#also now that i've shared these projects i hope that makes me feel more accountable and have more need to actually finish all of them

[your-god-empress-lavender]

Henrow blorbo

first off, ohmyfuckinggodyouaresocoolllllllllllllllll

secondly, what ya workin' on currently? <- is deathly interested, yes please please please info dump if you have the spoons

- Ryan

Bonjour my furry friend. At the moment i'm mostly working on getting a job so that i can afford rent, but when i'm not doing that, i'm working on designing some new N-substituted 5MeO-tryptamines (in order to avoid being banned for breaking tumblr TOS, i can't say exactly what for, but if you look up 5MeO-tryptamines, you should see). So far i've only managed to make things that make me super sleepy (and maybe a tiny bit inebriated), so presumably my body is mainly metabolizing them into melatonin. I also have been working on working through the details of making a rocket engine which relies on both muon catalyzed fusion and z-pinch fusion (mostly because even though i know it's way above what i'm probably capable of, i just love space so much i desperately need to see it for myself and i figure that since rockets are so absurdly expensive, the only way i'll end up in space is if we can get a whole new generation of ultra-efficient rockets (for example, given p-N14 fusion, if we manage to get 1% or more (i don't really expect more than 0.1% max, but still) of the hydrogen fusing with nitrogen, we'd be able to put 150 tons on the moon from earth with only using about enough fuel to fill a small car (instead of needing a skyscraper sized rocket to send maybe 30 tons)). Now, if it were as easy as my calculations show it to be, i can't imagine how there are any rockets flown that aren't fusion, but seeing as i haven't even made a working proof of concept yet, i'm not in a position to criticize the thousands of aerospace engineers who are working on conventional chemical rockets. I love fusion because it's simultaneously so easy (i live pretty close to an old uranium mine where i can actually pan some uranium out of the creek near me, then use that uranium to make a neutron source (B10(α,n)) which is really just fusion between helium and boron, happening at room temperature because of how high energy the α particles released by uranium are) and so absurdly difficult (without catalysts like muons, it requires absurdly high temperatures and pressures that almost always take more energy put in than they can give out). Anyway, i've also been sorta working on studying a material that a while back i got way too excited over and may have called a room temperature superconductor (almost certainly not the case), but in an attempt to make it more pure and study it for real i've been trying to work on the exact calculations of its composition and finding a better way to heat it up to high temperatures (i might just but it in a flat-bottomed flask, especially since it finally warmed up enough for me to go back outside where the fumes released by its production won't make folks mad).

And then there's the biological experiments, currently with electroceutical tissue modifications since most of the other projects i have planned require me to have a gene printer capable of reliably printing genes thousands of base pairs long and i'm not sure when i'll be able to build that. The most recent thing i've been working on is really exciting because if it works it means that i've successfully done something that has never been done before to a human body (and given the long lasting pain in that part of my thigh, it seems very possible it is working), but i'm hesitant about sharing what the project is because i don't really want folks putting gap junction blockers, calcium channel blockers, and sodium channel blockers into open wounds without knowing how to do it safely and correctly to get the desired results and not just a really messed up wound. If/when this experiment turns out well, i might give directions in private, but i'm still somewhat hesitant due to the risks inherent in this (the biggest and most likely is literally giving yourself a form of cancer, something i'm not eager for others to risk). Soon i might try chemical dedifferentiation of skin cells (thinking on my back or upper arms) followed by some mildly dangerous experiments to test how reliably i can make it turn into other cell types. And while i haven't made good work on it in a while, i've also been trying to make something similar to shimmer from arcane (ideally not addictive or harmful to the user, but most importantly the quick energy burst, decreased pain, and increased regenerative abilities (obviously it won't be anywhere near as dramatic as in the show, so calling it shimmer may not really make sense, but it is where i got the inspiration)).

Then i suppose there's the battery project i was talking about in my last post, and i'm also trying to learn how to make alcohol under my desk (i mean, it's super easy, it just doesn't taste great). There might be a few more things i'm working on but rn i'm super eepy and have talked about a lot already. If this seems like i'm doing a lot or impressive, also note that i'm actively failing out of college (for my own pride: the material is super easy and mostly i already know it, i just can't stand wasting so much of my time doing homework that doesn't help anyone or anything) and not yet working a job, so i have a lot of time and so much free brainspace to think about and do all this. I also work very slowly on each thing because i keep bouncing back and forth between all of them and almost always end up adding new projects before i've finished the old ones and so i almost never see a project all the way through to completion (at least some of the bio projects are just sitting in my body and i am just waiting to see how they turn out in the next 2-3 months, so those necessarily will see completion, even if it's failure). I really hope i see the fusion rocket to completion because if i don't think i'll ever be able to see the earth from afar or the moon from up close.

[gacha-incels]

Been boycotting limbus but it's a bit disheartening seeing everyone continue around me with this passing intl women's day. I don't know how to convince my friends to stop without getting into an argument because they're all knee deep into these games. But my real question was.. why? These people are boycotting other products for other things, why are they so adamant with sticking on this when it's proven to have harmed so many people in the small team that made it?

Had a discussion with one who is boycotting and I feel like that "political correctness" seeps into the themes of the game, actually, despite how people tout it as the ultimate anti capitalist game; The City is suffering, workers gruel and die at the whims of corporate overlords, people struggle to find housing, and whatever the fuck Carmen's doing in the light, while it could help people survive longer, is just giving everyone guns ignoring the power structures underneath. It's very strange to me now there's.. no suggestion of uprooting the system at all in the games. No true strikes or protests or even any mentions of unions as far as I know. There's no effort to change what is given

[outside of the seed of light project, which 1. famously Didn't Work and 2. having everyone manifest ego is still just giving everyone guns and going "now don't shoot each other!"],

which is very strange and kind of sad? Like sure maybe an arbiter or something would come and tear it down but surely people would come up with countermeasures? People are really good at adapting around things out of desperation, and surely at least an effort would be mentioned

And then my friend, she suggested something; without project moon's suffering, there would be no project moon. Without the city, project moon can't make games. To end the hell that the characters are in and truly resolve the city's hypercapitalist dystopia, they must stop making money off of them. But they don't want to. They definitely DO want to make more games, noted by the interviews which mention future game concepts such as the distortion detective visual novel. But in order to do so, they must keep the current games "clean" and consistent in their suffering to perpetuate conflict. There is some commentary about capitalism to be had; but it feels more like a "oh, look, people are dying, this is so sad" layer of paint on it at this point rather than something more in depth and meaningful. And I think in enforcing this sort of "we can't fix the system in any meaningful way, let's just live our lives instead and hope something better happens" mindset, it reflects into the players. Kind of ironic how the anti capitalism game must sustain its own horrible systems internally so the owners of the series can: make more money through a very predatory money making system, no less!

Limbus fans don't give a fuck about feminism in kr, they think its a system they cant help fixing so they just play the game as they please and any attempt to disuade them is met with a "stop ruining my fun!!" And "who cares?" The worst ones are the ones who KNOW their money is being funneled into stupid misogynistic shit but don't care! It's insane! I've never seen this level of apathy towards a serious issue before!

