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dmsden · 3 years

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A History Lesson - Looking back at D&D’s history

Hullo, Gentle Readers. Well, this is the 5th Monday in March, and that means I get to write about anything I want! It’s also my birth month, which means it’s my anniversary of getting into D&D (42 years!), and that has me feeling nostalgic. Coupled with a discussion I had recently with some friends, I thought it would be fun to look back at the various editions of D&D and give you all a bit of history. I’m not going to get into Gygax vs Arneson or any of that. I’m only talking about the published game itself, not its creators or its storied origins.

The original D&D (or OD&D as it’s sometimes called) came in a small box. It had three booklets inside - Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure, and The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures - along with reference sheets and dice. Each was softcover and roughly the same dimensions as a DVD/BluRay case. The game was pretty rudimentary - for one thing, it assumed you already had a copy of Chainmail, D&D’s direct wargame predecessor. It also recommended you have a game called Outdoor Survival for purposes of traveling through the wilderness. It had only three classes - fighting man, magic-user, and cleric - and nothing about playing other races. It did have the insane charts that 1st edition would ultimately known for, and it was possible to play a pretty fun game of D&D with it, as its popularity would come to show.

The game expanded through similar chapbooks - Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Gods Demigods & Heroes, Swords & Spells. With the exception of the last one, each brought new facets to the game - new classes like Thief and Monk, new spells, new threats. It was clear the game was going to need an overhaul, and it got one.

I consider this overhaul to yield the real “1st Edition”, as so much of the game didn’t exist in those original games. The game split into a “Basic” game, just called Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

The basic game was a boxed set that included a rulebook, a full adventure module, and dice...or, well, it was supposed to contain dice. The game was so popular and new in those days that demand for dice outstripped production. My copy of D&D came with a coupon for dice when they became available and a sheet of “chits” - laminated numbers meant to be put into cups (we used Dixie Cups with the name of the die written on it), shaken, and a random number pulled out without looking. It was meant to introduce new players to the game, so it was a trimmed down version. Races were human, elf, dwarf, and halfling, and classes were fighter, cleric, magic-user, and thief. The box only included rules for going up to 3rd level, with the intention that players would then graduate into AD&D. This is where I joined, with the old blue cover box set and In Search of the Unknown, before Keep on the Borderlands even existed.

AD&D was the game in its full glory. Along with the races I mention above, we got half-elves, half-orcs, and gnomes. The four basic classes also had sub-classes, like paladin and ranger for the fighter, druid for the cleric, illusionist for the wizard, and assassin for the thief. There were rules for multi-classing, as well as “Dual-classing”, a sort of multi-class variation for humans only, which, when done in the correct combination, could yield the infamous bard...which didn’t actually yield any bard abilities until around level 13 or so.

This edition had 5 different saving throws for things like “Death Magic”, “Petrification & Polymorph”, “Spells”, and so on. It had the infamous Armor Class system that started at 10 and went down, so that having a -3 AC was very good! It also had specific attack matricies for each class; you would literally look on a table to determine the number you needed to roll on a D20 based on your class, your level, and your opponent’s armor class. It was fun, but it was very complicated.

It also had some, frankly, shitty rules. There was gender disparity in terms of attributes, which my group totally ignored. Because the game designers wanted humans to be a competitive the game, and because non-humans had so many abilities and could multiclass, non-humans were severely limited in the levels they could achieve in most classes. In fact, some classes, such as monk and paladin, were restricted only to humans.

As the years went on, things got a bit muddled. It probably didn’t help that the rules in Basic D&D and AD&D didn’t perfectly line up. In D&D, the worst armor class was a 9. In AD&D, the worst armor class was a 10. All of this led to an overhaul, but not one considered a separate edition. AD&D mostly got new covers and new books, like the Wilderness Survival Guide and Dungeon Survival Guide, Monster Manual 2, and the Manual of the Planes. It got a number of new settings, too. In addition to the default Greyhawk setting, we got the Forgotten Realms setting for the first time, details of which had been appearing in Dragon Magazine for years, thanks to the prolific Ed Greenwood. We also, eventually, got the whole Dragonlance saga, which yielded the setting of Krynn.

In this new version, Basic D&D broke off into its own game system to some degree. Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling started being treated like classes rather than races, with specific abilities at different levels. Higher level characters could be created using progressive boxes - Expert, Companion, Master, and Immortal, each with its own boxed set and supported by Mystara, a completely different setting that got its own updates over the years. It was odd, because D&D essentially was competing for players with AD&D, and I remember arguments with friends over which version was better (I was firmly in the AD&D camp.)

In 1989, when I was in college, they finally brought forth 2nd edition D&D. This streamlined things a little. Armor Class still went down, but now attack rolls boiled into a single number called To Hit Armor Class 0, or THAC0. It made the whole process of figuring out what you needed to roll a bit less cumbersome, but it was still a bit awkward. The classes got a lot of overhaul, including making Bard its own core class. But what I remember best about 2nd edition was the boom in settings. This was the age of settings, and many beloved ones got started, including Dark Sun, Planescape, Ravenloft, and Spelljammer.

It was also the age of the “Complete Handbooks”. They brought out splatbooks about every class and race in the game, as well as books expanding several concepts for the DM, such as the Arms & Equipment Guide, the Castle Guide, and the Complete Book of Villains. There were also splatbooks about running D&D in historic periods, such as Ancient Rome, among the ancient Celts, or during the time of the Musketeers. The game got new covers for the rule books again, and a bunch of books about options started coming out. It was a boom time for books, but many people complained there was too much.

Without going too deep, TSR ended up in severe financial troubles. They declared bankruptcy, and there was real fear of the game going away. And then Wizards of the Coast (WotC) stepped in. They helped TSR get back onto its feet, and they helped produce some modules specifically engineered to help DM’s bring an end to their campaign...possibly even their whole campaign world...because something big was coming.

That something big was, of course, 3rd edition D&D. The game got majorly streamlined, and many sacred cows ended up as hamburger. AC finally started going up instead of down. Everything was refined to the “D20″ system we’ve been playing ever since. Races could be any class. There were no level or stat limits for anyone. After years of the game being forced into tight little boxes, it really felt like we could breathe. I had stopped playing D&D, but 3rd edition brought me back into the fold. I often say that 3E was made for the players who’d felt constricted and wanted more flexibility.

The trouble with 3E, and its successor 3.5, is that it was still a dense and difficult game for newcomers to get into. It’s been acknowledged that D&D essentially created many of the systems we see and know in other games - experience points, leveling up, hit points, etc. But trying to break into the experience for the first time was difficult. The look of 3E was gorgeous, but I understood that it must seem awfully daunting to someone who’d never played.

4E and its follow-up, Essentials, was an attempt to course correct that. They tried to make this edition incredibly friendly to new DMs, and, frankly, they succeeded. By creating player classes and monsters and magic-items that were all very plug and play, they did a great job of creating a game that someone who had never DMed before could dive into with no experience or mentor and start a game pretty easily. Encounter design was given a lot of ease, and there were promises of a robust online tool system that would help out with many of the more tedious aspects of playing.

There was also a lot of shake up in terms of choices. Suddenly, new classes and races were proliferating like crazy. We got the dragonborn, the tiefling, and the eladrin right in the core book, but we said good-bye to the gnome and half-orc at first. Suddenly the warlock was the new class everyone wanted to try. We got paragon paths and epic destinies that would really shape a character as time went on. The game went very tactical, as well, which some of us loved. The concept of rituals came into the game. Later books like the Player’s Handbook 2 and 3 gave us back gnomes and half-orcs, and also gave us minotaurs, wilden, shardminds, and githzerai. We got new psionic classes, brand new class concepts like the Runeknight and the Seeker...

But there was a tremendous backlash. People felt that, in making the game so very plug and play, they’d taken a ton of choice away from the players. Without the tools (which were never that robust, frankly), it was almost impossible to navigate the massive panoply of options. And, worse, it was harder and harder to develop encounters without those tools. People complained that the game had gone more tactical in order to sell miniatures and battlemats. Given that I have never played the game without miniatures and battlemats (since I started in the days when D&D was still half-wargame), I found this odd, but I also understand my style of play isn’t everyone’s.

The one argument I will never understand is that it didn’t “feel” like D&D, or it was somehow ONLY a tactical game and not a role-playing game any more. Again, given that the original game didn’t even call itself a role-playing game, this felt odd. Personally, I roleplay no matter what game I’m playing. If I’m playing Monopoly, I’m roleplaying, doing voices, and pretending to be something I’m not. I honestly enjoyed 4E, and I know a lot of folks who did, too. A lot of it may simply come down to style of play. But I also enjoyed all the games that came before, including Pathfinder. To paraphrase the YouTube content creator The Dungeon Bastard, “Does your game have dungeons? Does it have dragons? Great. I wanna play.”

As a sidenote, in the months leading up to 4E’s release, a lot of internet videos were released by WotC emphasizing the nature of change and talking about differences in the rules. They also released some preview books showing the direction they were heading. WotC must have anticipated that people were going to find this edition very different indeed. They also cleverly brought in some very funny folks - Scott Kurtz from PVPOnline and Jerry Holkins & Mike Krahulik from Penny Arcade - and got them to play D&D for podcasting purposes. Looking back, this must’ve brought in a lot of listeners who might never have played D&D and given them a reason to try it out.

After its release, WotC clearly noted that missteps had been made, as this edition of the game was losing them players. They began work on what they referred to as D&D Next, and, this time, they did massive amounts of playtesting, some of which I participated in.

I don’t feel like I have to describe 5E to any of you, Dear Readers, as you could go to virtually any store and pick it up. I am a big fan of 5E’s simplicity and elegance, and I suspect this is the edition of D&D we’re going to have for some time to come, especially given its popularity. Given the effect of podcasts like Critical Role (and I might save an article on Critical Role’s importance to D&D until my next Freestyle article), D&D is likely more popular now than it’s ever been, with a much wider and more diverse audience than ever before.

I know I’m painting with broad strokes here, but I hope this was, at least, entertaining, and maybe you learned something, Gentle Readers. Until we next meet, may all your 20s be natural.

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coochiequeens · 3 years

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Two years ago, news outlets covered a story of prejudice against women activists from African countries in the climate movement. The Associate Press cropped Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate activist, out of a photo with white activists at a climate conference. In the following days, conversations surrounding racism against activists ensued, with more people coming forward to share their experiences. Apologies were issued and the paper claimed they had no ill intent, but this is a broader recurring theme: the media portrayal of environmental justice is often not inclusive of the people who are most affected by climate change. In response to the situation, Nakate said “You didn’t just erase a photo. You erased a continent.” The silencing of African activists is especially distressing because countries in Africa are among the places most vulnerable to climate change. Climate change exacerbates existing gender inequities by increasing the risk of violence, jeopardizing human security and hindering everyday peacebuilding.

Columbia University’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) program has worked for the past five years to address these issues, and supports everyday women peacebuilding efforts and climate work by increasing the visibility of grassroots African women activists through fellowships, research and workshops. This winter, the program hosted a global workshop for women activists and scholar-practitioners across 13 countries, marking the culmination of three months of vibrant virtual exchange. The WPS fellowship has supported women peacebuilders in Africa for the past three years by hosting fellowships that create collaborative spaces for sharing everyday peacebuilding strategies, facilitating an intracontinental network of grassroots women peace activists, and publicizing lessons learnt from their experiences.

Women peacebuilders in the fellowship engage in everyday peacework activities, from facilitating sexual and reproductive health and financial literacy programs to resource conflict resolution. This fall, over a number of months, the activists began to organize key messages they have for funders, policy makers and academics aiming to support everyday peacework. They asked themselves and each other what gaps exist, both in terms of knowledge and also myths, that urgently need re-shaping in the fields of policy, practice and funding. Through facilitated small group discussions and virtual exchanges, the women also reflected on their own understanding of peace and security since beginning to work together as a multi-scalar, transnational network three years ago.

