#honestly i really need to go through all of my youtube subscriptions. i see so many youtubers turn out to be... well you can guess

[cyanonights]

please never idolize anyone.

itll break your heart if they end up making a mistake, and they will, theyre human after all.

and itll break your soul if they end up being a creep/abuser.

[mhalachai]

some of you may have seen a notice today from a tumblr-popular youtube show, saying they're putting all their content behind a subscriber paywall. This post isn't about them per say, only bouncing off what that has brought up into the following:

When is a digital subscription something i'm willing to pay for? Rubric edition

Disclaimer - my first news job was in the early aughts at a digital stock news company, so I've been keeping an eye on this subject for over 25 years.

So you want to access an entertainment or news service that has content behind a subscriber paywall. What steps should you go through, to figure out if it's something that you should pay for?

This post will go off the caveat that artists/authors/reporters (I'm not calling them content creators, that term is garbage) should be properly compensated for the works they produce, and the current business model in our late-stage capitalist society means we all have to deal with the worst possible way of engaging with art - the subscription-model paywall. It's a terrible garbage system but there we are.

Step Zero: Do you care enough about the content to consider paying for it?

It might not be important enough to you to want to pay for, and that's okay. On the other hand, you may want to continue watching/reading/listening, either because of the content itself or because you want to support its creation.

(I'm separating the above as they are two different reasons - personally, i'm in favour of paying an annual subscriber fee to my small local news room to keep them in producing the content because I think it's important they exist.)

Step 1: Can you literally afford it?

Everything costs more and salaries aren't rising. If the answer to the question is no, can you split the cost with someone? Is it something that can be accessed through your local library (in terms of audiobooks or magazine/newspapers)? Otherwise, moving to:

Step 2: Is the cost of the subscription in line with what you're willing to pay for the content?

I still subscribe to the newspaper i used to work for - I can read all the news and get all the quotes I'm interested in, and I know i'm supporting local news. I'm willing to pay money for that.

On the other hand, back last year when Disney Plus announced it was raising its prices, I decided that I wasn't interested in paying that amount for what I was getting, so I cancelled that one. Do I miss it? Yes, somedays. Would I go back to them if the cost went down? Honestly I don't know.

Step 3: Did the company/channel do something to lose your trust?

Sometimes, all the above have been met with the affirmative, but something about how the company is doing things sets your teeth on edge. Maybe it's how their business model is evolving, or how they treat their customers (Netflix and their password sharing crackdown was that tipping point for me - i no longer wanted to support a company that sees its customer base like that). Maybe it's how they decided to move to subscriber-only. Maybe it's their take on geopolitical or social issues. Whatever it might be, you get to make that call for you.

Summation: Don't feel pressed by FOMO to pay for something when you're not comfortable doing so.

Whatever the situation is, you get to decide where you spend your money. The corollary of that is that you may not get to see the new stuff created by companies/channels that you like, but honestly? That trade-off might be better for you in the long run (and I'm saying this with too many years of regret behind me) nothing poisons the enjoyment of art more than feeling like you were forced to pay/pay more for it than you were OK with.

The tl;dr: Take a step back and see if you're really comfortable with paying for all your electronic subscription fees for news or entertainment. Don't feel pressured into paying for something you don't really want to see, or what to support. Consider where you want your money to go.

It's hard economic times - do what you need to, and spend your money where you want to.

(And check into what your local library has on offer - they may have streaming services or digital content you weren't aware of - might be enough to tide you over for a while).

[raytorosaurus]

hey! I play acoustic guitar and I wanna start trying out electric but I also reeeally wanna get nerdy about types of guitars and gear and stuff, I find it very cool but I’m not entirely sure where to start. Do you have any book recommendations or anything like that? Also this is unrelated but I would kill to know exactly what gerard has got going on with their pedalboard cuz woah do they love that thing. Thanks and I love ur blog, hope you have a nice day!

hey so sorry this took me a bit to answer!! honestly my recommendation though would be to not go crazy with pedals to start out with. start with an affordable beginner's guitar, a headphone or mini amp, and maybe one effects pedal (i'd go with a simple overdrive or distortion one to start out with, they're your classic rock sound. or try to find a cheap practice amp with built-in effects and then you can forego pedals just to start out with - i have an older roland micro cube i got second hand for pretty cheap and it's really great and pretty versatile) and just get comfortable with playing electric first. first of all, you won't know what to do with the pedals until you're good at playing and they'll be wasted! but mainly, pedals are just really fucking expensive lol. it's not worth it unless you're a really committed player yk

also once again i'm definitely not an expert in any of this - i'm partly answering in this way because i don't have much gear myself and i think that's a better approach to learning that, like, sinking a whole lot of money into pedals when you don't know exactly what you're looking for or what sound/style you want (for reference i have two boss pedals and one digital multi-effects pedal, and that one i use so rarely, all of them second-hand). also learning + getting used to playing with pedals is like...a whole different skill set on top of just playing that should probably come after you get a decent grip on guitar itself. obviously you already play acoustic so you have a big headstart but playing electric is a pretty different approach, especially when you bring pedals into it. if you find yourself getting bored, sure, throw one in there to spice things up! but they're a pretty big investment sadly lol. if you just want to learn about them because you think they're super interesting, there are soooo many youtube channels out there dedicated specifically to that lmao. it's nerd central out there

and okay now if you're just asking about learning electric in general, my advice would be to find an online course that offers you some kind of structure - there's SO many resources out there for learning that it's actually overwhelming and one of the hardest parts is trying to figure out where to start and where to go next. i started out on fender play and it was pretty good (though it's aimed at people who have zero musical background so you may need to skip through some lessons), but i got a subscription when they were doing like. 70% off or something asdfkaljf, so you could keep an eye out to see if they do a new year's special or something relatively soon! otherwise if you can find a youtuber who does structured lessons in a sequential order i think that's your best bet - being dedicated to seeing through the boring parts of practice and not just jumping around and half-learning a bunch of out-of-context skills in any random order is the only way you can really get anywhere unfortunately ajsdkglaj. but honestly even the boring parts of practice are kind of fun especially if you're able to link whatever technique/scale you're learning to a song you enjoy. when i was teaching myself (like before i bit the bullet and started paying for lessons a few months ago lol) i would jump between the fender lessons and going through tabs of my chem songs to see if there were bits i could play with what i knew (playing along to those songs for the first time is the most exciting feeling in the world fr fr). and seeing the bits that i couldn't quite play but that didn't seem too hard really motivated me to keep going yk? anyway oh my god sorry this got so long AGAIN i'm not even sure if i properly answered your question LMAO.

oh but for the last part i will say that a really cool group of people is currently working on a zine showcasing mcr gear (including gerard's vocal pedalboard) over the years! it's a while off yet bc it requires a lot of research but it's gonna be awesome. gerard hasn't said much about his pedalboard yet but people who know way more than me are on it, hang tight B)

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

After 8 years I got rid of my dish service, DirecTV.

Once my husband gave me his old game system where I could access Prime video, netflix, and YouTube it was all over.

He thought I was using the service and I thought he was using the service and honestly the only thing we were doing was occasionally buying aew pay-per-views and maybe once a month checking in all the actual shows and for this we had to pay $180 a month.

It just so happened that I got a Walmart Plus Membership last year and it came with a Paramount plus free subscription which I never tried out. So we set up an account through Walmart and sure enough we get it for free and between those services and then my husband pays for peacock himself for the WWE oh my God we do not need cable at all!!

Paramount plus even has all these really old TV shows like Love Boat and the original Hawaii Five-O.

AND

There is a brand new Criminal Minds franchise that I didn't even know existed!! I am three episodes in and I am so so happy.

Before I got the game system I would always put on Blue Bloods to watch while I slept. And they have Blue Bloods on Paramount plus as well.

I have also become absolutely obsessed with the movie Talk to Me.

I rented it and watched it twice and I'm about to run it again so hubby and I can watch it together. I will be so glad when it is on a streaming service because it seems like it's been out forever, yet you can only see it by either subscribing to Showtime or renting it.

The calling card of modern horror seems to be to have characters who are so pretentious and unlikable you do not care when they die. And I hate that. That's why I really like movies like talk to me, the Sacrifice game, The Red Rose series, Saint Maude, etc

The teenagers in this are not pretentious, they're dialogue is not what people think teenagers sound like, and they're not just these psychos are sociopaths that are horrible to each other even before the bad stuff starts happening. They are just really really stupid in the moment which is really close to real life.

Tomorrow I go to Midland to finally see Michaela doctor and finally get my drops renewed. I am down to one drop and the stupid cornial surgeon absolutely would not refill any of my glaucoma meds because he said he was not qualified to do that. But I'm doing okay because my pressures were fine when he checked them all the 30th. And since Midland is a hell of a lot closer than Lubbock I am praying for a Very Fast Trip in and out.

A week after tomorrow I have my first professional development day in Midland which is going to be rough cuz it's a whole day of class. But I guess we'll see how it goes.

I still need to get my last shingles shot but considering how bad the first one knocked me out I don't know what I'm going to be able to schedule the next one is going to have to be on a period of time where I know I'm not going to get out of bed for a couple of days. And then I need to schedule my colonoscopy.

I swear summer for everybody else seems to be this great thing but for teachers it's when we have to deal with any health problems that we were not able to deal with during the year and of course all the professional development that we're having to take and honestly this is the first year that we've been required to take it in the summer.

My first three Summers I had to myself and I was able to just lay around and travel whenever I wanted to Period And then it was like every other summer either I was getting another eye surgery or I was studying for another Certification.

I just want to do nothing but stay in bed and read but if I do that I hate myself and I feel lazy.

Ah, the duality of man.