Sigh. I hope this ramble is coherent. If I missed talking about something or if you want me to talk more I'm game. Project moon's characters are some of my favorites but you have to admit the themes are surface level shit at some point, especially in later installments of their games. So tired but I'd figure I'd share my thoughts somehow. Take care account admin, youre doing gods work

yeah regarding your first point about fans that keep playing, back in August there was a discussion on this blog here regarding contemporary fandom “culture”- how it makes dropping a piece of media hard for some people and why they feel so quick to defend it. the nature of gacha is also that it gets you into the habit of doing “dailies” which makes them harder to drop, this is not even mentioning sunk cost fallacy. I’ve seen a recent post on the FGO subreddit asking why people still play the game and the top posts by a longshot were ones saying only because they spent so much time and money on it. For a lot of people (even people who think themselves progressives) misogyny is a non-issue as well so they will not take the situation in South Korea that seriously to begin with. This is in addition to it happening to “other” or “foreign” women in the eyes of the western fan. There is also an aggressive “fuck you, I’ve got mine” attitude some of the fans who want to keep playing have in regards to these women. It’s disturbing to watch happen but unfortunately not uncommon. I find some of the worst of it, in this situation specifically, is when westerners try to tell Korean women (who are boycotting and spreading information) that they are the ones spreading misinfo, or there’s no reason for them to boycott, how it’s not that bad for them, how PM actually didn’t do anything wrong, “both sides” are crazy and wrong, “let people enjoy things”, shit like that. like doesn’t it raise any flags for you that the people most affected by PM’s actions, Korean women, deleted entire accounts of fanart, took back fanmade items from PM’s cafe, started a boycott of LC and made posts in english to try and get the word out to international fans? you must think they’re idiots if you believe this is all some misunderstanding and vellmori quit of her own free will. Come on. imo it’s impossible to make any meaningful statement critiquing capitalism when you’re writing it in a game that uses one of the most exploitive types of gambling mechanics. I hope I don’t have to explain to anyone why this is absurd. You don’t need to expose young people to gambling addictions in order to fund new games. At the same time, things an author writes (or things that the reader infers from the writing) do not always reflect their ideologies or actions in real life and they can sometimes seemingly be at odds with one another. This is something fans have to reckon with, and not just by saying “actually hatsune miku made limbus company” or whatever. Personally, I can’t take PM’s “anti capitalist” or “feminist” or “revolutionary” work seriously when in reality they have mistreated employees, sued labor unions, acquiesced to incel demands and then later added a meme into the game from that incel community. On the other hand people struggle to believe Project Moon could do anything wrong like this because of the stories in their games so they vehemently defend PM, which at some point just feels naïve. well hopefully this is the type of answer/discussion you were looking for lol thanks for writing 👍

[uroboros-if]

Hi! So, I love your game, but I have a big "issue"...

I still don't know if I should go for Salvatore of Ciocana, to be fair...

I love both characters equally, and both are tropes I love in different way - with Salvatore, it would be a golden child + outcast story, while with Ciocana it would be the idea of two outcast finding solace in each other. I adore both of these!

And so I'm curious... do you have a sort of... "general mood" or "few descriptive words" you could share about each RO's path without spoiling too much? Maybe it would help me decide!

And yeah, "replays" is sadly not a possibility for me, since I'm the kind of person who in 99% of games can't play multiple routes and try various romances - I feel like betraying and cheating on the first RO I've picked and other similar feelings. So I have to make the choice count!

Anyway, thanks!

Hi Konoi and Noir!! 💕 This also happens to me 🥲 part of the joy of IFs is playing through different scenarios, but I always feel sad pursuing another character!!

Your ask has inspired me to create a kind of "Which RO is for you?" Quiz, but I'm making it in interactive novel format, as I want to customize the results and questions better!

A preview! The design is not at all final, and the screenshot only shows one part of one RO's result. Ideally, it'll cover not just personalities, but also what tropes you enjoy and generally account for what you're looking for in a particular route! You'll also see multiple results if you want to see how you fare with multiple ROs, and what I recommend most out of all of them. I hope you'll like it ❤️

(This has been really fun for me and only takes a fraction of my brainpower to write, so rest assured that I'm allocating leisure time to this project!)

But for now, I'll answer your specific request under the read more!!

The tone and dynamics of Sal and Cio's route might differ dramatically based on how you play the story, so it's hard to pin down. All routes will be incredibly angsty, but it depends on if you take the Divine route (siding with gods) and Mortal route (siding with mortals). There may also be an in between route.

I use these terms loosely as I do not want to lock in the MC to one or the other, as doubting your beliefs and changing your mind should be part of the story! Alas, who knows if I can do that!

Sal, Divine route: sand through your fingers, broken clock, desperation and longing, comfort at the end of time

Sal, Mortal route: betrayal, searing sun, melting candle, you were supposed to be with me, redemption

Cio, Divine route: shadows of a doubt, giving up, darkness of the void, peace, coiling bitterness in your stomach

Cio, Mortal route: sacrifice, leave them, ichor in your veins, broken promise, gaping chasm, fallen angel

I'm not sure if that's in any way helpful, but I hope it gives you more direction! I hope what I'm making will give you even more guidance!! Thank you so much, Konoi and Noir 💕💕💕

[splendidsneb]

EDIT: Fan of the icons? Wanna to say 'Hey, good job!' And support me? Consider buying a sticker!

Greetings lovelies, I've been busy with another project and it's finally time to share.

As you can see, I've taken it upon myself to redraw my entire DbD Icon Pack.

This was no small task, I had a total of 73 characters to redraw, colour and format to work in game. (and not a whole lot of free time to do so)

I've been working on this icon pack since 2016, and as time has passed, both my skill as an artist, as well as the way I render certain things have changed, so I decided to go ahead and redo the entire project in a more cohesive style, as well as more closely reference official models when making the initial sketches, as quite a few of the old pieces were just me eye balling things and saying "close enough", so while you'll see some characters that look the same over all with minor tweaks to fix mistakes like Meg or Trapper, you'll also see some art that was completely redone for characters that I just wasn't happy with the quality, like Jeff of Doctor.

That being said, I made a point of eye dropping all colours used directly from the previous version of the icons, along with reusing the same textures.

I wanted the icons to feel as close to the originals as I could make them, while still taking into account that the new UI features the icons on a dark background, which caused some visibility issues with the previous version, which were made with (at the time) lighter colour background in mind.

The new versions now have a white outline which keeps the icons from blurring into the background and getting lost.

I'm really happy with how this has turn out, and I hope you like it too!

That being said, while I will only be updating this version going forwards, I'm not going to delete the older version, so if you're a super fan of the previous version and would prefer to keep using them, you absolutely can!

The 'New and Improved' version can be found on NightLight app under "Sketched In Profile.", as well as here as a [Mega] if you'd prefer that.

If you wish to use the previous version of the icons, you can click the Mega and find them located in the folder entitled "!Legacy Icons." They'll be at the front of the list for easy access.

Feel free to take a peak at what they look like in game below!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about using these, feel free to reach out!

[lullabyes22-blog]

On Fanfic, Print-to-Read and Legal Grey Areas

I've had a number of PMs on tumblr and AO3 over the last few months asking if I'd ever consider doing a printed 3D version of Forward but Never Forget/XOXO the way it's popular on fanfictok.

And my feelings are Many :3

It should be noted that there is a difference between printing vs publishing. It should also be noted that sites like Lulu.com have been used in the past to print copies of fanfic - some of which are even up for purchase like regular old books.

However, fanfic, by virtue of its ambiguous occupation in the digital domain, is full of caveats in the form of "Yes, but..." and "Well, actually."

As a medium, fanfic enjoys protections so long as it's being hosted on sites such as AO3, FFnet and other platforms which have the apparatus (legally) to defend the content. To do so, said content needs to be fair use (no profit is being made off its distribution) and transformative, i.e. it takes original content and contributes something new to it.