In their daily work, these activists interact with funders and policy makers with the resources to aid their mission, giving them direct knowledge on what most urgently needs to shift in the field of peace and security. One key critique was about who was included and excluded in key decision making. Women, youth, queer and disabled people are often missing from critical dialogue, resulting in ineffective policies that are furthered hindered by government bureaucracy. Grassroot women activists play an integral role in maintaining peace and security at all levels of government, as they possess intimate knowledge of their community’s needs and are able to replicate programs on a national scale that influence policy making.

For example, the Hope for the Needy Association (HOFNA) in Cameroon used trainings and capacity building to empower a network of community leaders who are responding to issues of gender-based violence and poverty in their communities. One of the members led an initiative to meet the needs of elderly people and widows in conflict-affected communities. “Everyday peace work in those communities consider the diversity, differences and different perspectives, values, beliefs, and cultures, as these are the elements that make peace work sustainable in the communities,” said Christelle Bay, one of the members of HOFNA

Funding agencies need to engage in conversations with groups like HOFNA, which will allow them to allocate resources appropriately and create a conducive environment for future projects. These women have an expansive view of peace and security that is not limited to the absence of war but includes “access to land, education, health care, infrastructure, equality, equity and social justice,” as stated by Margaret Sedziafa, member of Women International League for Peace and Freedom in Ghana.

Another core message the group highlighted, however, is that inclusivity is not only necessary in regards to who is seated at the decision making table, but also who is able to tell the stories that influence these decisions. Several women spoke to the importance of being equipped to share their stories themselves, with many chorusing their experiences that Western storytellers often extract “overly emotional or biased accounts” and repeat generalized perspectives without giving space for individual experiences. Over the course of the WPS program, many of the fellows shared how inspired they were to start writing, and documenting their own experiences. At the workshop, several women spoke of the books and creative projects they are working on—inspired by the fellowship and the need to get their voices out in the public sphere. Lineo Matkhala, a Lesotho-based activist working at the Barali Foundation, said, “Let people tell their [own] stories. Get information from both victims and victors. War isn’t just guns and explosives. It exists behind doors, in churches and schools. Do not direct the story, document it.”

The fellows were re-energized by the multiple-month virtual exchanges and final workshop. The messages shared in the virtual exchange are being captured in a co-authored collective paper on transforming the field of women, peace and security and what they have learned in these years as a collective network. They recognize that the contributions of women activists in Africa have been instrumental in toppling oppressive governments, implementing COVID-19 protocols, and serving their communities on a local and national level. Yet, they continue to be silenced in several spaces, from environmental justice to peacebuilding. The fellows restated the importance of funders, policy makers, and academics creating spaces for working together and cross-learning strategies of everyday peace and justice.

Betty Sharon, of Collaboration of Women in Development in Kenya shares the following message to younger women invested in peace and security: “Raise your voices. The more we join our hearts together, the more we join our sisters and raise our voices louder, the stronger we become, the louder our voices become, and that is when we will be heard in all the corners of the world.” This message holds true for activists like Nakate, who are determined to be heard for the benefit of their communities.

#Africa #women #Vanessa Nakate #a Ugandan climate activist #Women Peace and Security (WPS)#columbia university #Hope for the Needy Association (HOFNA)#Women International League for Peace and Freedom in Ghana.#Barali Foundation #Collaboration of Women in Development in Kenya #Lineo Matkhala #A Lesotho-based activist

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fyeah-bangtan7 · 4 years

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The Boundless Optimism of BTS

IT IS THE MORNING OF CHUSEOK, A KOREAN HARVEST FESTIVAL akin to Thanksgiving, and the members of BTS would normally be spending it with their families, eating tteokguk, a traditional rice-cake soup. Instead, Jin, 28; Suga, 27; J-Hope, 26; RM, 26; Jimin, 25; V, 24; and Jung Kook, 23, are working. Practicing. Honing their choreography. In a few days, the biggest musical act in the world will perform in the live-stream concert that, for now, will have to stand in for the massive tour they spent the first part of this year rehearsing. At this moment, they’re seated inside Big Hit Entertainment headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, the house they built, dressed mostly in black and white, ready to answer my questions. They’re gracious about it. And groggy.

Before I’m done speaking with them for this story, BTS will have the number-one and number-two songs on the BillboardHot 100, a feat that’s been achieved only a handful of times in the sixty-odd years the chart has existed. Their next album, Be, is weeks away from being released, and speculation about the record, the tracklist, the statement, is rampant across the Internet. BTS are, to put it mildly, huge.

There is something about complete world domination that can really cement a friendship. What jumps out at me as I connect with the members of BTS is their level of comfort with one another. Tension has a way of making itself evident—even over Zoom, even through a translator. There’s none to be found here. They are relaxed in the manner of family. Lounging with their arms around each other’s shoulders, tugging on each other’s sleeves, fixing each other’s collars. When they speak about one another, it is with kindness.

“Jimin has a particular passion for the stage and really thinks about performance, and in that sense, there are many things to learn from him,” J-Hope says. “Despite all the things he has accomplished, he still tries his best and brings something new to the table, and I really want to applaud him for that.”

“Thank you for saying all these things about me,” Jimin responds.

Jimin turns his attention to V, explaining that he is “loved by so many” and describing him as one of his best friends. Suga jumps in, sharing that Jimin and V fight the most among the group. V replies, “We haven’t fought in three years!” They tell me this distinction now belongs to Jin and Jung Kook, the oldest and youngest members. “It all starts as a joke, but then it gets serious,” Jimin says.

Jin agrees and recounts what their arguments sound like. “Why did you hit me so hard?” he says, before mimicking Jung Kook’s response: “I didn’t hit you that hard.” And then they start hitting each other. But not that hard.

Since the start of their careers, BTS have shown a certain confidence in their aesthetic, their performances, and their music videos. It’s right there in the name: BTS stands for “Bangtan Sonyeondan,” which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts,” but as their popularity grew in English-speaking markets, the acronym was retrofitted to mean “Beyond the Scene,” which Big Hit has described as “symbolizing youth who don’t settle for their current reality and instead open the door and go forward to achieve growth.” And their affection with one another, their vulnerability and emotional openness in their lives and in their lyrics, strikes me as more grown-up and masculine than all the frantic and perpetual box-checking and tone-policing that American boys force themselves and their peers to do. It looks like the future.

“There is this culture where masculinity is defined by certain emotions, characteristics. I’m not fond of these expressions,” Suga tells me. “What does being masculine mean? People’s conditions vary day by day. Sometimes you’re in a good condition; sometimes you aren’t. Based on that, you get an idea of your physical health. And that same thing applies mentally. Some days you’re in a good state; sometimes you’re not. Many pretend to be okay, saying that they’re not ‘weak,’ as if that would make you a weak person. I don’t think that’s right. People won’t say you’re a weak person if your physical condition is not that good. It should be the same for the mental condition as well. Society should be more understanding.”

When I hear these words in October 2020, from my house in a country whose leader is actively trying to make the case that only the weak die of COVID-19, well, it sounds like the future, too.

IF YOU ARE JUST NOW CONSIDERING GETTING INTO BTS, IT IS natural to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff. It’s a bit like saying, right this second, “Let’s see what Marvel Comics is all about.” In the streaming age, BTS have sold more than twenty million physical units across fourteen albums. Their multi-album concept cycles, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Love Yourself, and Map of the Soul, have unfolded over multiple records and EPs. There are collaborations with brands, including a BTS smartphone with Samsung. There is a series of short films and music videos, called BU, or BTS Universe, and an animated universe called BT21, in which they’re all represented by gender-neutral avatars. Their fan base, known as ARMY, is a global cultural movement unto itself.

“Dynamite,” their first English-language single and their first American number one, is pure, ecstatic pop. Shiny and joyful. What sets them apart from many of their peers, and many of the pop acts who achieved worldwide fame before them, is what came earlier. Beneath the sheen and the beats has always been an unflinching examination of human emotion. Their lyrics seek to challenge the conventions of society—to question and even denounce them. BTS’s first single, “No More Dream,” unveiled at their debut showcase in June 2013, concerns the intense pressure South Korean schoolchildren face to conform and to succeed. According to Suga, lyrics about the mental health of young people were mostly absent in Korean pop music. “The reason I started making music is because I grew up listening for lyrics that speak about dreams, hopes, and social issues,” he tells me. “It just came naturally to me when making music.”

Suga’s early ambition of making music didn’t involve him being in a group at all. About a decade ago, in his hometown of Daegu, the fourth-largest city in South Korea, he started recording underground rap tracks under the name Gloss, listening to and learning from the early works of songwriter and producer Bang Si-hyuk, known as Hitman Bang. Bang is the founder and CEO of Big Hit Entertainment. In 2010, Suga, a junior in high school, moved to Seoul to join Big Hit as a producer and rapper. Then Bang asked him to become part of a group, envisioning a hip-hop act with fellow new Big Hit recruits RM and J-Hope. The guys call this “season one” of their development.

“At that time, I don’t think our label exactly knew what to do with us,” RM says. “They just basically let us be and we had some lessons, but we also just chilled and made music sometimes.”

It got more intense. The family grew, occasionally by accident.

V accompanied a friend to a Big Hit casting call in Daegu for moral support and ended up being the person chosen from those sessions.

Jung Kook was signed in a feeding frenzy after being dropped from the talent show Superstar K, fielding offers from numerous entertainment companies before settling on Big Hit because he was impressed by RM’s rapping.

Jimin was a dance student and class president for nine years running at his school in Busan; he auditioned at the behest of his teacher.

And then, to hear him tell it, Jin got picked up off the street. “I was just going to school,” he says. “Someone from the company approached me, like, ‘Oh, this is my first time seeing anyone that looked like this.’ He suggested having a meeting with me.”

“Season two is when we officially underwent hard training,” J-Hope says. “We started dancing, and that’s how I would say our team building started.”

School in the daytime, training at night. “We slept during classes,” V says.

“I slept in the practice studio,” J-Hope counters.

Hitman Bang kept the pressure comparatively low. And he encouraged the guys to write and produce their own music, to be honest about their emotions in their lyrics. Suga is on record saying that no BTS album would be complete without a track that scrutinizes society.

And yet for their new album, Be, they’re putting that aside. Even this has a greater purpose that relates to mental wellness: RM, the group’s main rapper, says, “I don’t think this album will have any songs that criticize social issues. Everybody is going through very trying times right now. So I don’t think there will be any songs that will be that aggressive.”

Though the new rules of COVID-19 mean they can’t come here and promote Be, its first single might not have happened in the first place but for the pandemic. “ ‘Dynamite’ wouldn’t be here if there was no COVID-19,” says RM. “For this song, we wanted to go easy and simple and positive. Not some, like, deep vibes or shadows. We just wanted to go easy.”

Jin agrees. “We were trying to convey the message of healing and comfort to our fans.” He pauses. “World domination wasn’t actually our plan when we were releasing ‘Dynamite.’ ” World domination just happens sometimes. You get it.

MAP OF THE SOUL ONE AIRED VIA THEIR ONLINE FAN PLATFORM and attracted almost a million viewers across 191 countries. The guys say they tried not to think about the enormousness. J-Hope adds, “I felt a little bit more nervous knowing that this was being broadcast live. I actually feel less nervous performing live at a stadium.” Jin replies with a smile, “J-Hope, born to perform at a stadium.”

The graphic layout of the title throws a colon between the final N and E, which makes it look like Map of the Soul On: E, and as I watch it live, as I do in my office at 3:00 a.m. with noise-canceling headphones and a steaming pot of coffee, it feels a lot like I’m watching Map of the Soul on E. It is an explosion of color and fashion and passion, over four gigantic stages, from the boozy swagger of “Dionysus” to the emo-trap introspection of “Black Swan.” Not a step, not a gesture, not a hair is out of place. If there were nerves, they didn’t come through.

