#list of best apps 2021

[neonanemoia]

this obsession with "mutuals" and shit is the worst fucking thing on this god forsaken app

[wetpapert0wel]

hey......what if. instead of tumblr making their own gaiaonline avi things......what if we just went to gaia online.......

[kissmetwicekissmedeadly]

MIDNIGHT CINDERELLA MEMORIAL POST

The Midnight Cinderella app will be closed on Monday August 26th, 2024 (5 PM JST). The English version was actively updated from 2014 to 2021 when Cybird announced the ceasing of operations for MidCin, but the app remained accessible until today. I'm sure I'm not the only one who mourns the loss of it even after all these years of discontinuation, so I wanted to put together a post to properly say goodbye to it. Trying my best not to make it all too sappy - I'd rather look at it as a show that reached its final episode. Some things might be left unresolved but in the end, you remember the cast and the emotions they made you feel more than the actual plot. Nowadays there arguably may be better titles by Cybird out there, but for me, the simplicity of MidCin was what made the details so memorable.

1. VIDEO - POV: You're playing Midnight Cinderella (for 10 minutes)

The 10-minute version (without sound) is accessible via the link above (opens in Google Docs) This one I was really excited about recording! It's just your normal day playing midcin, I'm sure many will find it nostalgic and comforting. You log in, claim your daily bonus (I used the chance to do a present box reveal, 90+ items, many of which you might recognize from route grace checks), play the garden gacha (in my case, I used up all the points I had accumulated, 7800 which equals 39 solos), do your princess lessons, change your avatar, greet your friends, read 1/5 of today's free story parts, check the ranking and your stats, look at your memories directory. The video has no sound, as the game wouldn't let me turn it on (you will see me try to do so throughout the video...) but later on I got it to work so I recorded a one-minute video (the one imported above) of me replenishing stamina just for those iconic sound effects that you either loved or absolutely couldn't stand the volume of, haha.

2. A Midnight Cinderella playlist (spotify link)

While I wasn't there for the early days of midcin, the songs I associated with the game almost always captured this very specifically nostalgic 90s-10s period, you'll see what I mean. Many of those are taken from 8track playlists dedicated to Midnight Cinderella, and if I'm not mistaken you can still look at what is left of them if you search them up. Others are just my very random interpretations of the route stories and the characters.

3. Fic recommendations

We have a lovely community of creatives and there are still so many works left behind which you can check out on the tags! But especially for fics I wanted to list some that truly touched me during the years (all links open in ao3) -

i'm on fire and its NSFW bonus scene bloodstream by a deleted user - words are not enough for this one. It's like it meant more than Nico's whole route for me at one point, and the songs are forever in my heart as Nico songs...

MidCin Works by DBMidCin (SoftSen) - ALL of these. This is my go-to collection of writings for midcin when I start to miss the game, it has a little bit of everything. The headcanon of Giles teaching his girls French for instance is one of the things I still remember reading like it was yesterday!

Bedroom Etiquette (NSFW) by RubyLeeRay - Because this is the dream. Doing something forbidden with your tutor Giles is the ultimate fantasy, I swear. I just love it.

And of course, many, many more. There are currently 166 works on the midcin tag in Ao3, and I'm sure there are a lot of hidden gems here on tumblr as well! Reminder that writers LOVE it when you interact with their old works, it's not weird, you shouldn't hesitate doing so if you find yourself enjoying any of them! <3

4. My own humble collection of MidCin writings on my writing blog @xxsycamore!

Maid, Butler, Chamberlain (NSFW) - Nico x MC with Giles joining them

Grabbles: 💋 Demand for a kiss, right here, right now (GILES); 👔 Stealing their clothes to cuddle when you miss them (BYRON); more coming soon as there are still some in my askbox and I plan on including midcin in future short writings request openings too.

Shared Moments (NSFW) - Nico x Reader - Secret relationship

Ice-cold heat (NSFW) - Byron x Reader - Temperature play

Double the Surprise - Alyn and Leo birthday fic

Leo Crawford having a misadventure with a cat (ao3 link) - crack fic featuring most of the suitors

5. Out of context Midnight Cinderella screenshots

This is a sideblog of mine dedicated to posting out-of-context funny screenshots that I took while playing the routes - @oocmidcin . If you have some of your own that are not on there, you're free to submit them and add to the archive!

6. The perfect MidCin song - The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives

When I first discovered this song back in 2020 I dreamed of making it into a midcin music video with simplistic art and animations... It ended up being just something you daydream in detail about while in the car, but that's alright. I could at least share my vision with you! Disclaimer, this is just an interpretation and obviously it can't fit all characters ideally - In the brackets, I explain how the lyric is related to them and usually it reveals their backstories. Some of the details I've already forgotten, sorry if it's inaccurate.)

Tell me once again

I could have been anyone, anyone else

Before you made the choice for me

(Giles - his family making the choice for him since birth and later disowning him once he failed to become a knight due to his illness)

My feet knew the path

We walked in the dark, in the dark

I never gave a single thought to where it might lead

(Nico - wandering the streets with his mother once they were thrown out of Stein castle because she was a commoner having an affair with Byron's father, the King)

All those empty rooms

We could have been anywhere, anywhere else

Instead I made a bed with apathy

(Robert - the empty rooms of the once flourishing palace of the country that Robert ruled and led to demise, nowadays becoming a mere court painter)

My heart knew the weight

Ten years' worth of dust and neglect

We made our peace with weariness and let it be

(Leo - the years in which Alyn didn't speak to him, after the death of their parents)

The moon will sing a song for me

I loved you like the sun

Bore the shadows that you made

With no light of my own

(Albert - loyally standing in king Byron's shadow)

Name your courage now

We could have had anything, anything else

Instead you hoarded all that's left of me

(Sid - his relationship with his fiance that he agreed upon just to find out more about his parents by getting close to her father)

Swallowing your doubt

Like swords to the pit of my belly

I want to feel the fire that you kept from me

(Alyn - searching for answers about the murder of his family and the fire that burnt down their home)

I shine only with the light you gave me

(I could have been anyone, anyone)

(Louis - being a nobody and MC being his sun)

7. It goes on

I went to read what I could of chapter 4 of Rayvis' route, using my last two chapter tickets as well, thinking it won't make me cry. And then I'm hit with those familiar things.

So let's close this with a word about the things that never change in the universe of Midnight Cinderella.

Stumbling down the grand staircase and right into the arms of somebody. Escaping the palace at midnight with Nico's help. Sitting at breakfast with Giles giving you your schedule for the day. Nico's teasing little smile as he accompanies you everywhere and listens to your relationship troubles. The way he's just a little suspicious at times. Finding Robert painting in the garden of Wysteria palace. Going to the room of your chosen suitor for the first time and meeting a pet there. Leo teaching you history and politics in his office. Dance lessons with Louis. Needing those dance lessons because King Byron is coming to Wysteria and a ball is going to take place. The bureaucrats being unhappy with you as a princess elect, no matter what. Galloping on a horse with Alyn who just protected you from an enemy attack. Getting information from a certain flirty merchant at a bar. Albert bickering with Nico, Sid teasing Louis. Being introduced to Archduke Herneit at Stein castle. King Byron appreciating the night sky. The sight of your yellow and orange princess elect room where on the large bed with its blue bedframe and tall see-through canopy you lie awake and think about the events of the day and how would a wise future Queen of Wysteria deal with the current situation. But ultimately you fall asleep, hearing the melancholically beautiful sounds of a violin coming from somewhere deep within your dream, and leave it all to the following day.

Thank you for everything, Midnight Cinderella!

08/26/2024

[sillystappen]

The Daniel Ricciardo Race Watchlist

Want to watch the best of Daniel Ricciardo on F1TV (or whatever 'totally legal site' you use), then here below the cut is a complete guide to the best most awesome races by Daniel Ricciardo! Please read the IMPORTANT before selecting races!

Daniel's Career Path

2011 - HRT

2012 -> 2013 - Toro Rosso

2014 -> 2018 - Red Bull Racing

2019 -> 2020 - Renault

2021 -> 2022 - McLaren

2023 - Alpha Tauri

2024 - Visa Cash App RB

IMPORTANT: Races in which he was on the podium with Max Verstappen are in blue. Races he was on the podium without Max are in pink. Races in which he did not podium are in red. Races that he won are in green.

2011 Season - 27th

Great Britain - this is Daniel's first ever F1 race!

2012 Season - 18th

Australia - Daniel scores his first ever points!

Japan - Daniel has said this is one the races he's most proud of.

2013 Season - 14th

China - one of the best results this season

Italy - one of the best results this season

2014 Season - 3rd

Australia - though this is listed as a podium race, Daniel was later disqualified due to fuel flow reasons.

Spain - this is Daniel's first podium!

Monaco

Canada - Daniel's first win!

Great Britain

Germany - this another race Daniel has said he's proud of

Hungary - this race got my friend into F1

Belgium

Italy - recommendation from reddit

Singapore

USA

Abu Dhabi - recommendation from reddit

2015 Season - 8th

Hungary

Singapore

USA - recommendation from reddit

2016 Season - 3rd

Australia - home race points!

Bahrain - recommendation from me

China - recommendation from reddit

Spain - recommendation from me

Monaco - while this is a podium, it is incredibly frustrating to watch so keep that in mind

Austria - recommendation from me

Hungary

Germany

Belgium

Singapore

Malaysia - this is also a win for Daniel as well as the first time he podiums with Max!

USA

Mexico

2017 Season - 5th

Spain

Monaco

Canada

Azerbaijan

Austria

Great Britain - big recommendation from me

Belgium

Italy - recommendation from reddit

Singapore

Malaysia - maxiel podium with a p1 for Max

Japan - maxiel podium with a p2 and p3

2018 Season - 6th

China

Azerbaijan - well done, baku.