While the act of printing a fanfic for personal use technically straddles the line between Yea and Nay, it should be noted that the printers, shipping agents and other sundry parties are still making money off of the process. Thus, there is still a commercial profit being made for a technically illegal work, even if the money is not going into the fanfic writer's pocket or to the original creators.

Lulu in its FAQ policy also discourages fanfic from being hosted on its platform - and has been known to take down the accounts/works if they're flagged.

Riot Games as a company are also incredibly litigious when it comes to their intellectual property. They state in their own FAQ that unless it's fair use, any distribution of their stuff will earn you a swat on the rear. Non-commercial projects like Kickstarters, Patreons and Ko-Fi to crowdsource works for widespread distribution are also a no-no.

All of this is to say: it's unlikely I'd put FnF out as a print version at any point in the near future.

:(

I am incredibly flattered folks like this fic enough to want to read it in 3D print, and all the messages of support make me so happy<3

Legal ditherings and blatherings aside:

If you would like to reproduce my works as printed books for your own use, without any intent to distribute them for profit, this is my blanket consent post.

Go for it<3

And please share pics - I would be delighted to see them!

I'm hopeful, that as fanfiction gains traction as a more mainstream medium, that large corporations will be less fussy about its consumption in fandom spaces. However, recent trends are not hopeful in that sphere.

Even fair use content that is now in the public domain has the OG copyright holders clutching their pearls and summoning their lawyers - see the whole Enola Holmes and Sherlock is too Emuuuuutional! hilarity.

I encourage everyone interested in fanfic - and keeping the medium alive and thriving - to check out the Center for Internet and Society. We're going to have a lot of dialogue in the coming years re: net neutrality, fair use, free speech, and copyright, and I promise you, the era will be a litigious one.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Also please support sites like AO3 that, whatever their faults, do so much to keep fandom content alive, and give it a global platform. Especially for LGBTQ+ works, which continue to be squelched and otherwise suppressed in so many parts of the globe.

Also please feel free to contribute further info to this post - and start dialogue.

Just keep it polite and respectful<3

[western-magical-girl-confessions]

*Sigh…*

Hello everyone. I apologize for disappearing for a while. I know I promised to finish all the confessions and close them indefinitely, but with everything that has been going on in the past few months, I have just been reflecting a lot. After much consideration, I have made a decision:

On January 2, 2024, I am considering deleting this blog.

So with this said, I guess you might be wondering why, Well, I'll list the reasons. Been doing so for this long right?

I had been hesitant to admit it, but after some contemplation, I have come to the realization that this blog is becoming a negative experience for me. I've had to make confessions that I don't agree with and deal with anonymous hate for sharing confessions that I didn't even write. Trying to please everyone has also affected my own beliefs. Additionally, the lack of western magical girl shows has resulted in repetitive confessions. It's unfortunate, but my feelings about this blog may continue to fluctuate.

From then till now, I always said that not all the confessions made were by me, but I do admit that some of them were my own. I just want to be honest with all of you. I'm not proud of some of the confessions I made. Some aged like milk. Even though I know that I may still come across certain confessions that leave a bad taste in my mouth to this day, I just want to leave this part of my life behind me.

I have been a fan of several TV series, such as Miraculous Ladybug, She-Ra, Equestria Girls, My Little Pony, many others. However, some of the fans of these shows have given me negative experiences that I don't want to remember. Sometimes, reading these confessions reminds me of those bad experiences. Hence, I want to move on and forget about them. Nevertheless, I will cherish the good memories that these shows and their fandom have given me.

I need assurance that I won't be able to access this blog again, in case I give in to the temptation of making confessions once more. My desire is to move on and channel my energy towards other productive activities that will benefit me in my life. This has been a long-term aspiration for me, which I didn't do entirely.

I know I've said this countless times in the past, but I'll say this for the final time. I'm dealing with personal things that are just a real ongoing struggle, and I want to focus all my time and energy on them. Running this blog has started to feel like a chore, and I believe I've gotten all the satisfaction from it that I wanted.

Also, I've thought about moving on to focus on more original projects. I don't want to completely share these ideas publicly yet, but I've been having some ideas in mind.

Lastly, I'm just tired of constantly having to explain myself. I know that I don't owe anyone an explanation and I am not obligated to keep this blog active, but I did. I did it because I genuinely cared about you all and wanted to create something fun for fans of the magical girl genre. I wanted to provide a platform for others to express their feelings and thoughts without fear of being canceled. Unfortunately, I no longer want to do this…

Sorry guys for the redundant posts lol Let's just hope that this will be the last one until this blog closes (or goes inactive indefinitely). There’s no guarantee that I will delete this blog, but I’m just saying prepare for the possibility in the future. So if there’s anything that you would like to save or archive, then now’s the time to do so. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to finish the remaining confessions in the box or not, because there's a strong possibility that I'll delete this blog anyway.

So if anyone has any thoughts or ideas or anything, feel free to say so. I have to admit, I'm going to miss this blog, but this is probably for the best.

Thanks again guys, and as always, stay magical.

If you wish to reach me (the mod), my main account is @misssakurapetal27

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Hi BPP! Do you think the backlash to Set Me Free Pt2 is going to negatively impact Jimin’s solo career at all? I knew antis were going to bark, but I’m honestly taken aback by how widespread the hate is, to the point it’s making it back to the people who worked with him. I’m also seeing streams and sales drop a bit more than I was expecting. Now looking at places like Reddit, the hype for his album has really dropped. That’s probably a terrible place to gauge reaction, but it does have me a bit worried. I know the negativity for like Dynamite was really bad, but that was a song catered to the GP with the entire weight of all of ARMY behind it, and Jimin definitely doesn’t have that, so I’m worried this negativity will actually impact him. (The song is a straight up masterpiece to me btw, my sincerest hope is that he gets some critical recognition for it, or recognition from opinions he cares about. I really want to see him keep experimenting with music like this and to know how much so many of us love it!)

***

Hi Anon,

This is the last ask I'll respond to on this topic, because though I don't share the same fear, I recognize many of you feel nervous right now for understandable reasons and I don't want to dismiss your concerns outright.

Story time.

D-2 by Agust D was released on May 22, 2020. Right away the mixtape was a hit in the fandom and most ARMYs (not all, it's a solo project after all) supported it. As soon as it was released, k-pop stans went to work and I honestly found it amusing how methodical they were: they started from the top of the tracklist to the bottom - they first claimed Moonlight was plagiarized, the accusation didn't stick; then they claimed Daechwita was plagiarized, that too didn't stick. Then they got to the third track What Do You Think, and they hit the jackpot. You see, the initial recording of WDYT included a sampled excerpt of Jim Jones' speech, and once that was discovered, it was like hate bomb went off lol. The hate, ridicule, and bad faith was so intense and so widespread, I recall many ARMYs had to deactivate their accounts. Before long, k-pop stans were claiming Yoongi had told an insider that he wanted to kill black people and queer Korean people...

Anyway the point is, the backlash on Yoongi was swift, brutal, and harsh, understandably. Jim Jones has been sampled several times in music, in fact Post Malone put out an album around that time that explicitly referenced Jonestown, and it's very likely Yoongi or the people in his team were inspired by Post Malone's album and sought to include a similar feel and connection in his mixtape. In fact Agust D's Set Me Free directly pulls sonically from the album. But as with all things k-pop, cultural references get lost in translation and the weight of that decision was significant in the aftermath. BigHit released a statement and apology, and the song was re-released without the sample.