[eliotlime]

Hello, I first saw your comics on tapastic. I was just today going thru all my subscriptions to cull out the ones that haven't updated in a while and weren't memorable enough for me to remember a single detail of. I found yours and was abruptly reminded of how much I loved your content. I'm a bit too busy now to really immerse myself in what you've got going on anymore, but I'm really glad to see you're still around. I can't honestly say I remember any of the comics you posted bc I was not my best self at the time, but I can say they meant a lot to me. Anyways, the point of this message is to thank you for being a relatable voice when I needed one. I'm really glad to see you're still around and that you've got things that you find enjoyable enough to blog about.

Hey man that's great, I'm glad you remember me! I feel like I can say the same about me making the at the time comics as well, I went through a few years absolutely hating that comic and what it represented because I made it as a way to cope with.. honestly, being a teenager. I really didn't like who I was and that comic was like a great summation of my being at the time.

(read more cause woof i talk alot!)

I'm just skimming through it because I pretty much forgot what I've even made. Like Holy Shit I made 117 comics? I think it holds up okay, it's pretty normal relatable humour though a bit dated. I think i definitely could have been a little weirder with it, though at one point I did try to do something meta with it (chickened out though, it was just way past my skill level). It all just screams of being a teenager, and that level of sincerity would make anyone cringe.

I think it's wild to me how willing i was to share my life to the world like that when I was so riddled with anxiety and sadness. Can't say I'm free of that still but I'm working through it, and I still stand by the last update I posted to that comic. .. Though I'd cut back on how many jokes i'd make to mask my fear this time. I still really love comics, narratives and characters! Though I've not been very good at sharing them lately haha but I promise I'm still chipping away at them. This is probably a very strange time to mention but I set up a Patreon recently, though I haven't gotten around to announcing it formally. But I have a short comic up in there I did for school! Of course if you don't feel like subscribing, I also have it as a one time purchase on gumroad as well :)

One more thing I'd like to say is that the timing of this ask is pretty crazy, cause I was just thinking of doing a retrospective. Just the general reflecting on art school and just looking back on what being nonbinary means to me and I guess YLNB as a whole. Though it's probably too soon to reflect on the latter haha, I'm probably going to wait another 3 more years.

Anyway thank you for reading and sticking around! I hope you're in a better place anon, I know things are rough in the world but I promise that there's good things too! If you'd like to support me I have Kofi and as previously mentioned a fresh new Patreon (wow!) I'm also on youtube where you can find some of my animations and though I've never mentioned it I'm drawing a rabbit (well, lagomorph but its been bunny central lately) a day @dailylagomorphs! We're about the half way point so you can spend half your year looking at all those little guys.

Additionally! my commissions are open! if you want to buy a funny little drawing from me

[hipster--kitten]

Got tagged by @davetheovercastmoose for this and I'm definitely happy to answer :D

Last song I listened to: MUST DIE! - LOL OK (Habstrakt remix), it was the last song I played while listening to music during and after my shower :3 I recently got a new speaker with excellent bass so I've been listening to lots of really bassy tunes when I've been showering lately (moreso than before, i mean)

Currently watching: Honestly nothing right now? At least in terms of TV shows, I have been watching YouTube still of my usual channels though (most notably Tom Scott, Extra Credits/History, and Half as Interesting). The last show I've watched (that I'm actually not entirely finished yet) is Hamtaro, my gf showed it to me and we've so far gone through most of the episodes, its become a bit of a comfort show for me now c:

Currently reading: uhhh nothing honestly, I have a fairly short webnovel I've been needing to finish but haven't read in like a year >.> and I wanna get around to reading the Guild Wars novels since I got them for my gf and she quite enjoyed them, and I'm also already very interested in the stories/lore for reasons mentioned below xD

Current obsession: Guild Wars Guild Wars Guild Wars Guild Wars!!!! It has absolutely been my obsession for over a year now, I genuinely can't get enough of it and I could talk about it all day xD Guild Wars 2 is seriously an amazing game and an amazing MMO with a really interesting and well written world/universe and story, it also has tons of well done cannonical queer character including at least 3 main characters (along with a fairly prominent agender character in the newest expansion). Just, the game has brought me so much joy, I've loved making OCs out of my game characters, playing through the story with my gf, absorbing every last bit of lore I can, and going through the awesome achievements and side-stories. The last things I'll say about it are: the community is extremely kind and helpful, the game even incentivizes helping one another, and the base game is free so I strongly recommend all my followers check it out, even if you don't generally like MMOs because it's doesn't have a lot of the typical MMO trappings and can be played entirely solo (it also doesn't have any subscriptions and is instead buy-to-play, unlike most MMOs). If any of my mutuals do get into the game please let me know as I'd love to add you as a friend in game!

Thanks for tagging me in this Dave, I dont know if I've ever actually done one of these on tumblr before so it was a lot of fun to do and get tagged in :D I'll tag @sdrowie, @spacetai, @electricplants, @colorful-starry-sky, and anyone else who may see this and feel up for it, no pressure at all if you don't want to though :)

[jeramewrites2]

March 16 23

Good morning internet. This will be the start of something. I feel like I keep starting time and time and time again. My problem is finishing anything. I guess that is most people's problems but this is special because it is mine. I was watching a YouTube video yesterday and the topic of burr grinders came up. I have had the oxo one for I think about 3 or 4 years at this point. I make decent coffee. I don't go crazy. I have not bought a moka pot yet nor do I have an espresso arm. But this both look interesting. Anyway there was a fair amount of discussion about the fact that you should really clean your coffee grinder once a month. Or at the very least quarterly. This has not been the case for me. I think I have cleaned it maybe once in the 4 years I have had it. So this morning was the day to do it. Honestly it only took about 15 mins. There are not a lot of parts to pull off and clean and it is a rather simple machine. I am looking forward to the next grind.

Another topic of discussion is the slander of a French press coffee maker. Apparently that method is shit and I don't even need a 100 dollar coffee grinder if I am going to make my coffee that way. Well to that I will say. I am going to do what I like how I like and I don't care what the internet says. See I was raised baptist and the one thing that I learned from my time in the church is that you don't take everything that is said as gospel. Only take the parts of a philosophy that you like. The other parts you don't really even need to listen to or even understand.

I am standing at a crossroads now. I have Saturday off and I can read or I could try and write but I also need to study for my next exam in my Logic class. Which if I am being completely honest I can't believe I am doing as well in it as I am. But that is beside the point. I think that the Teaching Assistants are grading very easily right now. So I am hoping I can still pull out an A. I don't know just yet. The information is not that difficult it's just like learning a new way of thinking and writing. I will do at the very least some of the practice problems and see what goes from there.

I don't know if this is really something I just want to have out in the world. After all this is more of a journal entry but then again do I think anyone is ever really going to read this? No. Absolutely not. Not when you can think of everything else you can do and read on the internet. Ok I have been able to write for 10 mins without even really stopping which is a lot better than I have been able to do in a while.

Ace and Shadow's deaths have hit me hard and has made writing difficult. I am not over their deaths but I think I am getting ready to process them through my writing. I have had a few relations die in the last 3 years or so and well they didn't really effect me at all. My grandfather died but I had not been close to him since I was a kid. The same goes true for my uncle Matt. Once he had a wife and kids I was not a priority or even an after thought. Then again upon looking back isn't that the way that it should have been? Why would he hang out with his nephew when he had a new kid to take care of. I just wish that I had... I don't know if I actually wish things had been different. Both Helen and James are dead as well. I believe Covid got them both. Again I had not seen or spoken to them in 20 years probably. I remember talking to James as a kind but short of him buying me a subscription to National Geographic that I never read I don't know how close we really were even when I was a kid.

I did always like his truck though. That one I can say. As a kid I always got the feeling that I was someone to put up with and not someone that my family wanted around. That feeling still holds to this day. That is most likely low self esteem and I can say that all day but no one is calling me to come hang out. Everyone has their own lives and I am not to be involved in them. So here I sit and here I will stay. I am getting better and better with being alone.

[mensahjacq]

Artist Interview

For this blog post, I decided to bring on someone that the class has heard from before, however this time, I want to truly give this artist the space and opportunity to truly talk about their music and creative outlets and what it means to them. We got into the nitty gritty of how this artist records and produces their own music, and also into the larger implications such as long-term career goals and thoughts about the current music industry. Here is the complete excerpt of the interview:

Today, we will be interviewing the upcoming artist, Wala. 

Me: Hello Wala, thank you for allowing me to interview you today. How are you?

Wala: Hey, I’m doing great. Thank you for giving me this platform to get my name out there.

Me: No problem, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get into the questions now. At what point in your life did you realize you wanted to follow a music career path?

Wala: I always had a passion for music. I always had it playing, there was basically always music around me. I slowly started to create my own sounds. Using apps like Acapella, and just using my voice as an outlet. I never published any of that though.

Me: When did you start to publish your work for others to see? Was this also when you decided to take your creations more seriously and think about the long term?

Wala: I’d say around 2 years ago is when I realized that my music was good enough for other people’s ears. But honestly, I still wasn’t headset to doing it seriously, it was just a creative thing. 

Me: I get that. I’d like to get into how exactly you make your music. What audio software do you use, how do you get your beats, and things of that nature.

Wala: I use FL Studio which is a computer audio software. It’s pretty taxing on me, cause it’s a paid subscription so every month I pay around $100 for it. I also use sample beats from like YouTube or whatever, and record my voice over them. I have a whole setup for recording, with a mic stand and everything. 

Me: All that sounds pretty expensive for an independent artist like yourself. How do you deal with high costs for equipment?

Wala: It’s obviously a struggle, but I need good equipment if I want to produce a good sound, you know? So, I suck it up and get the expensive stuff, just cause I’m that devoted to my craft.

Me: I have to say that is really inspiring. Thinking long-term, let’s say in 5 years. What will you have hoped to accomplish and what career goals do you have?