Spain - recommendation from me

Monaco - AND ITS REDEMPTION DAY FOR DANIEL RICCIARDO

Hungary - recommendation from me

Japan - recommendation from me

2019 Season - 9th

Italy - recommendation from me

Mexico - recommendation from me

USA - recommendation from me

Brazil - recommendation from me

2020 Season - 5th

Great Britain - recommendation from me

Belgium - recommendation from me

Tuscany - recommendation from reddit

Eifel - maxiel podium with a p2 and p3

Emilia-Romagna

Sakhir - recommendation from me

2021 Season - 8th

France - recommendation from me

Austria - recommendation from me

Great Britain - recommendation from me

Italy - Daniel's most recent win

Russia - recommendation from me

USA - recommendation from me

Saudi Arabia - recommendation from me

2022 Season - 11th

Australia - recommendation from me

Emilia-Romagna Sprint - recommendation from me

Azerbaijan - recommendation from me

Austria - recommendation from me

Singapore - recommendation from reddit

Mexico - recommendation from reddit

2023 Season - 17th

Hungary - recommendation from me

Mexico - recommendation from me

Abu Dhabi - recommendation from me

2024 Season - ?

Miami Sprint - recommendation from me

Canada - recommendation from me

Austria - recommendation from me

Belgium - recommendation from me

Singapore - you know why

If you have any race recommendations leave them in the comments or reblogs and I will add them! For now this is my DR3 Race Masterlist. I hope you find this useful!

[jennyfromthebes]

Hey! I wanna talk for a sec about the Live Music Archive. If you're a tMG fan who's on here you probably already at least know about it, but for anyone unfamiliar I want to do a quick post talking about what it is and how you can listen!

The Live Music Archive is a collection hosted by the Internet Archive for audio recordings of concerts. Specifically, the LMA hosts, with permission from the band, user-contributed recordings of concerts. Some fans will go to concerts with recording gear to take a full audio recording of the show and then upload it to the archive under the band's collection. As of writing this post there are almost 450 live tapes uploaded to the tMG LMA collection!

There's a few ways that you can listen to recordings on the Live Music Archive. The webpage works pretty well both on desktop and mobile browsers, and that's what I typically use. You can also listen on web without having to make an account on the Internet Archive, which is convenient for browsing. I also use the webpage to download mp3s of favorite tapes to my phone, so that I can listen to them in my local music player.

However, if you don't mind making a free account and prefer the convenience of something more like Spotify, you can also listen to anything on the LMA via the Taper's Section app for Android or the Live Music Archive app for iOS! (Obligatory disclaimer that I use an Android and can't personally vouch for the iOS app, but afaik they have similar features.) The apps have the same functionality as the webpage in a more streamlined mobile-friendly interface, plus things like notifications when there's a new tape added to a collection you follow and downloading in-app for offline listening. The Android app also has a tab for tapes from today's date, there's often at least one (there are FOUR for today!) and that's a really fun way to find tapes to listen to.

If you're looking at this going, wow, that sounds really cool but there's so many tapes that it's a little overwhelming to get into this, don't worry! I'll leave you with a couple recommendations. As mentioned above, I like to listen to shows from the current date. Another fun way to find shows is looking for a specific song - you can go on the wiki and it'll list every show at which the song has been played live, and then just search until you find one of them that has a tape on the archive. Lastly, a few specific favorite tapes of mine:

- 2014-06-15 has the entirety of Taboo VI: The Homecoming played live + one of my absolute favorite performances of both Woke Up New and The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton.

- 2015-06-01 is the only time Straight Six has ever been played live and it's interestingly pretty different from the EP version, plus a phenomenal back to back Spent Gladiator 1 & 2.

- 2021-08-06 was the first show after the band started playing concerts again post 2020, and it has a really incredible energy and a phenomenal setlist.

- 2024-03-01 is from the recent run of solo shows, this one was at Grace Cathedral and the ambience is truly truly incredible, it feels so ethereal.

Please feel free to add any additional notes or some of your own favorite tapes to the post as well! Happy listening!!

[smoshpostiing]

BEST OF SHOURTNEY

the wait is finally over!! this list has every video of the best shourtney moments over the past 9 years. (yes, all 64 videos are individually linked) this took me a very long time (10+ hours) so i would really appreciate it if yall reblogged and followed me :P enjoy!! <33

2024

- DONT WIN MARIO KART

- SMOSH MOUTH #27

- COURT IS IN SESSION (BAF ALL RISE)

2023

- JOYCON HIDE AND SEEK (1,2, SWITCH)

- BOOZY PAINTING ANTHONY STREAM

- MAKING OURSELVES IN THE SIMS

- RELATIONSHIP REDDIT STORIES

- AM I THE EX? REDDIT STORIES

- SMOSH MOUTH #1

- SMOSH MOUTH #18

- SMOSH MOUTH #23

2022

- MYTHICON VLOG

- LARGEST HIDE AND SEEK W/ PRESTONPLAYZ

- ARE WE CRINGE? (IDIOTS PRESENT)

- CHOSEN + BRIANNA POPPY PLAYTIME #1

- CHOSEN + BRIANNA POPPY PLAYTIME #2

- CHOSEN + BRIANNA POPPY PLAYTIME #2 (PART 2)

- BUSINESS WALRUS

- SMOSH OFFICE HIDE AND SEEK

- UNO GONE WILD

2021

- WHO KNOWS COURTNEY BEST?

- GUESS WHO? ASSUMPTIONS ONLY

- EXPOSING YOUR WEIRDEST PURCHASES (WHAT'RE THOSE)

- HOW TO PAINT W/ BARB ROSS

2020

- REAL COUPLE VS SHIPPED COUPLE (SAMLIVIA VS SHOURTNEY)

- COURTNEY GIVES COURTNEY FREAKING MILLER A MAKEOVER

- HOW TO FLIRT

- SMOSHCAST #48

- SMOSHCAST #69

- SMOSHCAST #75

- SMOSHCAST #82

- SMOSHCAST #85

2019

- EVERY COUPLE EVER

- WORK GIRLFRIEND VS WORK BOYFRIEND

- SURPRISING SHAYNE W/ A GRADUATION CEREMONY

- HOW FAR WILL IT STRETCH? (GMM)

- CAN WE SHRINK IT? (GMM)

- WHY WE'RE BAD AT DATING

- WHY WE'RE BAD AT DATING APPS

- 6 PEOPLE IN A TINY CAR MUKBANG

- TRYING ACRYLIC NAILS

- WE INVADED SHAYNES HOME

- TRUE CONFESSIONS SHAYNE, COURT, IAN

- HOW TO FLEX

- SMOSHCAST #1

- SMOSHCAST #13

- SMOSHCAST #19

- SMOSHCAST #20

- SMOSHCAST #30

- SMOSHCAST #31

- SMOSHCAST #34

- SMOSHCAST #37

- SMOSHCAST #44

2018

- 2 TRUTHS 1 LIE

- SCHOOL FOOD VS DOG FOOD

- I FOUND AN OLD BOX OF MEMORIES IN MY CLOSET

- 2 TRUTHS 1 LIE (COURTNEY FREAKIN MILLER)

- TNTL #9

- SPIN THE BOTTLE W/ DAMIEN

- LIFEGUARDS (DAY JOBS)

2017

- TNTL #2

2016

- TWISTER SQUAD VLOGS

- CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY SQUAD VLOGS

2015

- TOUCH MY BODY CHALLENGE

[jikookuntold]

The Untold Truth of "Letter"

Back in 2021, 2022, or even early 2023, if someone had told me about the possibility of JK having vocal credits in Jimin's solo album, I would have called it wishful thinking at best. But it happened, and we got the song "Letter" (AKA Dear Army) as a hidden track in Jimin's first solo album, FACE, with back vocals by JK, and his name written invisibly in the album book.

The perfectly matching vocals of Jikook, with the heartfelt lyrics and soft instruments, undoubtedly made one of the most beautiful songs of the year, which could break many records for Jimin and his album if it was released in the streaming and buying services. The release of Letter as a hidden track in Jimin's solo album raised many questions and debates among Jikookers, and as someone who barely scrolls in the Tumblr app, I know I'm a bit late for the party, but I may or may not have some notes to add to the already made discussions. FYI, these are my analytic views and speculations, I am fully aware that this song has been named "Dear Army", and Jimin called it a "Fan song" on different occasions. So, I do not intend to ignore that and diminish Jimin's expression of love for his fans.

What's a Hidden Track?

Before getting into "Letter", we need to understand what a hidden track is. Well, the definition is pretty clear; When a song is not listed in the official track-list of a music album, but it exists in (some versions of) the physical printed CD, cassette, or LP, it's called a "hidden track". 

Hidden Tracks of BTS

There are several techniques and reasons to "hide" a track in an album, but in the case of BTS discography, the hidden tracks exist for a specific reason, and I'm going to explain it with the only examples we have. The debut album (2013) and Love Yourself: Her (2017), are the only BTS albums including hidden tracks, and if we ignore the skits in each album, "Path" and "Sea" are the only hidden songs BTS ever released. So, these two songs must have something(s) in common and different from the other BTS tracks that caused them to end up as a hidden track. To find that common factor, we need to check their lyrics first:

Path

[Intro: RM] Yeah, wassup? You know, time flows like stars (Check it, check, check, check, check it out) [Verse 1: RM] I started from imitating Eminem, Garion, Epik High To writing my own raps Now I see that I’m already at Hongdae My lyrics back then were all (****) Bossy But we dunno, we dunno When I dreamed without anyone to stop me Reality tied me down and trapped me inside Oh, my youth trapped me My hot heart lost to my cold mind (Damn) As I blindly told myself my decision was right I don’t know whether it’s an angel or a devil, but it says to me "Do you really have any plans to rap properly?" (Yes or no?) I didn’t have more time to hesitate and didn’t want to be stupid So I came here and three years passed by Some say art is long, life is short But for now, art is life Life is sports, just do it, uh [Chorus] If I had chosen a different path, would have I been any different? If I stopped and looked back (Oh hey ya, hey ya) What will I see at the end of this road? Where you should’ve been standing? (Oh hey ya, hey ya) [Verse 2: Suga, Suga & Jungkook] A long time passed and by 2013, I was a trainee for three years I was a high school student who grew overnight (I became a child) White hair grew from my desires and one by one my many friends (Parted ways with me) I spent my time in Seoul alone without a family (That was my third spring) I thought my worries would disappear with my debut ahead of me I closed my eyes to the present that had nothing to change But the reality was different, even as my family and friends tried to stop me I walked into the tunnels that shed no light on my own I thought I would be alone (Why?) As it turns out, there weren’t seven bare feet but we were wearing the shoe named Bangtan We’ll have to go forward, take one more step, become newer And that’s how I spent my fourth spring in Seoul (Whoa) [Chorus] If I had chosen a different path, would have I been any different? (Hey) If I stopped and looked back (Hey) Oh hey ya, hey ya What will I see at the end of this road? Where you should’ve been standing? (Oh hey ya, hey ya) [Verse 3: J-Hope] 2010, the year I walked towards Seoul! I just loved to dance, and now I’m standing on top of the stage Until then, I overcame many pains and scars to prepare myself I survived with my belief to bend, not break, and ran for three years Let the stars inside my heart shine! Now shine on me differently Write “Bangtan” on the paper world I walk my future with more lights on Give a smile to that far future (Ha, ha)

As you can see, the lyrics are simple and self-explanatory, so I guess we don't need any lyrics analysis, and the description section of the Genius translation I used here, says it all:

“길 (Road/Path) follows the member’s decisions to become idols in the Korean music industry. They recall their different upbringings from listening to hip hop in school to the hard years of being trainees under BigHit Entertainment. BTS pose the questions of how their lives would be different if they made a different decision, and they ask themselves what the future entails. A very introspective track about their career for a debut album, BTS display their thought processes as they enter the music scene.”