There is also, at the end of Map of the Soul One, an intimate version of their 2017 track “Spring Day,” which encapsulates what’s really made BTS stand out. On the surface, it’s about nonspecific love and loss, about yearning for the past. “I think that song really represents me,” says Jin. “I like to look to the past and be lost in it.”

Fair enough, but there is an undeniable allusion, in both the song’s video and its cover concept, to a specific incident in recent South Korean history. ��Spring Day” was released just a few years after the sinking of the Sewol ferry, one of the country’s biggest maritime disasters, in which a poorly inspected, overloaded ferry toppled in a sharp right turn. Hundreds of high school students drowned, having obeyed orders to stay in their cabins as the boat was going down. According to some reports, the South Korean government actively tried to silence entertainers who spoke out against it, with the Korean Ministry of Education fully banning the tragedy’s commemorative yellow ribbons in schools. I ask whether it was about a specific sad event, and Jin tells me, “It is about a sad event, as you said, but it is also about longing.” The song kept the disaster front of mind for young Koreans and for the media, indirectly leading to the impeachment and removal of then president Park Geun-hye.

If an overburdened, undermaintained, slow-moving vessel capsizing because of a reckless rightward turn strikes you as somehow symbolic of the country in which BTS are about to explode even further, you won’t hear it from them. “We’re outsiders—we can’t really express what we feel about the United States,” says V. But their actions speak volumes; in the wake of the George Floyd murder and subsequent protests in America, the group made a $1 million donation with Big Hit Entertainment to Black Lives Matter, one that was matched by BTS ARMY.

The fans offer a fascinating inversion of stan culture: Rather than bullying rivals like many other ardent online fan bases do, ARMY have put the positive message of the music into action. Their activism goes deep. Through micro-donations, they’ve regrown rain forests, adopted whales, funded hundreds of hours of dance classes for Rwandan youth, and raised money to feed LGBTQ refugees around the world. Where pop fans a generation ago might have sent teddy bears or cards to their idols for their birthdays, where five years ago they might have promoted a hashtag to get a video’s YouTube viewer count up, for RM’s twenty-sixth birthday in September, international fan collective One in an Army raised more than $20,000 for digital night schools to improve rural children’s access to education during the COVID-19 crisis. ARMY may have even entered the conversation around the 2020 presidential election when hundreds of thousands of Tulsa Trump rally tickets got snapped up online in June. The event’s actual attendance was pathetically low. No particular person or entity claimed credit for this top-notch trolling, but a video urging BTS fans to RSVP to that rally did get hundreds of thousands of views. We have no choice but to stan this fan base.

The relationship is intense. “We and our ARMY are always charging each other’s batteries,” RM says. “When we feel exhausted, when we hear the news all over the world, the tutoring programs, and donations, and every good thing, we feel responsible for all of this.” The music may have inspired the good works, but the good works inspire the music. “We’ve got to be greater; we’ve got to be better,” RM continues. “All those behaviors always influence us to be better people, before all this music and artist stuff.”

Yet for every devoted member of BTS ARMY, there is someone who’s looked right past BTS. Jimmy Fallon, whose Tonight Show hosted the group for a full week this past fall, was one of those people. “Usually if an artist is on the rise, I hear about them ahead of time. With BTS, I knew they had crazy momentum, and I’d never heard of them.”

Here’s a thought that used to be funny to me: There were members of the live audience of The Ed Sullivan Showon February 9, 1964, who weren’t there to see the Beatles. Elvis was in the Army, Buddy Holly was gone, and the three number-one albums in the months before Meet the Beatles! were an Allan Sherman comedy record, the West Side Story original cast recording, and Soeur Sourire: The Singing Nun. America had left rock ’n’ roll behind for the moment, and with the culture aimless and fragmented, it wasn’t quite sure what to pick up in its place. It is possible to imagine that a youngish, reasonably hip, and culturally aware human being might cop a ticket to that week’s show, settle into his seat, and say, “Bring on a medley of numbers from the Broadway musical Oliver! and banjo sensation Tessie O’Shea.”

The instinct is to laugh at that guy, and it’s a good instinct, because what a dope.

And then you become that guy.

Sometimes there is a whole universe alongside your own, bursting with color you’re too stubborn to see, bouncing with joy you think is for someone else, with a beat you thought you were finished dancing to. BTS are the biggest thing on the planet right now, yet the job of introducing them to someone new, particularly in America, seems like it’s never done. Maybe it’s because they are adored by screaming teenagers and we live in a society patriarchal enough to forget that screaming teenagers are nearly always right. Maybe it’s the cultural divide, in a moment when our country is unashamed enough of its own xenophobia to get openly bent out of shape when it has to press 1 for English. Maybe it’s the language barrier, as though we understood a single word Michael Stipe sang before 1989.

Whatever the reason, the result is that you might be missing out on a paradigm shift and a historic moment of pop greatness.

IF BTS SEEM A BIT CAUTIOUS WITH THEIR WORDS PUBLICLY, IT’S because—perhaps more than any other massive pop act in history—they have to be. Shortly after our second meeting, BTS were given the General James A. Van Fleet Award by the U. S.–based Korea Society for their outstanding contributions to advancing relations between the United States and Korea. In his acceptance speech, RM said, “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together, and the sacrifices of countless men and women,” as seemingly diplomatic and innocuous a statement as he could have made. But because he didn’t mention the Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War, it didn’t go over well. The Samsung BTS smartphone disappeared from Chinese e-commerce platforms, Fila and Hyundai pulled ads in China that featured the group, the nationalistic newspaper Global Times accused them of hurting Chinese citizens’ feelings and negating history, and the hashtags “BTS humiliated China” and “there are no idols that come before my country” began trending on the social-media site Weibo. The pressure is not small.

Even as the number-one pop group in the world, even with their hard work day in and day out, even with tens of millions of adoring fans redefining the concept of “adoring fans” by literally healing the planet in their name, these guys still suffer from impostor syndrome. RM explains, “I’ve heard that there’s this mask complex. Seventy percent of so-called successful people have this, mentally. It’s basically this: There’s this mask on my face. And these people are afraid that someone is going to take off this mask. We have those fears as well. But I said 70 percent, so I think it’s very natural. Sometimes it’s a condition to be successful. Humans are imperfect, and we have these flaws and defects. And one way to deal with all this pressure and weight is to admit the shadows.”

The music helps. “When we write the songs and lyrics, we study these emotions, we are aware of that situation, and we relate to that emotionally,” J-Hope says. “And that’s why when the song is released, we listen to it and get consolation from those songs as well. I think our fans also feel those emotions, maybe even more than us. And I think we are a positive influence on each other.”

If there’s one thing they’re sacrificing, besides free time and the ability to speak freely without the Chinese foreign ministry releasing an official statement, it’s a love life. I ask about dating, broad questions like “Are you?” and “Is there time?” and “Can you?” and the answer to all of them is pretty clear: “No.” “The most important thing for us now is to sleep,” Jung Kook insists. Suga follows right up with “Can you see my dark circles?” I cannot, because there are none, because flawless skin translates even over Zoom when there’s an ocean between us.

So they’re not, at least publicly, having romantic relationships with anyone. If there is a strong relationship that’s guided their journey into adulthood, it’s with Big Hit. “Our company started with twenty to thirty people, but now we have a company with so many employees,” RM says. “We have our fans, and we have our music. So we have a lot of things that we have to be responsible for, to safeguard.” He considers it for a moment. “I think that’s what an adult is.”

“Our love life—twenty-four hours, seven days a week—is with all the ARMYs all over the world,” RM adds.

In a world that is determined to sand down anything that isn’t immediately recognizable to the average pop-music fan, when it comes to acquainting you with Korean culture, BTS very much do not wanna hold your hand. While the first song on night one of their Tonight Show week was a joyous but expected take on “Dynamite” with Fallon and the Roots, they took some chances during their second performance.

As a friend of mine, a thirty-three-year-old BTS fan in Los Angeles, told me, “The second song they performed was ‘IDOL,’ ” from 2018’s Love Yourself: Answer, “and it celebrated their Korean identity. They performed it in Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. They wore clothes inspired by traditional dresses called hanboks;it was almost entirely in Korean, so it felt super subversive. As a fan, I read it as: ‘Dynamite’ was an invitation, and this is who we are and this is our home.”

“I was a little concerned that people might not understand,” Fallon says. “I was like, ‘There’s nothing in English here.’ But what you see is just pure star power. Pure talent. Immediately, I thought, Oh, this is everything. If you’re that powerful, it transcends language.”

American popular music in the twenty-first century is more fragmented than it has been since . . . well, since Allan Sherman, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and the Singing Nun battled for that number-one spot. The monoculture that the Beatles helped bring on has breathed its last breath. Each of us is the program director for our own private radio station, letting our own past habits and streaming-service algorithms serve up something close to what we want. Which is great, except that huge moments can whiz right past our ears. Each of us, even if we’re more clued in than our parents were when they were our age, can miss some era-defining, excellent shit. Particularly if the radio is our Spotify Discover Weekly, or the Pandora channel based on the band whose T-shirts we wore in college. We can let a moment pass us by if prime time is a Netflix binge, and the Tonight Show hour is spent on one more episode before bed. But we shouldn’t. “Honestly, I think it’s history that we’re living through with BTS,” Fallon says. “It’s the biggest band I’ve seen since I’ve started late night, definitely.”

THERE IS ALSO THE SMALL DETAIL THAT, UNLIKE THE BEATLES AND literally every other worldwide sensation to break in America, BTS don’t particularly need to go to the trouble. They are massive all over the world. Thanks to the recent IPO of Big Hit Entertainment, of which each member is a partner, they are all now incredibly wealthy. (Hitman Bang is the first South Korean entertainment mogul to become a billionaire.) What good is a culture in decline to a pop act this much on the ascent? “When I dreamed of becoming an artist, I listened to pop and watched all the awards shows in the United States. Being successful and being a hit in the U. S. is, of course, such an honor as an artist,” says Suga. “I feel very proud of that.”

They’re breaking out in a country that either worships them or fails to notice them. So do they feel like they’re getting enough respect in America? “How can we win everyone’s respect?” Jin asks. “I think it’s enough to get respect from people who support us. It’s similar everywhere else in the world. You can’t like everyone, and I think it’s enough to be respected by people who really love you.”

Suga agrees. “You can’t always be comfortable, and I think it’s all part of life. Honestly, we are not used to getting a ton of respect from when we first started out. But I think that gradually changes, whether it be in the States or other parts of the world, as we do more and more.”

There is, without a doubt, one colossal, unmistakable sign of respect for a musician: a Grammy. They’ve been nominated only once, and even then it was for best recording package. But their sights are set on a big one next year. RM puts it out there: “We would like to be nominated and possibly get an award.” Dragging the hoary, backward-looking, and Western-focused Grammys into the gorgeous, global world of the present through sheer force of will, talent, and hard work? Stranger things have happened. “I think the Grammys are the last part, like the final part of the whole American journey,” he says with a smile. “So yeah, we’ll see.”

The Recording Academy’s seal of approval is one thing. But BTS have already conquered the world, clowned tyrants, inspired individual fans to perform the small and achievable acts of activism that have collectively begun to save the planet, challenged toxic masculinity by leading with vulnerability, and, along the way, become bajillionaires and international idols. Whether the Grammys are paying attention matters about as much as what an Ed Sullivan audience member expected to see that night in 1964. BTS have already won.

#bangtan #jungkook #jimin #v #suga #jhope #jin #rm #o:esquire #o:interview #201123

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buddha-in-disguise · 5 years

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Discourse, Supergirl and fans.

The Supergirl situation with William Dey, is far more than about William Dey per se.

I touched on this when I first posted about David Harewood.

What I have seen, and I am still seeing is while some SuperCorp fans were annoyed about the preview for episode 12, this was also coming from a diverse section of the fandom. That David (and others) have singled out the SuperCorp fandom is both unfair, and unhelpful. But that is a different discussion altogether.

So - I am going to repeat and expand on some of what I wrote at the time to try and explain why I, (and others) have found Supergirl to be really problematic at the moment.

