#aka one year of being a very public very avid Dami lover

[panda-writes-kpop]

One Year of ‘Panda-Writes-Kpop’, And I Think It’s Time We Had An Honest Conversation

Yep, you read the title right - it’s been one WHOLE year since I started writing on this blog. Well, technically, this Friday (the 22nd) is the one year anniversary, but I didn’t want to mess up my writing schedule, and it’s more convenient for me to publish this now. 

Now, before I continue, I just want to state that I mean to cause no alarm with the title. I promise I’m not going anywhere, but it’s time that I be honest with all of you about what goes on behind the computer screen sometimes. 

Let’s Talk About The Elephant In The Room - The Avengers AU!

Okay, so maybe you guys wouldn’t consider this the ‘elephant in the room’, but it is to me since I, you know, published the last teaser in January and haven’t done more than allude to it since then... whoops. Moving on, I am happy to announce that all of the chapters are fully written, and I just need to edit them and send the first chapter or two off to a beta reader (or two or four; you know who you are ;P) to make sure that I am producing the highest quality of content for you all!

This being said, I am finally ready to announce a date and schedule for the Avengers AU - granted that nothing else goes sideways. So... September 5th will the release date of the first chapter, and a new chapter will come out every three to four days. Now, if you’re scratching your head and wondering, “Katie, how will you work this into your writing schedule?” 

Oh my goodness, do I have a great solution for you, my pearls! I actually will not be posting any of my regular content during this time. I know that this may be disappointing for my readers who aren’t interested in this series, but think of it as a great time to explore other fantastic writers (I have plenty of recommendations, feel free to hit me up for some!), or if you feel so inclined, maybe you want to explore some of my content that you haven’t read yet! 

Also, something else to add, if any of you are fans of the Take Me Away series, then you’ll know that I explicitly stated that I was not going to take requests for that series. Well... that won’t be the case for this series. There are a lot of loose ends and potential dates/endings/relationships to be expanded upon, and I think you all would have way more creative ideas for what should be done from the ending point of the series than I would.

Writing’s Hard. I Know You All Probably Knew That, But It Doesn’t Make Anything Better

Yeah... I’ve been lacking a lot in creativity and motivation as of late. I don’t really know why, but it sucks when I have a lot of ideas and I’m not sure where I want to take them, or if I even want to write them at all. 

I feel pressured by my own very high personal standards to put out only the best of the best for people to read. I’m scared that people won’t like what I write, and, by correlation, me whenever I publish a new fic. Despite what you may or may not think about me, others’ perception of me is part of the validation I need in order to get through my day. I want people to tell me that I’m a good writer, not for the ego boost or anything, but because it helps me feel less like garbage when I get too much into my own head.

I don’t know, everyone, I just want to write because it’s my form of escapism. Sometimes, just writing helps me process my feelings better than talking to someone else. I love writing, just as I love different types of music. K-Pop is a music genre that I adore, along with the groups and idols in it, so it made sense to me to combine these two loves of mine. I didn’t think I’d get this far, and don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful for all of the love that I receive. Every person that I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with has been nothing but lovely and kind, and I hope I’ve had the same impact on them. 

That got quite sad fast... let’s move ahead and talk about something different.

What Does That All Mean, Katie?

I said I was going to be honest, so I will be. This fall, I’m going to be attending a local university to major in Chemical Engineering. I’ve spent the last few days applying to different workplaces in the hopes of getting a part-time job before I start going to college. I’m getting my first debit card in the mail sometime this week or next week.

Basically, I’m becoming an adult, and honestly, it’s terrifying. The realization that there’s a limit on the free time that I’ll have is scary to think about. I’m going to a new school that is exponentially larger than the high school that I went to. I’m scared that I’ll hate what I’m majoring in, and that everyone will be disappointed in me if I don’t please them.

I promise I’m not trying to be sad or anything, but I want to be realistic and honest. While taking a look through my blog, I had to be honest with myself. Do I love writing with all of my heart? Absolutely. Do I eventually want to take the experience I’ve had from writing here and use it to publish my own original novel? Yep! Is this blog something I can manage while toggling being a full-time university student and holding a part-time job?