Sea

[Intro: Jungkook] Oh, ah, yeah [Verse 1: Rap Monster] I just started walking and ended up at the sea I'm looking at the coast from here There's endless sand and the rough wind I'm still looking at a desert I wanted to have the sea so I swallowed you up But I'm even thirstier than before Is what I know really the ocean? Or a blue desert? [Refrain: J-Hope] I don't know, I don't know If I'm feeling the waves right now, yeah I don't know, I don't know If I'm being chased by the sand wind, yeah I don't know, I don't know Is this the sea or the desert? Is this hope or despair? Is this real or fake? Shit [Pre-Chorus: J-Hope] I know, I know, my hardship right now I know, I know, I'll overcome I know, I know, open me up It's the place I can rely on Think positive, I'm swallowing my dry spit Even if I'm nervous, even if I'm in a desert I'm in the beautiful Namib Desert [Chorus: Jimin, Jin] Where there is hope, there is always trial (4) [Hook: V, Jungkook] Where there is hope You know, you know You know, yeah yeah (2) [Verse 2: Suga] I thought this was the ocean but it's a desert A medium-sized, ordinary idol was my second name Countless people get cut from broadcast But someone's empty spot is our dream They say some of these kids can't make it cuz their agency is too small I know, I know, I know too Times when the seven of us had to sleep in one room With foolish hope that tomorrow will be different before we fell asleep We saw the mirage in the desert but we couldn't grasp it Praying that we'll remain in this desert till the end Praying that this isn't truly our reality [Verse 3: Suga] In the end, we reached the mirage and it became our reality The scary desert became the ocean with our blood, sweat and tears But why is there this fear in between the happiness? Because we know too well that this place is really a desert [Refrain 2: Suga] I don't wanna cry I don't wanna rest No, who cares if we rest a little? No no no I don't wanna lose It's always a desert I told you everything Then I'll just be more depressed [Chorus: Jungkook, V] Where there is hope, there is always trial (2) [Hook: Jimin, Jin] Where there is hope You know, you know You know, yeah yeah (2) [Bridge: Rap Monster] Ocean, desert, the world Everything, the same thing Different name I see ocean, l see desert I see the world Everything's, the same thing With a different name It's life again [Hook: V, Jungkook] Where there is hope You know you know you know yeah (2) [Chorus] Where there is hope, there is always trial

Compared to “Path”, we have more innuendos and metaphors in “Sea” because of Namjoon’s lyricism (it was supposed to be in his mixtape at first), but as the description says:

"It discusses the hardships BTS has experienced since debut, particularly struggling to compete with groups from other, larger agencies. In this song, BTS reflects on these hardships, fearing that their global fame and success could leave as suddenly as it arrived."

Common Denominator

These two lyrics have one big thing in common, and it's the topic they are discussing. They talk about the members' struggles, fears, hopes, and dreams career-wise. I was thinking maybe these issues are something they can only share with their longtime fans, not the general public, therefore, they decided to release them as hidden tracks in the physical album for their real fans who buy them, something like the difference between Weverse and Instagram, I guess? Then I realized that’s something Namjoon has mentioned himself to Billboard Magazine, in LYS: Her interview:

And if fans are so lucky to own the physical album, they’ll hear two hidden tracks at the very. Why keep them secretive?

"I think they’re hidden because you have to be a real fan of BTS to understand them. Otherwise, you won’t. Otherwise, you’d like to be, “Why are they feeling so confused about things? They’re good?!? They’re No. 1 somewhere, they have so much stuff, why are they worried?” People always talk about that. But if you are a true fan of BTS and you buy the album and you listen to the hidden track — if you are an Army and we spent time together from 2013, 2014 — they could understand. It’s kind of more special, more closer, to our true hearts"

What about "Letter"?

In conclusion, hidden tracks for BTS, are something between them and their real fans who know about the path they have wended, therefore they can open up to them through lyrics and talk about their fears and struggles and ambitions without being judged or misunderstood. Also, we have to debunk some of the misconceptions going around (especially after the release of FACE) about hidden tracks. For example, some claimed that Letter is made for fans because hidden tracks are always supposed to be “gifts” for fans. This claim obviously can’t be true when you are able to listen to a hidden track legally, only by purchasing the physical album. Gifts are supposed to be free of charge, like Promise, Still with You, Christmas Love, My You, and so on. 

Then what about “Letter”? Why this song is a hidden track in Jimin’s first solo album? Did Jimin want to say something by hiding this track in FACE? To answer this questions, we need to pay attention to the lyrics and how the song was made:

 [Verse 1] What should I say? And how should I convey it? I'm really not getting my words right I know it sounds so clichéd So that it's not taken lightly Let me say it to you properly [Chorus] I say oh-oh, I hope you can be happier You, who stretched your hand out to me whenever I fell I say oh-oh, I'll hold it now (I'll hold it) So when you feel like crying, you won’t fall [Verse 2] After all this time has passed Will we still be the same? Just like we were when we first met, hmm-mmm If we are together, even the desert could turn to a sеa Just like how we were then, oh-hoo-ooh [Chorus] I say oh-oh, I really hope that it’ll last forever You, who felt like a warm spring to me in a cold winter I say oh-oh, I'll always cherish it All those moments between you and I [Refrain] Baby, don't leave Just stay by my side, yeah To you, who see me bigger than what my little self is (to you) So that I can give as much as I’ve received (oh-oh) So that I can keep my word (oh-oh) Don't worry, just stay by my side, yeah (Yeah) We don’t know what the future holds (holds, yeah) And that’s scary and makes us afraid (oh-oh) But don’t forget that we’re always together (don't forget) [Outro] I know it sounds so clichéd So that it's not taken lightly Let me say it to you properly

The Feelings

If you compare these lyrics to "Path" and "Sea" you can clearly see the differences, and except a mention of "sea and desert" there's nothing in common between them. Letter is not a monologue about career issues, it's a romantic song. These lyrics are expressing the feelings and addresses them to an audience and appreciates them. But how was this song made?

According to Jimin, at first, SMF Pt2 was supposed to be the last track of his solo album, but in their YTC promotion and recording era when they announced that they have planned to put their group activities on rest, Jimin decided to express his feelings of the moment through a letter, and turned that letter to song lyrics. Producers liked the song so much and decided to add it in his album and that’s how “Letter” was born. Although Jimin didn’t explain much about those “feelings” and left the conclusion to us like a true artist, we all know that this song is totally different from the other tracks in his album.

All the tracks of FACE are dark and sad. Jimin’s first album is all about himself, and he talks about the painful emotions he had as an artist and a person in the past few year, but with “Letter” there is a different story. Recording Academy admitted this and wrote:

“Though the EP is technically only six songs, the physical version has an additional “hidden” track called “Letter”. The song provides an intimacy that stands out from the other FACE tracks, capturing Jimin in his best form. The lyrics are poignant and vulnerable as Jimin pleads for someone to stay (“Baby, don't leave Just stay by my side, yeah”) The biggest surprise though? Fellow BTS member Jungkook contributes vocals to harmonize with Jimin.”  

A Fan Song?

“Letter” being a “Fan Song” is a stated fact by Park Jimin himself, and there can’t be any arguments about it, but that fact doesn’t mean Jimin made this song with the thought of fans in his head and all about them. In one of my old posts, I said that a faceless crowd can’t be the muse for a romantic song, especially when that song has a "standing-out intimacy".

Another reason for calling "Letter" a fan song, is the fact that it starts at 6:13 of the album, the numbers that remind us of the debut date of BTS. We can't call this a coincidence because we know how thoughtful and punctual Jimin is. But don’t forget that 6.13 is more of BTS time than ARMY time. So, as much as you call this track a song for fans, it can be called a song for his fellow BTS members.

Why JK?

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. Why JK was a part of this song? Did it mean something for Jimin, or did he have no other options? Jimin said that FACE is an album about himself, and he didn’t feel right about featuring other artists in it, that’s why he decided to record SMF Pt2 all alone and do all the rap parts by himself instead of featuring Yoongi in it. He collaborated with several producers and songwriters (including Namjoon), but there was no featured artist in the whole album.

About the background vocals of the album, he did most parts by himself, and for the other parts, he worked with artists who already had credits in his album, such as BLVSH, Sumin, and James Keys. But JK didn’t have anything to do with Jimin’s album. Jimin was fully capable of doing the background vocals of Letter by himself, as he did for the first parts of the song. Jimin never really explained why he decided to have JK in the song, other than saying their voices match. This known fact doesn’t give us much information, but we can have our speculations. 

Closer Than This?

