#I SHARED MY BLOG INTRO POST AS AN EXAMPLE I DIDN’T HAVE ANY OTHER GOOD EXAMPLES

[nachocheezos21]

lmao wish me luck

[tittyblade]

tumblr etiquette 101

a list that is nowhere near exhaustive, from yours truly.

First off, welcome! Whether you’re a twitter veteran looking for anything but whatever twitter is, or a new user just done signing up, glad to see you in our ranks beloveds! Welcome home. Refer to this quick tour to make sure your fandom experience (or tumblr experience in general) is a positive one!

Disclaimer: I know it’s long, but please try to read or skim through til the end if you’re new here! This is by no means meant to be a rule book (for the most part lol), only a guide to help you get settled easier!

1) Your blog

This is where people will see and interact with you, so put some effort into it!

Try to choose a name (url) that’s simple. You can see it as your brand, it’s how people will perceive you and remember you. If you’d like to interact with other users here (and not use the site just for the content) it’s better to have something short and sweet, preferably without spaces. (Of course, these are only suggestions.) Rest assured, you can change it literally any time you want.

Have a theme. Utilize the tool that lets you edit your blog’s color or the font of your bio! You can make it match your profile picture, or your blog if it has a theme of its own. Make it feel homey :]

Fill in your bio. People will be checking out your profile probably more often than you think. Don’t leave it empty! Put in any information you’re comfortable with sharing and isn’t too personal (like your age if you’re a minor, or other TMI that can be found on other people’s carrds). It’s always better to add a name/nickname people can use to refer to you by, but feel free to use your blog description to shitpost still.

You can have an intro post. More often than not, you’ll see a blog have a pinned post, a post permanently appearing at the top of a blog until you pin another post or unpin it. You can make one of those, if you’d like to introduce yourself in more length, link any other socials or a carrd, and show others visiting your blog how you tag things so it’ll be easy for them to navigate. Not an obligation.

Keep your anonymity and your safety. It should go without saying, but there’s no harm in repeating it just in case. Your comfort, privacy and safety has the utmost importance. Don’t share any information you don’t want to. Don’t share your age if you’re a minor, or any other incredibly personal info. I’d encourage you to go by a nickname that’s not your real name, (blog name, your brand, remember?) since there’s safety in anonymity, and that’s lowkey one of the big deals of tumblr, but that’s up to you still.

Choose what you want to be visible. Your liked posts and who you follow are all things you can set to keep to yourself and hide from the publics eye, how handy! You should go through all the setting while you’re at it, set it to your comfort.

Side blogs are a thing. You can have multiple blogs that you can use for different things (see: different fandoms, art blog, etc) to keep them organized or away from your followers. Just remember that the replies and off-anon asks you send will be from your main blog, as well as where you follow other blogs from.

2) Interacting with others

You’ve set up your account, now comes the fun part!

Follow to your heart’s desire. If you care about others seeing who you follow, fear not! In tumblr, usually only two types of blogs keep their following visible to others: newbies, and big blogs using it to point people on other good blogs’ direction. Just turn it off, and go ham following people.

Customize your dashboard. Gonna mention just two things here: this is another reason why it’s really important that you follow blogs without sparing, your dash will collect dust otherwise; and you should turn off “best stuff first” in your dashboard settings, to have a better community here and all.

Follow tags. You can set it in your settings that posts with your followed tags appear on your dashboard.

You can check the og post for edits and context. When you see a reblogged post you don’t understand the context of (or don’t recognize the character in case of fanarts), click on the profile so it will take you to the original post. From there you can check the original poster’s tags to get the context, or see if there have been any edits made to the post, since when you edit a post it doesn’t update any past reblogs.

Send people asks... This is how you make mutuals, people! Do it off-anon if you’d like them to know your blog, or anon if you’d rather not! (You can still end your messages with a signature to show you’re the same person, -[name] is one example.) Send them nice messages, ask their opinion on something, discuss things, or just straight up shitpost lol. Go wild. The sky’s your limit and it’s definitely more than 280 characters.

...and let them ask you! You can set your preference in the settings, do it on desktop tumblr to access more settings tho! What you can customize on mobile is limited (like letting people ask you things anonymously, that’s only on desktop settings). In my personal opinion, it’s always better to tag their username (or a nickname you give them, if they’re a friend) on that post, since you wouldn’t want your interactions with your friends to get buried in your blog forever.

Comment on posts. If you have something to say but don’t want the post to appear on your blog you can add a comment. The owner of the post will get a notif for it, but for anyone else you need to tag them.

For the love of god, reblog. People will only see your liked posts if you have it visible to public and they specifically go on your blog to look at them. You like something? You reblog. It’s already hard for posts to circulate properly, if you don’t reblog them literally no one will see them. If not for anything do it for the artists. Just hold and drag on mobile to fast rb.

3) Your Posts

Finally here! Don’t be a lurker, post and engage!

Make use of “read more”. If your post is long, add it. That’s what you clicked on earlier to expand this post. On desktop leave an empty line and you’ll see three dots appear, and on mobile type :readmore: on that empty line.

Draft a post to come back to it later. Pretty self explanatory.

Queue your post. Whether it’s your own post or you’re reblogging, make use of the queue feature to a) not spam reblog and fill up the dashboard of people following you and b) keep your blog active while you’re gone. Mess around in the settings, it’s fairly easy to set up.

Schedule your post. Same as queueing, the only difference is you get to choose the exact time your post will go up. Handy if you want to schedule a post for certain dates like april fools, or 5 years in the future for some reason. 

Format your texts. You can do all kinds of fancy stuff here (that’s a link, try pressing on it). Twitter doesn’t have this, make use of it. Changes depending on whether you’re on mobile or desktop. (Desktop has less features.)

Check your stats. If you’re trying to understand the algorithm better or want to look at some pretty graphs you can get your data on that on desktop tumblr.

@ people in comments. You’ll get all the notifs when people comment on your posts but they won’t see your reply unless you tag them in your message.

4) Tags, and tagging a post

This is where my earlier statement “this isn’t a rule book” stops being applicable. It’s not a war crime to go against these, I won’t come chasing you (don’t take my word for this) but you’ll work up a bad rep. Just saying lol.

Do NOT crosstag posts. It’s really tempting to add unrelated tags to increase your posts’ interaction, I know, but that’s not what tumblr is about. Don’t be a dick and make other communities’ experience worse for them.

Always tag your posts with “crit/critical/discourse/etc” if it calls for it. There’s no exceptions to it. This is the reason you see people migrating to tumblr. Let people enjoy things.