Now we're in March 2023, do you think this event negatively affected Yoongi's solo projects and career? Perhaps it did, k-pop stans still fume that Yoongi never apologized nor accepted blame for it, but by the end of 2020 I saw no indication Yoongi had been worse off for it. Partly because of ARMYs' support, but mostly because k-pop stans had gotten their pound of flesh with a humbling and an apology, and had moved on to the next target for critical discourse (which funnily enough was Dynamite by BTS).

It sounds crude and cynical to say it like this, and it's possible I could be wrong, but I've observed this pattern too many times over too many years for me to think otherwise.

Hopefully I don't have to say this more than once, but please listen when I tell you that so long as a project comes from a BTS member, the default inclination of most k-pop stans is to hate it. Nearly all the hate you're seeing for Jimin's Set Me Free Pt 2 was nearly guaranteed to begin with, the autotune just made it easy as the excuse. I mean, there's a whole subset of k-pop fandoms who believe he can't sing despite years of proof to the contrary. Since 2018 (precisely after BTS was awarded the Cultural Order of Merit award), the best case scenario from k-pop stans towards music released by BTS, is for them to ignore it. If you're expecting any other reaction from k-pop stans besides avoidance or hate, you're hoping for too much. Personally, I don't think it's a big deal, but I do think you need to calibrate your expectations to the reality of the environment you're in. It's one reason ARMYs are so fervent in their support of BTS.

There are differences between Yoongi's case and Jimin's. Firstly, Yoongi was already a respected producer outside of traditional k-pop and had avenues besides idol music to further that work, while Jimin appears to want to operate as a k-pop idol firmly within this system which requires winning over and maintaining the support of k-pop stans. So in a nutshell, Jimin is more exposed to the fickleness of k-pop stans than Yoongi is, but at the same time, Jimin does appear to have a larger committed base of solo fans than Yoongi, so let's say most of that risk cancels out for now.

The solo era also complicates things because the biggest antis of the members, are akgaes of other members. In Chapter 2 the support for each member from the fandom is more fractured now, that's true. But I think going by Jimin's case at least, the core of the fandom is still firmly supportive of their projects.

If you're still concerned, what can you do?

Remember that a lot of what you see online doesn't translate into real life. As an example, when a portion of RUN BTS (the song) was leaked last year, k-pop fans were tearing it down, saying it sounded like crap and was autotuned to death. By the end of 2022, k-pop stans were saying RUN BTS should have been the title track for Proof, that it was one of the best songs released by BTS and the song showed up in multiple stans' Spotify Wrapped...

Remember that most of these people hate as a hobby and are content to simply kick up a stink before moving on to the next thing. And in k-pop that typically happens in a matter of weeks.

Remember that your own view ultimately matters most. How do you feel about Set Me Free Pt 2? What do you like and dislike about it? How do you feel about the ideas Jimin is communicating in his song? I've said before that hate is contagious. All it does is inspire more of the same. You can counteract that spread by focusing on the music and the artist. Celebrate Jimin and the bits about him and his music that you love. Joy is infectious too, and if you're feeling his sound, people will notice. And more importantly, you'll be happier and less worried.

Like with previous solo releases, ARMYs might hit or miss their goals. There's a lot about the charts that have changed since 2021, leaving a lot of it up to chance, unfortunately. I suggest you focus on doing your part. The fandom isn't trying to sabotage Jimin, and Jimin is not releasing music to get specific chart placements to begin with. ARMYs will support as best they can, panic-buy at the last minute (lol), and Jimin will still succeed regardless of the outcome. He has already made his mark. I'm not saying this to placate you, that's what I genuinely think.

If you'd like more gp support, then share his music with those around you. Jimin's a great artist and I'm convinced anyone who listens to him without prejudice will be intrigued at the very least. They might not like his sound or his voice, but he will leave an impression. Your enthusiasm will too. And many times that's more than enough.

*

With Like Crazy's release this Friday, if it's a conventional pop track, expect a rebound in reactions from k-pop stans. I expect many to say things like 'he should've released this first' or something to that effect. That too has a playbook but I've rambled enough already.

What I'm trying to say is, Jimin isn't new to hate. Unfortunately, I suspect he knows, more than anyone else, the backlash he was likely to receive putting out a song like that. And that makes the song all the more powerful and perfect in my mind. In my initial review of Set Me Free Pt 2 I said I wasn't going to talk about the lyrics and message, and I still won't. All I'll say is I think it's a good idea to take Jimin seriously. There's nothing to be gained fretting about k-pop stans, focus instead on Jimin. He's worked too hard and already done such a phenomenal job, for any of us to be distracted by something as inconsequential as k-pop stan chatter.

It's only March. We still have the rest of the year and further out to leave an impact with his music.

In my opinion.

[martian-messages]

A couple of messages for you <3

Hey guys! It's been a while, to I thought I'd make a huge post with a bunch of stuff that I need to say.

First of all: 250+ readers???? Are you kidding me??? I love you all so, so much, and I'm glad that so many people are willing to take a chance on this project. It means the world to me, and I can't wait for it to actually start!

With that said... I am delaying the first post by a week. I looked at the entries that were going to post first, and I realized that the entire thing made more sense if I pushed it all back by six days. I know, it sucks, but it'll feel a lot better when it starts. So, reminder:

Martian Messages starts on NOVEMBER 7TH.

There. Now it's huge, and people will be more likely to read it :)

With Dracula Daily kicking up, and schools letting out, I'm hoping to be more active on this account. I'm going to tag some promotional stuff as Dracula Daily, just to spread the word, but it won't be on every post I share (and certainly not on the actual project). That said, please spread the word! DDaily worked because so many people were all talking about it at the same time, and the more people there are, the more ideas we can share!

Now, some housekeeping: my plan was to post at ~8am (CST), but I realize that might be awkward for some, so I want to see what you all think! All times in the poll are in EST.

I mainly planned around mealtimes, but there's also a mid-afternoon option (anything works for me, because these will all be posted in advance.) I know a lot of people liked the morning posts (I found it convenient to read before school/work), but others might not share that sentiment. I'd love to hear your feedback.

More housekeeping! If you've done Dracula Daily, you might remember the weeks where there weren't any updates, and how depressing it was. I'm sorry, but The Martian is worse. From Sol 213 to Sol 376, there is a huge pile of nothing. From June to November of 2024 (~5 months), you will not receive updates.

Yeah.

I'm gonna leave a note in June with a warning, and I'll try to hype up the November return, but it's gonna be tough. I hope you all stick with me, but I've been there. I'd recommend rereading a couple of entries before resuming, if you stay with us, because I certainly won't remember what happened. With all that said, thanks for joining, and I really hope you get as much out of this as I'm putting into it.

Whew! That was a lot. Thanks for putting up with me. If I think of anything else, it'll be put on Tumblr first. This project means a lot to me, and I'll do my best to see it through. Thanks for everything, and I hope you enjoy!

[dreamingofmuses]

New Year's Resolutions: RP Edition

Howdy all, Ash here. I've been having a think while with family this week, and I've decided I'm going to implement some new 'resolutions' to try and help make writing in 2024 be way more successful than in 2023. This will include things from the running of blogs to jobs I really want to get finished. I'm putting them under a read-more to keep the dash nice and clean.

I will say, this has taken me an hour to write up, and I'd recommend you doing likewise if you think there's little ways you want to improve.