Another thing that questions the idea of “Letter" being inspired by fans, is the existence of “Closer Than This”. The newest release of Jimin is the exact definition of a fan song, the lyrics are straightforward and directly address the fans and leave no place for speculation. If CTT is the result of Jimin getting inspired by his fans, then “Letter” must be inspired by something different because these two songs are not comparable. 

The difference becomes more obvious when we look at the initial version of the Letter lyrics in Jimin’s drafts. I wonder what the Grammy journalist who called the final lyrics of “Letter” intimate would have said if they read this: 

You hugged me tightly Only you who protected me Hold my hand, hold my hand tightly You who reached out my hand You held out your hand to me

We don’t know what was going on in Jimin’s mind when he wrote these, but we can see that the initial lyrics have been moderated, and the intimate parts, which clearly refer to a person, didn’t end up in the final lyrics. FYI, I’m doing a lyric analysis here, and this is not a complaint or conspiracy theory because Jimin said that he liked the way the final version came out, and it's all that matters.

For Fans, Not About Fans

So far we made it clear that "hidden tracks" are not about fans, they are for fans like any other BTS song, but the hidden tracks are a secret between the artist and the fan, something that only the true and dedicated fan can understand, and this applies to Jimin's "Letter".

Jimin gave up on many records for streaming and buying by releasing this song as a hidden track in his album. So, there must be an important message in this song that he wanted to convey to the true fans. He did his share of being thankful to fans by CTT, and I don't think he needed to do it twice in a year.

Maybe you prefer to think Jimin just made this song for ARMY and hid it in the album as a surprise or because it didn’t match with the whole concept of FACE, and you might not be wrong about any of that. But, don’t forget that he didn’t explain anything about this, and we both are just making assumtions.

Yes, maybe Jimin didn't acknowledge JK being a part of Letter in his promotion era, but JK did everything he could for his share. A few hours before the release of FACE, he started a live and played a part of it with his guitar, and months later, he watched Jimin's live performance for Festa while harmonizing with it and reminding us that he knows the lyrics very well. In Jimin's documentary he was very supportive and even teased for a live performance with him in future.

Why Just Jikook?

Jimin and Jungkook are not the only members of BTS. But I don't know why everytime Jimin or JK do something with romantic undertones, the fans (OT7 ARMYs, to be more specific) immediately try to label it as "About ARMY". I usually don't see this energy with the other five members. I'm perfectly sure they are also very grateful for ARMY, they have released several songs about them, and they would have loved to collaborate in a fan song with Jimin, too.

Then why Jimin only included JK in Letter? Why he wanted to sing for "ARMY" with him? Unless we assume Jimin's gratitude towards ARMY has connections with JK, and I don’t even want to bring up 2019 "I am army" jokes. But "Letter" is the song the most optimistic Jikookers didn't expect to exist. You may try to ignore and normalize it, but you can't deny the fact that Letter proved Jikook's unbreakable connection as two harmonic colleages, long time friends, and inseparable souls.

[tiannasfanfic]

GossipWeb

Eddie Munson x Reader (Angst)

| Eddie Munson & Steddie Masterlist |

Summary: If you want to stay up to date on celebrity gossip, GossipWeb is the site to subscribe to! Monday’s Weekend Roundup for July 17 has an update on Corroded Coffin, and you should totally check it out!

Author Note: Modern Rockstar!Eddie AU. Reader not mentioned in this first part, but will be in future installments so I went ahead and labeled it as an x Reader fic. Written in the style of a gossip column.

CW: Mentions of divorce; mentions of alcoholism and drug addiction; mention of a fistfight.

(The following is an excerpt from the July 17, 2023 edition of The Weekend Roundup, a gossip column posted every Monday afternoon on GossipWeb.com and the GossipWeb app.)

Wedding bells are in the air for model Chrissy Munson and nature photographer David Greggs. The pair have officially announced their engagement on Sunday via social media, confirming recent rumors.

The happy couple shared the news on their respective Instagram accounts, showing photos of the two happily embracing on a beach at sunset. In one, Munson is holding out her hand to show off the huge sapphire and diamond engagement ring now sitting on her finger.

“I said YES!” Munson captioned her photo while Greggs captioned his, “She said YES!”

The pair first made headlines back in 2021, when they were spotted having dinner together just a few weeks after Munson filed for divorce from Corroded Coffin’s frontman, Eddie Munson.

While “Irreconcilable differences” were listed in the official court filing, representatives for both Eddie and Chrissy have declined to comment further on the matter. In the social media post announcing the divorce, Chrissy took a diplomatic path, stating, “Sometimes our plans in life just don’t work out the way we want them to. Unfortunately, this is one of those times. I wish Eddie nothing but the best and wish nothing but happiness for him. While our marriage may be over, he will always hold a special place in my heart.”

But, while her words made it sound like the split was an amicable one, many have their doubts it was that simple.

Rumors had been circulating regarding her ex husband’s hard partying lifestyle for years. Insiders have come forward to provide accounts of escalating drug and alcohol abuse, and extremely irrational and erratic behavior from the rockstar. Shortly after the divorce filing, it was reported to multiple news outlets that an intervention was been staged for Munson just a few days prior to the court filing, but it had failed.

In related news, the former members of Corroded Coffin are continuing to stay busy and are enjoying far more laid back schedules.

Following a highly successful album with their band Fallen Shadows, Jeff Richards and Grant Lee have announced a small, twenty city tour that will occur early next year. While the dates and cities are still to be determined, the two are looking forward to getting back on the road.

“It’s been awhile, but we’re itching to get back out there,” Richards stated in a Facebook post. “There’s nothing like bringing our music out into the world and sharing it in person with the fans.”

But Gareth Emerson hasn’t been so eager to return to the spotlight.

Following a successful stay at the Betty Ford Center, which he entered in December 2019, Emerson says he has done a lot of thinking about his life and who he wants to be, both as a person and an artist.

“The stress I was constantly putting myself under was ultimately my downfall,” he explained in a Facebook post full of self reflection. “And one of the biggest stressors for me was the constant need to promote myself, to sell myself basically. I stopped feeling like a person and started feeling like a piece of meat. In this business, it doesn’t take long before you start getting treated like a machine and you start looking for ways to cope. And, usually, you find yourself coping by turning to drugs. Now I don’t have to just cope because I refuse to put myself back in that stressful position.”

Emerson continues to write and record new music, which he releases on iTunes under his own name. While he’s leaning heavily into experimental sounds, his new style seems to be gravitating towards a blend of classic rock n’ roll, folk and heavy metal. It’s not a combination you would expect to hear from a speed metal drummer, but Emerson clearly has hidden talents he’s only just starting to show the world.

As for the frontman and lead guitarist, Eddie Munson, unfortunately, there’s not much can be said.

The statement from Corroded Coffin announcing their hiatus came in late 2019 just a few days after Munson and Emerson’s very publicized fistfight at the UK Music Video Awards. While he virtually dropped out of the spotlight as a musician in the following months, Munson was frequently in the news due to his excess partying and rowdy behavior.

Then, in 2022, he unexpectedly disappeared from the LA party scene, only to resurface a few months later in his old hometown of Hawkins, Indiana.

Representatives for Munson have declined to comment, so the true reasons for his returning to Hawkins are still unclear. The rocker has yet to make any return trips home to California within the last eighteen months since his departure. This adds credibility to a more recent rumor we reported on last week that Munson is in negotiations to sell his Malibu home to a private seller.

Perhaps the rockstar has finally turned over a new leaf?

Some signs point to yes.

Earlier this year, Gareth Emerson’s wife, actress Kim Simmons-Emerson, sent well wishes to Eddie in a heartfelt Instagram post. She posted an old photo of Munson and Emerson from high school with the caption, “Today marks a new beginning for old friends. We’re so proud of you. We knew you could do it.”

Subscribe to our free newsletter to stay up to date on any new developments!

[melonthesprigatito]

My idea on who I think would make the PERFECT villain for The Incredibles 3 (not that they're ever going to make one***, this could also just be a fanfic idea)

***EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN IN NOVEMBER 2023, NEARLY A YEAR BEFORE THEY ANNOUNCED INCREDIBLES 3, I WAS A FOOL FOR DOUBTING IT WOULD GET MADE

NaNoWriMo somehow dragged me kicking and screaming back into my The Incredibles hyperfixation that I haven't thought about since 2021. Drafting up a long Tumblr post in my Notes app for a few days totally counts, right? (Probably not but whatever, I am fukcing passionate about The Incredibles lore, I need to ramble)

So, the villains of The Incredibles and Incredibles 2 are both genius inventors with no superpowers who use their technology to fight the heroes. What if, for the third villain, they ditched that idea and had a villain who was a Super?

Who'd be able to fill that role? Would they invent an entirely new character who is a Super? It wouldn't be too farfetched of an idea, they did invent two new Super supervillains in Lego Incredibles, The Anchor Man and Brainfreezer, one with hydrokinesis and the other with.... functionally cryokinesis like Frozone except she controls ice cream. 

But what if... the villain was an already existing Super? That already poses a problem, a majority of the Supers in the present day of The Incredibles are either dead from Syndrome's Omnidroid or an unfortunate cape snag. The only surviving Supers from the pre-Super Ban Glory days are Mr Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone and possibly Fironic and Plasmabolt (and only because they never showed up in Syndrome's Operation KRONOS database.)

Fironic is pretty ambiguous if he's still alive or not, but Plasmabolt for its practically a 100% chance of survival for a few reasons:

1. Her profile says she keeps her hero and civilian lives strictly separate, so she might have had no desire to go moonlighting as a hero like Mr Incredible did

2. She's a forest park ranger. She probably lives off-grid in a shack in the woods or something. 

3. The way Psycwave, Everseer and Macroburst are killed one after the other, but Plasmabolt isn't counted with them. All four of these Supers were part of a superhero team called The Phantasmics. Mirage probably used their connection to find all of them, maybe Plasmabolt fell out of contact with her old friends.

Plasmabolt herself might have been a good villain candidate, having lost faith in humanity after learning how the National Supers Agency failed to keep track of her old friends, of all the Supers, and didn't notice that Syndrome was picking them all off. 

Buuuuuut she's not the one this post is about. There's another that would probably be an even better villain, mostly because she has a personal tie to one of the main characters.