Wala: I definitely hope to be signed to a label by then. Working with bigger names and definitely have more songs out there. I hope to have some kind of fan base or following, and I hope I’m still able to be as creative and free with my sound as I am now.

Me: Yes, we would surely hope so! Getting to the end of this interview, as an upcoming artist, I’m curious to know your current thoughts on our music industry today. Do you like where it’s going, or do you feel there are big issues that need to change?

Wala: I feel the music industry needs a lot of work. I think it’s really skewed to support certain kinds of artists, and there really aren’t any searches to find the next new thing anymore. So, as a newer artist, you really have to make sure you're putting your foot through the door and making yourself known.

Me: I agree as well. Anyway, thank you for allowing me to ask you all of these questions. I wish you the best in your journey.

Wala: Thank you for having me. 

In conclusion, after interviewing the upcoming artist Wala, I realized the music industry and the media in general need to pay more attention and give smaller artists their credit. The music industry is extremely hard to maneuver on one’s own and a simple stream, follow, like or comment can be of more support to a newer artist than you might think. 

[beyondxmeasure]

Annual Writing Review

Thank you to @littleroverlouis @allwaswell16 @brightgolden and @thinlinez for tagging me in this.

1. Number of stories posted on AO3 in 2021: 8

2. Word count posted for the year: 176,210 Total. 166,050 (One Direction) 10,160 (Schitt’s Creek)

Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction, Schitt’s Creek

Pairings: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson; David Rose/Patrick Brewer

Story with the most: Kudos: A Simple Twisted Fate Bookmarks: A Simple Twisted Fate Comments: Freedom Always Comes With a Price

Work I'm most proud of (and why): Freedom Always Comes With a Price because it took me so long to complete. I had so many various obstacles along the way, and it became such a hard story to finish with a really complicated plot line. It made me rethink writing something that size ever again, but I have to remind myself that I essentially wrote a novel in just under a year (and only my second work posted for the fandom), so no matter what, it’s a pretty big accomplishment.

Work I'm least proud of (and why): Longing Like a Searchlight. Although I am very proud of this work, it felt a bit thrown together at the last minute, and I wasn’t able to execute it exactly how I envisioned it in my head, nor put the final polish with editing on it like I usually do. But I’ve got a lot of positive feedback, so that makes me proud. Someday, I will go back and spruce it up a bit!

Share or describe a favorite review you received: “I’ve never seen anyone weave in real life quotes and references so seamlessly. It was honestly my favorite part, so thank you.” I love this because one of my favorite things to do is sneak in interview quotes, fandom jokes or references like Easter eggs and see who notices. It’s always nice to hear about it when they do!

A time when writing was really, really hard: IDK?? Writing is always hard! I have very little time to do it with how much I work and struggle to stay focused with my ADHD, so I can’t think of any specific time except ALL the time! Hahaha. But I have recently discovered deep focus/binaural music on YouTube and Spotify that has been a total game changer for me. I live in my noise-canceling headphones now.

A scene or character that you wrote that surprised you: Almost all of Twisted Fate, mostly because I had a completely different second half planned out and changed it the week before I posted it. Completely scrapped 8k words with 10k new ones in 4 days. Utter chaos! LOL.

A favorite excerpt of your writing: Taken from I Know You Rider (Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone) Louis squeezes his eyes shut. Just as they enter the last tunnel, a firm hand splays warm across his back, long fingers wrapping around his middle to pull him in close. Louis’ arms land easily around Harry’s shoulders. Another hand ghosts across Louis’ neck, thumbing along his cheekbone and closing the distance. Warm breath washes over his lips. His fingertips knead into the supple skin of the back of Harry’s neck, letting the short, blunt edges of his nails scratch gently at the nape, coaxing him on. Their lips press together, hot, wet, and urgent. They’re strangers in the dark, but they find each other with ease and fit into each other’s space as if they’re meant to be there, warming themselves with glowing embers that have grown from a single spark. Louis loses himself in the scent and taste and feel of this boy close against his skin. His head is swimming with desire. Everything in this moment is a blur, a rush to all his senses, but the one thing that breaks through the fog in his mind is that he needs more, more, more.

How did you grow as a writer for this year: Last year my brother got me a subscription to Masterclass, so I used some of what I learned in those lessons. I continued the subscription this year as a gift to myself, so I hope to binge a lot more this new year. I didn’t take enough time to use it, so that’s another goal of mine!

How do you hope to grow next year: See above (More Masterclass) but also, write less and write more. Use fewer words to write better work, but also write more stories… shorter, less involved fics. Conquer my fear of the drabbles and ficlets.

Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): So many! But off the top of my head, I would say @zanniscaramouche probably because she was such an amazing and patient beta. She gave me tons of great constructive criticism and advice that has really stuck with me and pointed out a lot of my challenges that I can easily spot and fix now. I have noticed my writing has improved a lot just by keeping her tips in mind anytime I write.

Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: Not that I can think of, but I rarely pull from my own experiences (for plot ideas anyway). But I did recently have an idea for a Christmas fic. I didn’t have time to write that has a lot of myself in the characterization of Louis. Planning on turning it into an advent fic! 🤞

Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Outlining is your friend! I used to be a ‘panster’ with everything I wrote, and would just start with the beginning of an idea and write. But now I outline everything, even if it’s just rough notes or a semblance of a brainstorm. I have to see my story arc from start to finish on paper before I write. I usually use the ‘beat sheet’ method/template and plot out each idea for that point in the storyline. The nice thing about this is that whenever I get stuck somewhere, it allows me to jump around to another section and always be writing, so I’m not waiting to get out of my writer’s block before I can move forward. At least I’m making progress somewhere. Then I just cobble all the pieces together later and fill in the gaps, if any.

Any projects you're looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: My Big Bang, Fitness Instructor Harry, maybe my Eroda Fest??, and an advent fic with an idea I had this past Christmas but didn’t have time for, and a few other ideas…

Tag some writers whose answer you'd like to read.

I’m sure I’m tagging people that have already done this or have been tagged. But here goes anyway! Love you all… play if you want, ignore if you don’t.

@twopoppies @chloehl10 @solvetheminourdreams @casuallyhl @soldouthaz @bottomlinsons @2tiedships2 @falsegoodnight @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @canonlarry @outropeace @itjustkindahappened @softfonds @dehydratedpool @sadaveniren @afangirlfantasy @daggerandrose @herefortommo @queenbeeharry @gaycousinlarry

Happy New Year!

[lucemferto]

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT TECHNOBLADE (or A Narrative Analysis of the Dream SMP Doomsday Event) - Script

Heyo! Per request I am posting the script to my video of the same name here on tumblr. I must warn you that just reading the script will probably not give you the full experience, so I would encourage you to watch the video (linked above).

There might also still be a lot of grammatical errors in the text, because I don’t proofread.

Okay, so! I don’t want this to turn into a reaction channel OR a Dream SMP channel for that matter! I am planning on doing a big dumb, way too long analysis video on the Dream SMP which will – at my current pace – come out in five years. I am already way too late on this one.

Spoiler Alert for the Doomsday Event that took place on the 6th of January in the Dream SMP. Surely the worst thing to take place on the 6th of January 2021 … I’m sorry, what’s this about the Capitol?

In case you don’t watch the SMP and need context: The Dream SMP is a Minecraft Multiplayer Server, that, throughout the last year, has transformed from a normal Let’s Play to an ongoing new-media series streamed by multiple high-profile streamers such as Dream, TommyInnit or Technoblade. It comes complete with script – by which I mean loose bullet points – and story events. It has attracted a large fanbase specifically invested in the story and less so in the actual gameplay content. Like I said before, I will probably do a big video on the Dream SMP at some point in the future.

The storyline is long and complicated and trying to explain it all would take up the majority of the video and there are other channels who have already done a much better job than I could ever hope to do, so give them a watch. I’ll try to summarize all that is pertinent to what I will talk about in this video.

Okay, let’s speedrun this summary. Cue the music!

Major Players here are TommyInnit, a founder of the independent nation of L’Manburg, Technoblade, an anarchist who was deep in conflict with L’Manburg, Tubbo, Tommy’s best friend and current president of L’Manburg, and Dream, the ruler of the Kingdom of the Dream SMP (even though he is not the king, but we’re not going to get into that right now). Tommy had in the past been exiled by Tubbo for endangering L’Manburg’s shaky peace with the Dream SMP. Tommy had then teamed up with Technoblade, who was hellbent on destroying L’Manberg after some prior altercations – more on that later.

Tommy and Tubbo came into conflict during a festival set-up to celebrate the friendship between L’Manburg and the Dream SMP. After punching out their feelings, Tommy came to the realization that his friendship with Tubbo was more important than his vendetta against Dream and those who exiled him. Techno took that change of heart badly and teamed up with Dream to destroy L’Manburg … and that’s exactly what happened.

Techno and Dream, with little to no opposition, obliterated L’Manburg with no hope for recovery leaving its inhabitants stranded hopeless and alone.

… And that’s what you missed on Dream SMP!

Okay. So, usually I just put whatever thought slime drips out of my mouth hole into your subscription box. But then I asked myself: “Am I not taking this a largely improvised nonsense story from a bunch of 16–24-year-olds a little too seriously?”. And then I remembered. I’m a pretentious bitch. I made an 18-minute video explaining why the popular commentary YouTuber memeulous is secretly the time travelling Anti-Christ, REASON HAS NO SWAY OVER ME!

So, like the English Major drop-out that I am, I will present you with two theses, which I will then combine into one … supratheses! That word doesn’t exist, I just coined it, it’s mine! I am very smart!

[I know words, I have the best words!]

 Thesis #1: The Fandom focuses too much on Character Analysis in Favour of Narrative Analysis

The Dream SMP is truly something special. It is uniquely singular in how it tells a story of this scope through its chosen medium. While there is an overarching script that lays out the plot points of the future, each of the 30+ streamers on the SMP are their own cameraman, director, writer and actor. You cannot watch “the Dream SMP” – if you attempted that, you would be 80 by the time you caught up to the Doomsday Event. You have to choose whom to watch. You have to choose your focal point character.