-

Overall Running of Blogs

I'm going to experiment a new approach to running the blogs. For this, I'm going to put all active blogs to low-medium activity. In other words, even if I am personally lurking on mobile, I won't be constantly writing things if I'm not able to. (Work is just about to get super busy and I'm anticipating chaos)

A queue/schedule function will be used for all blogs. I intend to dedicate one weekday evening to working without interruption on replies. Taking commutes to the city and family visits into account, this is looking to be a Thursday, which is the only day I am neither travelling to the city nor have a guaranteed family visit. Of course, this may fluctuate, but that's what I'm hoping to work with, assuming those things stay as they are.

However! What all this means is that I am going to tentatively take skullandbowties off hiatus. With that blog being quiet, it should be possible to juggle it better now. Plus, it's officially off-season so the demand for him from new blogs ought to be low. I'm very smart :D

I also plan to update all pinned posts. I am aware some of them are marking a vacation from months ago.

Individual Blog Maintenance

Create "New Here?" posts to add to the pinned posts/info tags. This is going to be a very quick crash course on what to expect from the blog, especially where some characters might diverge from fanon expectations.

FINISH. WILF'S. BIO. It's not actually relevant to anything being written on the blog itself at present, but I really want to flesh out his character and show that he was stuck in stories for years, decades even! The doc has the word count to 4,888 at this precise moment. This is a mix of summary and brainstorm. Since it's getting a 'little' out of hand, I intend to have a 'tldr' at the start that people can read, and then longer versions if they're curious to get the full story. Maybe even have it that they can jump to particular parts but... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Likewise, Noah's version of Space needs to be finished. This one is going to be a summary, but it's a case of making sure the pieces are in place sufficiently to have parts match canon Space, but also make it clear that there is a lot of differences between canon and what he went through, with his plot entirely spiralling away for 'Part 2'. This is at 5,794 words, and the ending has yet to be ironed out...

(I am going to stop creating needlessly long-winded projects for myself that realistically add nothing of value to my blogs. These two projects are exhausting...)

Theauthorlives is returning to a very small multimuse. Any muses that aren't ones I genuinely enjoy writing are being fully archived, unless they are muses that get no traction but I want to keep the possibility open. Details of that will be shared when I do this.

Redo some muse icons (not all of them!). Though the selection I have for particular sets is a lot, I still feel like I'm missing some expressions or poses. I would like to remake one batch of icons for three characters, and finish iconning a third. Replies seem to be shifting toward iconless, but I like them for asks or IC commentaries.

OOC/Mun Related stuff

Following matters that have happened both online and IRL, I've decided to take a step back from actively engaging with people. My focus will be people that I have been in good communication with for the last twelve months (as well as people I don't talk to frequently but am on friendly terms with) rather than people I feel I have to 'chase' after. Saying that, I'm going to try and not let past experiences meddle with anything in with new writing partners - whether these are brand new to the community or people I've not had the chance to properly interact with prior to this. Just be aware that I might not be super outgoing at first. (This is where setting limits and boundaries is good practice, everyone! Don't sell yourself short, and don't spread yourself out too thinly!)

Which is where I now say I want to send even more asks! Not just memes or sentence starters, but general questions about headcanons or muse opinions. I want to get people thinking more.

My stance on Discord still stands, in that it's solely for OOC stuff, but I'm not giving it out to everyone. However, I have been in two group servers that have little-to-no connection with writing rp threads in them. I would hope that I can fully regain my sense of comfort using Discord as a whole.

Art related

Despite socially stepping back, I still want to keep some semblance of 'community' where my blogs are active so people don't feel isolated. For instance, I want to do something that encourages invasions of ask boxes. That was good fun to watch as the chaos began to spread, and when people are good-humoured to go along with my silly ideas.

I want to have one huge art-related event at some point this year. I'm not entirely what or how to do it, but I think it would be a great excuse to practice something. Portraits, comics, something like that. I'll have a think. (For those who remember, the water gun event was supposed to have an art conclusion but plans for that fell through.)

I want to try and upload drawn responses to heythereneighbor once a week if I can. Obviously, this is depending on how busy it is.

I'd also like to try doodling more on other blogs? But I'm not sure if this is even something people want to see anymore. People might prefer I focus on writing if I have free time instead of doodles or little comics.

... the writing blog. I need to do stuff with that in general. Whoops.

Finally, I want to do what I can to the best of my abilities on a particular day. I've always told people over the years that real life comes before rp, and I still stand by that. Whether I'm around or not every day isn't the end of the world. The communities I write in are a lot slower paced than they were when I started, which is great! I need to remind myself that I don't need to be writing just because I have a bit of free time.

[ohmeadows]

I'm curious how can you manage to write something so deranged (complementary) and it's still amazing?? Like I've been trying to write something that's out of my comfort zone but always stop halfway or chickened out because I don't know where or how to write the character. Is there a tip or notes that you can share with us? I love your stories btw and I've read all of them. Thank you so much for sharing 😘 I hope you're successful in everything that you do.

okay let me see what advice i can give!

first tip: pick a work you think does this really well and print it out. grab some highlighters. go over it like a hawk, highlighting the places you think they nailed that you struggle with. is it because they use some special verbs? are they speeding up or slowing down action? skipping over details you think you have to include or it won't make any sense? take note of what verbs they use, how they choreograph, how they set up the space and scene. this is a bit of tedious process but it teaches you so much about how others do it if you're willing to put in the time, and is just a great writing habit overall imo.

second tip: i chicken out a lot too! sometimes i have to turn that shame around. like okay, what's stopping me. i'm posting something online and no one knows who i am irl, check. sometimes i make an entirely new ao3 account just to feel safe about it. sometimes that shame can be utilized in the characters. shame when used right can be really hot, because you want to show how much a character wants something, can't stop thinking about it, even though it makes them melt from shame. and then keep upping the ante until they can't resist the desire anymore.

third tip: contrary to popular belief i think almost any kink i feasibly care about can happen with any character if you build up the setting well enough. the simplest formula is framing it as a problem character A has, and character B offers a solution. limited POV to one character means limited knowledge, so you can also play with "oh my god why are they behaving so annoying/sluttily/weird around me? ooooh oh ok they want to do [nasty kink]" and then comes a period of reflection, wrestling with it. i sometimes straight up project my own thoughts into this zone to process and be able to actually write it hahaha. it's really sexy and good tension to show the internal friction of wanting something and getting just a taste, and realizing ah shit you want it even more now.

fourth tip: if the kink is really far out of your comfort zone, write like a stepping stone guide building up to it (say, lactation might be too far out. okay. breastplay? tit bondage? sucking on nipples really intensely? nipple clamps? oiled up breasts?). and see how far you can go along it. maybe you need to stop halfway in one fic but the next time you can go a little further, and the third time you make it all the way. it is completely fine and actually really cool to explore the same kinks over and over and i promise readers won't get tired!

fifth tip: this is more something i love to read than what i usually write myself, but: character A comes across a kink in media. they begin to research it, think about it, and maybe tell character B or B finds out through accident. turns out, B is intrigued and into it. this formula works really well in building up, pouring research into it, allowing yourself to linger in doubts and details and hesitations... this whole thing, is it a trope? it should be. i love it. and it works so well with so many kinks!

okay i hope even a smidge in here was of use to you, and if you need any help with more specifics or generics my askbox is always open!

[theradicalscrivener]

Life is suffering.