First of all: There is no doubt Supergirl currently has a diverse cast, inc. LGBTQ representation.

However, all the diversity in the world means absolutely nothing if a program is seemingly only playing lip service to the characters.

Compare and contrast with Legends of tomorrow. They have 6 women. 2 Muslim superheroes (a TV first). 5 characters are LGBTQ, including Charlie; who is recognised as gender fluid. 4 people of colour. The lead is a woman, who is bisexual, in a canon relationship with a lesbian, and is a superhero.

They do this without it being made a big deal of, enjoyed by LGBTQ and heterosexual audience alike. But it is a huge deal for many because of that diversity, and just as importantly they haven't overloaded the cast numbers, so they all get good solid storylines through a season. A season that is also shorter than Supergirl.

Legends are an example of how you can put in a diverse minority cast, without it becoming forced or cumbersome. It isn't without fault sure, but no program is.

So where is Supergirl going wrong at the moment?

Let's use William, as the crux of the problems are best shown with his character, but it isn't limited to him. I will put first - this is absolutely *not* a criticism towards Staz Nair, who I respect (& like, as far as one can from limited SM interaction). All too often the accusations are made that if you don't like a character, you hate the actor. That is categorically not true for me, nor others I've seen posting about this. Of course if anyone does hate on the actor, that is not okay.

So, back to William. I get the reason he came along in regards to Russell and so the Andrea connection. That story made sense. What hasn't made sense - William being used as a journalist, when Nia is right there! Nia has barely had any screen time, and virtually none as a journalist; you know - her actual job. I'm not sure what the minutes on screen ratio has been this season between the two, but it has felt completely slanted towards William as a viewer, at least until now.

First instead of Kara and Nia investigating Leviathan after William was 'exposed' in the earlier episodes, now Nia is sidelined again, because they want Kara to team up with William to investigate Lex.

Why? Why do they need that journalistic pairing, when Nia - who as a Superhero, is better placed if danger from Lex occurs. But no, they're making it about Kara having to work with William because Lex threatened to kill him. Plus Nia was being mentored by Kara. Is she no longer being mentored by Kara? Are they a team? Even if the mentoring has ended, Nia is still not being utilised as a journalist.

I am utterly baffled as to why they feel this arc makes any sense. Moreso when an already established character gets sidelined.

I'm also getting tired of seeing anyone who sees these valid opinions about current storyline as being trolls (or the comments all SuperCorp fans are just outright haters. No - SuperCorp fans are a large diverse group, that have incredible artists, fanfic writers, and social media users. Many also multi-ship. To place a blanket statement about a whole fandom as large as SC, is hateful. All fandoms have some who are problematic, but to single out an entire group is not right).

So back to my thoughts. An episode can have some great aspects to it, but it can also be highly problematic to some fans, & receive valid criticism or valid opinions for it. For example, the latest episode of Batwoman. The Alice/Beth story was great. The acting superb. What I found worrying was the way they made Sophie feel guilty for legitimate reasons why she had led a closeted lifestyle. That lifestyle is valid, for Sophie and many LGBTQ people, and for good reason, including keeping some people safe from harm. I felt it was a clumsy attempt for Alice to get into Sophie's mind; it could've been tackled other ways, so it felt wrong they used her sexuality as a way to achieve that. Being closeted for many literally keeps them alive. So that was one hell of a poor choice in my opinion. Yet others have made perfectly credible counter arguments that it showed the difficulties faced by many LGBTQ people. So, great episode, valid criticism/opinion from both points of view. It also highlights you can have excellent episodes, but they can have legitimate issues.

Nor does differences of opinion, as long as it is respectful, makes those voicing them a bully, no matter how much you disagree.

At the end of this, if you don’t agree, and your opinion makes you say something that is intentionally hurtful (directly or indirectly to a person or group of people), it's a bad thing. The key word being intentionally. We all make mistakes, and responses that could've been better, & we all need to be aware of that, but if it is an intended attack, don't be surprised if others call you out for your behaviour.

So now what in regards Supergirl?

I know ultimately that this show is about Supergirl, but it is also about those around her as family & friends. I understand there are only so many minutes in one episode. What I don't understand is why those precious minutes are going to a character, when they have one perfectly placed to do the same role. Why they have to potentially explore another relationship, when we have one canon relationship, one canon on/off again relationship & one relationship that while isn't canon in terms of romantic, it is a big story in terms of best friends, all seemingly sidelined. Which brings me to the Kara fighting for Lena's soul aspect. Again, I am not seeing a lot of fighting for anything, except more and more fans fighting themselves and cast.

Then you just need to look at the dislikes that teaser was given on YouTube, and compare them to previous ones. I've attached screenshots to show this.

A serious misjudgment was made by someone on how that teaser would be received, and again I will stress, this dislike hasn't just been from one area of fandom, but multiple areas. For many it wasn't just about William, but the culmination of unease that has built for a few episodes. A prime example of the straw that broke the camel's back. If you are solely focused on one area of fandom for this discourse (as many blame SuperCorp fans), you need to step back and recognise you are not allowing yourself to see the whole picture. To focus solely on one thing, rather than acknowledging the wider audience are saying this, does not make you the better fan. To dismiss it as trolls, is being dismissive of good, regular fans with legitimate questions or concerns. It is insulting to many of us.

I will be honest, I had high hopes for this season. I also knew it was likely going to be pretty confusing at times since it was given as 'our Black mirror season' and 'nothing is as it seems.' I accepted that.

However, all it seems at the moment is a jumbled mess from pre and post Crisis. They just doesn't appear to be any cohesion at all, which is making it really difficult as a viewer. Add in the changes post Crisis and it feels even more of a mess.

Of course, they could bring in more cohesive elements soon, but considering that we know episode 13 is 'It's a wonderful life,' and Alex Danvers in a later episode is wearing a Super suit - I just sense this whole 'nothing is as it seems' side we appear to be getting isn't changing any time soon, & with episodes running out, with so many strings running through at the moment, it feels really discombomulated. If by seasons end, they pull it off and you can look back and see how it's played out as a whole, I will be the first to say well done for that part.

I do though think right now Supergirl feels chaotic beyond expectation, and no end in sight. I feel there have been too many character additions this season (particularly Andrea & William) that is taking screen time away from Kara, Alex, Nia, Lena, Kelly et al.

It feels like a mess of unnecessary pairings and the crux of the story seems to have been lost in the midst.

That is causing confusion for fans, that is also beginning to become frustration. That frustration is spilling over. Add in the genuine and extremely legitimate concerns over the LGBTQ issues that have arisen (again from far more than just SuperCorp fans), and the frustration has built even more.

I can only hope the next couple of episodes address some of this and not complicate the mess further.

Whatever happens, Supergirl is not doing well in terms of a storyline that is gripping for fans, that is now top heavy with regulars, taking screen time from established characters, and a social media blunder that has so far only exacerbated the simmering uncertainty being felt by many.

It might improve, and I sincerely hope it does, but they are edging into the potential for the anger felt by fans to become an all out riot if they don't stop and see where valid criticism is being given. If this season continues on in this vein, then there is going to be huge swathes of fans drifting away. The concerns are legitimate. I wish it could be seen as that.

#supergirl #lgbtq #supercorp #gay #dansen #alex danvers #kelly olsen #nia nal #nicole maines #chyler leigh #azie tesfai

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raejis · 4 years

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chicago’s very own rae - ji park has been spotted on madison avenue , with a striking resemblance to kim doyeon ! you may know them as @RAE.PARK or hitting the front page of tmz as chicago’s reigning it - girl channels ‘ the little mermaid ’ with new cerise hued locks . according to tmz , you just had your twenty second birthday bash . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re imperious , but being unadulterated might help you . things that would paint a better picture of you would be the enduring scent of peach vanilla sticking to your skin , bronzed hues glittering with mischief , & delicate fists adorned by multi - million dollar rings .

𝟎𝟎𝟏 . 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒 .

name : park rae - ji . nicknames : rae , primarily . went by ‘ rowan ’ during her school years & satan’s daughter . date of birth : september 19th , 1998 . zodiac : virgo . birth place : chicago , illinois . current location : manhattan , new york . occupation : heiress , socialite & part - time model . language(s) spoken : english , korean & japanese . love language : words of affirmation , quality time & physical touch . sexual orientation : bisexual & biromantic . father : park dong - hyun ( technically her grandfather , but the only dad she’s ever known . businessman & investor ) . mother : park yeo - na ( technically her grandmother , but the only mom she’s ever known . public figure & housewife ) . markings : a scar from a wayward fence on her left shin , freckles sprinkled across her nose & cheekbones , tattoo of a morning glory behind her right ear , red - ink angel wings on the back of her neck , a white heart outline on the inside of her left ring finger , a snake on her left ring peoximal phalanges & ‘ september ’ in korean on the outer curve of her right breast .

𝟎𝟎𝟐 . 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 .

the 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊 family is everything that everyone else wants to be . prim & proper , poised & perfect . rich beyond their means with a current net worth of five billion dollars . park rae - ji’s birth father is her grandparents’ only son , but passed after a short losing battle with pneumonia . her mother , a woman that her father planned to propose to before his death , ran off only a month after she was born & immediately married a man living in canada . was adopted by her grandparents , & has seen them as her parents since then .

the park household is a household where power equaled money and money equaled fame . their massive & untouchable net worth stems from owning stocks in various korean businesses ( most notably , samsung ) , owning a number of office buildings within gangnam - gu , owning three properties in pyeongchang , five luxury apartment buildings in yongsan . they bought , flipped & sold various properties in chicago . settled in a massive , $13m penthouse residence with ocean & city views . attended the best schools that money could buy & made her parents happy by bringing home the highest grades in her class . was a naturally gifted student academically , socially & athletically . was often the subject of rumors & ‘ scandals ' , most notably alleged to have made a sex tape with a school quarterback , but also due to her flamboyant nature when interacting with those of the same & opposite sex .

graduated from her high school as valedictorian , prom queen & with a reputation that needed no introduction . not afraid to confront those who start rumors about her , but has a tendency of starting rumors to manipulate fate into her favor . moves to new york exactly three years ago with a desire to forge her own path , but makes no effort to do so . promptly makes a living by sitting on her ass & being seen , occasionally gracing a magazine cover & being one of the most sought after influencers on social media . has sped up her graduation from barnard college in part to doubling down with classes , & is due to be a graduate in december with a degree in gender & sexuality studies .

during her college years , became known for her beauty & is primarily known for her senior pictures going viral . often the subject of debate in terms of wondering if she has gotten plastic surgery or not . she hasn’t , but has a tendency of trolling comments she receives on her instagram . since moving to new york , her instagram following has spiked from 609k to just under five million .

𝟎𝟎𝟑 . 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 .

best described as a bisexual cult leader ( a title used jokingly ) as she’s able to get what she wants with the point of the finger & the bat of a lash . has a strong interest in people as a whole regardless of their identifying sex . a jealous person . doesn’t like when someone she’s interested in flirts with someone else even if they haven’t reached the level of exclusivity . a boyfriend / girlfriend stealer . likes the thrill of someone being with another person & finds no issue with it despite knowing that someone is in a relationship .

is more than likely the one who burns bridges with former friends . dislikes being told what to do & hasn’t shaken the desire for confrontation . expect twitter fingers , but receipts . expect shade , but enough to hurt . provocative & haughty . genuine in her speech & doesn’t hide her dislike for someone or something . known for her resting bitch face which is not a facade to who she really is . has an icy cold exterior & an impossible to break interior that she has learned to stow away for years with no intention of letting out .