Because by the way the story is told and consumed – aka in such a compartmentalized fashion; you watch one streamer and get one character’s perspective – it has sort-of unintentionally conditioned fans to look at the SMP and its characters less as one coherent story with messages and themes and more as sports teams they can root for. You’re Team Techno or Team Tubbo or Team Tommy or Team JackManifoldTV (formerly known as Thunder1408) and every other side is in the wrong! It’s like Twilight for a decade old children’s game about virtual Lego!

Okay, I’m exaggerating, but the amount of discourse perpetuated by and revolving around so-called “apologists” – a terrible term that unfortunately has caught on – is really not something that I think is good for how we interact with the story of the Dream SMP.

The Dream SMP is discussed a lot on character-based level, which is, like I said before, hugely advantaged by the way the story is consumed by its audience. With traditional, visual media such as film for example, the audience can be made more aware of what messages the narrative might try to communicate on a narrative level without the need for an explicit narrator to tell you the moral.

As an example, in a movie you could have a smash-cut from the Butcher Army’s discussions about neutralizing the danger Technoblade poses to Techno being nice around villagers or taking care of animals. This would communicate on an extradiegetic level, that the Butcher Army is in the wrong with their assumptions. Alternatively, you could contrast Techno’s declarations that power corrupts and that Tubbo’s administration is cruel with Tubbo choosing not to punish Ranboo for his association with Techno – thus the narrative would communicate that Techno’s view of Tubbo and by extension the government is one-sided and not true to reality.

Stuff like that helps the viewer understanding a story holistically and manages to communicate stuff like themes and morals without having to solely rely on in-character logic and argumentation, which, as Ghostbur put it so eloquently, is comprised of a bunch of unreliable narrators.

Character analysis is great if we want dive deep, if we really want to give a character flavour and understand their motivations. It helps make the universe feel like it is alive, like it’s real. But – and this might be a shocker for you – it’s not real. It’s written. It is construction – and as such, in its construction, it has messages and themes and morals, intentionally or unintentionally.

By being so focused on specific characters and their individual journeys, viewpoints and motivation we really run the risk of not looking at the bigger picture and fail to see what the overarching narrative is actually communicating. And we may also fail to understand how characters might or might not fit into the overarching narrative.

Speaking of which …

 Thesis #2: Technoblade experiences very little Meaningfultm Thematic Conflict

Okay, let’s talk about Technoblade. I’m sure I’m not going to get any hate for this one.

I want to preface by saying that I don’t watch Technoblade’s streams; I catch up though clip channels and summaries. I’m mainly watching Tommy, Tubbo and Quackity – which is honestly already more than I can handle – but I want to be clear that while I’ll try to be as even-handed as possible – like I explained previously – the way I consumed the storylines will undoubtedly leave me with some bias.

Also, needless to say, I’m talking about the character Technoblade, not the actual content creator, unless I specifically say so. That should be obvious.

Now, I’m not doing a Technoblade character analysis, because that would be hypocritical of me – seeing how I just bitched about the overwhelming amounts of character analyses in the fandom – but I’ll try my best to summarize what is necessary.

Technoblade’s interesting in that he is a very static character – at least inwardly – he doesn’t change much. He is very steadfast in his beliefs and ideals and has very little introspection. He doesn’t question himself; he doesn’t waver, he is never in a bind about whether what he’s doing is right or wrong. He is very much a parallel to early TommyInnit – who, of course, famously said “I’m always in the right”.

And I want to emphasize that I mean this in no way as a critique of Techno’s character. A static character provides a nice contrast to more dynamic characters and can balance them out. It can also be utilised by the writing as a character flaw – which is what I hope content creator Techno is going for.

Like Techno doesn’t have a lot of empathy in the sense that he is particularly skilled at or interested in trying to see the viewpoints of others. There is never an attempt to reconcile, for example, the goal of the Pogtopians to reclaim L’Manberg and install another administration with his desire for an anarchist society. This is also compounded with his overreliance on violence as the only tactic for conflict resolution – Techno has a whole thesis statement about violence being the only universal language. I’m sure you’ve heard the quote.

And lastly, what really drives this all over the edge, is his all-or-nothing approach when dealing with the enemy – he is not so much eye for an eye as he is – to use another biblical example – you make fun of me for being bald and I’ll sic two bears on you that maul and kill you and 41 other children.

There’s also the open and completely unacknowledged hypocrisy of a self-described anarchist working together with a man that installs and dethrones Kings with his every whim – someone who – and I cannot stress this enough – hits about every box when it comes to the definition of tyrant.

So, what I’m saying is that Technoblade is the Dream SMP equivalent of Dick Chenney. C’mon you know it’s true! He will bomb that freedom into your country whether you want him to or not. That’s some cogent political commentary in the year 2021.

Okay, so now that I’ve outlined his character, what kind of conflicts does Technoblade face. Well, it’s mostly physical or external. He fights a lot whether it’s against Quackity or Sapnap or bodying Karl Jacobs five times in a row. And – with the exception of maybe Sapnap – none of it is challenging. Technoblade is the best PvP-Player on the server – there really isn’t much tension to be had from a purely physical fight.

So, how are these fights supplemented emotionally. Well, internally there is not a lot going on. As I said before, Technoblade isn’t really an introspective character. Even during his shouting match with Tommy there’s not a sense that Technoblade is wavering or unsure of himself in the way that Tommy is. He exposits that one of the reasons, he acts like he does is that he feels dehumanized; that people only use him like a weapon and then discard or even try to neutralize him once he’s no longer useful.

But that is not something that Technoblade has to grapple with – it’s not conflict for him, it’s more conflict for Tommy. Technoblade is self-assured in that he’s a person and not a weapon – it’s almost like there was a character arc there, where Technoblade self-actualizes and breaks away from the people that want to use him. But we didn’t see any of it. Technoblade unleashes the withers; then he goes into retirement because he wants to be, I suppose, and then he returns to violence as a reaction to the Butcher Army. There is a story of vengeance here, but not any conflict about being used. There is never a point where we see Technoblade come to this realization or comes to assert himself.

In season 1 there’s never a push from Pogtopia where the narrative frames them as exploiting Technoblade. He fights with them of his own volition, he gives them weapons and armour of his own volition. Nobody pressured Techno into procuring their inventory for the fight. And in Season 2, he’s the one to approach Tommy about their potential partnership – he is in the position of power here, explicitly not Tommy.

Like, I’m sorry, if this ruffles some feathers, but I really don’t see this arc where Technoblade is being used. There’s a story of misunderstanding and maybe co-dependency – but not of dehumanization. This entire line of thought seems to solely reference that moment, where Tommy says to Sapnap “I have the blade” during one of their wars – which, to base an entire emotional arc around that without any further set-up, is, and I’m sorry to say that, incredibly flimsy.

Okay, so we covered physical and emotional conflict? But what about conflict on the narrative level? Well, that leads me to my suprathesis …

 Suprathesis: The Narrative is Unclear on how it treats Technoblade … and that’s Not Good.

Here’s a Hot Take: The narrative of Season 1 treats Technoblade way less sympathetically than that of season 2.

Let me explain. The narrative of Season 1 revolves mostly around Wilbur and Tommy. The emotional fulcrum of the overall narrative is Wilbur’s rise and fall from Grace – and Tommy succeeding him as symbol of L’Manberg’s “special”-ness. Now I will talk about all that more in detail, when I talk about Season 1 of the Dream SMP. So, you’ll just have to go with me on this one for now.

Technoblade, by contrast, doesn’t really have much going on thematically in Season 1. He mostly exists as a sort-of utilitarian character – he is an accessory to make story beats happen. Like him executing Tubbo doesn’t open up any sort of thematic conflict involving him – on a character level it sets up antipathy between him and Tommy and it grants us some insight into how he operates with his violence speech – but on a larger-scale narrative level it really just shows how far Wilbur and Tommy have drifted apart in how they react to the event.

His biggest contribution is during the Season 1 finale, but even there he plays second fiddle to Wilbur. Not just because Wilbur does way more destruction with his explosion than Techno does with his Withers, but also because Wilbur had an emotional and thematic climax to his arc and by extension the entire storyline. Like Techno’s is a cool moment and very epic visual but in terms of thematic relevance, his Theseus-speech is really more set-up for Season 2.

And Season 1 is very unambiguous about L’Manberg being good and Tommy’s ideals ultimately being morally justified – I mean, they have a whole speech about it in the end and it was built-up throughout the entire Season – Techno is cast in a … less than sympathetic light. He is, if not a villain, then definitely an antagonist.

But with Season 2 the narrative is either uninterested in or not very clear on exploring Technoblade’s flaws.

Like ask yourselves: is Technoblade’s character ever consciously challenged by the narrative? Are his actions ultimately shown to not be in the right? Are his beliefs about government and power ever called into question? Are the negative consequences that his actions cause ever shown to be larger than the “good” he does?

I think what exemplifies this the most is how the Butcher Army event played out on December 16th. Now, during that event, the Butcher Army, which was comprised of Tubbo, Quackity, Fundy and Ranboo, managed to apprehend Technoblade, who at that point was living the quiet retirement life, and tried to have him publicly executed – without trial.

Now, smarter people than me have pointed out that the Butcher Army had a bevy of in-character reasons that can justify or explain their actions. And that’s definitely interesting, but as I said before, I want to get away from that and look into how the Butcher Army is treated on a narrative level. Because this is one of the few instances where the otherwise grey-loving Season 2 has some very clear narrative intent when it comes to morality.