Well, I guess we’ll find out together, huh? I promised you all in the beginning that I won’t be going anywhere, and for the most part, that statement is true. I won’t be abandoning this blog - but I will be making a few changes.

First off, the upload schedule’s got to change. After the Avengers AU is fully out and done, I will be going to one post a week. I’m thinking about doing Saturday or Sunday (aka the days I don’t have school LOL). I’ll probably be working on Saturdays in order to have some sort of income while I’m in college, so it’ll probably be either late Saturday night or sometime Sunday.

Second, anon asks - I’m going to try and dedicate one day a week (separate from the posting day, of course) to answering non-request anon asks all at once. I’m thinking about Wednesdays since that’s usually when I reply to anon asks, plus it’ll be a nice way to relax and unwind from college since I enjoy talking to you all.

Third, requests and the groups/idols I take requests for - I will keep requests open, but I ask for your patience since I will have a much smaller amount of time that I can spend on writing than I had before. A high school student has way more freedom than a college student has, or at least, that’s what I’m expecting. Something I’ve been thinking about changing, however, is the groups that I take requests for. I recently got a request for a 4th gen rookie girl group that I don’t write for, and I honestly want to write the request since I really enjoy that group’s debut. The problem is that I don’t know the group or idol well enough to write for that group yet. So, I’m going to allow requests for girl groups I don’t have on my Masterlist, but when you request for a group that I don’t write for, you understand that the request may take longer to be added to my WIP since I don’t know them that well. I would prefer if you all requested idols/groups that were on my stan list, but I’m not opposed to exploring new groups that I haven’t listened to yet.

The Future Looks Brighter Than Before... I Wonder Why That Is?

I know we’ve discussed some heavy information in the past sections, so I want to end on a positive note. Thank you all so, so much for supporting me through every hill and valley that I’ve had to climb over and under in order to bring you the highest quality content that I can. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been here from the beginning, if you’ve just met me, or if you come from somewhere in between. I love and appreciate all of you for everything you’ve done. You helped me survive and endure the last year of hell high school, and I can only hope that you will continue to support me for many anniversaries and future projects to come.

Speaking of future projects, since you’ve come this far, I do suppose you could use a bit of a ‘thank you’, huh? Feel free to let me know which fic or idea you’re looking forward to the most. 

The 7 Dreamers Separate AU Project - Basically, since I already wrote three longer AU fics for my ult girl group (Gunslinger! Dami, Ghost! Gahyeon, and Demon! SuA). I figured that the other four deserve to have a chance to shine as well. Look forward to fics about Princess! Handong, Monster Hunter! Siyeon, Egyptologist! JiU, and Zombie! Yoohyeon - the last will be a Halloween Special, FYI)

Gunslinger! Dami will make a return with more fun characters to be revealed, and more love and shenanigans to be experienced. Will Gahyeon get into another bar fight? We’ll just have to see...

Ghost! Gahyeon will also be making a return. I like to publish two Halloween fics - one that’s more angsty and horror (Ms. Zombie! Kim Yoohyeon for this year) and one that’s fluffier and sweeter. We’ll finally get some resolutions to the unanswered questions that left people on the edge of their seat.

I’ve done an elaborate AU for my Dreamcatcher girls, but don’t you think that some of my other girls deserve the same amount of love? Well, it won’t be as long as Dreamcatcher’s, but they will get lots of love from me. In case you were curious, here’s what I’ve been thinking:

Greek Mythology/Goddesses! - Itzy

Witch! - Blackpink

Dating Otome-Style AU! - Twice

Don’t have any ideas for the soloists, Red Velvet, or Mamamoo, but I’m more than open to suggestions!

To end the spoilers, I’m looking to add more soloists to my masterlist, and I have a couple in mind, but I’m curious about who you would like to see added to the list next! As for groups, I’m looking to balance out the Masterlist with some fourth gen girl groups, but there are so many potential candidates that I’m facing a bit of indecision at the moment lol.