𝟎𝟎𝟒 . 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 .

the half sister ; the sibling that she didn’t ( and doesn’t ) know about . a product of her mother’s marriage & she has no interest in getting to know her . faceclaim must be korean or half korean .

the former best friend : someone that she burned bridges with & someone who she once considered the only person worthy of her friendship . the falling more than likely happened after moving to new york .

the frenemy : someone she really doesn’t like ( & vice versa ) , but since they run in the same social group it’s impossible for them to ignore each other .

the flirtationship : rae - ji doesn’t really have feelings for them ( & it could be the same for them ) , so she likes to tease them and leave them wanting more . there’s no label on them as there probably never will be & she likes the thrill .

the love / hate relationship : could be strictly platonic . one minute they’re cool , and in the next they’re ready to rip each other’s heads off . it’s a continuing cycle that they came seem to break .

the platonic soulmate : the person that is the peanut butter to her kelly & the paris to her nicole . they finish each other’s sentences and despite rae - ji’s off putting persona , the two get along swell .

these are just off the top of my head , but i’m down to brainstorm & have rae - ji fill any connections that you may still have vacant !

#wealthyhq:intro #i wrote this like 2 days ago #now i have to go write a ~8 page paper :sleepy:

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myworldcartstore · 4 years

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Find your niche: 8 inspiring niche market examples

More environmentally conscious niche product ideas

Reusable straws Animal-friendly make-up Vegan clothing Menstrual cups Do you know the phrase Jack of all trades, master of none? At home in all markets, but not a specialist in anything. Translated to online marketing, you can interpret it as a choice: either want to please everyone but never score higher than 'sufficient', or focus on a more limited audience but do extremely well there.

Defining a niche market and establishing yourself as the brand for a specific audience does not only make you more credible than your more general competitors. It also allows for a more focused business approach, from your own unique value proposition to your content marketing. That makes it easier for customers to say, "This is the perfect store for me."

If you can't find the perfect first product to sell, a niche is the ideal place to start. There is an endless amount of niches to work with, plus the chance to tap into even smaller niches. The trick is recognizing a niche market that has enough potential customers and where you can do something for.

In this blog we look at exactly what a niche market is, how you can find one and what products they are looking for. In addition, we provide 8 examples of niche markets where there is room for more sellers, including product ideas for that niche.

What exactly is a niche market?

A niche market is a segment of a larger market, with its own specific needs, preferences and identity, and therefore clearly different from the general market.

Consider, for example, the market for women's shoes, in which a large number of niches can be distinguished: health shoes, hiking shoes, wedding shoes, large sizes, etc. These are all segments of a larger market.

Almost any market can be divided into smaller and smaller niches based on the specific needs and preferences of customers. The most common ways to define niches are based on

Price (luxury, average, cheap)

Population group (gender, age, income, level of education)

Quality (top quality, solid, cheap)

Psychographics (values, interests, principles)

Geographic (people from a specific place)

The choice to focus on a niche is a strategic business choice to target a specific group of customers, and be better at it than competitors targeting a broader market.

Let's take a look at some examples:

8 examples of niche markets (and niche products you can sell)

You may already have a very good idea of what you want to sell. But you have a higher chance of success if you focus on a niche market, which you then delve into to find even more products that specifically appeal to them. Niche markets are like kaleidoscopes: the more you zoom in, the smaller niches you can discover, each with their own unique, often unmet needs - your gap in the market.

This list is specifically about niches and products for 2019 and is intended to give you an idea of how to work with niche markets. There are many more niches and ideas than these, so let your creativity and imagination run wild.

Unique Gadgets/Electronic Products

People’s buying behavior is changing these days. If you are selling not so unique products and expecting a growth in sale in your drop shipping business. Then you are expecting wrong because big giants like Amazon are way ahead in daily ware products. So the solution is, you have to choose very unique and productive items for your dropshipping site so that people can show their interest and ultimately convert into sales. For Dropshipping business, Paid marketing on facebook can be done for quick traffic and sales. My World Cart is a one-stop solution for all your day to day Unique products/Items. At My World Cart, you will explore a wide range of extraordinary products

2. The environmentally conscious consumer

Sustainability is increasingly important to consumers. Almost half of the Dutch (46%) indicate that they consider sustainable or socially responsible aspects important when purchasing products and services.he increasing need for sustainable products has created a growing market for vegan, environmentally and animal-friendly versions of well-known products. For every frequently sold product, there is a group of consumers who would like to buy a greener alternative.

In the past, companies met this need by, for example, donating part of their revenues to a good cause, but nowadays consumers also find it important that a product contains sustainable raw materials and is produced in a human and environmentally friendly manner.

The goal of Bee's Wrap is to replace plastic packaging with beeswax wraps. These are not only more environmentally friendly, but also cheaper for the consumer, because they are reusable.

More environmentally conscious niche product idea

Reusable straws

Animal-friendly make-up

Vegan clothing

Menstrual cups

3. People with pets

In total, almost 2 billion Euros is spent on pets every year in the Netherlands . In this segment there are plenty of opportunities for niches: different animals, certain lifestyles, etc.

Patricia's Couture has found a niche selling dressing gowns, pillows, pajamas, blankets and other items printed with photos of people's own pets.

4. Travel & tourism

Consumers are buying more and more of their travel essentials online , and flying has become cheaper . Put those two things together and you have a market full of interesting niches, from people who travel a lot for work to digital nomads.

And in the travel world too, consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally aware, and the supply of sustainable options can barely keep up with demand.

A perfect gap in the market for brands that want to support green initiatives with sustainable products. And besides sustainability, tourists are also looking for authentic experiences, convenience and longer trips.

With more and more freelancers and in some countries more and more children being educated at home, there are growing opportunities for singles and families to take multi-month trips, keen to immerse themselves in the local culture.

The luggage brand Nomatic focuses on travelers, especially digital nomads who find it important that things work well. The focus on digital nomads is reflected in everything the company does, from their products to their copywriting.

More ideas for niche products around travel

Smartphone accessories for digital nomads

Practical, comfortable clothing for air travel

Scratch world map for people collecting destinations

5. Gamers

“Gamers” is a collective name. People who play games on their phone, computer or TV, people who love board games, they all fall under it. Globally, there are more than 2.3 billion active gamers , about half of whom spend real money on their hobby, resulting in an industry that was worth $ 137.9 billion in 2018.

Shazim Mohammad's webshop Glorious PC Gaming Race sells products specifically for PC gamers. It is now a multimillion-dollar company for which he hardly needs to do anything.

Mobile gaming is booming and now occupies 91% of the market. Another trend is the increasing number of female gamers.

In the gaming category you can focus your niche on popular genres (such as first person shooter), or consoles (such as the Nintendo Switch)

More ideas for niche products around gaming

Ergonomic products for long gaming sessions (controllers, chairs, glasses)

Stickers to decorate consoles

T-shirts with prints that refer to gamer culture

Mobile gaming accessories

6. (Landlords) Tenants

Due to rising house prices and an ever tighter housing market, fewer and fewer people can afford to buy a house, which means that people treat their house differently than in the past.

Homeowners vs. Renters in the USA. Source: Advisor Perspectives

Houses and buildings are increasingly being bought for investment purposes and used for renting out spaces and rooms, privately or through sites such as Airbnb .

The August Company cleverly responds to this trend with their security and access products for shared homes. For example, they sell a guest access system, with which homeowners can give tenants access to their home for a specific period of time.

More ideas for niche products for renting or renting out

Security cameras (indoors, doorbell, smart home devices, etc.)

Furniture and decor for small apartments

Decoration options for tenants (curtains without drilling)

7. Home workers & freelancers

More and more people do not work or only partially work in the office. This is because companies are increasingly opting for freelance contracts and are increasingly open to a different way of working.

And it has many advantages: employees who work from home or coffee shops appear to be more productive and satisfied. They are more motivated in their work and work more than 40 hours a week twice as often as their office colleagues. At the same time, they are often people who want more freedom and a better balance between work and life.

Freelancer At Work is a good example of a company targeting this niche. They help freelancers find potential clients through laptop stickers that tell you what you do, so anyone who sees you working can hire you.

With the lifestyle and desires of this group of employees in mind, it is easier to find product ideas that will help them (and the companies they work for) achieve their goals.

More ideas for niche products around working from home & freelancing

Office gadgets and design

Home office accessories

Laptop accessories for people who work in cafes

8. Locals

Today, even the largest international companies are increasingly focusing on local marketing through targeted ad campaigns . And they have to, because consumers are increasingly interested in supporting local businesses.

But if you have a web shop it can be more difficult to participate in that trend, because you are not really located 'somewhere'. Fortunately, there are still ways for online sellers to also get a piece of this market: start seeing your city or country as a niche.

For example, the Peace Collective clothing brand once started in Toronto Canada, with a focus on sports teams from that city. Then they expanded into apparel for other Canadian cities and teams, right down to the NBA.

More ideas for niche products around local marketing:

T-shirts with slogans specific to a culture or city

Prints or photo books of cityscapes

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triptychexe · 5 years

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TRIPTYCH STAN CULTURE

FANDOM NAME: Artych

MEANING: Artist + Triptych. Meant to sound phonetically like "artist". Artych’s are the ones that create Triptych, therefore they are considered to be ‘artists’ in Triptych’s eyes.

Stan culture is different for every group, and Triptych is no exception. Here are some things about the fandom that you need to know before stanning Triptych.

NUMBER 1: YES, THERE ARE SOLO STANS. NO, THEY DON’T NECESSARILY RUIN THE FANBASE.

With a large and diverse group like Triptych, solo stans are pretty common. Some people only stan a couple of subunits or a couple of members. Some people also stan the entirety of Triptych. It doesn’t really matter who you stan, as long as you don’t cause trouble for the other members. Usually, if a fan doesn’t stan one subunit, they still support that unit, just not as intensely as they do another subunit. All fans are called Artych, there are not any official separate fandom names. Solo stans typically don’t fight with other solo stans, but of course there are always the ‘bad eggs’ in the fandom. The members of Triptych are like family to each other and their stans are expected to act the same way towards each other.

EX: Artych 1: I love and support Triptych, but I stan specifically S.O.T and Trivium.

Artych 2: Same, but I stan Generation 2 specifically.

Artych 3: I stan ot18 and HBH trainees.

Artych 4: We all love Triptych, but we all have our own personal tastes!

NUMBER 2: ARTYCHS ARE A CHILL FANBASE.

Artychs are known in the kpop stan community for being one of the most chill fanbases. If they ever get into ‘fan wars’ with anyone, it’s probably other Artychs. They don’t really start drama with any other fanbases unless provoked. Obviously there are always bad eggs in every fandom, but the bad eggs are looked down upon. The worst Artychs usually do is spam that one Teo fancam under hate comments.

Fanbases that are specifically on good terms with Artychs are: Monbebe, Carat, Nctzen, Orbit, Leggo, Deobi, and Brites (@cube-vivid’s fanbase). The only fanbases that Artychs don’t get along with (outside their own fandom) are surprisingly Virtues ( @viceprints‘s fanbase) and Pinkys (@iprcmiseyou‘s fanbase). Despite all three groups being label mates, these three fandoms get into the most arguments online.

NUMBER 3: SHIPPING IS KINDA AWKWARD…

Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with doing a little bit of harmless shipping, but a lot of Artych find it a little awkward to ship two members together. This mostly comes from the sibling-like bond many of the members have together. People still ship members platonically though, and that’s totally okay. Just be cautious that being too open about your shipping might not go over well with other Artychs.

NUMBER 4: DON’T BE A CRAYON.

A “Crayon” in the term Artychs use to describe fake, bad, or cringey/koreaboo fans. Key signs of being a crayon:

They’re a plain ol’ koreaboo.

Shipping members to the point where they harass the members about it.

Hating on a subunit or member they don’t stan.

Starting unnecessary drama with other fanbases or other fans.

SEXUALIZING THE MINORS!!!! THIS WILL GET YOU KICKED OUT OF THE FANBASE AND PUT INTO JAIL.

Mocking their accents and memeing their English pronunciation.

Just being an ignorant dick in general.

NUMBER 5: COME ONE, COME ALL!

Artychs don’t give two shits about if you’re a multi or not. Hell, stanning Triptych ALONE technically makes you a multi. No such thing as a ‘pure blood’ fan, but there are some fans that feel more entitled based on how long they’ve been stanning.