The Butcher Army is very deliberately framed as almost cartoonishly corrupt and violent. They very forcefully investigate Philza, mock him and then put him under house arrest – and there’s just no remorse in the script even from normally sympathetic characters like Tubbo.

Compare and contrast with the Tommy-exile scene, which is also an act of moral ambiguity and is treated as such. And things get even worse once the Army arrives at Technoblade’s abode and attack him after he softly tells them that he has left that live behind him. They then proceed to take his horse hostage, mock him and execute him without fair trial – and I haven’t seen it but from live commentary I gathered that Techno really played up the whole softie-schtick before the Butcher Army arrived. I mean, before the big Technoblade vs Quackity fight, Quackity had whole villain monologue for Christ’s sake.

And even afterwards, the Butcher Army really plays up the corrupt angle with Tubbo proposing a festival as a guise to publicly execute someone. And again, I know that on an intradiegetic there’s nuances and it’s not really comparable to the Red Festival, but in combination with what the audience has seen up until that point and with how much it feeds into the already established themes of history repeating itself and becoming like your predecessors, it really does not paint a pretty picture of the Tubbo administration.

You can feel the heavy hand of the script on your shoulder, which is a feat seeing how – as discussed before – that’s not something that can be easily accomplished in this medium.

And that is what I mean when I say that Technoblade is not really challenged by the script and is in this case even emboldened by it. Because after this whole ordeal the thought of Technoblade taking revenge by destroying L’Manberg doesn’t seem like such an extreme response to the viewer – even though in my opinion, it is.

As of right now it is too early to say how the narrative will judge Technoblade’s actions in the future. Will they be framed as extreme but ultimately justified or perpetuating a cycle of ever-escalating vengeance? Will we ever see a government that’s not just at best misguided and at worst completely awful?

Ultimately, I believe and hope that Technoblade will be challenged by the narrative, mostly because a character that cannot, believably, be physically challenged, who doesn’t have any meaningful internal conflict about what he’s doing; and who does come out on the other side having everything he always believed in be proven completely in the right by the narrative, would be incredibly boring. Not just to watch but also to play as.

As it stands now, if the destruction Techno, Phil and Dream inflicted upon L’Manburg is framed as ultimately in the right, I would find it personally a distasteful message to send. I would ultimately say that the “correct” way to counter corruption in government is to completely obliterate the entire country. Like we’re not talking simply disbanding the government – that’s not what Doomsday was – we’re talking complete and utter annihilation. And that would be cynical and depressing. Like, call me a big softie, but even bothsidesing this argument would be bad.

Like, I’m not calling for Technoblade to be transformed into or treated a monster like Dream. But I personally feel like the narrative needs to acknowledge that the Doomsday was something that was taken way too far and that it ultimately brought more harm than good. And Technoblade needs to held accountable by someone who is not a cartoonishly corrupt government-official or who is in conflict with him anyway, like Tommy.

I thought Philza or Ranboo could do that but seeing how their storylines are progressing I don’t believe that will be the case. But who knows, maybe Captain Puffy will come through for us. We stan a Queen.

 Conclusion

So, yeah, I made this entire video just to air out my grievances with how one-sided the mode of analysis is in the fandom, because no person actually involved with the production of Dream SMP will ever see this.

But after everything I am cautiously optimistic, that content creator Technoblade knows what he’s doing. He has talked in the past about how his character is a bad guy and he loves his Greek myths. After all what’s more Greek myth than hybris being rewarded with punishment? [Technoblade never dies] That bodes well for him.

Also, this isn’t the video I promised at the end of the last one!

[madrabbitsociety]

Intentions + Money

I have been doing a lot of work on things through therapy and just personally, and one of the questions I keep coming back to is ‘what are my intentions’. A lot of self-help blogs and books and life-purpose-type articles push the narrative that you need to ‘find your why’. I don’t necessarily agree with that, and I definitely don’t agree with that for everyone, but it did lead me to want to ask other questions about myself. My Intentions seem more purposeful than a ‘why’. A ‘Why’ feels a lot like I’m leaving something up to God or Fate or All-powerful-Universe whereas an Intention is a decision I’ve made and the impact that I hope I will make with that decision. 

We don’t all get to live our dreams. I wanted to be a famous actor, I wanted to be secure in a home, and I wanted to have published so many books by now. But, I have a hard time coming up with original concepts, I do not have a face for movies (until I get old, then I’ll probably be ‘that old person who was in a hundred things for five seconds at a time) and I’m in a very unsteady living situation. I’m in a job I can’t stand. But, I’ve come to this realization that, moving forward with careful consideration and intention, I can still shape this into something that hopefully I’ll enjoy. At least for the five more years we have before Jeff Bezos blows up the planet or we hurdle into the sun or whatever is going to happen. 

I have a lot of ‘Intentions’ that I use when creating the art that I choose to create. My Intention with my YouTube videos is to share my knowledge of sewing and crafting because I have a lot of it. At one point, I tried to monetize that by selling project tutorials and it made me miserable, but I’ve also been in so many situations in the last decade where I haven’t been able to buy patterns or buy fabric or buy something that I just decided I wanted to offer this information FREE to whoever wanted it. Would I like to be monetized on YouTube? Eh. I feel like that gives YouTube too much of a say over what I’m doing and what I make. I do have a Kofi, but honestly, I want people to see and like my videos. I am an actor. I enjoy the audience experience. And I want people to see the joy I have in making things and potentially be inspired to make things of their own. That is why I make videos.

The Intentions I had when I decided to get heavily into posting Fanfic last year were pretty depressing. I work in medical offices. I was sure I was going to die- I still have fears of catching COVID from one of our patients. But I am also fairly poor and between all the subscriptions, all the websites shipping things to homes, I just wanted to offer up free entertainment to try and cheer people up. I’m not conceited enough to think I made a huge difference to anyone’s life, but in my limited silverware drawer, it was the thing I had enough spoons to do. So there were my Intentions- give myself a purpose, give something entertaining that was free because I can empathize with not being able to purchase or subscribe or give tips, and to leave something of myself behind if anything happened during the pandemic. 

You don’t need to know all of my intentions, but you should probably know that this is coming from a lifetime of money dictating my art and my rebellion against that. I used to find joy in painting on jackets and jeans. The Dreaded Ex detested my style and bought me canvases, only to complain when I didn’t paint on the canvases and, after a little while, didn’t paint at all. That same Ex, the one that made me too nervous to enter book stores, would pressure me about reading ‘real books’ and get frustrated and upset when I read fanfiction. He would set his writer friend on me to give up writing fanfiction and write ‘things that were worth my time’ until I finally took a long hiatus from writing at all. But he had bought the canvases, he had purchased the books- the money gave him ownership of me and what I could and could not creatively do. There’s more nuance to the argument, and I’m not trying to make him sound like some Big Bad Monster, because I live with me, I know I’m pretty fucking horrible, but there were real moments of ‘but I bought you that so you should’. 

It’s why I didn’t enjoy art school. It was an entire two years of people trying to mold me into a Fine Artist when all I wanted to do was draw cartoons. So my talents could be marketable as a graphic designer or something useful to make money. Make money out of your art. 

I want to live in a world where the Fic that I write can be attached to my face. I want to be able to be proud of the fact that I wrote an homage to someone and I don’t want anything more than the comments and kudos from people that enjoy it. I don’t want to be nervous that I’m going to get C&D’d for being proud of something I wrote just because I don’t own the characters. I want to give my stuff away because I’m just so sick of being told what to do. In real life, I’m told I’m horrible over and over and over. I have a bad voice, I have a mean face, I have too many questions, I have too short of a temper - - I had a job tell me that I walked too hard. Two jobs, actually, have told me that I walk too hard. “Sounds like a herd of elephants”. And you have to shut up and take it because they pay you to be there, they pay you to smile and sound nice even when you don’t want to. 

So my intention is that my art needs to stay pretty free. That’s why I have a Kofi and not a Patreon- you can tip me if you want to, but I try really hard not to care about that. And I can promise, I will never utilize Post+ on Tumblr.

[out-of-jams]

Direct Message || Part one || kth

↠ Direct Message ↞ “Never in a million years would you have expected Kim--motherfucking--Taehyung of world famous Bangtan Sonyeondan, the biggest boyband in the entire world, to find it. To watch your whole cover of his song, Winter Bear, and actually like it. And not just like it.

He posted a link on Weverse for everyone else to see it too.”

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings/Genre: Fluff. Drabble series. Language barrier!au. Idol!Taehyung. Youtuber!Reader. Bad language. Somewhat social media!au.

A/n: Just a smol series. And yes, this is completely inspired by that one post Tae made on Weverse with a link to that girl’s yt channel. LOL. Also, this is kind of a part of the Cheers If You Agree universe!

All of my works are purely fiction. Everything I write is my intellectual property and therefore belongs to me. ©out-of-jams. Do not copy or repost without permission.

                             | Next | Masterlist | 

“Holy shit.”

There was no word in the history of the English language that could be used to describe what you were currently going through.

“Are you literally fucking kidding me?” Your voice, so high pitched that you were pretty sure only your next door neighbor’s demonic chihuahua could hear it, barely left your parted lips. Because you couldn’t believe what you were staring at. To be honest, you weren’t even sure if you could believe it despite the clear proof in the form of your phone. If you weren’t sitting on your bed, you were pretty sure that your legs would have collapsed right out from under you.

“This is..is...” Shaking, you lifted your hand to bring the brightly lit screen closer to your face. No matter how many times you swiped up to refresh the page with trembling fingers, it didn’t change. It was still there. Your fucking face! Well, the thumbnail at least.

You blinked.

Again.

Again.

Refreshed the page.

Again.

Yup, still there.

A link to YouTube of a video that you’d just recently uploaded stared back at you unwaveringly. You hadn’t thought anything of it when you’d made it, had just figured that it’d be like any other cover you’d uploaded throughout the past year. And you hadn’t been expecting a whole lot of views either, seeing as how your channel was still relatively new and all. When you’d clicked “upload” and closed out of the page, you’d figured that you’d go back and check in a few days to see how it was received. If people had liked it.