Don’t main tag a critical/negative post. If your crit post is about “Thing”, you add the “Thing critical” tag, but not the “Thing” tag. People block crit tags if they don’t want to see it, don’t shove it in their faces by main tagging it. 

If you don’t want to see something, just block it. Another reason why people are able to survive on tumblr. You don’t start discourse, you don’t make call-outs, you block. You can find something for every community you can think of if you go looking for it. The worst of the worst probably won’t ever appear on your dash, but if you’re worried or feel the need for it, you know where the block button is.

Feel free to shitpost or ramble. More often than not you’ll see people rb a post with a comment, and their elaboration will be in the tags. The tags are only visible on your profile and the notifications of the owner of the og blog. Just a thing people do.

Reblog artists’ posts with nice comments in the tags! Commenting on a drawing is usually done through the tags (Not an obligation, again, just a thing people do. Feel free to add your comment on the rb itself if you’d want other people to see it tho!) and leave nice messages for the artists! It’s a win-win for everyone involved. 

If you have more than a single follower, always use the common tw warning tags. You don’t need to tw everything, but tw’ing some common things is the bare minimum human decency. Keep it safe for others. 

Tag a post “long post” if it’s really long. Pretty self explanatory. Don’t make people scroll through all that please lol. 

You can use them to organize your blog. This is more of a pro tip, if you’d like to not miss a post in your blog, cause they will start pilin’ up soon enough.

#Liveblogging is pretty fun. If you’d like to talk to people during streams, don’t forget to add the relevant tags still! Again, you won’t show up on people’s dash otherwise.

Whew! That got out of hand. Hopefully I didn’t bore you too much. Check out blogs like @heritageposts and @hellsite-hall-of-fame to honor our past o7. @mcytblr-hall-of-fame too maybe :eyes:. Anyways, don’t forget the most important rule of them all:

Enjoy your stay! You’re meant to have fun on here while also making friends (if that’s your thing). Just be kind and respectful of others, you’ll get the hang of the rest! <3

[carlyraejcpsen]

alright, i’ve tried to keep quiet because i truly believe in karma and wanted this rp to close through the admin’s own actions and not give them any opportunities to blame it on me instead. it also felt like beating a dead horse, because i was sure they’d close the rp after losing a huge proportion of their active members and the majority of their diversity. however, after seeing multiple people sharing their experiences today, they are still posting promo posts and starting their event. so yeah, here’s my experience with @thevillagerp​​

NOTE: i no longer have screenshots from my conversations with the admins, as i blocked them when i left the rp for the sake of my own mental health, but i did save the text in my drafts, so the messages below are copy pasted. i have not edited them in any way. They also deleted my original anonymous messages off of their blog.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: racism, very vague allusions to homophobia and transphobia

so i was a member of this roleplay for around two months. during my time there, it was startlingly obvious that white fcs were preferred and prioritised, both from the fact that they got more plots and interactions in general and from the fact that admins never promoted diversity on the main. even now, they repeatedly say they “would still love to receive some more male and non-binary apps” while ignoring that they currently have a ratio of 8 fcs of colour to 24 white fcs. their diversity rules at the time were that 1/3 of a mun’s characters had to be played by an fcoc. so people could easily just play one or two white characters.

a while ago, i sent an anonymous message to the main asking if they had considered perhaps changing this rule to be 2/3 characters instead of 1/3, since there were so few muses of colour in the roleplay (as i said before, they’ve since deleted this from their blog so i cannot provide a screenshot). they responded that they had been thinking of upping the character limit to four instead of three, with a rule that 2/4 must be played by an fcoc. i gave them the benefit of the doubt and the time to enact this change, but nothing happened.

so a few weeks later, i sent them this message on anonymous:

I was wondering if you had thought any more about the diversity rules here? I know you said before that you were considering increasing the character limit, but I noticed that hasn’t happened and I wanted to know if that was a change we’re going to see or if you would consider changing the rules in another way? I’m really disheartened by the lack of diversity in the roleplay

at the time there were 18 characters of colour out of a total of over 60. they responded (again, i’m sorry i don’t have the actual wording since they’ve deleted the messages) that they had thought about it and decided against upping the character limit, but instead would be having a weekly “poc acceptance day,” where they would only be accepting apps with fcs of colour. they also said they were doing this “now that the waitlist was mostly cleared,” which meant that the rp was mostly at capacity anyway, so they needed to look more at how to encourage their existing members to promote diversity, since there weren’t spaces open for new people to bring them in.

i responded with another anon expressing my disappointment and pointing out that they had done more to prevent having too many celebrity characters than too few muses of colour, as at the time they had a ban on celebrity muses. i wouldn’t usually suggest a ban on certain fcs, but as it was something they had done for celebrity characters, then i supposed it was a reasonable option.

they didn’t even respond to this message and instead posted on the main asking me to come off anon to discuss it. so i did, and i sent them the following dm:

i didn’t want to come off anon because i honestly feel really ostracised in this group and didn’t want to make it worse, but i don’t want to drop this issue and you aren’t comfortable addressing it publicly so here we are i guess. like i said in my previous message, i really don’t see how a “poc acceptance day” is going to make anywhere near enough of a difference. people will just wait for the opportunity to play their white characters. there are only 18 characters of colour in a roleplay with over 60 characters. that’s less than a third, which is obviously concerning. what’s even more concerning for me is that these characters are more often than not overlooked. i am often ghosted when plotting, or people don’t even reach out at all when i like plotting calls or intro posts. and then i have to watch characters like leo almost exclusively interact with white women (i’m sure that’s not the only example, but it is the first that comes to mind as he is one of the more active characters).

so this issue goes so much deeper than there just not being adequate representation in the rp. i really tried to help, i suggested making it a rule that 2/3 characters need to be poc in my original ask and you mentioned upping the character limit in response. i was worried that my concerns were being brushed aside, but i waited a while to give you the benefit of the doubt and the space to discuss the issue. so you can understand why it was really upsetting today to learn that the one thing you suggested was dropped and instead replaced with something that is barely scratching the surface of the problem. and i don’t know if it was your intention, but by saying that you were waiting for the waitlist to clear, it comes across as not wanting to receive any backlash from people who would want to join with only white characters. and even if people did want to join with faceclaims of colour, they can’t because the waitlist is cleared. like i suggested, you could change the rules so that 2 out of 3 characters must be people of colour. or, as was your proposed idea, up the character limit to four. you could also put a temporary ban on white faceclaims until the ratio evens out. as i mentioned, it’s really distressing that this was something you were willing to do for celebrity characters, but not to aid diversity.

i also just want to make it clear that these have been the only anons i’ve sent, i know you’ve been getting other ones, but those weren’t from me!!