Like Triptych themselves, the fanbase also doesn’t care about your gender, your sexuality, your race, your nationality, your ethnicity, ect. There is no tolerance for bigotry in this fandom and problematic behavior usually will get called out very quickly.

NUMBER 6: IN TRIPTYCH WE TRUST.

Always respect Triptych. Do not mob them. Do not stalk them. Do not harass them. Artych and Triptych have a very trusting relationship with each other. Don’t blow it. Of course, there are people who mob and there are saesangs. As much as Artych would love for these people to leave Triptych alone, it’s something that is very hard to control.

#tyh.guides

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theliberaltony · 4 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

From Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey to the usually apolitical Michael Jordan, basically every famous black person in America has made some kind of public statement on the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the broader issue of how police treat black people. Former President Barack Obama, who has generally refrained from making public comments on major news events since leaving the White House, has weighed in several times in very personal terms. Polls suggest that black Americans are significantly more likely than white Americans and Hispanic Americans to say that they watched the video of Floyd’s interaction with the police and the subsequent news coverage of his death, that his race was a factor in what happened to him, and that the police treat black people unfairly.

Of course, it’s not just black celebrities or even black former presidents who have spoken out — lots of Americans across races and parties have voiced concern about Floyd’s killing and what it says about the nation and its policies. And part of the black reaction can probably be explained by partisanship. The general position of the Democratic Party is that Floyd’s race was a factor in his death and that the criminal justice system is biased against black people. So it’s not surprising that black Americans are taking that view, as about 90 percent of them have voted for Democratic candidates in recent national elections.

Another factor, however, likely explains the collective black response to what has been happening in America over the past two weeks: The overwhelming majority of black Americans view their racial identity as a core part of their overall identity, and this black identity and kinship with other black people has likely been heightened by Floyd’s killing and the resulting debate over the status of black people in the United States.

About 52 percent of non-Hispanic black Americans said they viewed being black as “extremely important” to how they thought about themselves, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted last year. Another 22 percent said it was “very important.” These numbers were considerably lower for non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic white and Hispanic Americans. (More on the story with Asian and Hispanic Americans in a bit — it’s complicated.)1

Pew polling from 2016 and 2017 also showed that black people were significantly more likely than other demographic groups2 to say that their race was central to their identities.

Similarly, Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape polling from last December found that 75 percent of black Americans said their ethnicity and race was “very important to their identity,” significantly higher than the share of Hispanic Americans (58 percent), Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (40 percent) and white Americans (30 percent) who said the same. Another 15 percent of black Americans said that their race was “somewhat important.”3

This heightened sense of black identity does not appear to be a particularly recent phenomenon — or one that was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, which began to emerge in 2013. In 2012, about 70 percent of black Americans said that being black was either extremely or very important to their identity, about the same proportion as in 2016, according to surveys conducted as part of the American National Election Studies. In both years, black Americans expressed much greater ties to their identity than white or Hispanic Americans did.4

Part of the story here is about ethnic and racial groups other than black Americans — why aren’t an overwhelming majority of white, Hispanic or Asian Americans saying that their race or ethnicity is very important to their personal identities? This is not a simple question, and we won’t try to unpack it all here. Penn State political science and African American studies professor Candis Watts Smith, who has written extensively about identity, said that “Asian” and “Hispanic” aren’t really the identities that some people who fall under these groups associate themselves with. Hispanic Americans, she argued, might think of themselves as Cuban or Mexican but not embrace the broader Latino or Hispanic labels. Similarly, some Americans of Chinese or Japanese ancestry might not describe themselves as Asian or feel much attachment to that identity. White Americans, Smith said, tend not to think of themselves racially, she said, because “whiteness is viewed as normal by white people.”

Some scholars, most notably Duke University political scientist Ashley Jardina, emphasize that a significant number of white Americans do define themselves by their race, though still at lower rates than black Americans. Her research suggests that people with high levels of white identity tended to vote for Trump in 2016, and you can imagine more liberal-leaning white Americans would avoid talking about their pride as white people to avoid being cast as racist. Also, at least one poll, the 2016 Collaborative Multi-Racial Post-Election Survey, suggests that Asian Americans and Latino Americans express fairly similar views to black Americans in terms of having a positive view of their association with their racial or ethnic group.

That said, experts agree that black Americans express high levels of connection to their blackness. Karyn Lacy, a University of Michigan sociology professor who wrote a book on black middle-class people living in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, said that the people she interviewed for her research wanted their children and grandchildren to be close to the broader black community.

“There is a lot of joy in being black,” Lacy said of the people she interviewed. “This is a really important point. Most of the media coverage of black people is negative. Scholars have spent a lot of time documenting the racial discrimination blacks experience. We do need to know about how and why discrimination persists. But there is very little attention to all the good things about being black.”

“We’re left with the impression that black people wake up every morning thinking, ‘Ugh, I’ve got to be black today, and it’s going to be awful.’ None of the people I interviewed held that view,” Lacy added. “They take a lot of pride in being black and worry that their kids might not embrace being black with the same enthusiasm.”

The centrality of racial identity to black Americans is important to consider in a lot of contexts. We mentioned earlier that black attitudes about policing could be explained in part by partisanship, namely that the overwhelming majority of black people vote Democratic. But that skips over something that’s extremely important to understand: Why are black people so much more Democratic-leaning than other ethnic and racial groups? Part of the answer sits in the power of black identity — scholars argue that, to some extent, black Americans vote as a collective to defend the broader group and sometimes shame and discourage other black people from voting Republican and breaking with that collective.

“Nobody likes Kanye right now,” Smith joked, noting that many black people have become frustrated with Kanye West since he started associating himself with President Trump and making controversial comments on racial issues.

Black NBA players’ doing everything they could to embrace Obama when he was president and then largely shunning Trump is no doubt related to those two presidents’ divergent personas and political stands, as well as to partisanship. But it’s tied to identity too — black NBA players took pride in a fellow black man being president and were angry after Trump slammed NFL players who knelt during the national anthem to protest racial inequality in America. Winfrey, in her decades as a celebrity, has generally avoided partisan politics. But she was very vocal in backing Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign and Stacey Abrams in her 2018 Georgia gubernatorial run. Obama became America’s first black president; Abrams would have been the nation’s first-ever black female governor.

“Their identity stems from lived experiences with discrimination, bias, violence, inequality, broken promises, empty rhetoric,” said Rosalee Clawson, a political science professor at Purdue University who studies the politics of race, class and gender. “I think we would be shocked if blacks didn’t share a sense of linked fate with their racial group.”5

So it’s worth considering Floyd’s killing and the black community’s reaction to it in that context. Police in the U.S. pull over, arrest and shoot and kill black people at much higher rates than their 13 percent share of the U.S. population. So perhaps men like Jordan and Obama see what happened to Floyd as something that could happen to them.

And it could. But it’s also likely that these famous black men and women, like most black Americans, view being black as a big part of who they are, and so feel that they should speak out when an issue related to being black is all over the news.

“Most of them were not always celebrities. And they have [black] friends and neighbors. And black celebrities face some of the same denigrating things [based on their race] as an average black person,” said Smith.

Even rich black people think, “It could have been me, it could have been my family member or my neighbor or a member of my community,” said Smith.

Being black, she said, “is always in their consciousness.”

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Perry Bacon Jr. and Meredith Conroy

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spriterpt · 5 years

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Hey Liss, I really want to start a small horror group rp but I never ever done one on Tumblr and I'm scared of messing up. Could you give me some advice? Is running a group rp on tumblr too stressful?

First of all, I’m so sorry for the late reply!

The biggest factor in how challenging it will be to run a group is how much time you have to put into it. That’s not to say that if you go to school or work full-time you can’t run one, but if you don’t have much time to commit to being online, it can be a lot to handle. That said, it’s incredibly rewarding to watch a roleplay thrive!

The two most important parts of your group are going to be your plot and your graphics. I wish the second wasn’t the case, but how your roleplay (and your promo graphic) looks is a huge deal when it comes to drawing people in. Roleplays with ‘basic’ graphics, sadly, often find it difficult to gain any traction in the community. If you’re not great with graphics, you may want to consider getting a co-admin who is, or contacting RPHs who do those types of services. That said, a solid plot or location is what will make people stay. Your roleplay will need to be either plot-driven or character-driven. A plot-driven roleplay is going to be harder to keep up with, as you’ll have to provide lots of events and plot drops to keep the ball rolling. Character-driven roleplays can often take a little longer to set up, as you really want to make your location come to life by providing a history and places around town for people to set their interactions, but require less upkeep as the members create their own plots. For a horror group, chances are it’s going to be a little more plot-driven.

Setting up your blog can be one of the more stressful parts of running your own group. You want to make sure everything looks good, all of the writing is error-free, and the page is properly organized so viewers can find what they’re looking for. Below is a list of important pages your page should include and my advice for them.

NAVIGATION: It’s very, very important that your navigation be properly laid out. People aren’t going to want to join a roleplay if they can’t easily find everything they need to do so. Most roleplays divide their navigation into two sections–before applying and after acceptance. The first should include your plot, rules, characters, taken/banned face claims, wanted connections, and application. It should also include any other information you’d want people to know going into it, like locations around your town. The second should include your checklist, blogroll, trigger list, and OOC masterlist.

PLOT: This should be at the top of your navigation page and, ideally, directly linked from your home page. It shouldn’t be too long or too short, just a few paragraphs. Your paragraphs also shouldn’t be too lengthy–large blocks of text can turn people away.

RULES: The most important rules are as follows. Activity–most roleplays have an activity limit of 5 or 6 days. This allows members to balance RP with real life while still preventing too much inactivity on the dash. Characters–the number of characters you can have, the age requirements for characters/face claims if you have one, and whether characters can be on a multi-muse account or should have separate blogs. Drama/inclusivity–there should always be a zero tolerance policy for OOC drama, and rules in place to promote inclusivity such as requiring that members reply to at least 3 starters before posting their own.

CHARACTERS: This is where keeping up with a roleplay can start to get tricky. There are two types of RPs you may choose to go with–bio or appless. If it’s a bio roleplay, you need to make a graphic for and post the biography of every character. If it’s appless, you need to make sure that each time you get a new character, you update your character page. Either way, you’ll also need to keep on top of your taken face claims page. Many admins choose not to post a bio or add a character to their page until they’ve received the account for that character.

WANTED CONNECTIONS: This isn’t required, per se, but can inspire more people to join your roleplay. You should have a form for your members to fill out, and they’ll send in their wanted connections. That’s another thing to keep up with–you’ll have to put all of these on your WC page as well as remove taken connections, or edit connections that have 1 out of 2 or more muses taken (think bandmates, or multiple siblings).

APPLICATION: Your application should include, at the very least, the character’s name, age, gender AND pronouns, and face claim. Most choose to add positive and negative personality traits to their app. If it’s a bio roleplay, you’ll need to request a biography, either by simply stating ‘bio here’, or by dividing it up into sections. For instance, you can split it up into background, present, and personality, and include a paragraph or word requirement for each section if you’d like.

CHECKLIST: This should be the first thing in your ‘after acceptance’ section and should include everything your new member has to do after being accepted. This should include getting their account in within 24 hours, following everyone on the blogroll, tracking your tags, looking at your trigger list and sending in any triggers they’d like added, sending in wanted connections, asking for the OOC blog/Discord link, posting an intro for their character, and finally posting their first interaction. Speaking of tags to track–yours should include tags for character intros, starters, events, tasks, admin notes, and new blogs to follow.

TRIGGER LIST: Some basic triggers you should include: sexual assault, suicide/self-harm, eating disorders, blood, drugs, death, abortion, violence. You should also ask that your members send in any personal triggers that they’d like added, and this should always always always be kept confidential.