I'm struggling to hold it together long enough to finish the semester but it's going Not Well. The good gnus is I have finished a few short stories. The bad gnus is ... Everything else. I'll need to figure out when to post some of the stuff from the past few months because I'm never sure if I should be aiming for "peak hours" or just post it whenever is convenient. Unfortunately, I've been to exhausted to do anything other than work and such for a while now. I'm hoping that in a few weeks when I finish my finals I'll be able to unwind a bit and get some housekeeping stuff done. I also need to figure out what stories I've actually posted here and what I still have left to share. I know I did some CDE recently as well as the first stage of a slow(ish) macro growth story which I don't think has been posted here. I feel like I've also done some one shot stuff.

I'll try to give a brief recap of the past few months because I know people have been asking but also I know that most people don't want to have to scroll past a massive block of text so I'll keep it snappy.

I'm in an upper division accounting class. The final class I need to finish my bachelor's in accounting degree. The professor has structured the entire class around being a group oriented endeavor. All assignments (sans exams) are group projects. You'd think being an upper division course, everyone would be knowledgeable in the field and have at least the bare minimum moral fortitude and work ethic but you'd be wrong. My group has refused to do any work and since I dont want to fail because of other people I've been doing the work of 5 people by myself which is a huge part of why I'm so worn out.

I've spoken with the proff about it and at first she seemed to be on my side. Literally the whole class knows I'm the only one in my group doing work. During all the presentations I'm the only one who speaks and when the other members are forced to speak/answer questions they have no idea what to say. Like I've literally written briefs for them so they'd at least have something to say and they refuse to even read that.

A few weeks ago the proff pulled me aside after class and said that she'd grade my work separately from the rest of my group and that I should do the final assignment (which is like 40% of the class grade) solo and leave the rest of the group to handle themselves. I did the entire assignment by myself and emailed it to her rather than submitting it through the group portal. She responds to my email and said she has no idea why I would email her directly and told me i was supposed to use the group portal. She has no memory of us every talkin about the group issues so now the rest of the group are getting my grade on the final project even tho they didn't do anything. I haven't even heard from them in weeks. To make matters worse the proff never changed my grades and so I have the grades for the rest of the group (which are very low because we are graded on the participation of the whole group and since most of the group never participates in the presentation, and when they do they don't know anything about the subject I'm getting graded down for them not doing their job.)

I have a few more weeks and a few more assignments left of this shit. I just need to survive til mid may. Hopefully I don't crash and burn completely.

In other gnus. Things at work have been insane. I've been doing triple duty there as well. I work two jobs. One is a salary job which is tough to really say how much I actually do there ( but even then my salary is only 800 a month so it's not meant to be a full time job). On top of that I have my hourly work. I've been putting in over 100 hours at the hourly work pretty consistently lately.

On top of all that ny grandmother passed away at the start of the month. I ended up on an impromptu road trip to go to the funeral and deal with family stuff all while keeping up with work and school. I'm back home now but I'm extra exhausted and also down bad with the Rona. I'm tired and sore and sick and cranky as all get out.

But hopefully... I just need a few more weeks.

[jaszczurr]

SOME PERSONAL RAMBLING ABOUT ART AND THE FUTURE OF THIS BLOG :-)

For the last year I was working numerous jobs as an artist. I painted landscapes for commission, I did album covers, I was teaching class on comic making basic etc. Unarguably I had a lot of fun doing that!! But it also came at the cost of setting unreasonable expectations upon myself. I really wanted to get into industry ASAP. Like if not now then never. I spent a lot time with people who already released their stuff and heard a lot of advice on how to do it right. So I pressured myself to work on my projects and get at least one thing done till the end of summer. Then life got in the way. I blamed myself a lot for not being able to meet my goals, but I'm unfortunately not in the position to have a lot of time for drawing or writing. If I don't want to work myself to death that is. And the other thing is that I'm also completely fine with it. I need to take some steps back a bit. I want to learn and experience new things not only related to an art career. Live a life, ya know :p (AND THAT'S A GOOD THING!) My stories were always really personal and inspired by people I met or places I've visited and I hope y'all will be able to see them too one day. But I don't want to share them by the cost of my health and mental wellbeing just because I need to prove I'm a "good writer". I want to share them because I find them fun! I really want to be driven by passion and curiosity not ambition. And I want this to be seen in the art I make!

The stress and unnecessary professionalism also clashed a lot with the initial idea of creating this Tumblr account. Because initially I really wanted to have some sort of archive for my digital work, since I use old computer and it's possible that one day it'll just die on me right here and there and I'm notorious for losing my pendrives. I really wanna get back to this mindset, because from the beginning I was trying to make it the most portfolio-like thing. To make it presentable. Serious and shit. And the thing is that I'm not??? I'm not a serious artist, no matter how much I try to came off as one I still feel like a kid with crayons trying to understand wise painters. And I don't want to set the expectations for myself so high anymore, I'm still really young - especially in comparison to artists who inspired me - and need to start acting like it :P

What I'm saying is that from now on I want this blog to be more scrappy and messy. But I feel like in that way it'll be more honest. I need to stop hiding behind Kniedź as a persona and allow myself to be more open. Because that's just something that comes more natural for me and my following isn't big enough for that to be worrying anyways XD

So! So! So! For those who have only vague idea of me and aren't here for the low effort art dumps. Sorry to disappoint. Right now I just wanna share my art, man. I wanna share ideas and especially them quick, unfinished sketches!! I love them! They make me all happy and heehee! Hope the rest of you will like em too :DD

[not-poignant]

Hi, Pia! I am thinking of going the same route as you - free chapters on AO3, then Patreon - for my historical m/m romance projects. Could you share a little about your journey, and how did you manage to gain visibility within the originals section of AO3 (I know it's not easy)?

Hi hi!

We've talked a little over at Subscriptions for Authors I think! *waves* :D

Okay firstly, i don't know if any of this is going to be very helpful, because to tl;dr it - I didn't set out to be a professional author when I started this, and I wasn't even trying to be a professional when I started my Patreon (though I did approach it seriously, like I wanted to treat my readers well). I didn't believe I could be one, my impostor syndrome was so epic I literally started an entirely new AO3 account and kept it secret from my main account because I believed all the people being nice to me about my writing were somehow just lying to me because they felt sorry for me.

That's...

That's a whole lot of impostor syndrome insanity. But I've always been pretty honest about having mental illness so....

Re: my journey...

I started out in fanfiction. I started writing Rise of the Guardians fanfiction (a two part serial called From the Darkness We Rise & Into Shadows We Fall) and it went viral (I did not expect this) and I put in several original characters to flesh out the world, because I added a Seelie/Unseelie Court element that wasn't in the original movie or the books.

Two of those original characters had roles as semi-significant ensemble characters. One was a terrible villain who is defeated by the other, who is the Seelie King (also defeated by the main characters of the fic but *coughs* anyway).

I started getting people asking me what was going to happen to those two characters, especially once people found out they had a relationship history together prior to the events in the fanfic. I mostly put those people off - I fully intended to keep just writing fanfiction - until finally I decided to write some fic of those two characters. It was like...revenge hatefucking, lmao. I wrote three chapters of that, and then more, and then finally realised I couldn't give them the tragic ending I'd planned to, and that I'd have to actually figure out how the hell to save them from their own machinated doom.

And that became the first book in my original Fae Tales series - Game Theory.

It was my amazing readers who asked me to make this Tumblr, my amazing readers who asked me to write that original story, and they were the ones who asked me to make a Patreon (and then a Ko-Fi), and so in a way, they were the ones who let me know when I was ready to try making this work in a (slightly) more official capacity. They were the ones who believed in me enough to keep me doing this, and they still are. *waves to you all*

They were the ones who gave me visibility, I don't know that I did anything specific to make that happen, except writing the stories, turning up, and listening to them.