( for context, they were receiving anons from someone else claiming that they felt left out in the rp ).

i had hoped that coming off anon would show them that this was a very real issue which was affecting their members, as well as giving them a space to discuss it privately instead of on the main. they responded with:

Hi Em, thank you for coming forward. We really, really appreciate it and we understand it’s not an easy thing to do. We also appreciate you flying the flag for diversity so strongly. We can always strive to be better, we are on the same page with you here.

Let us just explain our decision making. Firstly, just to address the waitlist, that was certainly not at all our intention when we brought it up. It was a logistical decision with 5+ applicants having already waited a week for acceptance and aware of their position on a waitlist.

When we decided against upping the character limit (and therefore the 2/4 POC character rule), we thought a POC acceptance day could be a good alternative course of action. In our eyes, this was something that would probably bring more POC characters to the group than the 2/4 rule because we knew there weren’t going to be many muns taking up an additional fourth character. This was a rule we’ve seen other groups enjoy success from so we wanted to try it out here. Plus, we think a day that explicitly highlights diversity every week would bring the message to the forefront of everyone’s minds. As we said, we’re going to monitor this over the next couple of weeks to see if it brings any improvement because we’d really like to have it as an ongoing rule.

The non-POC ban is actually a measure we’ve spoken about too and we are considering putting one in place should this fail. Thank you for raising your concerns, know that we’ve taken them very seriously and we hope that you’ll trust our judgement in trying this rule out first to see where it leads.

first of all, i don’t think i even have to mention the wording of “flying the flag for diversity.” but the real crux of the issue here is that they supposedly wanted me to come off anon to discuss the issue, but instead just explained their idea further and didn’t take anything i said on board. they didn’t even say a single word about how i told them i felt ostracised and regularly got ignored. i knew from speaking to other muns in the rp who played muses of colour (and just from looking at the dash) that they felt the same way too, but of course was only speaking from my own experience.

i thought long and hard about how to respond to this, as i was so disheartened by their unwillingness to listen to their members and the fact that they didn’t care that i felt left out. it felt like they had asked me to come off anon just so they knew who was messaging them and therefore put a target on my back, so honestly the thought of being on the dash or talking to the admins made me incredibly anxious. before i had a chance, however, they responded again with:

Hi hun, we’ve continued discussing this issue over the last couple of days and we wanted to let you know that we’ve decided to put in place a non-POC ban instead. Thank you again for holding a mirror up to the group. We do hope that this will recorrect the balance.

so i waited to see how things would play out. they posted about this new ban here and pinned the post to the top of the main:

[ IMAGE ID: a screenshot from thevillagehq of an admin update, which reads: in the interest of keeping the village a diverse space, we are currently only accepting applications for POCs. please note that any apps or reserves submitted to us for faceclaims that are not POCs will be deleted. we will lift this rule once we see fit.

thank you for your understanding and your efforts in making this group a brighter, more inclusive and diverse place for all. /END ID ]

this rule remained in place for around two weeks, during which time they made almost no effort to promote it. the above post was pinned to the main page, but that was the only mention of the ban anywhere on their page, they didn’t update the rules page or even put a note on the application page about it. during this two week period, the admins posted 10 promo posts, none of which suggested fcs or even mentioned the ban or diversity at all. the ban was then lifted suddenly when the pinned post was removed and the admins just went back to accepting apps with white fcs. the ratio had only evened out in those two weeks (from 18 out of 65 to 24/50) because of people going inactive or leaving, and there was nothing put into place to continue to promote diversity after the lift of the ban. in the three days after the ban was lifted, the admins posted over 10 promo posts, the same amount they had posted during the entirety of the ban. it was clear that they had no intention of actually making changes in their rp and had only done so because i refused to drop the issue.

again, i thought a lot about what i wanted to message them. i knew at this point that they didn’t want to make any real changes, but i still felt like i had to make it clear to them how disappointing their actions were. once again, i was messaged before i even had a chance, this time for bubbling.

as you can see in the above correspondence, i had told the admins point blank that i felt left out and ignored in the rp because of the characters i played (aubrey plaza, mj rodriguez and keiynan lonsdale fcs. all of my characters were queer and used either she/they or they/them pronouns). as a general rule, the only people who wanted to write with me and have interesting plots with me were people who played other muses of colour. the rp had a rule that you must reply to 3+ muns on every character, which i had been doing. i had only been back from my hiatus for a few days at this point and had responded to 6 different open starters the day prior. their message to me read:

Hi hun. There’s something we wanted to address to you directly. It’s been expressed to us by multiple members during these last few weeks that they have felt excluded by your character within the group, especially when it comes to the friend bubble that has formed between Mars, Bowie, Luvena, Asher and others. 

While we encourage the development of friendships and trust that this isn’t intentional, we have a zero tolerance for bubble roleplaying at The Village. We are aware that our three mun activity rules have been met by all parties involved, however, bubbling is usually a little more nuanced than that and it seems it has unfortunately begun to create a bit of a divide within the group. 

We have already issued individual warnings to a few people within the bubble, however with multiple members still expressing their concerns to us, we decided it would be better to address the group as a whole. We hope that by pointing this out to you, you will try and branch out to your fellow members a little more from now on - and try and be a little more inclusive when it comes to everyone else in the group. 

We take such matters very seriously as admins, and while we hope it won’t have to come to this, there will be consequential steps taken should we not see any changes in your interactions in the weeks to come.

as you can imagine, i was incredibly upset to receive this message after already telling them i didn’t get plots from many of their members and they had done nothing. even people who i had previously messaged continued to only write with the same few white characters. i don’t deny that we definitely had a friendship group between our characters, but there were multiple people in that roleplay, including the admins, who only cared about ship plots or plots with the same few muns. me and other people who received the same message had all previously told the admins that people aren’t plotting with us and gotten ignored, so receiving this message made it clear that they neither cared about us nor wanted us in their rp. and so i responded as below:

yeah i literally told you i felt left out because there are multiple people only writing with white characters and you never addressed it, so this message is honestly insulting. i have reached out to almost every new member, responded to multiple open starters and have tried to plot with as many people as possible. like i told you, i am often left on read or people don’t even message me at all. if people do message me, i am usually expected to put in all of the effort and if people aren’t interested in actually developing plots with me then i am obviously not going to force my characters on them. all of my characters are queer, non binary people of colour and the harsh truth of this roleplay is that people don’t care about them. i even wrote out a whole list of 20 detailed suggested connections in an attempt to get more plots and nothing came from that either. i’ve even gotten anonymous hate saying that offering to explain my characters’ pronouns was “patronising,” which i didn’t feel like i could approach you about because, when i told you about how i’m feeling excluded, you didn’t care.