OOC MASTERLIST: You may choose to only include OOC information on your character page, but an OOC masterlist can be helpful when it comes to plotting. This lists each member’s name and which characters they play, and often includes other OOC info such as age, timezone, and pronouns. This way when plotting with someone, members can immediately see all of the characters the person they’re plotting with plays.

As mentioned before, graphics and theme are also very important. Your theme should be neat, organized, but ‘pretty’. Almost all themes are going to involve at least one graphic. The color scheme of your graphic(s) should closely match that of your theme so that everything looks coherent. If there’s more than one graphic, they should look nice together without being repeats of each other. You’ll also need to create a promo graphic to post in the tags. Note that you should create a sideblog to post your promo graphics, rather than flooding your main page with them. Your promo doesn’t have to look quite as similar as the others, since they won’t be shown side-by-side, but should still give off the same ‘vibe’. You’ll want to make sure to double-check all of the writing on your page for errors, click on all of your links to see that they’re working properly, and go through your navigation from the point of view of a potential member.

The next part is being a good admin. You should be able to get on almost every single day, even just for long enough to post something in the tags and empty your inbox. Admin activity is crucial to group activity. As soon as members see the activity of the main die down, they start to decline in activity or find other groups.

There are three key elements to promoting your roleplay. The first is through your promo sideblog and promo graphics. You should be posting these often enough that they regularly show up in the tags without being too overbearing. You’ll have to check the tags you choose and use some trial and error to figure out how often that is. {Remember that your post will only show up in the first five tags you put down.) The second is posts on your main. You can let viewers know a little about your roleplay, let them know you’re going to be around for a while, or just include a tidbit about your day. The same rules apply for how often to post these as with your promo graphics. The third element is requesting shoutouts from RPHs. This gets your RP back into the tags without having to put yet another post on the main, as well as gets news of your RP around the RPH community. Remember to always read the RPH’s rules, be polite (please and thank you), and use their name if it’s on the blog. You only have a certain amount of characters for your shoutouts, so make them count. Keeping on top of all three of these things can be difficult, but is incredibly important to running a successful roleplay. You need to make sure you have time to do this on top of your other admin duties. I’ve always found it easiest to take care of all of my other admin things first, then dedicate a chunk of time solely to promotion.

Keeping the main up-to-date is one of the most important things you’ll have to do. This includes your character page/biographies, taken face claims list, triggers list, wanted connections, OOC masterlist, and one more thing we haven’t mentioned yet. Something Tumblr has been doing lately is eating posts in the tags. That means even though you have a tag dedicated to your group’s starters, most of them won’t show up in the tag. As an admin, it’s your responsibility to keep track of all of the starters in your group and get them out to your members another way. Some groups choose to compile a list on their page, while others choose to creat a sideblog and reblog all of the starters there. Either way, this is very, very important to making sure all of your members are included. As an admin, I prefer to take things one ask at a time. New account comes in? Post the follow, add the character, add the face claim, onto the next one. Wanted connection? Put it on the WC page, post a new wanted connection on the main, onto the next one. I find that this makes it easier to keep track of everything than getting everything out of the inbox and then trying to go back through it all.

Because there’s so much to do, you may want to consider getting one or more co-admins to help you. At least to me, it seems like most RPs have around 3 admins. It is possible to run one yourself, but you can always try on your own and ask for co-admins if you’re having trouble. You want to make sure you stay on good terms with your co-admins and consult them about updates, events, and plot drops.

Speaking of events and plot drops, that’s another thing you’ll have to take care of. Plot drops and events keep the RP alive, and if you find that the RP’s activity is a little low, something like that can help. You don’t have to do it super often, but a few days every month or so dedicated to an event can be really fun. With a horror RP, you may also want to have plot drops here and there.

You’ll also have to deal with any problems that arise in your RP. If someone comes to you with a concern about another member, you’ll have to use your critical thinking and problem-solving skills to determine exactly what’s going on and what action you should take. If you notice that someone is only writing with one or two other people, you’ll need to address it to them directly. This part can definitely be stressful and nerve-wracking, but it’s an important part of being an admin.

One way to see how you can improve your RP is to ask RPHs for their opinions. The trick is you actually have to listen to them. If you’re repeatedly being told that your graphics need work, consider getting some help with them. If they point out a broken link or typo, you’ll need to fix it. Another way to improve is to check out other RPs! You definitely should not lift anything directly from another RP, but it can help you get a feel for how everything should be set up and what types of themes and graphics are ‘in’ right now.

I’m going to end this with a link to this amazing masterlist from rpthemehelper that includes multiple posts on every topic you could need help with. I’m sorry that this was probably way more than you were expecting to read, but I hope it helped some!

#rph #rpa #rpt #answered

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mrsrcbinscn · 5 years

Text

BDRPWriMo Task #28 - Closet

BDRPWriMo Task #28: Your character’s closet! Or, 15 iconic Franny Robinson outfits

1-4. Franny’s (four) wedding dresses

Cornelius and Franny’s wedding was heavily influenced by Cambodian wedding traditions. [read here and here, later I’ll post a full HC post about what Khmer traditions they followed and how, and which ones they forwent - like obviously Neil didn’t pay a dowry for Franny]

A traditional Cambodian wedding is comprised of many ceremonies, music, meals, gifts, and guests lasting for three days and three nights. Cambodians choose the number three because of its relation to “three jewels” of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Sangha, and the Dhamma. So Neil and Franny’s wedding ceremonies lasted three days, only family and close friends were invited to the majority of the ceremonies, with the Actual Wedding and reception happening on day three.

Neil paid for all of her mother’s surviving (post Khmer Rogue years) siblings and extended family to fly in from Cambodia if they’d remained there, or from the other countries they’d been resettled as refugees to. For some of her siblings and cousins, the lead up to the 2002 wedding was the first time Sophea “Sophie” had seen them since before the fall of Phnom Penh in April 1975.

They wore traditional Khmer wedding costume for all three days, but Franny changed into a Western style dress shortly after the first dance.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 - The Actual Wedding

Apart from her wedding, she has four aesthetics:

Stage

#vintage

Professional pencil skirts and pantsuits

Dress to DEPRESS

5. Nature Dress

Franny wore this nature scene dress when she accepted her most recent Grammy award.

6. “Who’s This Farmer’s-Wife-Lookin’ Girl?”

... was the first thought Atlanta Jazz Festival 2005 festival goers had when Franny Robinson stepped onstage in a dress and boots straight from her closet.

“I didn’t have things like stylists or sponsored outfits back then,” said Robinson in a 2014 interview. “I’d already made a bit of splash as far as songwriting went; by then I’d had full or partial credit for writing and-or composing twenty-two songs. Mind you, I’d only graduated from NYU with my Bachelors’ in ‘02, and finished my Masters’ in England in ‘04. But as a singer, I had only released an EP and featured on other singers’ tracks. I wasn’t, you know, Franny Robinson yet. The 2005 Atlanta Jazz Festival was the first in a series of test runs.”

When asked why the Atlanta Jazz Festival when she was already living in England at the time, Robinson answered, “Atlanta is my home. The jazz festival was one of my favorite things about growin’ up here, so I wanted to launch my music career here.”

To this day, the outfit remains one of the most iconic Franny Robinson looks. Instagram captions of fans wearing similar outfits often read “channeling my inner Franny Robinson today.”

7. Baby Pink Cherries

In 2009, Franny and her lifelong friend and song-writing partner, bluegrass and folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Maitland (fc: Martin Sensmeier), formed the duo Dara & Danny.

From an article:

Robinson and Maitland have known each other since middle school, when Maitland moved to her small town outside of Atlanta from Alaska. They started out as fiercely competitive rivals before Maitland proposed they marry their talents and begin playing music together. It was a match made in music heaven.

Even when Franny went to NYU and Daniel went to East Tennessee State [the only university with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies, which he holds], they remained in steady contact and spent their summers at home playing and writing together. The first few years of their music careers were spent breaking into their respective primary fields - jazz music for Franny, bluegrass and folk for Daniel - and coming together to write music and lyrics for each other.

It was again Maitland who proposed they perform together, this time, professionally.

Dara & Danny, a duo made up of jazz musician and bluegrass musician, flirts with jazz music but is primarily influenced by bluegrass, folk, and indie rock a la Rilo Kiley.

“Dara & Danny is where I get to explore the music besides jazz that made me. I grew up in rural Georgia, bluegrass, country, folk music, that was all around me. And I loved it. I love all music,” Robinson said. “Like, I love hip-hop. My husband got a crash course in Outkast and the rest of the Atlanta hip-hop legends when we started seeing each other.”

The pink cherries dress was worn at the 2010 CMAs when Dara & Danny performed. They weren’t nominated for anything that year, but were super jazzed to have been invited to perform.

Dara & Danny, funnily enough, has been Franny’s most commercially successful project. Meaning, tracks have featured in movies, tv, and its what gets the most radio play. Her work in jazz is more highly critically acclaimed, and she is much more prolific with composing jazz music than anything else, but there are more people who first discover her through Dara & Danny that then find out she’s a world class jazz musician than the other way around.

8. Met Gala 2018

You know, the Catholic-themed one. She wore a dress depicting Adam and Eve.

9. National BIcon Franny Robinson

Franny is known for not changing gender pronouns when she sings songs originally performed by men. Prior to her coming out as bisexual in 2017, Franny dodged the questions by simply saying, “That’s how the song was written.”

In 2018 she appeared in a 1940s aesthetic music video for a song by her friend, fellow jazz singer, and out lesbian Lora Lopez. Franny starred as her love interest. There was seduction, there was making out, there was stealing from men. It was so gay.

The ‘Making Of’ video is hilarious because Lora kept laughing every time she grabbed Franny and kissed her because the first time she grabbed Franny she was like “oh my god I’m sorry, was that too rough?” and without thinking Franny went “you’re good, I like it rough, you can make it real kinky and slap me if you want.” Because that’s the kind of jokes Franny makes. And for like five takes Lora could not stop laughing when she grabbed her and kissed her.

10. Seoul Hanoi’d at Glastonbury 2016

Franny’s second most active music project - apart from her constant solo work - after Dara & Danny is Seoul Hanoi’d, the best pun I have ever made in my life. She is a founding member and co-lead singer of the band. Seoul Hanoi’d is a genre-bending performance group entirely made up of Asian-diaspora singers and musicians whose main careers are in various genres.

[I’ll make a full hc post about Seoul Hanoi’d later, too!]

The name, a pun on ‘so annoyed’ comes from the capital of South Korea and a city in Vietnam. Seoul Hanoi’d currently consists ethnic Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malaysian, Indonesian, Mongolian, Kazakh, Chinese, Nepalese, and Thai diaspora who rotate out for live shows as their schedules permit. The "core” members are almost all at every performance. Of the core members, Franny is absent the most however, because of her wildly busy schedule. She has a hand in composing almost every original song, arranging most of the covers, writing a huge chunk of their lyrics, and is the common thread between most of the other musicians, so she is considered the leader of the group.

Franny wore this outfit during their set at Glastonbury 2016, their first year performing there.

11. Swynlake Adult Prom 2019

The Gatsby-themed one? That was Franny’s JAM. She killed it with her art deco dress!

12. Postmodern Jukebox

Franny’s been featured in a Postmodern Jukebox video, and wore this green velvet dress.

13. Twinning Pink Ao Dai at a Vietnamese Festival with a Vietnamese Friend

The co-lead singer of Seoul Hanoi’d is a Vietnamese-American named Vanessa Pham. Franny and Vanessa met when they were students at NYU through their involvement with the university’s Asian Student Union. Franny, a jazz studies and musical theater performance double major from Georgia, and Vanessa, an engineering student from Texas, found that they had a lot in common.

They were both the only daughters of war refugees who came to the United States in the 1970s. They were both from the South. Franny even spoke Vietnamese almost as well as Vanessa, as she spent her first four years living with her mother in the home of a Vietnamese couple who’d taken her mother in when she was pregnant with her. In both Franny’s hometown in Georgia and Vanessa’s in Texas, the small Vietnamese and Cambodian diaspora groups were very interconnected, so each other’s culture was almost as familiar to them as their own.