It's a very weird way of doing it and I don't know that anyone else has ever done it quite that way like this. I feel like a massive outlier in that sense. I don't relate to anyone who is starting out in professional subscription with no readers because I could never do that, my lack of confidence wouldn't let me. But there's aspects I think any author can replicate: I reply to all my commenters (except the trolls), because they're great and I want to support connection, community, and conversation. I embrace fandom and love all transformative works, and also, like 99% of my writing is free on AO3. (You don't have to make everything free, but it certainly doesn't hurt on AO3).

I mostly finish my serials and folks can trust my happy/hopeful endings and they can trust my hurt/comfort. And I'm pretty communicative! As you can tell by how much I'm rambling right now x.x I intentionally provide a safe space for queer people and neurodivergent people as much as possible, and write a lot of representation for us. I set out to make a space I would personally feel comfortable in. That might not work for everyone, but it works for those who stay.

From there though, I'd say a lot of visibility came from word of mouth, writing chapter by chapter over time (serials naturally pick up readers simply because they're often at or near the top of a tag or fandom category on AO3 - there is NO algorithm there), sometimes sorting by kudos, and me just posting about random stuff on Tumblr with good tags.

I still write fanfiction on another account (my impostor syndrome account) that has also had some people trying my original fiction. There's quite a few people who came directly from fanfiction to the original fiction because the themes were the same!

I didn't have the confidence to intentionally try and be a professional writer. When I started writing that fanfic I was writing it because I was depressed, sad, and I'd quit an unsatisfying job as a professional artist (I loved the art and my clients, I could never make the income part work). I didn't want to be a professional writer. I was writing as hooky, as escape from my real life, and as 'oh god I just need some hurt/comfort and I can't find what I want so I'll write it.'

To this day, I still write fanfiction as an escape, it's partly why it's now on a separate account to my original stuff (but even plenty of my original fic is indulgent and self-escapist in nature, which is maybe why other people find it escapist and cathartic as well).

In writing, financially, it makes more sense to publish books, or do serials-into-books, and develop a backlist of novels alongside the serials. I don't do that. I should, I plan on starting soon. I can point out a lot of the things that I either did wrong, or that I can see a way of doing better, because I didn't set out to be a professional writer, and I still put 'keeping it fun' and 'the readers' ahead of 'making money.' I'm not very mercenary and I make financially not great decisions in favour of 'but I enjoy it more this way.'

(That's partly because I am really very ill, and I can't afford to make myself sick through my work, and not enjoying it is the fastest way to do that).

What I do know is how to help create a community, though. And how to encourage and try and care for that community of people. How to respond to what they want and sometimes don't want, alongside what I want and don't want. How to have boundaries in that space. Well, I'm still figuring it out but I think I'm more comfortable with it than I used to be!

I also don't want to make it sound like I didn't know about writing before this. Long before doing serials for 10 years, I did creative writing and scriptwriting (among other things) at university. I wrote very technically correct short stories with sad little tragic endings that won awards and sometimes decent cash prizes. I hated it, and it put me off writing for years afterwards. I felt trapped in trying to write the 'correct' way. I am entirely unsurprised that to this day I reject standard formulas for novel lengths, and that in order to write, I kind of have to break a lot of the rules I was taught.

But I was taught how to write 'correctly' by Australian standards back in the early 00s (very spare, evocative prose). These days I follow a lot of scriptwriting / television drama beats in serials and have always really enjoyed doing it that way. :D

I'm meant to be talking about some of this in the Subscriptions for Authors podcast tomorrow and it's going to be a mess, as you can tell, lmao.

(There's something to be said about the lightning-in-a-bottle moment where I just wrote a fanfic I thought everyone would hate in a popular fandom and people were just ready for that story and it took off. I had no idea how to deal with it and it was very overwhelming and I had a bit of a breakdown a year and a half later over it. It's no coincidence that a year into the Patreon I paused it for 1.5 years and walked away because I couldn't handle it. But then I did some growing up and came back and figured it out.

But yeah I didn't do any of this the right way, or in a super intentional way. The only part I know I did well was supporting a community, and communicating with the people who turned up. And I did that for very selfish reasons - I wanted to be in a community, and I enjoyed meeting people who had things in common with me. I sometimes feel a little like a gremlin who just stumbled into a community and was like 'oh, um, I'm here, I guess.'

It's really everyone else who made it magical, but it did help that I think I am (in retrospect) pretty good at writing a hooky, addictive serial for the right kinds of readers. I cannot understate this enough -> learning how to write serials and exploring episodic television drama can be very helpful).

[stormblessed95]

I'm the taekooker who adores Jimin, and as you said, the problem is that we don't call out people in our ship who are toxic and say shit about Jimin and often make untrue, false, sometimes downright abhorrent comments about Jimin and Jungkook's relation and/or Jimin and V's friendship.

Now for me personally, I don't follow or interact with these people, simply because they are not nice people. And if I see these comments on Twitter or even here, I block and ignore them. Because, from previous experience, what I find is they drive me crazy if I try to interact rationally with them. Because fundamentally, shipping is not about downgrading someone, or anyone else. So for my sanity, I try to avoid these accounts and conversations. But, this being said, I have also found accounts that are like me, (given most of them ship yoonmin, which is fine to me). However, they don't degrade Jimin or his personality, or his relations with any of the OT7 members. (Also side note: NOT all yoonmin shippers are taekookers. Yoonmin so far from what I've seen is possibly the calmest and most peaceful ship in BTS made up of mostly nice people.)

I get that you can't trust shippers especially tkk ( or as I read from some of the previous posts some of them even jkkers) because of their history of distorting stuff and saying nasty things about Jimin /or Tae respectively. But I feel what want to say is that we are here who love Jimin and we ship Taehyung and Jungkook. And shipping is also not equal to fetishizing. It's not. Shipping by definition is about enjoying the chemistry, and camaraderie and potentially hoping for a romantic relationship between fictional and non-fictional people. It is (at least for me) a very benign, enjoyable activity that I do in my free-time that helps me destress. And accounts that I follow are usually writers (who are actually English teachers LMAO) who write exceptional stories entirely for free that bring me immense joy. So shoutout to all the amazing fanfic writers, you guys saved me from depression!!!

Also, I agree BTS ships, especially tkk (and jkk, I guess ), have over time become more and more aggressive, full of toxicity, and have pushed us out who want a calmer, less venomous environment. Saying something rational, or pointing out hypocrisy is now labeled as me not being a true shipper. Like I gotta do prove something to them!! So childish really! However, (and I'm treading into dangerous territory here) I feel this also has something to do with coveting Jungkook. Like, Jungkook seems to be the sole pinnacle of want and focus for both tkkers and jkkers and not actually Tae or Jimin, and I don't know if this is a projection or something, but this is simply the vibe that I get.

So yes trusting shippers especially tkkers is a coin toss, and more often than not, you're probably gonna get burned either way. But just letting your blog followers know there ARE nice tkk shippers out there who maintain healthy boundaries, who love Jimin unequivocally, and even follow primarily a jikook focused vlog!