so if i only have actual plots with the people who actually care about my characters, i make no apologies. i also don’t even have threads with half of the characters you named, asher being the only one, and have literally only just come off hiatus. so please explain how i am bubbling, because this really just feels targeted at this point.

you’ve made it endlessly clear that this rp isn’t a safe space for people who want to play diverse characters. the main was practically silent while you had a ban on white faceclaims, which you never actively promoted, and then you dropped that suddenly without putting anything else in place. you also deleted my initial anonymous messages asking about diversity as if you were trying to hide that there was ever an issue. you turned anonymous messages off, so that no one can safely criticise you. because i did that off anon and ever since it has felt like there is a massive target on my back. my characters have been “accidentally” on the activity checks multiple times despite me being on hiatus (people get a notification that they were tagged even if you remove their name from the list btw). plus when i asked for an extension on my hiatus, you said that you would allow it “just this once” which now makes me feel like i can’t come to you if i’m busy. right now, for example, i am in the middle of moving house, but i’m also stressed about trying to stay active because you have made yourselves completely unapproachable.

the ratio only evened out slightly because members left. then suddenly after the ban you’re posting multiple promo posts a day??? you couldn’t get more obvious. i came to you about diversity in good faith, hoping that it was something you were unaware of, but you have made it abundantly clear that you actively do not want to promote diversity in your roleplay, we are just here to be witnesses to your ship. there are multiple members who are actually bubbling who have been brought to your attention, but nothing has been done. leo continues to only write with the same three white and white passing characters. charlotte pretty much only appears to write with leo and post a vague “message me for plots” post that wasn’t even tagged. both of you only put effort into your ship threads with each other and the occasional text threads. even with something like group events: while i’ve been here, there’s been a pride event that neither of your characters were even in new york for (an event where i was the only one reaching out and posting multiple starters, by the way); there was no event last month, and this month all you’re talking about is this housewarming party.

i’m really disheartened that it’s come to this, but i can’t be here anymore. please post unfollows for all my characters. you’ve said multiple times that we should trust you as admins, but this message shows again that i simply can’t do that. from the disregard of trigger warnings, to the way you treated being held accountable for the lack of diversity, to how you respond to people asking for hiatuses, this isn’t a safe space. even if i stayed, the target you have placed on me is making it insufferable to just write my characters in peace.

the other muns who received the same bubbling message (copy pasted btw, we all got the same one word for word) all responded with their own concerns and criticisms in responses of a similar length to mine. none of us received a reply, our unfollows were just posted the next day without any further responses from the admins. a few of the other members who had written and plotted with us chose to leave as well, which the admins wrote off as us just dragging them with us as opposed to them being able to make their own decisions and being aware of the situation (which was incredibly obvious. no promotion of a white fc ban, suddenly being active on the main once they try to stealthily drop the ban, then the majority of their muses of colour leaving???)

i haven’t paid the rp much attention since i left, as i mentioned above i blocked the main and the majority of the members just for my own mental health. but from a quick scroll through today i can see that the only change in diversity rules is that now instead of your third character having to be a poc, it is now your second. however, you still only have to have 1 character out of 3 have a fc of colour. so very little has been done, but of course i’m not surprised in the slightist.

these admins don’t want diversity in their roleplay. if you play any character who isn’t a rich, white, cishet neurotypical, please avoid it at all costs. it’s not in any way a safe environment.

[natsubeatsrock]

Did Mashima fridge Juvia?

Well, it was only a matter of time.

I knew I would have to talk about this some year on August 31st. It just happens that this is the year.

For those who don't know, today is a special day in this blog's history. Six years ago, I made a long post talking about Juvia. Most notably, I was fearful about the possibility that Juvia would die. A year later, I was reacting to chapter 499, where Juvia was presumed to have died. Since then, I've used this day to talk about Juvia dying in some way or another. 

Last year, I mentioned that I wasn't willing to open this can of worms. And yet, here we are. To be honest, I figured that this was a topic worth talking about, but not in that post. I was already planning to dive into that this year.

To start, let's talk about the term.

Flashback to 1994. In issue 54 of Green Lantern, the main character walks into his apartment. His girlfriend has been killed and stuffed into a refrigerator by one of his enemies.

Five years later, [insert descriptor here] comic book writer Gail Simone took this incident as the impetus to note a trend in writing female characters in comics. They die or face serious bodily harm to advance the arcs of fellow male characters. She teamed up with other writers to start a website called "Women in Refrigerators". It's a list of female comic characters who fit this trope, to some degree or another. It's still up today, and you can see some more recent inclusions.

My own thoughts on this trope are mixed. I think that there's something to be said about one character's development coming at the expense of another character. Especially if that trend is decidedly gendered. Though, this argument is used in ways that come across in ways that are infuriatingly stupid and short-sighted. I've even seen it argued that women being harmed in fiction is inherently misogynistic. (Please don't make me talk about this.)

In any case, the argument has far exceeded the scope of comic books. (I say as if I'm not talking about comics.) This has been brought up in talking about media of all sorts. Video games, movies, television, and more. If a female character is placed in harm's way, people will argue whether or not she was fridged.

So, with that in mind, let's talk about Juvia's death.

Or false death?

I mean, we thought she was dead, but it turned out to be a fake-out.

Actually, let's talk about that. That happens to be a great place to start.

Does it count as being fridged if the serious effects were reversed?

I know that probably sounds like I'm splitting hairs. After all, it's not as if chapter 499 is wiped out of existence because we also got chapter 500. Mashima ultimately decided to kill Juvia. That's what should matter most to our discussion. Honestly, I might be inclined to buy this argument under normal circumstances. However, there happens to be a group of people who argue otherwise. They've convinced me that this is worth talking about.

Who are these horrible misogynists who would discount this kind of suffering on Juvia's part?

The people behind Women in Refrigerators.

At least, sort of?

As you might imagine, people have argued against the idea of this trope. To many people, more men have been harmed in fiction. In many cases, men in pain are treated as nothing special. In fact, there are examples of men dying to further the character arcs of female characters.

As a response to this, the website has included an article entitled "Dead Men Defrosting." Essentially, it doesn't matter if men do go through similar pain. There is a difference between these situations. In many cases, men who get fridged are eventually restored to their initial state. They gain their powers, are healed, or even come back to life. Women don't often get that same opportunity in comics.

Let's stop and think about Juvia's situation for a second. She was dead for all of one week, as far as fans are concerned. In canon, it was even less time. If Gray decided to stay behind for a few minutes, he also would have been healed by Wendy. In fact, with the continental connection to Tenrou Island, the whole scenario is forfeit. In hindsight, Juvia's life was never in danger.