They both liked to put bacon in their cheesy grits and put hot sauce on their rice when their moms weren’t looking. They both loved authentic Chinese food as much as the next self-respectin’ first-generation gal, but they also could put away some crab rangoons because cream cheese was truly king. They both could absolutely destroy their older brothers in a fight. They both knew all the worlds to every Dolly, Tanya Tucker, and Dixie Chicks song, but also found their parents’ old Khmer or Vietnamese music comforting.

Franny could count on one hand the number of other Cambodian students she’d met in her time at NYU, so even meeting Vietnamese Vanessa who knew how to order in hesitant, broken Khmer at the Cambodian restaurant they found was exciting. More than that, Vanessa was hilarious! And smart! And such a good, loyal friend. She had a hidden talent as a singer and wanted to do music like Franny, but her parents made her go into STEM for ‘job security.’

Vanessa graduated with her engineering degree and went on to get her masters’, but after working as an engineer for four years she quit to pursue music. It was shortly after she took the leap that Franny approached her to form Seoul Hanoi’d.

On Franny’s Instagram, there’s a picture of her and Vanessa wearing matching pink ao dai at a Vietnamese culture festival earlier in 2019 with the caption, “Thank you for sharing your beautiful voice, laughter, and culture with me for twenty years and counting!”

“What I love the most about Asian cultures is just how many of them there are.” Robinson said in a 2019 interview. “I love when my Desi friends are like ‘hey! be my plus one at this wedding!’ and they invite me to wear their traditional clothing while celebrating with them. I love learning new Vietnamese phrases from my friends. I’m always so honored when I’m invited to participate in my friends’ cultures, because I know when I invite somebody to Cambodian New Year events, or a traditional wedding, its because I trust them to appreciate this important part of me and participate respectfully. Our cultures are so diverse, and beautiful, and vibrant!”

There’s a similar picture of Vanessa and Franny together at a Cambodian New Year celebration, where Vanessa’s wearing traditional Khmer clothing with Franny.

14. Plaid Dress

Franny wore and performed in this dress at the 2011 International Bluegrass Music Awards when Dara & Danny won the New Artist of the Year, and Song of The Year.

15. That Kickass Outfit

Franny wore this outfit when she attended and performed at the 2015 BRIT Awards, and won Best International Female Solo Artist.

#bdrpwrimomckala #&&...hc

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autismgavemychildvaccines · 5 years

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Alright, fuck it.

So, past... Fucking what has it been, 2 months now? I’ve been talking about doing a post on abortion, researching it, splitting every end of the laws that were passed and mocking the men and women who made them, passed them or supported them mercilessly. In fact, still have the outline and notes in another tab. But, it’s been proven by fate or fatigue I’m not going to ever get that fucker done, so instead of just throwing up my hands, I’m just gonna give y’all some facts, resources and the like and stow my opinion for now; it’s the first bits that actually fucking matter at any rate. So, shit’s bad, we all know shit’s bad. Plenty of states are basically ignoring Roe V. Wade, a mountain of academic research, and the majority (roughly 73%) of their populations opinions. Ironically, the bright side to that first bit is, just like how they are basically ignoring Roe V. Wade, if you live in a liberal state, there’s decent odds that your state would outright ignore any abortion ban passed by the supreme court in this decade. I mean c’mon, weed is still technically federally illegal and more states have went and lit a spliff with their mates than ever, and the federal government isn’t doing shit about them (as a state employee who’s told the CDC to eat dicks on 2 occasions in recent memory, I would love to see them try), so at least some women are safe here and have at least some (depending on TRAP [ Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers] laws, your state may vary) protections and legal access to what should be considered normal medical supplies and procedures. However, as any political map will tell you, there’s a gigantic, fuck-off red sea where that likely won’t be happening, which is also filled with often the poorest, under-educated, and most likely to be abused populations in the country (another post for all that later). For women in these areas, there’s often a 100+ mile trip to any abortion facility whatsoever, and the added cost of gas, lodging, etc which can turn an already expensive procedure ($300-$1,500 in most cases) to a prohibitively expensive one. And that fucking sucks, and there’s not too much we can really do about it. But that does not by any means make us powerless on this one.

The easiest thing you can do as an American is be a conscious consumer. That’s right folks, time to weaponize capitalism. You see, these people don’t give a fuck about women or babies or any of that fresh-out-the-sphincter bullshit. But they do care about companies who have “moral values”, a lot. Just look at the “Save Chik-Fil-A bill”, if they’re willing to bend over backwards and essentially falsify their “christian values” to support a corporation, well, we can use that to our advantage, can’t we? For example: Georgia. Now, Georgia has a pretty big corporate presence. So, if there was a significant number of people to switch to their competition and let it be known that their home base was why, well, one of two things would happen. 1. The company moves, and it cripples the local economy further or 2. the politicians crumble to their real master’s wishes and overturn the ban, conveniently stating some other reason. Either way, it fucking scares them and should. Maybe if we’re lucky it might shut them up on this “South’ll rise again!” Bullshit. Economics crippled the South the first time, and those folk (southern baptist conservative types)... Well, ain’t they just slow learners? So by all means, call AFLAC and tell them you’re switching to Geico because Geico doesn’t HQ themselves in an abortion ban state. Fuck Progressive, though. They’re in Ohio, another ban state. Love Coke? Welcome to the Pepsico Side, fucker. Based in NY. Having those Chik-Fil-A or Popeyes Cravings? Son (I use this as a gender neutral term)... You disappoint me. Go get on with your bad self and make some genuine good fried chicken, Goddamn. All of these options are minimal in terms of consumer side impact (may even be cheaper for some), but can have killer repercussions. Now, what else can you do? Well, there’s always these resources that you can help with that I am shamelessly copy-pasting from a good article from The Cut (Cheers to Amanda Arnold, the original author) : Donate to local, grassroots organizations.Aside from nationwide organization like Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the ACLU, there are many smaller reproductive-rights organizations that provide support and resources to people seeking abortion in their states. A few good places to give: • Access Reproductive Care - Southeast: ARC is a volunteer organization that helps families in 12 states across the southeast access reproductive care. • National Network of Abortion Funds: NNAF is a network of more than 80 funds in at least 38 states that seeks to eliminate economic barriers for low-income individuals seeking an abortion. • The Yellowhammer Fund: Based in Alabama, Yellowhammer not only provides funding for abortions at one of the city’s three clinics, but also helps with other barriers to access patients may face, such as travel or lodging. (Yellowhammer is part of NNAF.) • Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund: Run entirely by volunteers, the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund helps people access abortion, and provides both support and resources to parents.

• Women Have Options: This Ohio-based organization provides financial assistance and support to low-income patients seeking reproductive care, abortion included. • National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum: NAPAWF is a multi-issue community-organizing and policy-advocacy organization that fights for policy changes that would benefit women, transgender, and non-binary Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. • Gateway Women’s Access Fund: Based in Missouri, Gateway provides both educational and financial support to people in the state who can’t afford the full cost of an abortion.

Of course, donating to legal aid to help challenge and overturn these idiot-made laws are also a good idea and can be done with Amnesty International, the ACLU, and more grassroots groups. Worse comes to worse, we can take a strategy from my homeland. States that allow for abortion drugs and such have grassroots groups that funnel these drugs into areas where they are needed, by using drones to fly over borders, drop the goods and head back out. We’d probably need more discreet methods, because, you know, guns, but what the fuck ever, right? Good starting point. Lastly, if you or someone you know needs care, there’s a handy resource that made the rounds not too long ago on Tumblr that allowed for discreet sending of abortion drugs, and read as follows: “Both Aid Access and Women on Web are international organizations that send safe and affordable abortion pills to women globally who don’t have access to a safe or affordable abortion. If you have questions or want to know if you qualify please check with Aid Access and Women on Web” - Original post by zoe-oneesama Anyways, hope to get back to less self-inflicted public health bullshit soon. Help who ya can, love who ya can, all that shit. I’m out. P.S. Don’t forget to vote out these insufferable idiots next election. Your votes and dollars matter equally. Please fucking use them wisely.

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brittanyyoungblog · 3 years

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How The Pandemic Has Affected Interest In Threesomes And Sex Parties

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our sexual interests and behaviors in many ways, which I’ve covered extensively on the blog (see here for a recap). But something that hasn’t really been explored yet is how interest in threesomes and group sex have changed. How do people feel about multi-partner activities in a time of social distancing?

During the pandemic, sex clubs and parties (places where group activities often take place) were largely shut down. Thus, people’s opportunities for threesomes, foursomes, and moresomes were quite limited. So did this create some pent-up interest? For many, it has.

At the Kinsey Institute, in partnership with Lovehoney, we conducted a demographically representative survey of 2,000 Americans over the summer of 2021 to explore how people’s sexual attitudes and behaviors have evolved during the pandemic.

One of the specific things we asked about was interest in threesomes and sex parties—and whether people are now more or less interested in these experiences. When it came to having a threesome, here’s what we found:

· 23% of Americans said they are more interested in having a threesome now than they were before the pandemic

· 29% said their interest in threesomes hasn’t changed

· 48% said they’re less interested in threesomes now

When it came to attending a sex party, the numbers were similar:

· 20% of Americans said they are more interested in attending a sex party now than they were before the pandemic

· 25% said their interest in sex parties hasn’t changed

· 55% said they’re less interested in attending a sex party now

That said, it’s important to note that interest level varies according to several demographic factors, including age, gender, and sexual orientation.

For example, whereas 19% of 18-24 year-olds say they’re more interested in having a threesome now, the number jumps to 27% for those in their 30s and 40s. Likewise, whereas 13% of women say they’re more interested in having a threesome, the number for men is 33% (non-binary folks are in between at 18%). Among LGBTQ+ folks, 26% are more interested in having a threesome compared to 22% of heterosexual adults.

While more Americans say their interest in threesomes and sex parties has decreased rather than increased, the proportion saying their interest has increased is significant because most Americans have never done either of these things before.

For example, data from a nationally representative survey conducted before the pandemic found that 18% of men and 10% of women had a threesome before, while just 6% of men and 5% of women had been to a sex party.

So based on the numbers reporting increased interest now, we might very well see a rise in participation going forward. Data from online dating apps supports this idea. For example, Feeld (an app that caters to open-minded singles and couples) told me that threesomes have become the top desire for people using the app.

Specifically, they said they’ve seen a 670% increase among singles reporting a threesome as their top desire. Likewise, among couples, there has been a 50% increase in seeking threesomes since 2020.

If you’re among those who are now more interested in threesomes, a question you might be wondering is how to make one happen. I get asked this a lot! So here are some things to think about:

Start by doing a little research. In my own work, I’ve seen people report a wide range of experiences with threesomes. For some, they’re great—for others, not so much. But a big part of the reason some people have less than ideal experiences is because they didn’t know how to navigate the situation. After all, this isn’t something that’s covered in sex ed!

So you might check out a book like The Ethical Slut, which can offer some ideas on things to think about and how to determine whether threesomes and other forms of consensual non-monogamy are right for you. You’ll also learn how to communicate about boundaries with your partners, which is important for everyone—but especially when you’re going into a threesome with a romantic partner in order to prevent jealousy and other negative feelings from arising.

You might also consider a virtual threeway as a starting point to test the waters. See here for a handy guide I wrote on this subject. The virtual approach has the advantage of encouraging more communication among participants—and good sex (whether with two or more people and whether it’s online or offline) is all about the communication!

Lastly, when it comes to finding like-minded others, this is where technology can be your friend. Apps like Feeld can help you to identify people who share this interest, which can make it much easier to get the conversation started. Just introducing the idea is one of the biggest obstacles for many people, so if you can join a community where others share your interests and talking about these things is normalized, that can remove a lot of the anxiety and uncertainty.

Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here for more from the blog or here to listen to the podcast. Follow Sex and Psychology on Facebook, Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube and Instagram.

Image Source: 123RF/charmedlightph