This is one of the features on the bonus disk of The Incredibles: a full set of character files and audio interviews of most of the Supers (except for Tradewind, Vectress, Blitzerman and Fironic. They didn't get profiles.) 

It's listed in alphabetical order, featuring Apogee, Blazestone, Downburst, Dyna Guy, Elastigirl, Everseer, Frozone, Gamma Jack, Gazerbeam, Hypershock, Macroburst, Meta Man, Mr Incredible, Phylange, Plasmabolt, Psycwave, Stratogale, Splashdown, Stormicide, Thunderhead and Universal Man. 

The one I want to draw attention to is this one. 

(Side note, it’s kinda frustrating that the only way to find images of most of these guys in colour is to look for random comic strips and the freaking Lego game of all things. I’m just gonna link this fan art too because I think it rocks and is probably the best image of her https://www.tumblr.com/pazam/183219465026/no-gadgets-no-gimmicks?source=share)

THIS, is Blazestone, the blorbo- I MEAN, the Super I think would make a great villain in a hypothetical third Incredibles movie. Or a Frozone spinoff movie. Either works. 

I think she'd make a good villain for a number of reasons.

1. SHE'S ALREADY BEEN THE MAIN VILLAIN OF ANOTHER OFFICIAL THE INCREDIBLES STORY. 

Let me highlight something important from her profile. "ARRESTED AND JAILED. RECRUITED BY NSA. WATCH CLOSELY TO ENSURE SHE OPERATES WITHIN NSA GUIDELINES" 

That's right, Blazestone is actually a reformed criminal. This one little detail from her profile is a major plot point in the novel Elastigirl: A Real Stretch.

She was paired with Universal Man as part of her rehabilitation. In the novel, they're constantly arguing, they constantly insult each other. Universal Man is an incredibly strict rule follower and tries to keep her in line. He thinks she'll never make it as a true Super if she doesn't follow the guidelines and acts recklessly ("THESE TWO WOULD BE GREAT IF THEY DON'T KILL EACH OTHER FIRST")

She hates being constantly monitored and forced into teams with other Supers and wishes they'd give her the freedom to do what she wants, as opposed to being constantly badgered into being a better person and following the guidelines

Eventually, Blazestone gets so sick of the National Supers Agency that snaps and decides that the only way she'll be able to do what she wants is to KILL ALL THE OTHER SUPERS SO THERE'S NO ONE TO STOP HER FROM TAKING OVER. 

In fact, her plan involves 

1. Steal a shipment of the ZAP chemical (the novel's McGuffin, a radioactive chemical used as a superpower enhancer that has various effects depending on which Super it's used on. For most of them, it disables their powers entirely, for some it makes their powers malfunction and Apogee is the only Super who's powers are actually enhanced by it.) 

2. Secretly recruiting all the criminals she jailed as her henchmen and breaks them out of jail on the day of the Super Appreciation Day celebrations. These henchmen are disguised as other Supers and blend in with all the other cosplayers entering the Costume Contest. 

3. Attack the Supers Appreciation Day celebration at the pier. Trap EVERY SINGLE SUPER inside a band shell covered by a net that's coated ZAP which basically fucks up all of their powers. She then lifts the band shell off the ground and was heading towards the ocean to drop it in and drown them all.

 (a few pages later)

.... I'm serious, that's what actually happens in the climax. 

Never mind the fact that she's touching the net covered in the chemical that needed to be handled with heavy gloves WITH HER BARE HANDS BECAUSE HER SUPERSUIT HAS SHORT SLEEVES in order to lift the band shell. ...And the fact that she has no super strength so shouldn't have been able to carry the weight of a structure and 20+ Supers.

Blazestone actually mentioned earlier in the novel that ZAP had no effect on her, and while the novel never mentions it, my theory is that Blazestone is the only other Super who's powers are enhanced by ZAP. Apogee was also powered up by ZAP... in small doses but being that close to the netting enhanced her powers too much so she couldn't assist in the climax without incinerating everyone with the power of the sun. Blazestone must have lied about ZAP not having an effect on her to eliminate her as a suspect for the theft of the ZAP. 

ANYWAY, Blazestone went full supervillain and that's the last we heard of her until she showed up dead in Syndrome's Project KRONOS database. Between Supers Appreciation Day and the beginning of the Super Ban, she might have resumed her criminal activities and became part of Municiberg's Rogues Gallery. 

As the Super Ban went into effect she might have been kept in a maximum security facility for a few years until she managed to break out into a world where Supers are in hiding. She might have used her powers to commit smaller robberies to survive, which might have been how Mirage tracked her down..

But wait, she's dead isn't she? So how could she possibly be the main villain of Incredibles 3 if she's dead?

2. SHE'S ONE OF THE FEW SUPERS WHO COULD HAVE PLAUSIBLY SURVIVED THE OMNIDROID BY FAKING HER DEATH.

She's the 6th Super to have been killed by Syndrome, and is probably the Super Syndrome tested the Omnidroid's fireproofing on, hence when it's immune to lava. 

Except.... Blazestone could have been marked as "Terminated" when she really wasn't.

But how, exactly? The model of Omnidroid that killed her was v.X2 (the highest being v.10) so it was a VERY early model. Too early to have all the little issues ironed out. Perhaps there was a flaw that Blazestone exploited that kept her alive. 

There's also Blazestone's powerset.  She has a threat rating of 5.5, which sounds low until you realise that the highest is Gamma Jack with 7.9 Her powers are listed as pyrokinetic discharge, heat control, heat resistance, high agility and flight (by riding on heated air) which is pretty OP by itself but there's one power not listed on the file that Blazestone mentions having.

From the Bonus Disk Audio Interviews: (sped up because she was talking through the entire interview on 2x speed) "Wait what, do you want me to say the whole thing again? I thought I was completely clear, are you- Do you want me to go back again? The whole thing? I don't understand... (back to normal speed because she realised she wasn't in the dimension where people talk really fast, I guess?) "...OH, okay. *laughs* I am so sorry, I know what the problem is! I can't *laughs again* I keep on forgetting which dimension that I'm in! Wait, which... Which dimension am I in?"

From Lego Incredibles: "Wait, which dimension is this? Never mind, I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.”

That's right, apparently Blazestone has the ability to warp herself to other dimensions. And this isn't an out of the blue thing that probably isn't canon either, Incredibles 2 shows off exactly how that power would function.

(Transcript from Incredibles 2)

Escaping by warping to another dimension is a VEEEERY good method of hiding your own body.

Picture this: Blazestone is contacted by Mirage. She's told a lie about the Omnidroid, it's the government's secret project and how it's went rogue. She gets told they looked for her because she's the only Super who defected from the NSA, they need her specifically. If they approached any other Super they might contact the NSA and expose the secret project. So they need her because she won't tattle. 

Blazestone goes to Nomanisan Island and is told to go to Room A113 to wait for instructions. She gets bored and hates being told what to do so goes to explore. She finds the lava waterfall and flies through, only to find Syndrome on his computer looking over his Operation KRONOS files. She realises that they lured her to die, that she's not the first one they called to destroy the robot, they lied to her and now she's trapped. She goes back to Room A113, and while they're unaware that she found out, she starts asking too many questions. 

The Omnidroid x.V2 is sent after her. She's not fighting to disable it for a sum of money, she's fighting for her life. Blazestone is agile, she flies out of reach of the Omnidroid, and hurls fireballs at it as it has no methods of hitting her back. Until it learns to throw its own projectiles at her. It uproots trees, throws rocks etcetera. It gets an unlucky hit in and knocks her to the ground. Suddenly Blazestone realises that it's getting more accurate, it's predicting where she'll fly next. There's no winning against it. They're near the volcano at this point so Blazestone makes a beeline towards it, if she could just reach the lava.... 

She's inside the lava caves, she flies directly over the lava. She's heat resistant. She baits the Omnidroid into throwing one more boulder and allows herself to get knocked into the lava. She's entirely submerged. Syndrome is watching the fight through hidden cameras, waiting for her to emerge, but she doesn't. Syndrome makes a quip about how the lava must have been too hot for even Blazestone to handle and marks her down as terminated. In reality, Blazestone warped to the other dimension the second she went under, tricking them into thinking her body melted away in the lava. 

As for how Syndrome didn't know about her dimensional warping power, the fact that it's not listed on her National Supers Agency file kinda feels like the NSA didn't believe she had that power. She's a former criminal who probably figured that she she'd defect from being a Superhero at some point. If she ended up in a jail cell, she could teleport out of it. If they knew she could teleport they might have found some way to neutralise that power before sending her to jail. So Blazestone kept it a secret in the even that she'd need to escape from some where. 

So Blazestone lives and freaks out about her near death experience. Except... She draws the wrong conclusion about Syndrome. She doesn't know that the government is actually oblivious to the fact that Syndrome is developing a robot strong enough to fight Mr Incredible using Supers as test subjects. She thinks the government is hunting down Supers and killing them with the Omnidroid. 

She goes cold turkey on crime in case the government finds her again, but after all that, a deep resentment and rage bubbles up inside of her. 

Flashforward to after Incredibles 2, when the Super Ban is lifted and the National Supers Agency is re-established and is recruiting Supers again. The details of Project KRONOS are released to the public. Blazestone's rage boils over. 

She hates that the National Supers Agency is up and running to control Supers again like how they suffocated her with their rules and trapped her in a dysfunctional partnership with Universal Man, she hates that ordinary people tried to wipe out Supers when THEY should be in charge. 

Remember in Incredibles 2 when Evelyn mind controlled Mr Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone and made them forced them to say something into the camera during the public broadcast before they hijacked the hydrofoil to make them look bad?

Yeah, Blazestone ACTUALLY believes that. 

As far as anyone is aware, Blazestone is dead. She might hide her face to make sure nobody figures out it's her. She could target the DevTech/Wannabe Supers (Voyd, Screech, He-Lectrix, Brick, Krushauer and Reflux) and shake their confidence in the Supers Agency or the public's faith in Supers, after all, the Supers Agency let all the old Supers die, they public turned on you years ago, who's to say they won't turn on you again? Look, there's already politicians who disagree with the Super Ban being lifted and want to put heavy restrictions on Super activity. I think she'd be after Voyd specifically because she's an anxiety ridden easily manipulated mess who is also potentially a threat. After all, Voyd's power is portals, and she can follow Blazestone when she dimensional warps...