So, could it be said that Juvia was truly fridged if she ended up being "defrosted"?

No, technically speaking.

Then again, I've been very critical of the writing of this. I've made many posts explaining why I think this was bad. Would ending the discussion here be the right thing to do? More importantly, is that the kind of resolution you clicked on this post to find?

There is also an elephant in the room. For better or worse, Women in Refrigerators also includes women whose states were corrected. Now, does this contradict the point they made regarding male characters? It’s starting to feel as though I should make a post about this trope on its own.

In any case, let’s ignore the fact that this didn’t actually stick. For the sake of this, let's assume that this does fall under the definition of fridging. Or, at least, that it could.

Did Mashima fridge Juvia?

To say that it did would mean that the death was done to move Gray's character arc. And... well... I mean...

Look, Gray is pushed to the edge of his sanity because he believes Juvia has died. That much is obvious, given the context of his rematch with Invel. I'm not willing to argue that this wasn't the case.

But...

I can't say that Juvia's death was so big a reason for Gray to change. 

If we're talking about Gruvia, maybe it could be argued he decided to take Juvia's romantic feelings seriously after seeing her die. But that only works if you take his words in chapter 499 in the most literal sense possible. It's more likely that he already had feelings for Juvia and was ready to share them after the war ended.

Outside of that, because Juvia died, Gray fights Invel, who he blames for killing Juvia. When he beats the stuffing out of him, he finds out that Natsu was END and directs his fury towards him. They fight for a bit, but they're ultimately stopped. Once he finds out about the Natsu-Zeref death arrangement, he decides the best way to deal with the situation is to go through with Lost Iced Shell.

You could read this as Gray going through with Lost Iced Shell because of Juvia. If Juvia didn't die (but not really), Gray wouldn't think to go use the spell. However, this view discounts Gray's stated motivations for using Lost Iced Shell: guilt over fighting Natsu and wanting to protect him from dying. Gray obviously regrets how the situation with Juvia went if the final chapter means anything. But Lost Iced Shell doesn't seem to be done because of Juvia. (I may rant about a comment I got about this some other day.)

And now, I will defy conventional wisdom and make probably the most controversial argument possible about this moment. Juvia's sacrifice was for Juvia's character arc. Not Gray's.

It's worth remembering what Juvia's arc is. I know that fandom often questions what Juvia's arc is. However, I believe that her arc is best described as understanding love. When she first fights Gray, she says that she has no need for love. A few arcs later, she sacrifices herself because of her love for Fairy Tail.

The motivation for Juvia sacrificing herself for Gray is her love for Gray. No one questions Juvia's feelings for Gray. However, this moment shows that she's willing to sacrifice her own life for Gray. Do you think that Juvia would do this before Phantom Lord?

This isn't to say that I think Juvia's arc was well-written. It's easy to criticize Juvia's extravagant displays of love seem. Or how Juvia's love seems to center more around Gray than others. Or how there are ways to show that you love someone in non-romantic ways. And fans of the series have shared the problems they have with how Juvia's character was handled.

But we're not here to talk about those things. We're here to ask if Mashima "killed" Juvia for Gray's development. And, despite how bad I think the moment was, I can't say that Mashima did.

Consider I’m the one saying this. Like, it would be something if one of the bigger Gruvia blogs made this argument. (I feel as though a couple of them may have blocked me.) That’s something that could be expected. I’ve outright called this the worst moment in the series at one time. I’d love to tack on another reason not to like this moment.

But I can’t.

“That’s because you’re clearly against the idea of this trope existing, chauvanist pig!“

I’ll assume you missed the intro for the trope earlier in this post. I’m willing to admit that this does happen. In fact, I already talked about how I hate how Last Ages happened. Ultear got done way dirtier than Juvia did and didn’t have the effects reversed. Not to mention, it was ACTUALLY done to further Gray’s character.

In Conclusion:

I don’t think it’s a good idea to call what happened to Juvia “being fridged“. Even if Juvia were to have actually died.

[myhoneststudyblr]

I’m a new studyblr, and I was wondering if you had any tips on studyblr in general? Do I have to make a studyblr intro or anything, and how would you recommend I get involved in the community? Thank you!

hi anon! first of all: WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY!!!

thank you so much for reaching out and please feel free to message me or send me an ask any time!

here are some of my tips for a new studyblr:

make a studyblr intro post! 

this is very useful for a number of reasons: 

firstly, it allows you to introduce yourself and give your name (or nickname), interests and hobbies etc. this is really important in the studyblr community because at the end of the day we are all people and we want to meet others who share similar interests. you could also give your country (only if you are comfortable with this) if you want to find soem studyblrs to conenct with who are from your country/speak your language

secondly, it is a really good place to let people know what you are studying! i would suggest including the subjects you are studying and your level of study (eg uni or hs). this is helpful because people who study the sames things as you (or maybe did in the past) can reach out and you can build a mini support system! 

thirdly, it gives you the chance to tag the studyblrs that inspired you! this is useful because these studyblrs will usually reblog your post which allows you reach a wider bunch of people (who could then reach out to you for the reasons above). i personally always reblog any intro posts that i’m tagged in (and lots that i’m not) and i will check out the blog and have a look at your posts (and probably reblog a few or put them in my queue). also, just generally i always find it so nice to hear that my blog has inspired someone! i just makes my day

think of a tagging system!

this doesn’t have to be very complex just think about what you will tag on your posts so you can keep track of them (eg. you could tag posts that you reblog that you think will be useful in the future with #ref). i would especially recommend having a specific tag for your original content (for example my tag for this is #my notes) and/or your text posts (my tags for this are #sophie speaks and #me). it’s quite useful to put your tag for original content in your bio so people finding your blog can quickly find your original content

if your blog is a sideblog, let people know!

you don’t *have* to do this, however, i would personally recommend doing it because it can sometimes be confusing when i see people comment on my posts and it is a random blog that i’ve never seen before and isn’t even studyblr. often if i check it and look deeply, it is just the main blog of one of my mutuals. so i personally think it is quite useful to put your main blog in your studyblr bio (if it is a sideblog) so that people know that it is you when you comment/send asks etc. it also lets people know that you follow back through your main account

now for getting involved in the community:

send asks and messages to people!

you are already doing pretty well on this one considering you’ve sent me this ask! but i highly recommend sending asks to people, for example, if they reblog an ask game post or even just asking for some advice because they will start to recognise you as someone who is engaged with their blog and you could also learn something new about one of your favourite studyblrs! 

messages are also a great, slightly more personal, way to interact with people. it can be as simple as messaging people to tell them you love their blog, or again asking them for some advice. if they do a post about a test or exam that they have coming up, you could even message them good luck or ask how it went. i have had some amazing conversations with people through messages and it is a great way to meet new people 

just a reminder: always be respectful and polite in messages and asks to ensure that the community remains positive

reblog posts with a comment on their posts!