Sometimes you would get very nice, encouraging comments from people. And even though it was a slow climb, your subscriber count went up every couple of days. You’d been singing for years, as long as you could remember honestly, but you’d only just gotten the confidence to put yourself out there last year. Hell, the only reason you started posting in the first place was because your friends all but threatened bodily harm if you didn’t do it.

“You’re so talented, dude. Don’t let that go to waste.” Your best friend had told you one day over coffee. “Or you’ll regret it when you’re old and dusty.”

You hadn’t thought you’d become overly famous or anything. Just branch out and share your music with other people.

Never in a million years would you have expected Kim--motherfucking--Taehyung of world famous Bangtan Sonyeondan, the biggest boyband in the entire world, to find it. To watch your whole cover of his song Winter Bear and actually like it. And not just like it.

He posted a link on Weverse for everyone else to see it too.

When the green little notification that he’d posted something had first slid into view on your screen, you hadn’t thought much thought of it. Taehyung was incredibly active on the app and would spam it all the time with ridiculously funny selcas or respond to army’s posts in his free time. So you’d just brushed it to the side to check on later. Fighting the lag of millions of other people to try and translate what he posted wasn’t something that you were interested in at that moment.

Even if he ended up deleting it later, you were pretty sure that someone on Twitter would have taken a screenshot and it’d circulate around at some point. It wasn’t that you didn’t care, you just didn’t check every single thing the members posted to the app the moment that they were uploaded. Therefore, you hadn’t really given it a second thought.

Until your best friend and fellow army blew your phone up with over a dozen messages, completely interrupting your lazy Netflix binge. Most of them hadn’t made any sense, had just been a string of nonsensical key smashes with the occasional “!!” tacked on. Since she was stuck in a movie theater with her boyfriend, she hadn’t been able to call you without causing a scene. So she’d resorted to flooding you with texts until you responded.

Why she’d even been checking the Weverse notification in the darkened theater in the first place was a mystery to you. Especially since you knew she’d been dying to see that movie for weeks. Whatever it was. But that didn’t matter, not when she’d piqued your interest with a text saying, “WEVERSE HUGHIH NOW.” You’d figured that Taehyung must have just posted a thirst trap or something again.

But you’d been wrong.

Flooding in right beneath his post were hundreds of comments. Some were in English, others in Korean, and the rest in languages that you had no idea how to read. They varied in reactions too, and everytime you started to read one, the page would glitch out and another would take its place.

He hadn’t put any text in the post, just the link.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? That he liked it? He had to have, right? Otherwise he wouldn’t have posted it. Unless...well, unless he absolutely hated it and wanted to send army after you to--

Shaking your head to get rid of the onslaught of extremely unrealistically anxious thoughts, you watched the amount of comments and cheers to the post skyrocket. If just his post was getting so much attention, what would that mean for…?

Immediately you switched apps and opened up YouTube. Navigating to the video only took a minute, but felt like hours and your heartbeat pounding in your ears didn’t help. Especially not when you pulled up the same cover and could do nothing but freeze in shock.

“Oh, my god.” Not only did you have over a hundred thousand views already, but subscription notifications were going off every two seconds.

Setting your phone down onto your bed, you watched with unseeing eyes as the screen went dark from inactivity.

How the hell were you supposed to respond to the comments? Were you even supposed to? You’d never spoken a word to Kim Taehyung in your whole life. In fact, you’d only ever been to a handful of BTS concerts. But you knew how crazy some people could get. Would they start thinking you were dating him or something just because he’d shared a link to your video.

Fuck, you really hoped not.

Your phone lighting up snapped you out of your thoughts. You’d turned off all push notifications for comments and subscriptions, so you reached for it without a second thought. And stared down at the bright screen with bewilderment.

Whatever the rest of the message was got cut off there. Who the..? 

With a shrug and curiosity needing sating, you swiped it open.

[rachelthompsonauthor]

What is social proof? It’s a marketing concept that we are all inadvertently, unknowingly contributing to every time we click on, retweet, like, reply or comment, and share any kind of social media, article, or blog post on the net. Technically, social proof, as defined by Sprout Social is:

The concept that people will follow the actions of the masses. The idea is that since so many other people behave in a certain way, it must be the correct behavior.

Social Proof and Me

As an author, social media is a hugely important part of my author platform, as it is for any writer or blogger. This is how we connect with readers now, even before the pandemic. Virtual, online events are now the norm. Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube Live video discussions are the new book signings. Twitter chats are weekly on any number of topics; I have two of my own, in fact, #SexAbuseChat every Tuesday at 6 pm pst/9 pm est and #BookMarketingChat every Wednesday at 6 pm pst/9 pm est.

All important for visibility, branding, and most importantly, connection.

However…there’s a limit. I reached my limit over the course of this past year. It didn’t come all at once. It came, little by little, reaching a peak this past month or so.

Why? How? Me, the so-called social media expert?

Access. Like many people, I have issues with the incredible level of access Facebook gives people once we friend them without our consent. PMs (private messages) are automatic, now with the ability for people to call, voice, and video message us, with no option to shut these options to OFF unless we unfriend the person (we can, however, mute a specific conversation). Technically, we do give them consent in the legal mumbo jumbo we all agreed to when we joined back in the 2010s.

I am not okay with this. And Facebook doesn’t care. Nobody cares. You’re probably thinking, “Geez, Karen. Shut up, already. Stop your whining, white lady.” I get it. I do. First-world problems.

I counter with: I hear you. It’s also part of my business. A huge part. Here’s why:

As someone who manages over 70+ various social media accounts as part of my BadRedhead Media business, plus my own accounts as well, Facebook requires I have a personal account in order to manage all those other Pages. I do understand why, particularly with all the ridiculousness of the past four years with the abundance of fake accounts, fake news, and such.

As a survivor of sexual abuse and stalking, this is ultra-concerning to me. So, what happened this past month or so? Suffice it to say, one person repeatedly tried calling me. I never pick up Facebook calls, especially if I don’t know you. Another left me a few voice messages saying they were offended by something.

Yet another left me another message in ALL SHOUTY CAPS that she didn’t find what I posted inspirational enough and she expected better from someone who is “supposedly on the side of authors.”

Oh, and there is the one lady who started replying on ALL my posts to the kind people who did comment that she didn’t think I replied often enough or to her satisfaction.

Well. I’ve been criticized before. You should read some of my 1-star reviews. There’s plenty!

But, for whatever reason, this struck a chord. I got up in my feels. I cried. I talked with one of them and we worked it out because we like and respect each other’s work in the mental health space. The others I blocked. It’s darn frustrating to donate hours of my time each week to helping writers solely because I want to, only to be told it’s not enough. Like, seriously? Fuck off.

My blood raged. My heart sank. Understandable, right?

But what really made me angry is that I put myself in that position by being available. I accepted that ‘it is what it is.’ This is what the social media platforms have given us, so that’s what I have to work within.

I’m too available. It’s too easy to leave me shitty messages. This is why people hire people like me – to handle this crap for them! So they don’t have to read these ridiculous criticisms from judgy people who apparently have nothing better to do or are having a bad day.

And I get bad days. It’s a damn pandemic. We’re all struggling. Where’s the damn compassion for one another?

I have a dislike/hate relationship with Facebook anyway, since about ten or so years ago when I discovered that a past love had died by suicide by going to his personal profile and seeing, “RIP dude,” messages there. We had spoken early that day. It still haunts me.

So…what to do? I’m claiming my time. I’m not posting to my personal Facebook profile right now. I’m ignoring it. I am checking my Pages and of course, my client Pages. When I feel like I can face it again, I will cull my ‘friends’ down from *checks real quick* 4385 people to maybe, I don’t know, the few hundred in my groups, many of whom I do know and treasure.

Social Proof and You

If you’re a writer, social proof matters. This is the world we live in. Publishing is not only writing.

You need to be ‘findable,’ not only on Google, but also on each individual social platform, so your readers can learn more about you and hopefully, buy your books. If you go the traditional route, publishers and agents want to know how many followers you have (easily upped by buying fake followers or likes from Fiverr or wherever). I suggest not doing that, because:

1) fake followers don’t buy books 

2) it’s usually pretty obvious when you have fake followers because they’re all foreign names, have questionable bios, and no tweets

3) do you really want to start your publishing career with a lie? 

They also want to know what you post, how often, and what your branding is. If you’re an indie author, honestly, the same applies. Social proof is about connection, building relationships, and authenticity. I’ve believed that since I started my business and writing career way back in 2011, and I stand by it now. Start slow, grow slow. It’s not a race.

I’m the furthest thing you’ll even find from a conspiracy theorist – I don’t believe in chemtrails, pizza parlor cabals, or that the earth is flat. However, I am a realist. Watch The Social Dilemma sometime. These huge tech companies share our data without our knowledge or consent (Cambridge Analytics, anyone?). Younger generations are so used to this, they don’t really care – ask them.

(My kids think having a chip implanted in their hands with all their data is a fabulous idea. “So much easier than having to talk and repeat everything over and over. Just scan me and be done with it,” says my daughter Anya (21). “Agree,” grunts my son, Lukas (15). Buy stuff, go to the doctor, whatever. Scan and go. Talk with any GenZ kid, you’ll likely get a similar answer. They’ve been tracked since birth everywhere. They don’t know life without a computer, tablet, or phone in their hands.)

Know that whatever we do, it’s all part of each platforms’ AI, and they share data, which is why that darling pair of shoes you just saw on Amazon is now showing up on Google, Facebook, Twitter, and every website you visit going forward. It’s all about the money, and they all get a piece of that affiliate link.