She rallies a bunch of other young Supers who felt betrayed by the government banning Supers, perhaps she even manipulates a grieving Plasmabolt who's still mourning her teammates' deaths into acting as a mole in the National Supers Agency. She wants Supers to be on top while all the puny normals get subjugated like they deserve.

Baaasically she becomes Pixar Magneto? ... I'm not 100% certain, I'm not all that familiar with X-Men? I just kinda know who he is from watching one movie years ago. I don't know, I suck at writing allegories, I just have the vague idea in my head and I dunno how to put it to paper properly. If I've said something bad or made a bad comparison, I'm sorry. I'm writing this section at 3am.

3. SHE HAS AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION TO ONE OF THE MAIN CAST.

If The Incredibles was about Mr Incredible and Incredibles 2 was about Elastigirl, who's the third member of their trio who hasn't got a chance to be a protagonist yet? Let's bring up the profiles again, shall we?

Notice anything?

"ONCE PARTNERS WITH FROZONE. BUT RELATIONSHIP RAN HOT AND COLD."

"FORMER PARTNERS WITH BLAZESTONE (ROMANTICALLY?)"

OH SNAP THAT'S RIGHT, FROZONE AND BLAZESTONE USED TO BE PARTNERS. POSSIBLY ROMANTICALLY.

Blazestone was partnered with Frozone first before the NSA shoved her into the Beta Force with Universal Man. This is purely headcanon, but I like to imagine the Frozone/Blazestone team was known as the Alpha Force because Beta comes after Alpha. The sentence "relationship ran hot and cold" aside from being a bad pun, kinda implies that at some point the fluctuation led to them having a huge falling out and splitting their team apart so the NSA could try again with Universal Man.

I found this on Reddit's Tumblr sub and honestly, my thoughts exactly.

Imagine the DRAMA of Frozone finding out that his former "Enemies to lovers to enemies" partner who tried to drown him on Supers Appreciation Day that one time who he thought was dead is suddenly alive again and is currently leading a gang of Supers to attacking people. There could be a deep dive into what their partnership was like, how he reacted to her fall from grace and all the mixed feelings of seeing her alive again in the present day.

Maybe this could finally be the opportunity to show Honey on screen. I mean, she HAS a design now and an entire deleted scene that they cut out because it caused pacing issues

Imagine Frozone lying battered and bruised on the ground from Blazestone fighting him, and Honey runs to his defence. Blazestone mocks her like "What could you possibly do to me? You're powerless!" and then Honey takes her completely by surprise by pulling out a metal baseball bat or some other mundane household weapon and beats the ever loving shit out of her.

Another idea I had that doesn't really fit into any section is the idea of bringing the Deavor siblings back. Winston and Evelyn having a fractured relationship after the events of Incredibles 2. Winston visiting her in jail trying to understand why she'd risk their father's legacy and endangering DevTech by connecting it with the attempted mass murder with a boat. Evelyn snapping back that he never noticed how she was feeling as they grieved for their parent's deaths because he was too focused on thinking that they died because there was no Supers around anymore to save them.

Blazestone kidnapping both of them and forcing Evelyn, the one who hates Supers with her entire being to remake the Screenslaver technology by threatening to burn Winston to death if she doesnt comply. Why does Blazestone need the hypnosis tech? Because she's aware that some of the Supers she recruited might not be 100% loyal and wants to control their minds to keep them in line if she has to. Because she doesn't care at all about any of the other Supers, she just wants to use them for her own gain so that SHE can control the city. Plasmabolt is definitely going to be the one to betray Blazestone in the end. She realises that Everseer, Macroburst and Psycwave wouldn't have wanted her to harm innocent people to avenge their deaths, so she'd fight alongside The Incredibles family, the Wannabe Supers, and Frozone.

Aaaand that's all I have to say, it somehow took me three hours to move all this text from Google Docs to Tumblr and find accompanying images.

Hope you liked my probably badly written sequel idea

[holmesxwatson]

James Lovegrove’s Sherlock Holmes books

James Lovegrove has written a ton of Sherlock Holmes books over the years (all Victorian era/canon era). I recently came across his latest series on the Hoopla app while I was browsing audiobooks that were available and the cover art totally roped me in. I ended up reading all three books in the newest series, all the Cthulu casebooks and a few in his earliest series. As far as I can tell, his books seem to be split into three different series based on the structure of the subtitles and the different cover art. I enjoyed all the books I read by Lovegrove for different reasons, but as I've already established in my other book rec posts, I mostly only care about the Holmes/Watson dynamic. So listed below are Lovegrove's Sherlock series in chronological order, which also happens to be, in my opinion, the order from least to best Holmes & Watson dynamics •ᴗ•

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Titan Books Series, 2013-2018

I honestly just realized while researching links for this post that Lovegrove's books in this series are part of a bigger series with multiple authors (lol me), so I'm not going to list all the titles here, but they've been published from 2011-2023 and Lovegrove has written six of the 21 books. The other authors in the series are Guy Adams, George Mann, Cavan Scott, Mark A. Latham, Nick Kyme, Philip Purser-Hallard, and Tim Major. I read the first two Lovegrove books in this series last after reading his other SH series and the stories were pretty solid. One of them was a WWI-era story, which is a time period that I love to read about. The only thing I will say is that the Holmes & Watson vibe is a little too I'm-smarter-than-you-do-keep-up for my taste, which is why I took a break after reading the first two. But I wouldn't be against dipping back into this series at some point in the future and also checking out what the other authors have to offer.

Goodreads series page (x)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Cthulu Casebooks, 2016-2023

There are four books in the Cthulu Casebooks series and the framing device is that James Lovegrove himself is a descendant of H.P. Lovecraft, which is how he comes into possession of Watson's secret writings on his and Sherlock's real adventures going up against Cthulu and other eldritch horrors. These books are not just a romp through a mashup of literary worlds, there are very real stakes and things get dark. I really liked these books, I'm not really a Lovecraft fan at all, but I have read some of his works and of course I'm aware of all the elements from his works that have transcended their stories and are really a part of general fantasy/horror fan knowledge. My best friend is a huge Lovecraft fan and we read these together, so they were able to tell me how precise the Lovecraftian elements were -- they were precise -- so Lovecraft fan approved. The framing device was my favorite thing, especially the author's note at the end of book three, which was a very bone-chilling way to end the book (that I was listening to on audio in my dark house at night -- oops).

Sherlock Holmes and the Shadwell Shadows

Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities

Sherlock Holmes and the Sussex Sea-Devils

Sherlock Holmes and the Highgate Horrors

Goodreads series page (x)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

James Lovegrove's Sherlock Holmes, 2019-2021

This was my favorite series out of the Lovegrove set and also the first that I read. I felt like the Holmes & Watson dynamic was especially great -- and for me that means: they felt more like equals, there was just the right amount of bickering, and they cared deeply about each other. While I was reading these I took some short notes to help me remember what was special about each book, here they are below next to the titles. I would say that the covers and titles make the series seem like it might have fantasy elements, but it's more like they are debunking their clients outlandish theories before getting stuck in on the actual case.

Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon (has a Three Garridebs-esque scene; Holmes dresses up as Santa!)

Sherlock Holmes & The Beast of the Stapletons (a continuation of HOUN complete with a short estrangement of Holmes & Watson)

Sherlock Holmes & The Three Winter Terrors (the dedication at the beginning of the book is to Jeremy Brett ❤)

Goodreads pages (x) (x) (x)

Here’s my goodreads shelf with all kinds of Sherlock Holmes books that I’ve read or am hoping to read. Let me know if you have any recs! And check my pinned post for other book recs posts!

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Long Distance Love (18+)

Steve Rogers x Female Reader

Word Count:1,000

Summary:Steve misses you whilst out on a mission. As a result some flirty text messages and phone calls are exchanged between you two.

Warnings: Smut, sexting, phone sex, breeding kink mention, if I've missed anything that you want tagged please let me know.

Authour's Note: I posted this on my Ao3 page back in 2021 when I had just started writing x reader fanfics, so the writing quality is not the best.

Masterlist

Steve heaved out a heavy sigh as he dropped his body on the slightly uncomfortable bed in the room of the motel he was staying in, his muscles sore and tired. He'd already showered and changed out of his stealth suit and into some much more comfortable grey sweatpants, choosing to forgo a t-shirt since it was just him alone in his room.

Sitting up against the pillows and headboard of the bed, he turned to look at the digital clock on his night stand, his thoughts turned to you, with a bit of luck you would still be awake at this time. Reaching for his phone sitting next to the clock on his night stand he unlocked it and immediately started scrolling through his contact list until he came across your name.

He hated leaving you to go on missions, and just wished that he didn't have to be hauled up in some cramped motel room, and that he would much rather be back home snuggled up with his girl in his arms, naked bodies pressed up against each other and limbs tangled together.

His thoughts of you turned from sweet to dirty rather quickly as his was cock pressing underneath his sweatpants as he started to type out his text message to you. An anticipation for what was about to happen.

Swiping his fingers over the keyboard of his phone, he typed out his message.

'Miss you so much, babygirl. Wish you were here with me.'

Steve waited a few moments for your reply, but nothing. That wouldn't do. He had to change tactics. Steve was nothing if not a man of strategy. Closing the text app, he swiped his finger over the screen, tapping on the camera icon. This would get your attention, that he was sure of.

Wriggling to tug his grey sweatpants and black boxers down his thighs, he wrapped one of his strong hands around the base of his impressively hard length, and snapped a picture with his phone in the other hand.

He sent another text, with the picture he'd taken as an attachment, he awaited your reply.

Not a minute later, he received your reply, only not in the form of a text, but a phone call. His phone vibrated in his hand and your name flashed across his screen. He accepted the call right away, not passing up on the opportunity to her his girl's sweet voice.

"Steve." You started. "What are you doing sending me things like that? aren't you supposed to be on a mission?" you chuckled.