(or just add a comment, although this could be confusing if your studyblr is a side blog so just be warned [see above])

this is a really nice way to let people know you’ve seen their post and it is always nice to give feedback. a comment can be as simple as: i love your handwriting! or good luck in that test! but that simple message reaching out it so nice to get! also, reblogging is really helpful to blogs because it means more people see the post

join a challenge!

ok, so i’ve had this blog for about a year and a half now and i had a pretty decent amount of followers (which i seriously do not understand XD) but i never got the same amount of interaction and involvement in the studyblr community until i created my #2020 quarantine challenge (click here if you wanna find out about this). i would get reblogs and likes on posts but i don't think that i used to get nearly as much interaction with my posts with people leaving comments and stuff. furthermore, although i had blogs where we were technically mutuals, i didn’t really have mutuals like i do know where we actively keep in touch and check out each other’s posts all the time and stuff and that is honestly the nicest thing

challenges mean that you are most likely posting every day (or at the very least pretty regularly if you cannot manage every day) and this is good because you post lots of new content for people to discover. another great thing is that there is usually a tag that you can search for and scroll through and find others who are doing the challenge alongside you. the person who created the challenge also probably checks the tag out every few days and reblogs the posts 

for these reasons, i cannot highlight how amazing challenges are for interaction and getting involved in the community!

(btw, this isn’t just a self promo for my own challenge - although i would love for you to join in cause i love seeing what everyone posts - it is just that this is the challenge that i am currently involved in and i know is going on right now! i also know that @stu-dna (amazing studyblr for the record - you shoudl defintely follow) has done a few challenges in the past which have been so fun even though i was really bad at keeping up with them XD so check out her blog so you’ll know if she does another one!)

These are all the things i can think of right now! i really hope this was helpful and is you have any questions, or want me to explain anything further, just send me another ask and i’ll do my best to help! 

- Sophie xxx

P.S. >  let me know what your studyblr is and i’ll definitely check it out 

[ckret2]

So I've been deeply pulled into the Radiosnake pairing bc of your fantastic writing! Problem is, now I have fic ideas but no knowledge of the Hazbin background. Can you tellI me where I can get more Hazbin info? I've only watched the pilot and read your stuff. I heard there were comics??

That is an excellent question anon, because right now it is really hard to get Hazbin background easily.

Okay, so, the canon info on Hazbin Hotel can be sort of sorted into four tiers, from most to least canon.

Tier 1: The Definitely Canon

There is, of course, the pilot. And then there is an Angel Dust prequel comic, only seven pages of which have been released so far. We’ve been told it’s gonna be finished and we’ve had glimpses of in-progress prequel comics for a couple other characters—most prominently Alastor’s and Charlie’s—but so far that unfinished Angel Dust comic is the only one that’s been officially released.

Finding the in-progress comic pages is... a challenge. Nobody, as far as I can tell, has been specifically collecting all of the pages we’ve seen so far. I was able to scrounge up:

Couple more Angel pages

some Alastor pages

another Alastor page

a random Alastor panel

another random Alastor panel—I’ve seen the full page of this before, Alastor goes “Hello ladies!” and they go “HELLO ALASTOR~<3″ but I can’t find the full page now

There’s a smattering more canon panels on the artist faustisse’s twitter, but I haven’t dug them all out, and some of the posts I’m gonna link in a lil bit have a glimpse of another panel.

If you haven’t already heard of Helluva Boss, I recommend looking into it as well. It’s a second series being created by the same folks, different cast of characters but set in the same version of Hell, so any canon details we learn in Helluva also apply to Hazbin.

Helluva’s pilot is here. Plus a cute music video here.

Earlier this month, during a BLM charity stream hosted by show artist Ashley Nichols—she runs regular streams under the title “HuniCast”—they released a few sneak peaks of future Helluva scenes, all compiled here.

And that’s it for canon. Two pilots, a music video, a smattering of future scenes, part of one comic, a few WIP pages/panels from other comics.

Tier 2: Pseudo-Canon

Everything else we currently know about Hazbin (and Helluva) are things that the creators have told us. Consequently, they’re all pseudo-canon���and likely subject to change in the future as the shows and comics are further developed and released. Some details that were released/described in the past have been contradicted at other times, or else radically changed by the time the pilot came out.

(For example, when Alastor was first created years and years ago as an OC with no plans for Hazbin, he was a demon deer who could shapeshift into a human shape—now he’s a demonized human with a few deer traits. And Charlie and Cherri Bomb used to look very different.)

So until and unless they make it into canon, all these pseudo-canon details are subject to change and should be taken with a grain of salt—but, they also comprise most of what we know about the characters’ backstory and the as-yet-unaired characters.

Pseudo-canon info on Hazbin is scattered mainly between two sources: the creators’ twitter accounts, and livestreams where they take questions and talk about the making of the show. If you and livestreams do not get along (my ADHD and livestreams do not get along), or if you don’t want to wade years and years back into twitter accounts to dig up every scrap of info on the characters the creators have ever mentioned, collating all the pseudo-canon info is gonna be hard. (It’s gonna be hard even if you do want to sit through the streams and dig through all their tweets.) Lots of fans, me included, depend on the absolutely heroic work of various fans who are willing and able to watch hours-long streams and collate a list of canon factoids released during the streams. I’ve reblogged as many of these posts as I’ve been able to find:

Alastor’s sound design (on twitter)

Alastor's Sound Design (post I made with screenshots of weird—but very interesting—subtitles slipped into the aforementioned video)

Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb’s sound design

Niffty and Husk’s sound design

Charlie, Katie, and Tom’s sound design

Intro song’s sound design

Happy Hotel’s sound design

details from Faustisse (including a pic of a couple costume designs. Most of these posts come from zatyrlucy, who’s been doing a fantastic job of going stream-by-stream to get lists of details from the regular streams by Ashley Nichols and by comic artist Faustisse.)

more details from Faustisse (including a pic of the Von Eldritch family dining room)

Faustisse 3 (better look at that table)

Dollymoon’s Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART ONE (Shoutout again to dollymoon for compiling these, we’ve never spoken but I am eternally grateful for this service. Dollymoon’s posts are THE single most reliable compilation of Hazbin Hotel’s nebulous pseudo-canon facts that I have found to date, including both links to the sources and timestamps where applicable. Dollymoon’s URL has changed since making this post so the “read more” link doesn’t work but the “source” or “reblogged from” links direct correctly to the new blog. Incidentally, the risk of other blog creators deleting their blogs/posts or changing their URLs is why in info posts like these, I always link to my own reblogs rather than their original posts—their original posts might vanish without warning, but I know I ain’t gonna delete my posts, so these links will still work in the future.)

Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART TWO

Hazbin Hotel Facts - PART THREE

Faustisse 4

HuniCast - Australian Wildlife Relief charity stream

I think this was a faustisse stream (the original source deleted these posts, so the comic pages that were originally behind that read more cut are now gone.)

Faustisse stream 6?

And those are all the masterposts of factoids I’ve managed to collect. If anyone has more masterposts, chuck ‘em at me.

Even this isn’t all the knowledge that’s been released about the show. The posts that dig the farthest back are Dollymoon’s, and even they don’t comprehensively cover all of Hazbin’s production. A couple of these characters, Vivziepop created as a teenager, so there’s some truly ancient concept art floating around out there that will have details that probably aren’t canon anymore... but might still be until something happens to actively contradict them.

Tier 3: The Wiki

The wiki is kind of an absolute mess. It’s a chaotic blend of things actually seen in the pilots/comic, things mentioned at some point in some stream somewhere, and wild fan speculation based on what they headcanon as plausible based on the above, all mixed together with very little indication for which is canon, pseudo-canon, fanon, or speculation. Most of the statements on the wiki don’t have citations.

(And, on top of that, half the main characters’ info gets split up into separate tabs instead of just having a normal-ass wiki page, AND their image galleries are on COMPLETELY SEPARATE pages that are linked to in one of the tabs, and the most important characters all have TWO SEPARATE GALLERIES. Which doesn’t have anything to do with the quality of the facts hidden underneath those tabs, but nevertheless drives me up the wall.)

Some things on the wiki were added according to info released so long ago it’s probably changed by now. Some are possibilities that got reported as facts. Other things on the wiki have unambiguously changed, or else are just flat-out incorrect. (For instance, at this moment Alastor’s page still lists him as an overlord, even though it's been confirmed that Alastor is not an overlord despite his power level because he isn’t interested in and didn’t pursue that position, per this stream. For a little bit, somebody’s fanart of their headcanon human Alastor got added to the wiki as concept art.)

tl;dr: the wiki should never be trusted as a primary source. The wiki’s better than it used to be. Even so, at this time, it’s only trustworthy to fill in the gaps of what you already know is true from other, better sources.

The thing it’s good at is it more or less compiles all the known info all in one place. Trying to figure out who the hell this Vox guy is is really hard if you’re reading for mentions of him in compilations of a dozen different streams, much less if you’re trying to comb through those dozen streams yourself, plus a dozen more, plus three different artists’ twitters. In comparison, it’s really easy to, say, just go look at Vox’s wiki page, where all the trivia is compiled. (And Vox’s page is actually one of the better cited on the wiki. Look at all those numbers!)

So, if you need to find out who this character is you’ve never heard of before, if you want to see a full list of the thus far named characters, if you don’t remember whether Alastor likes coffee or tea, if you want to know what Angel’s twin sister looks like, if you need a reminder of Sir Pentious’s death year... check the wiki. It’s an okay starting point.

But, if you see a “fact” on the wiki that you yourself don’t remember from straight out of the pilot, and it doesn’t have a citation that links to a tweet or a stream... regard it suspiciously. And do not trust it unquestioningly as fact until and unless you have seen the source.

Tier 4: Noncanon Creator Shitposting

I’ve mentioned Ashley’s HuniCast streams a couple times. The biggest draw of them is that she usually gets several of the voice actors in the streams, where they’ll happily say nonsense in their character voices. For the most part, they’re not sharing any actual canon info they’ve been given on their characters, just goofing around pretending to be their characters. Nevertheless, a lot of the things that happen in streams get accepted as broad fandom headcanons, like Alastor being into dad jokes. (My favorite, for obvious reasons, is this one.)

It’s easy to find the source audio for all this wonderful nonsense by searching youtube for “HuniCast highlights,” and then rummaging around for animatics people make out of the audio. The only one noncanon video of this sort I can think of that didn’t originally come from HuniCast is a lone one from Alastor’s singing voice (who’s a different voice actor than his speaking voice).

So, obviously, none of these are canon. But they do come from some of the people actually involved in the creation of the show, and they are in the characters’ canon voices, so a whole lot of people treat them as semi-canon anyway. (Even the wiki lists “dad jokes” among Alastor’s likes, which to my knowledge hasn’t come up anywhere except for HuniCast streams.) Since they’re so broadly-known, they’re worth knowing about as important sources of fanon, even if you don’t want to adopt them into your own headcanons. They’re basically the same level of canon as blooper reels.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Japan Girl’s Fest 3 - Hakuoki Drama “Screen Door Encounter” Translation

First  post of the month, so I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi, through paypal or through patreon which gives early access to my stuff and blog translations…. also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i either do not have audio for those cds or do not have audio that i can share...

Also, Happy Canada Day~!

Anyway, when I decided I’d try my hand at translating Hakuoki content, this was one of the very first live dramas that I really wanted to have translated (for the record the 2011 otomate party reimeiroku drama was 2nd tho i only found tl for that recently)... and while I did have translations for the drama itself, I am missing CH TL for some of the introductory dialogue that occurs before it... and the JP>ENG translations (not done by me) that I’ve included on this are from people who don’t really really Japanese (they both weren’t certain), which are for the two sets of words on pink backgrounds (first 2 images attached under the cut). If anyone can translate that text better, please send me a message since i’ll be cutting the intro off what i post to youtube otherwise [will include credit and can provide clean video +srt file if helping].

On top of that, I also didn’t have the drama’s name for the longest time (hence why i referred to this as ‘Unknown Drama’). Thankfully, the TL help I received from my friends was enough for that tho... 

The format for this post has been done a bit oddly due to how i had to copy the subtitles for this line by line (it was off a video), and I never bothered to properly put the text into paragraphs and sentences due to how this was done off of community created subtitles (basically viewers contributed to the translation via the text barrage) on bilibi that showed up on the video at odd and not exactly precise timings.... 

As always, final edits will be done on the video... will have it done for this month.

link of the video i used for CH TL at the very bottom if interested in watching. 

Enjoy~ this month is all non-game translations!