Have a nice one Stormi🌟

You do you anon. And if you are actually disengaging from most of the tkkr shipping fandom or otherwise calling out the toxicity. I applaud you for it. Though that should be the bare minimum. 😅 and if you are following me, then I am more likely to believe you that you love Jimin. Because Jimin love and the members loving on Jimin is all over this blog 🤣 as long as you aren't just following me to send in dramatized asks, which I'm sure some people here are too. 😅 I've had my fair share of toxic engagement and need to report yoonminners as well. So like I've said before, every ship has its bad apples. I've stumbled across some really toxic and weird namjin shippers. Lol but I'm willing to engage kindly with anyone who can do the same to me. I match energy here more often than not. And I've got posts up plently on my masterlist over my thoughts over shipping if yall wanted those.

Hope you have a good day too. Genuinely. 💜 I'm not talking about tkkrs anymore after this yall. I'm moving on. I've got one more ask that sort of relates to tkkrs but not. It's more of a "help me piece together this timeline that tkkrs and other shippers were talking about" ask. I'll get to that one soon, but otherwise, I'm moving onto topics that are more fun. 🥰

[rarelyagoodthing]

A warm welcome to all fellow bxg/turtles who are coming from other social media! I have prepared you all a gift (especially for baby turtles!) and also decided to properly introduce myself to this fandom 💛

The Tumblr yizhan fandom had always been peaceful and is a peaceful place for fans of both gg and dd. From my experience, which is a bit limited (I tended to keep my interest in all things gg and dd offline and with my friends), this place had and has far less trouble than the Twitter fandom. I had always advocated for peace and to not engage antis so my advice to you is to curate your space and spare yourselves needless headaches by avoiding them entirely. We are fans of both gg and dd and that's all that matters.

Pay attention to tags because unlike Twitter, Tumblr heavily depends on tags. My advice to you is to follow tags that are of interest to you and to locate fellow bxg within them.

I've been keeping a list of background (ent. industry/politics/culture) posts for newcomers to yizhan. I am somewhat a person who tends to archive a lot of things and keep them organized and available at all times. I hadn't really kept my archive up to date (2022 is a busy year for me) but I hope you'll find the following posts helpful!

Older:

Dangai 101 phenomenon

Is it reasonable to blame gg or dd for the behavior of antis?

Breaking the CP (Couple)

The Cultural Context

How does shipping them openly affect them?

BJB to criminalize “soft violence”

CP competition (Why must the supertopic be Num.1?)

Regarding dd being hated on because of CQL

Fandom Talk (post 227)

gg going through a rebrand?

CCTV Reporting on Homosexuality: 2005-2017

The bitter relationship between solo fans and cpf

Regarding CQL and BL

Questions regarding bjyx

On clothes and style

Artists in long-distance relationship

Economic value of cpf

Turtles being banned from events

Unpacking Asian masculinity

gg's pr response (relating to 227) - more here

Breaking the CP #2

On Style - here, here and here

Sharing Clothes

(industry-related) about LGBT and “CQL”

bjyx supertopic lore

about Ace Troops

about Instagram accounts

Meta series on ZZH's incident - the upheaval of c-ent in 2021

Regarding dd leaving DDU (ttxs)

More recent:

Meta series on propaganda reposts

About Chinese paparazzi

The Big Politics Meta

About the inspirational ads

Article on Fan Culture in China

The people these posts come from have been my favorite posters in this fandom and my "go to source" even back when I was a baby turtle in 2020.

If you're totally new and are looking for a good place to start with these two then you can check the timeline compiled here (or over here) as well as check out:

BXG Calendar

GG and DD’s Projects

Glossary of BXG Terms

A bit more about me: I just recently made this blog more ggdd-oriented but have been a fan of these two since late 2020. I'm an older turtle that had kept an eye on both of them yet had decided to essentially resurrect this old blog of mine and make it more ggdd-oriented. I will be here to stay as their fan (even if I get a bit busy) because I realized that connecting with fellow bxg outside of the friends I talk with would be a welcoming experience. I love them both equally and a lot (I share passions with both gg and dd; art, racing, dancing, etc.) and if you decide to follow me, I post under the "ragt speaks" tag where I'll either fawn over them separately or talk about candy. If you have any questions (be it that you're looking for something, want to get to know me more, want my opinion on certain topics, etc.) please feel free to ask me!

A few facts about me are that I have been learning Chinese for three years now (very slowly progressing but getting there), that I'm a lesbian, heavily into poetry, art and dramas.

Again, a warm welcome to all of you! It always fills me with joy to see new fans of both gg and dd since they're amazing! I also hope I'll be able to connect to as many bxg/turtles as possible. 💛

[your-local-grubdog]

Pikmin Fandom Monthly - March 2023

Welcome to the March edition of Pikmin Fandom Monthly! For anyone new here, this is just a little monthly series where on the first day of each month, I share neat fan projects from the pikmin fandom made in the previous month! Today's is a day late and shorter than ideal unfortunately; I had some technical hiccups this past month that resulted in most of my saved posts being lost :( so I spent yesterday trying to find some more to make up for my lost notes. This time, I was able to get some feedback as well so I got some suggestions here not from me!

On that note, please feel free to leave suggestions in the comments about what April 2023 works should be included in the next edition! Any creative pikmin fan work is welcome, so long as it was made during this April.

Just like last time, this was cross-posted to the Pikmin Park community on dream width!

Now, lets get onto the art! Fanart and One-Panel Comics

First up is a very cute drawing of a hairy bulborb staring up at the stars by Louivi on Tumblr! It's such a soft and pretty peice with an almost dreamy feel to it, I love it!

Piper on Tumblr drew this ADORABLE art of the pikmin with Oatchi and oh my god I love this so much, Oatchi's eyes are so big and cute and I adore this so much!!!

Pikmin OCs need more love! So here's a really cute doodle of two different yellow pikmin OCs by Spr1ngPeach! I don't know much about either character, but the drawing is very cute. I like it a lot!Pikmin are chaotic little beasts. Feral toddlers, if you will. So clearly, we should arm them all with knives (/sar). In all seriousness though, ikol-art on tumblr drew this adorable little red pikmin with a very large knife. I love it so much, it's great.

Pizza pikmin? Pizza pikmin! By extremelylost360 on tumblr. What more need I say? It's pizza pikmin!

This one is a bit different! Most art here is 2D, but this is an entire 3D render of the Forest of Hope by kinpraw on Twitter! I love the style, it looks like something out of a stop motion movie.

Cece on twitter drew us some more Oatchi cuteness, showing him with an adorable little ice pikmin on his back! The icemin's face is precious - you can say it's melting my heart! ... yeah okay I'll see myself out for that one -

But not before sharing this cute project! Heronin on Twitter is adding to a huge doodle page every day until pikmin 4 comes out! Here's the update for March 31st! I'll see about featuring it every month as an update, but I'll certainly share the final product come July! 

Hey!Pikmin also deserves some love, no? Well I say it does! And this fireflap bulborb was drawn by Taylor C on Twitter! I just really like the soft lines and warm colors. Other Works Firstly, we have this mixed media sculpture (mostly clay) of some pikmin growing in a pot by Tete's DIY! The link is to a video, so you can see how they made it as well! Last but certainly not least is Bikmin 269, a rom-hack of the second game (link is to the trailer). Honestly, I don't know much about it! It was recommended to me by a trusted friend, and I've yet to had the time to play it for myself. Most I can say is to check it out - and know that the creators say that it is best enjoyed as blind as possible!And with that, these are the April works that I wanted to feature (and that I was able to find again after the tech stuff -w- ). I'll hopefully see you at the start of May with April's works, assuming that my finals don't eat me alive! Seriously, though, while I'll try to get it out May 1st don't be surprised if it's delayed by a whole week on account of finals season! ^^;