"The mission's going slow, 'sides it's only really just retrieving intel" he drawled out.

"you didn't answer my question, why'd you send me that picture, baby?" you retorted, a teasing tone lacing your words.

"I missed you, missed your soft skin and beautiful smile. Missed the little noises you make when when you cum" he said lowly. "I'm going to fuck my fist for you, babygirl. I want to know that you'll be touching yourself too."

His whispered words of encouragement was all that you needed before you were slipping your hand into the waistband of your panties and rubbing slow circles around your clit. Continuing with pleasuring yourself, you let slip a moan from your lips, which did not go un-noticed by your super-soldier boyfriend.

"There's my babygirl, I love the sounds you make, God I wish I was there with you, baby.." he rasped out his voice thick with arousal.

"Tell me what you would do if you were here." you came back.

"I'd have you laid back on the bed, all naked and spread out for me. I'd get between your legs and eat you out just how I know you like..wouldn't stop until you've cum all over my face." the sounds of his own self pleasure clearly audible through the phone. The sounds of his slick fist sliding up and down, moving over his cock ringing in your ears.

deciding to change the pace of things, you slip two fingers inside yourself, gasping at the feeling of the pads of your fingertips rubbing against your sensitive walls.

"I wish you were here too, Stevie..I miss your fingers inside me..mine just aren't the same" you mewled.

"I'll be back before you know it baby, I promise. Keep going, you've got me so hard, baby." his breath was ragged at this point, you knew he was close.

"I know your close, Stevie...I want you to cum for me" the evidence of your approaching orgasm present in your voice also.

"You're close too, babygirl, I can tell. You know I'd fill you up so good babygirl. You'd take my load, let me fill you up, let me make you a mommy..." That was the final straw for both of you.

Steve came with a chain of curses leaving his lips. You came with a breathy moan eacaping your own lips.

Both of you laying there in silence as your both your orgasms subsided, You were the first one to break the silence.

"Were you serious about that last thing you said, Stevie?"

"What, baby?" The question hangs in the air.

"About wanting to make me a mommy?"

"Serious as anything, Baby..I want us to be a family. I want to watch you grow big and round with my kids. 'Wanna watch your tits fill with milk..god you'd look so hot all swollen and pregnant."

"I want that too Stevie...I'll hold you to that Captain Rogers, as soon as your back we can work on putting that little plan of yours into action"

"Thank you for this, love you so much, Babygirl. I'll see you soon I promise"

"I love you too, Stevie. Be safe." with that you hung up the phone and let your head rest amongst the pillows and drifted off to sleep, dreams of you, your Stevie and the family you would have together making a shy smile appear on your lips.

---------------------------------------

@itsfreakingbats @sidepartskinnyjeans

[angelscovee]

tiktok makes it a lil too easy to figure out who is racist in the wbb community, especially the fans who care only about the white players. because my tiktok fyp has been filled with hate post about Chennedy Carter and it continues to be about her looks (predominantly having black features). or the ones who discredit angel/simone. my block list is getting too long on that app

everyone shows their true colors on tiktok, my fyp is mostly filled with wbb edits but when i come across a hate post 99% of the time its a hate video about a black wbb player. i never see any hate videos towards the white athletes, besides the 1% but thats rarely any.

usually i try to not let it bother me but it gets so tiring to see people hating on these women for playing a sport they enjoy. people who discredit angel anger me so much.

and also simone! like no one had a problem with her until she one best comeback athlete! and they are all paige "fans" who are hating on her.

like hello did you not hear her 2021 speech at the espys shining light on the athletes who are poc??? paige would be disappointed to see people bringing down simone and we know she sees it cause that girl is chronically online and runs her own social medias as well!

[yostresswritinggirl]

Hello, how have you been? I hope you're doing alright. I remember being one of your emoji-anon (either 🌌 or 🌠, not really sure) back in 2021. I remember sending you an ask/feedback not long after you release a story smut (the red Xiao x reader x green Xiao) lol. Idk if the current list was all new anons or you still keep the anons from 2 years ago, sorry if I might be wrong!

At the time, your blog was such a great comfort place for me. Your writing is enjoyable and comforting (the submission from other anons, too). I got the confidence to send you an ask because you seem sooo nice, fun, and you're actually active and don't feel bothered talking with the people from your ask.

I was initially not really active, but eventually stopped going on this app after becoming more busy. But still, thank you so much. You, your blog, and the other anon at the time mean something to me. I hope you have an enjoyable days and I pray that it will always be filled with positive things.

Sorry for the long ask & if I seems weird (I mean no harm, truly). I'll be retiring from Tumblr and if I do come back, it might take years haha. Thank you (again).

(sorry to the anon who I mistook as me ^^;;)

This is either Lehra or Lily and honestly this made me so sad and teary (it's probably the latter but if it's none of them then that's hilarious-)

I sure hope I'm not too late to answer this but I hope you know I remember each and everyone of you, and even if you think you were inactive or had some degree of separation since you're in anon from me, you're a great influence and a source of happiness to me too. This place only became comfortable and nice from your enabling, and back then, answering your asks and socializing was the best thing about this hell site.

Life gets to us and I'm happy you and I are still alive, online or offline in this app. It's not weird and it's probably weirder to say I love you /platonic truly, and wherever life takes you, I hope you remember this online interaction we had. Because even if it was on the internet, we were happy and made each other happy

Best of luck with life, my child, keep moving forward ^^ 💙💙💙

[cindylouwho-2]

Etsy Fourth Quarter Earnings 2023 - Still Banking on Improving Marketplace Sales, But Not Revealing Many Plans

Slide 23 from Etsy's 4th quarter 2023 earning report, © Etsy. it shows what percentage of sales each major category has, with performance in the quarter.

Etsy’s fourth quarter results for 2023 were as uninspiring as expected, but despite revealing few plans, the corporation is convinced it can increase gross marketplace sales through its gifting and other initiatives. There was a lot of interesting information for shop owners, though, so let’s get right to it. 

First, here are the resources that you should read/watch yourself, if you want to know more:

the press release

transcript of the conference call

slides from the conference call

video of the call (click on “Webcast” under “Latest Quarterly Results”)

my summaries of the fourth quarter 2022, and the third quarter 2023 for comparison

Then, the basic numbers (covering October to December 2023, compared to the same period in 2022):

Sales on Etsy were $3.6 billion, down 1.4% year over year

Total sales for all 3 marketplaces (Etsy, Reverb, and Depop) were $4.0 billion, down 0.7%. [Elo7 was officially sold in mid August; its numbers were still included in the comparison totals of 2022]

Etsy’s revenue (including all 3 sites) was $842.3 million, up 4.3%

Seller service revenue was up 9.4% to $226.5 million, while marketplace revenue was up 2.6% to $615.8 million

Net income was $83.3 million, down 24% (mostly due to the layoff costs of $27 million in the quarter)

Active buyers on Etsy alone stand at 92 million, a third consecutive all-time high

Active sellers on Etsy alone are now 7 million, the fourth large jump in a row compared to the previous quarter; numbers had been stagnant through the end of 2021 and all of 2022 [Note that “active” means one charge or transaction in the past 12 months; many “active” shops currently have nothing for sale.]

Sales where the buyer and/or the seller was not in the United States were 45%, up from 44% last year, but down from 47% in the previous quarter

Sales on mobile are 68%, up from 67% last year [this includes both the buyer app and mobile browsers]

As always, I am reporting what Etsy’s representatives said in the main text, with my commentary in square brackets.

Etsy Search

At the moment, Etsy’s search algorithms aim to show shoppers things they are most likely to buy. They are currently working on changing that to showing what buyers are most likely to love after the purchase. They refer to items that consistently get high reviews, have good photography, and whose shop owner provides good customer service, has quality return policies and ships on time, as “quality” items, or, “the best stuff.” 

This is all a work in progress, so search may not change drastically any time soon. Past calls and interviews have related this to the increase in Etsy Picks assigned in the past few months; they plan on using those Picks to train the algorithm to find “quality”, especially quality photos. The items staff identify as “quality” convert twice as well as other listings, so there is obvious benefit to Etsy showing them higher up in search results. 

Etsy has added some of the features in its “neural ranking model” to non-US searches; previously it was only in the US searches. 

Advertising

Offsite Ad spending was down 4% in the quarter vs. 2022, in part due to competition bidding higher than Etsy thought was worthwhile. At the time of the call, that spending was back to normal. Per slide 21, money from Offsite Ads fees covered about 35% of what Etsy spent on the ads during the quarter. 

CEO Josh Silverman explained why the performance marketing (Offsite Ads) spend can be unpredictable.

“So performance is dynamic on a, really, hour-to-hour basis depending on the ROI we're seeing on every dollar we're spending. And we've got pretty sophisticated algorithms that work on, is this bid -- is this click worth this much right now and how much should we bid. And so to the extent that CPCs rise, we naturally pull back, or to the extent that CPCs lower, we naturally lean in. The other thing, by the way, it's not just CPCs, it's also conversion rates. So in times when people are really budget constrained, we see them actually -- we see conversion rate across the industry go down. We see people comparison shop a lot more. And so we are looking at all of that. And not humans, but machines using AI are looking at a very sophisticated way of what's happening with conversion rate right now, what's happening with CPCs right now.”

Etsy also does testing twice a year where they stop running ad such as Google Shopping ads in part of the country, and then compare with the areas still advertising to see if the buyer still would have bought. Silverman admitted that the data shows “often the answer may be yes.”

Overall marketing costs went up 7% in the year. 

The Gifting Initiative

Etsy is now aiming to brand itself as the place to go to buy gifts. Gift Mode is just the start of this campaign. Their surveys report that more than half of US gift giving is based on personal occasions that occur year round, such as birthdays, or “just because”. People in the US spend an average of $1600 a year on gifts, but Etsy’s US buyers only average $38 spent per year on gifts from Etsy. They estimate that less than half of Etsy buyers in 2023 used the site to buy at least one gift. There is obviously an opportunity to do better. 