Every bit of every click is recorded, even when you’re watching videos on YouTube, or a subscription service like Netflix, or perusing goods on Amazon. It’s all connected. I’m not shocked or surprised by any of this, are you?

It’s Not Personal

What people say to us and about us is ultimately incredibly revealing about them. We know this, at an intellectual, psychological, and emotional level. Still, when people say mean things, it hurts. We’re human.

Does it matter in the overall scope of our lives? Who can say. It matters at that moment. It can matter when it comes to overall visibility when you’re marketing your book(s) or trying to get that book contract or interview. Only you can say if it matters to you.

Already a longtime fan of THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz, I took a moment to reorient myself with this one agreement: Don’t take anything personally. I also stumbled across an excellent short and entertaining TEDTalk by Frederick Imbo. His main message to stop taking things personally is two-fold;

It’s not about me. Look at the other person’s intention and

It IS about me. Give yourself some empathy. Speak up. Ask questions. Pay attention to how you feel and be vulnerable with your needs.

I’m glad I was able to, inadvertently, employ point #2 and work out some issues with one of the people by telling him what he said made me cry. He apologized. I apologized. We talked it through and we’re still friends.

Ultimately, social media is what we contribute to it. What we make it. How much we allow of it into our lives. Social proof is going along with the tide. I’ve been in this space since 2008. Being connected to others is a big part of the work I do to help and support not only other writers, but also other childhood sexual abuse survivors. However, I’ve reached that point. I knew it was coming.

I’m not shutting my doors. I’m just adding a screen. With a strong lock.

***

Read more about Rachel’s experiences in the award-winning book, Broken Pieces.

She goes into more detail about living with PTSD and realizing the effects of how being a survivor affected her life in

Broken Places, available in print everywhere!

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The post What Is Social Proof and Does It Matter, Really? appeared first on Rachel Thompson.

via Rachel Thompson

[dreamdropxoxo]

Lock-down Story, Part III

Part I, Part II

"How about you start your own home workout stream?" When Laurent had asked this question the day before, Damen had really asked himself why he hadn't thought about it sooner. He had all the equipment, was a trained chiropractor and fitness instructor and had enough time to just do it.

He sat down and started drafting his first set of training with alternatively easier method for people who were not as sporty, muscled or simply motivated as he was. It occupied him for half a day and that was much better than to just stare at the windows and asking himself if he should clean them once again.

When he went outside to install the camera, he saw, to his surprise, his boyfriend kneeling in the dirt in their backyard.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing there?"

"Gardening, Damianos, don't ask stupid questions." Laurent didn't even look up while he was weeding their former flowerbed which was overgrown und messy.

"And why are you doing that?"

Laurent sighed, as if he didn't have the patience to explain every miniscule detail to Damen, but contrary to what one could think, Damen knew his boyfriend had all the patience in the world for him. "Because it looks horrible and I have nothing better to do. I can't stand for our backyard to look like a battlefield."

Damen nodded, it made perfect sense. Laurent was a perfectionist and his nature didn't allow him to let this state of disorder go on like that. "Am I disturbing you, if I start my workout recording now?"

"No, as long as I am not in your video I am perfectly fine." Laurent finally looked up and then his eyebrow climbed up his forehead. "Are you sure you want to wear that while you start with whatever you intend to do?"

"A live stream, Laurent. Don't talk as if you are 100 years old and slept through the last decades of technological progress. And what is wrong with it? I always wear that while training."

"You always wear that? Not only here?" The corner of Laurent's mouth twitched. Damen was honestly confused. "Yes?"

"No wonder they offered you a discount on your gym subscription. Well, then good luck. I will be over here, keeping myself away from your video camera." Laurent turned back around and continued with his task. Damen still couldn't understand what was wrong with his outfit. He wore long pants, for God's sake.

Although he was confused, he started with his training, while he trained he explained the easier execution of the routine and what advantages the different exercises had. He realized while drafting the training plan that he could include quite a bit of his chiropractor knowledge. It was fun and very satisfying.

After two hours of grueling training, he stopped the stream and posted the video on YouTube too. Nik promised to watch it and give feedback as soon as he finished with work. Then he went to shower and finally helped Laurent with his gardening. Which meant that he could help him move the bigger stones and pots full of dirt and weed.

Laurent was a mess, his face full of smutches, his hair messy with the occasional twig and leaf stuck in it, his clothes dirty, and yet, he looked very satisfied after all the work. Damen drew him closer and kissed him. He was sweaty again and decided to join Laurent for another shower.

This continued for some days more and suddenly Damen's account on YouTube exploded, his live stream had thousands of followers and Damen didn't know what had happened. He did what every responsible boyfriend would do in that situation; he ran to Laurent, a bit hysterical and demanded an explanation.

Laurent, calm as one can be took his laptop from him and made a quick google search. Then he said, dead-pan, "well, it looks as if I am dating the next internet sensation. Some important guy found your videos and shared them, people love you and now you have a lot of followers."

Damen gaped. "What?"

"Yes, congratulation, Damen. I bet half of the followers just stare at your arms while you do all those push-ups." Laurent laughed when he gave him his laptop back. Damen sat down, absolutely shocked and did a quick google search. It was true, the singer of a very famous band, Lazar Lafeu had mentioned in a telephone interview that he killed his new found free time with Damen's training video. He had said, "If we can't go on our tour I can at least look at all these nice Akielon muscles. And even better, the guy has a fully functional brain, very sexy."

Damen seriously didn't know what to do with his new found internet fame. He decided to ignore it and just continued with his videos like before. The only difference was, that after every video he took ten minutes to answer questions of his followers. What startled him the most was that people started to notice everything about him.

They complimented the color of his façade, which was a very very pale mint, picked by Laurent. They asked where he had purchased his yoga mat. They discussed the circumference of his bicep. He even understood why Laurent had been so amused by the choice his outfit. It was because his loose fitting tank top gaped open whenever he didn't stand and provided a deep look to his chest and stomach.

His follower called it the sweetest tease ever, they begged him to keep wearing them and Damen, who never had a problem with being ogled did exactly that. The question if he would do a training without a shirt however, was firmly answered in the negative.

Laurent had finished weeding their whole backyard and even started planning new flowers. Their local gardener had started to deliver the plants directly to one's doorstep and Laurent took full advantage.

Damen had been overjoyed to realize that Laurent truly enjoyed his new hobby. He could kneel in the dirt for hours and didn't care even one bit how messy the work could be sometimes. Right now he planted rose bushes while Damen was in the last two minutes of his live stream.

"Fuck! Damn it." Laurent's voice was muffled but still very clearly audible. Damen's head shot up, "Sweetheart?"

"I'm alright. Just ignore me." Laurent smiled pained and hurried inside. Damen didn't even look at the stream when he shut it down and ran behind his boyfriend. Laurent had his hand under the water in their kitchen. The stream tinted red. Damen felt the nausea grow, not because of the blood in general, but because it was LAURENT's blood.

"What happened?"

Laurent sighed. "My hand slipped."

"Show me." Damen took his hand carefully in his own. There was a very long gash in the palm of Laurent's left hand. It looked horrible and would need stiches. He was once again glad that as chiropractor he had studied together with the physicians for four years. He could do the stiches at home.

"Stay here. I will go get my medical kit."

The next day, Laurent lounged on his bench in the shade because he had decided to take a break from gardening for a day when Damen started his stream. He apologized for the abrupt ending of the stream but his followers were so over the moon that Damen had a boyfriend that they didn't care at all.

It was no surprise that the whole ten minutes after the training were filled with questions about his relationship and Laurent in general. He informed them that the mysterious boyfriend preferred to stay mysterious but that he was fine and only needed four stiches.

The fans were somewhat disappointed that they didn't get to know Laurent but accepted the decision with grace. However, they didn't give up completely. Over the course of the next day Damen was asked random questions concerning Laurent. They varied from, "Is he younger, older or the same age as you", over "Is he beautiful?", to "What is his job?". Damen answered them with permission from Laurent with, "younger", "yes", "He's a lawyer".

Then a day came when Damen didn't install the camera the same way as always because he did a later training and the sun would otherwise be too bright. He had told Laurent about it the day before and even on the same morning but Laurent was not very attentive to details that didn't concern him directly. Thus it came that he walked right through Damen's stream. It was not so bad because only his lower half was recorded, but it caused an uproar.

Damen could understand it, because Laurent's ass looked damn hot, even in the video and everybody was curious before. His fans asked about Laurent even more often and the blond man finally seemed to give in, at least in typical Laurent fashion. He answered some of the questions about himself from the off.

It was hilarious, because Laurent had a wicked kind of humor. When one guy asked if he could see him just once, Laurent answered, "Sorry, I think I am too much to handle for you, so no. There were people who actually crashed their car because of my face."

