it in the oven. IN THE OVEN. Yes that’s right, those people that blindly trust silly online tutorials, they exist. Thank god I managed to track down another copy a few years afterwards. (Although I still couldn’t deal with binning the warped and partly burnt one - it’s probably still lying around the house somewhere (sorry)).

5. Moodymann - Silence in The Secret Garden (Peacefrog Records)

This track goes places. Nearly 10 minutes of KDJ perfection. Takes balls to play this one in all its glory, but when you do, it pays off. Raw as fuck and cheap as chips.

6. Moodymann - Joy Pt. II (KDJ)

Breathtaking jam that truly encapsulates everything that Moodymann stands for to me. And a bit of an epic tune when dropped at the right moment.

7. Moody - It's 2 Late 4 U And Me (KDJ)

Moodymann becomes Moody for the first time for this ‘Ol' Dirty Vinyl’ EP. This one is for all the underground haters who don’t like the more recent, new skool Moodymann output. While I agree that some of it is indeed a bit underwhelming, this one is nothing but lush. It features Amp Fiddler on keys and his brother Thomas on bass. I haven’t found out who’s on vocals, anyone?

8. Norma Jean Bell - Nobody Is Gonna Love You (2 A.M. Instrumental) (Pandamonium)

The 2.A.M. version of ‘Nobody Is Gonna Love You’ (which also appears on NJB’s 2001 Peacefrog album ‘Come Into My Room’ simply as ‘Nobody’) is as vivacious, sexy and high-spirited as they come. With an all-star team like Moodymann, Kelli Hand and Norma Jean Bell behind the production, it comes as no surprise.

9. Moodymann - The Thief That Stole My Sad Days (Ya Blessin Me) (Peacefrog Records)

This version off the Forevernevermore LP is the one I like the most, probably again because of nostalgic reasons. The track has appeared in various incarnations on different releases (see also KDJ 23 for example).

10. Moody - Hello 2morrow (KDJ)

Fabulous, well crafted, almost pop music. This track has been known to stay in my head for days at a time. Now sing it: “hello tomorrow, goodbye yesterday!”.