The percentage of US residents thinking of Etsy as a good place to buy a gift is now down to 10%. [Previously, the company reported it was 12%, and I commented last quarter that I’d like to see a more recent survey to judge if they have used this knowledge to improve. 

“Only 12% of buyers will name Etsy top of mind as the place to shop for gifts.” They don’t seem to have any updated numbers showing how they’ve been improving that situation. [It’s time to go after that “enormous opportunity”, Josh!]”

So despite wanting to grab a bigger gifting share before now, Etsy has managed to lose ground. This is my biggest fear about the gift push: the market was there before now, and Etsy’s own research demonstrated that. Are they only going all in now that they have run out of other ideas?] 

There were 6 million visits to Gift Mode in the first 2 weeks. [I am not really impressed, given that they promoted it very heavily, and I was personally responsible for over 100 of those visits while researching my Gift Mode blog post.]

Other plans to bring in buyers

Silverman stated “[o]ur focus will be to make Etsy even more Etsy”, and to differentiate the marketplace from sites that sell everyday needs. The following quote deserves to be read in full:

“Most other players are competing head-to-head to sell the exact same merchandise, focused on selling at $0.02 cheaper or shipping it two hours faster, and this has resulted in the commoditization of the entire experience. But that's just not Etsy.”

[This seemed to be a completely unironically-intended comment, with no recognition of the fact that he actually discussed speeding up shipping times in the same presentation, nor of the well-known fact that so much on Etsy these days can usually be bought cheaper on Aliexpress or Shein.]

He also said that the “special” aspect of Etsy is what sometimes holds the site back, as buyers might consider Etsy limited to specific items, or might “worry about the post-purchase experience”. Bringing people back more often is a goal. [They’ve been saying that for years now, though.]

The company is currently doing buyer loyalty program research, but gave no further details. He also cited “shortening our estimated delivery dates this year by at least 2 days” as something that buyers should like, but it is unclear to me reading this if the work done last year (the year discussed in this call) already shaved 2 days off of delivery dates, or if the statement is this year’s goal. I think it is the latter [but the only ways to do that are to improve the accuracy of their tools - and I am not sure that they are currently 2 days longer than reality on average - or to pressure sellers to ship faster. Since Etsy is once again updating shop settings to add weekends to shop processing times without notifying us, I guess we can assume the latter? UPDATE (Mar 19): Silverman clarified at a recent talk that "we think we can cut shipping times on Etsy by at least two days this year."]

Other things sellers need to know

Etsy Ads now involve some localization outside of the US, which increased conversion rates. [If your ad performance changed in non-US countries during the quarter, this is the most likely reason.]

Neither sales or Etsy’s revenue are expected to increase until the second quarter, and they expect revenue to grow faster than sales this year. [Revenue is almost certain to increase, as the corporation has been surveying sellers on what they would be willing to pay more for.]

“In 2023, we removed approximately 140% more listings for violations of our Handmade Policy than in 2022.” [No word on how many of them were removed erroneously, though, as we know the “Temu” bots pulled a lot of truly handmade items that had photos stolen and listed on other sites.]

Silverman promised “innovation planned to improve the predictability of shipping costs for both buyers and sellers”, but provided no details. [I am not sure what would make my personal costs more predictable, given they change every single week with Canada Post’s fuel surcharge right now. Is it going to be forcing people to use Etsy Labels with calculated shipping? Or is this more calculated shipping options for countries outside of the US, and for new carriers? Restricting the amount a listing can charge for shipping? I really have no idea, but I hope all those people they hired for “fulfillment” jobs a few years back are coming up with something that is actually useful.] 

Miscellaneous

Depop had a decent quarter in sales and revenue. 

Reverb sales were flat. “The Reverb team made some organizational changes late in the year” which are expected to be profitable [i.e., they laid off over 30 people in October].

The Etsy layoffs in December were referred to by CFO Rachel Glaser as “our recent workforce realignment”. [At least she didn’t call those former employees churn.] The call provided no details on the restructuring they previously said would be done by the end of this quarter. 

October sales were not good, but November and December improved. January “was a little bumpy.”

Outside of the US, sales in Germany were mostly steady, while the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria improved.

The upcoming $15 fee for newly-opened shops will largely go to paying the costs of the technology for vetting sellers; it is not expected to result in much profit. 

My thoughts: this is going to be a rough year for many Etsy sellers

As I discussed last quarter, Etsy’s upper brass didn't seem to think they were responsible for the lackluster sales performance of their marketplace, and this quarter that extended to not admitting they overhired since early 2022, and not acknowledging that Etsy’s reputation as a gift site actually dropped over the past few years. The last one is particularly galling. Why keep talking about how there was great room for improvement in Etsy brand recognition for gift buyers and then fail to improve even a tiny bit? What were these folks doing the past 2 years? 

It’s clear they think bravado will get them through this, including the bold move of claiming everything will improve in the second quarter and throughout the year without revealing any real details. No wonder the stock dropped yet again. 

That said, they likely have some reasons for thinking that revenue will pick up at least, if not sales. As mentioned above, they have been extensively surveying sellers about raising fees and/or charging us for things we currently get for free (or mostly do not want). Possible downsides for Etsy include the fact that the Indie Sellers Guild and the Artisans Cooperative (among others) are likely to get more negative press for Etsy if fees are raised yet again, just as happened in 2022. It does not help that Etsy didn’t really follow through on improved services the last time they raised fees. 

And the more I think about the comment on shipping costs, the more I believe they are considering making Etsy Labels compulsory for at least some in the US, with set shipping charges sellers won’t be able to change. Bonanza did this last year, charging its US sellers $2 per order extra if they didn’t use Bonanza labels and didn’t get an exemption from the program. Most Etsy sellers using the labels and being forced to show that price as the shipping cost for buyers is the only way I can think of making shipping prices more predictable for buyers, other than capping shipping charges outright (and that sounds like a nightmare to implement). eBay does it, though. Am I missing something? [UPDATE Mar. 5, 2024: Etsy is surveying buyers about how much they like cheap shipping.]

Perhaps more importantly, the planned search changes have the potential to disrupt the status quo a great deal. We know that Etsy frequently takes a lot longer to develop these types of technologies than they expect, so it may not happen this year, but the work on promoting “quality” listings will continue, and that is already affecting some shops that used to do better in Etsy search. Do everything you can to make sure your images are "high-quality". If you rely on internal search to get most of your Etsy sales, this is a very good time to follow my usual advice and diversify your traffic sources. 

Etsy’s branding pivot to being the place to get gifts could also have a big impact on some shops and categories, if it is successful - and that is a big “if”. I’m not thoroughly convinced Etsy can manage this change in consumer consciousness, considering that the site’s reputation continues to be hammered by controversies around scams and non-handmade items. Kitkats, anyone? 

Many other comments do not bode well for most shop owners: a continuing push for discounting, emphasis on faster shipping times, and financial restrictions/impositions on “newly-opened” shops all indicate that traffic may flow away from small business owners who choose not to comply, or are unable to comply. 

Last quarter I said “[d]on’t be surprised if there are major site changes in 2024”, and I appear to have been correct. But really, anyone reading these reports over the past few years could have seen it coming.

Stay well informed, everyone! It’s the best weapon we have.

Reminder that you can sign up to receive my Tumblr and website blog posts via email.

UPDATED March 19, 2024

[notbecauseofvictories]

Hi, Sarah! I was wondering if you've got a list of books you've read, like a Goodreads or something. They all sound so interesting. I've been scrolling through your bookshelf tag but am lazy and would like something a bit list-ier if it exists. If not, nevermind, and have a great day. ♥

So, awkwardly, the only place I really keep a list is on the notes app of my phone. There are plenty of reasons for this! I usually have my phone with me, it makes the list portable, I hate/misunderstand/distrust goodreads, it's easier to just write down my thoughts and feelings when I know they won't be read...

So many reasons!!!

Anyway, you can definitely spend time spelunking through my "from the bookshelf" tag, or you can fast forward to my "Best of [YEAR]" lists, which do in fact capture my favorite things I've read that year. Feel free to ask about any of them, or just mark them down on your own tbr list.

BEST OF 2020

BEST OF 2021

BEST OF 2022

[4xiaojun]

whose part of bird app crew?

THIS IS TESTING MY MEMORY OF EVERYONES TUMBLR @ s 😭😭😭 not all of us are active on tumblr anymore but I’ll still try my best to remember 💀

It’s a lot btw!

1. @tyunni : may aka Riki’s gf aka our glue and the reason why are we so active a year later aka 1/3 of sunghoon hate club

2. @geombyu : tifff aka jakehoonhyunmin’s gf like damn pick one aka cat aka 2/3 of sunghoon hate club

(If u can’t tell I am the last third of shc)

3. @yjwfav : Nadia aka “how did u make moots if you’re not a writer 🤓☝🏼” but is now an amazing writer aka mark lees gf

4. @junityy : Liz aka Han jisungs lesbian gf aka my delusional partner in crime aka your name addict

5. @odxrilove : dori aka she will fight u for hoshi and minghao aka the sweetest most caring girl on the planet aka frog

6. @ijhyo : Lola aka the BEST TXT WRITER ON THIS APP aka ships every couple he sees aka big brain onto great things

7. @iyeonjuni : cici aka the mum of the group aka the life we all want to live when we’re older aka founder of the Justice4Hags charity

8. @equalheart : eju aka the Baby of the group aka the ex bias stealer aka the prettiest hijabi u will ever meet I’m not even kidding

9. @jaeyunverse : sage aka raven aka my bias twin like wtf why do we have the same taste aka the BEST ennct writer on this app

10. @fairybinie : val aka my moacarat twin aka they bias Kai but they’re safe bc I love them aka the most consistent of us all on tumblr

11. @yyx2 : Kyla aka the movie addict aka could actually pull yangyang and haechan and jaemin and beomgyu and the list goes on aka MY CURLY HAIRED TWINNN

12. @eternallyhyucks : mita aka dead on tumblr aka living the yn life rn aka unbothered queen

13. @en-fvr : mika aka used to be yeoforce if u know 2021 tumblr aka the best dressed of the group aka will fight u for Heeseung and I mean FIGHT

IF I FORGOT ANYONE I WILL D!E 😍