The fans asked Damen if it was true and he had to confirm it. He told them that he almost fell down a staircase when he saw Laurent for the first time. And in his humble opinion Laurent only grew more beautiful with the years.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #398

“freedom is just man’s invention, & a soldier is just a slave”

What do you do the most when you’re online? Watch/listen to YouTube. Do you have a bobblehead? No. Have you ever spent your birthday alone? No, that sure would suck. Were you afraid of heights as a child? Actually no, but NOW I kinda am. Have you ever had a lead role in a play? No. Would you ever take a solo road trip? No, that sounds super depressing and lonely. Do the mountains fascinate you? Of course! So much history built into a magnificent, awe-inspiring piece of nature. Have you ever been insulted or called names by a significant other? Wow, no. I wouldn't tolerate that for a second. What’s your favorite movie battle scene? The fight between Simba and Scar is very powerful imo. Have you ever been to a same-sex wedding? No, but not because I'm opposed. I'd love to go to one and be the photographer. What’s your favorite Marvel movie? Probably one of the Spider-Man films. I don't remember which it is, and I don't want to spoil it by explaining what I do recall. Did you have a Walkman when you were a kid? No. What’s the most difficult experience you and a significant other have gone through together? Being long-distance when we really wanted each other's physical comfort. Have you ever attempted to pick a lock? Did you succeed? Yes, because Ashley locked her keys in the car. I don't remember if it worked, actually. Have you done the Bratz doll challenge for YouTube? No. I've seen a couple people do it, though, and it's both cool and creepy. Does the hospital in your town have a good reputation? NOOOOOOOOOOOO. What is your favorite nickname that you’ve had? "Bee" from Megan. Have you ever gotten a professional massage? No. I would be SO uncomfortable. If you had braces, do you wear your retainers still? No. :/ Well, the one you put in, anyone. I have a metal one behind the front row of my bottom teeth. If you had braces, have your teeth moved since you got them off? Yes. Do you know anyone personally who’s lost a child? I know way too many people who have suffered miscarriages. Do you take your medications regularly? Yes. What’s one luxury item you wish you could afford? An actually nice house. What’s your favorite thing to do in a swimming pool? Just kinda casually swim around. Have you ever been abused by a cop? No. What is one thing that you took to show-and-tell as a kid? My Snorlax plushy. Do you remember losing your first tooth? No. In the summer would you rather have the windows down or the A/C on in the car? I strongly prefer A/C. Have you ever been addicted to a game? What game? I had a long-time addiction to World of Warcraft for a couple years or so. I still play it now, but I'm not addicted to it anymore. As a matter of fact I get bored of it easily now. Which was better: the original The Lion King or the sequel? The original, but I love both very much. Do any of your grandparents have a tattoo? I don't know if any did. Do you believe that your pets feel love towards you? Roman, 120%. It is so obvious. Venus, no, as reptiles are literally incapable of experiencing that emotion. I do, however, know she trusts me. Are you proud of your body? FUCK no. Have you ever been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance? No. How do YOU believe the world & universe started? I don't know. I feel like MAYBE there is some sort of ultimate intelligence that formed the universe (maybe prompted the Big Bang, though I've always been dubious of that occurring naturally), but I don't think of this topic frequently at all. Does it really matter, after all? We're here, so just focus on that and live in the now. Have you ever stuck gum under a desk/chair? NO, that shit grosses me the hell out. When shopping at a grocery store, do you return your cart or just leave it? Return your fucking cart, please. It is NOT that difficult. What is one thing you’d never want your parents to find out? Certain places I've, uh, "done" things. When you were little, did you like Dr. Suess books? Yep. I seriously loved Green Eggs and Ham. What would you consider unforgivable? Rape is #1. Would you rather give your food to a homeless shelter or money to charity? Food to a homeless shelter, but I'd love to do both. What was your least favorite year of your life so far? 2016 was a fucking NIGHTMARE. Have you spent money on a game online? On one occasion, I asked if Mom would reactivate my WoW account, and when two expansions came out, I asked if she could buy them. I HATED asking. Thankfully, now, I'm rich enough in the game to pay for the "token" currency, which renews your subscription for a month, so I essentially play for free now. Have you been called a bad influence? Yes. Have any self-done piercings? Noooo. I only trust professionals. Ever pierced someone else? Again, no. Leave it to professionals, as well as someone without tremors. If you had a child with down’s syndrome, would you keep him/her? IF I wanted kids, of course I would. It really, REALLY bothers me when DS is the reason behind abortion. Mind you, I am pro-choice, but come on... Don't treat down's syndrome children as a curse. If someone tried to murder your child, do you think it would be wrong to expose them publicly and talk about it on social media? Of fucking course I would. I'd damn that person to hell myself. Is there a toxic person that you miss? I sometimes miss Colleen. Are you still contemplating going back to someone you shouldn’t? With Jason, yes. If he actually wanted me back (that will never happen, but anyway), I fear I'd say yes and probably would, realistically. When was the last time you had a new crush? When I realized I was bisexual. Do you want Jesus to come back soon? Back when I was a Christian, I was terrified of Judgment Day. I don't believe in it now. What is something you can’t wear because of your body type? I COULD wear whatever the hell I wanted, but I refuse to wear crop tops or strapless tops (or strapless bras). Oh, and thongs. No thanks. If you have curves, do you like them? I'm not curvy naturally, I'm just fat. Have you ever worn matching pajamas with someone? No, but that'd be cute. Has anyone ever mistaken you for being anorexic? No way. What fast food place do you avoid at all costs? Arby's, to name one. Are you afraid of deep sea creatures? Yes, especially giant squid. Have you ever agreed to purchase something on Ebay and got scammed somehow? Ugh, I got Ico THREE TIMES and they were ALL broken; they'd freeze in the first few minutes. Has anybody ever given you a promise ring? No. What is your favorite kind of cake? Red velvet. Honestly, have you ever eaten raw cookie dough? Yeah, multiple times. Were you outdoors or indoors more as a kid? I'd say it was a split down the middle. Have you ever had a relationship that began via text? Jason, Tyler, Juan, and Sara all began over text. Girt asked me out over Facebook Messenger. Do you think sloths are cute or ugly? They're cuties! What eyeshadow suits you best? I only wear black eyeshadow. Do you watch the show Wizards of Waverly Place? I did as a kid and really liked it. Have you ever been to the rainforest? No. I don't think I could handle the humidity, though I'd love to see all the beautiful wonders. Are you a member of any clubs? No. Would you shave your head with a friend who had cancer? If it was someone I was very close to and they were extremely self-conscious about it, I'd probably be willing to get very short hair, but I don't think I could handle no hair at all. How did you meet your pet? Roman was one of the kittens of Ashley's mother-in-law's cats. She has way too many cats and needed to get rid of the kittens, and I'd been wanting one like mad. I found Venus via the online reptile-selling hub called Morph Market, and I became VERY interested in the many, many ball python morphs, and when I saw her, I immediately knew that was my baby. Did/Do you have any PEZ dispensers? I did as a kiddo. What are some of the phrases in your personal ‘bingo’ card? "Mood," "can't relate," "hi, how are ya," "jinkies," "yikes," "oof," shit like that. Have you ever been through a trap door? No. Do/did you have to wear a uniform to your high school? No, only middle school. How many video games do you own? A whole lot. Have you ever visited a sex shop? No. Have you ever ridden a bicycle through a busy city? No, I'd be very scared to. Do you use Instagram? How often do you post there? I have two for my varying photography subjects. I post very rarely on both. Have you ever had a scary encounter with a wild animal? I have not.

[im-auntie-social]

I’ve been meaning to start doing these for ages, and there’s no time like the present! ...you know, that present in which I’m supposed to be writing my fic exchange. Hm.

Anyway, recs! And as a gimmick, let’s do things in pairs since the universe loves synchronicity

Gothic AUs:

@cytarabi has been teasing As Black as Thunder, a Crimson Peak AU, for a while and the first chapters went up last weekend and I am so excited. I’m two chapters in so far-- I’m taking time to savor it, much as I’m tempted to blast through and catch up as quickly as possible-- but the ambiance is beautiful and honestly: a gothic-flavored period piece where Brienne is an electrical engineer? Is it my birthday? (WIP)

Also Gothic, with more of a Turn of the Screw flavor (complete with surly groundskeeper Sandor and creepy quasi-supernatural twins Tommen and Myrcella), is A Ghost Here Amongst the Living by extra_credit and winterkill (@kurikaesu-haru). Now that I think about it I read this one slowly too when it updates. I just like to soak in that good good atmosphere! (WIP)

Fic with titles from Dirty Dancing:

From canon-verse we get Time of my Life, affectionately known as Dirty Jousting, by @djeli-beybi. An amazing translation of Dirty Dancing with the most UST you will ever see between people wearing literal actual armor. I was the only girlkid in the late 80s who never had any interest in Dirty Dancing and this fic... kind of made me want to watch it. A lot, actually. (WIP, one chapter left!)

And from the world of modern AU there’s I Owe It All to You by @the-world-unseen​, a Dancing With the Stars story complete with links to choreography (though you hardly need them since the descriptions in the chapters are so damn good). Dancer Jaime. Soccer star Brienne. The goddamned tango. Whew. (WIP)

School AU:

Rush Me All Night Long by @samirant�� is a college fraternity/sorority AU told out of order and keeping us all in so much suspense. SO MUCH. Helpful powerpoint explanation(?)/information here. (WIP)

Cheating a little here by sneaking in two recs for the price of one, but they’re a series so nyah. So, a little backstory here: I honestly don’t remember why I clicked on Light the Way by Boschling a month or so ago (more? less? time is bendable)-- it’s a 115-chapter high school AU with JB as one of many subplots, and a relatively minor one-- but I’m so glad I did! This fic made me care about Stannis goddamned Baratheon (who even am I at this point?), not to mention people I’d never really thought at all about like Berric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr. The sub-arcs are balanced so well and the translation to modern is so damn satisfying. Now there’s a WIP followup series following the trials (many) and travails (SO MANY) involved in getting Cersei and Robert married.

Non-fic GOT funtimes:

Chrys Watches Game of Thrones has episode recaps-by-screengrabs-with-text-commentary and the comic timing is amazing. I spent last week re-reading the archives and bookmarking my favorite bits. Which was like half of them.

Practical Folks seem to have sort of dropped off the map in the last year but I started following their work on youtube a long time ago because of their Drunk Disney videos. I knew they did a lot of GoT stuff but as I was not a GoT-watcher I didn’t check it out. Oh how things change. Anyway, I highly recommend their series of short videos Power Hour with Cersei and Littlefinger, a delightful King’s Landing public access show.

I’m gonna stop myself there before I go through all my subscriptions and the half-organized spreadsheet I put together last week instead of working on the aforementioned fic exchange. I should probably go do that now. The exchange fic, not the spreadsheet. Unless....