Japan Girl’s Fest 3 - Hakuoki Drama “Screen Door Encounter”

Translation by KumoriYami

^???? one of my friends says this should be something like:  “The dark battle of the Shinsengumi begins quietly in the shadows of the Shogunate's conflict" while other says “The dark Battle of the Shinsengumi opens quietly in the shadow of the Battle of the shogunate.”

Narrator:  [is this a time of] A time of repelling foreigners or the opening of a country?

All kinds of sweeping change occur [during the] country's age of unrest.

Bakumatsu. 

In order to look for your father who is a Western doctor,

you've left home to live with the Shinsengumi,

Experience these turbulent times with the members of the Shinsengumi

^ also have no tl for this or what is narrated here, though google mtl says the text’s pronunciation kinda matches the audio here

TL is something among the lines of: “what begins here is the determined story of men thrown around by the voices of deception.” (TLN: I don't really know how to accurately translate 閉ざされた先, but it essentially means a predetermined destination) or “It starts with the story of a man who is at the mercy of a closed-off, untruthful voice.” so I’d guess something is among the lines of “What begins here is the fateful story that begins with being at the mercy of a man with a cold and uncaring voice.” or something or other?

Hakuoki

“Sliding Door (Fusuma) Encounter” [well should be anyway. i don’t have formal CH tl for this tho... also Fusumu can mean room dividers but i don’t think that sounds or looks as good.]

(Kazama enters)

Kazama: My wife, I have kept you waiting!

(crowd screams)

Kazama: My wife, I have kept you waiting!

(crowd screams again)

Kazama You must be filled with a deep sense of loneliness during the time we were separated by the hateful Shogunate's dogs [either that or hateful dogs]. 

but since I have arrived, you don't need to worry about anything. Just close your eyes, listen to my words and entrust yourself to me. That's it.

Today, you'll become mine. 

Kazama: hahahahaha!! The love letter I wrote is truly wonderful. [this laugh count may or may not be accurate lol]

My wife will surely become infatuated with me once she reads it

But I am rarely able to avoid the eyes of the Shogunate's hunting dogs.

I went straight to her room but she's not here right now.

Really, to make her husband wait.

I can't just leave my love letter here then head back.

(footsteps)

ah, footsteps! I've been waiting for you, my wi—

Saito: Yukimura? It's me. Saito. 

Kazama: Ugh....

Saito: it looks like you're in your room. I have something to say [tell you], can i come in? 

Kazama: Don't come in!

Saito: Uoh? What’s wrong, Yukimura? Did something happen?

your voice sounds so low which is very strange

ah! is it....

Kazama: che! found out already/discovered already—

Saito: Are you sick?

Kazama: Mmhm......

Saito: Mm. that being the case, I will not come in.

Souji: Areh? Hajime-kun? What are you doing here?

Saito: ah, souji.

Souji: Sorry, but can you move aside? I have something to tell that child.

Hey, is that alright? i'm coming in.

Kazama: I said that you can't come in [I didn't say that you could come in]!

Souji: Hey, Hajime-kun, that voice just now came from behind this door.

Saito: Ah, it seems that Yukimura is sick. 

Souji: Sick?

Saito: yes. I wasn't allowed in.

She's probably worried about passing it to us.

Souji: Hm...? (begins trying to open the door)

......Wah! It won't open. Is it blocked from the inside?

Saito: Souji, stop it. Don't forcefully enter a girl's room.

If something happens, how will you respond/react/take responsibility?

Souji: What happened [What do you mean]? What do you need to say [What are you trying to say]?

Saito: Ah... That's.... for example, if you went in and she was wiping her body down...

Souji: You're so embarrassed while talking that I'm feeling embarrassed.

Saito: This isn't something that can bee spoken aloud!

souji: Well, if she's not coming out of her room, that's easier for me.

Saito: What's going on [What do you mean by that]?

Souji: Just stay on the other side of the door and listen to what I have to say.

Just now one of the soldiers reported seeing Kazama near headquarters.

Saito: Kazama Chikage? In other words, his goal/target is to obviously...

Souji: That's right. That's why I came over to tell you [her] to stay inside your  [her] room and not come outside.

Saito: So it's like that. I understand.

However it's Kazama again.

Souji: Indeed.

He really must be bored to be coming over here so many times.

Kazama:...mrgh....

Saito: The person herself has clearly said several times that she didn't want to go with him.

Kazama: Rgh...

Souji:  How about saying "I hate you the most" to Kazama next time?

Kazama: How could that possibly be!

(silence)

Souji: Hey, Hajime-kun, where did that voice/sound come from just now?

Saito: The sound echoed everywhere, so I'm not entirely sure.

It might have come from inside headquarters

Souji: I think it sounded like it came from inside here.  

(souji struggles with the door again while Saito tries stopping him and Kazama works to keep the door closed)

Souji: Sure enough, it's not opening.

Saito: What are you doing Souji. Kazama might already be inside headquarters.

We can't delay and must go and increase the watch/strengthen the guard.

Souji: mah, fortunately the First and Third Division are all here today.

They have plenty of combat power.

Saito: Then I’ll go tell the members of Third Division— (VA fumbles)

Saito: Then I'll go and tell the members of the Third Division to be on high alert [reword later. more literally it says raise vigilance]. 

Souji, what will you be doing?

Souji: I'll stay here.

The other person's target is on the other side of this door, it can't be left unguarded.

Saito: understood.

I'll leave protecting Yukimura to you then.

(Saito exits)

Souji: Well then, Hajime-kun's gone now.

hey, are you listening? I heard you were sick, [so] it's probably because of that.

That time when you and I went out alone together that night.

Kazama: Two people together?

Souji: Do you remember/You remember, right?

Although the wind was cold, the starts were quite beautiful that night.

You hands turned red from the cold, so I held them in mine.

"How is it, is this warm?"

I didn't hold your hand like that since it was cold, [rather] it was because your cheeks became very red.

Really, although I only did that as a prank,

seeing such a cute expression, it makes me wonder what will happen if I get serious

Or is it, that you want me to be serious?

I'm just making fun of you right now. You don't need to answer now.

So next time there's an opportunity, let's go on a walk together with just the two of us at night.

Kazama: You bastard! What did you do to my wife!

Souji: Ah? Sure enough it is Kazama. such a savage voice, [might have] deceived Hajime-kun, but not me

Kazama: Heh. I didn't intend to lie, it was you guys who misunderstood.

(sword gets drawn) Anyway, you bastard, is what you said true?

If even a fraction of what you said happened...!

Saito: Wait Kazama Chikage, stop this at once!

Souji:  Hajime-kun? Could it be that you simply pretended to get tricked, and you were in fact already aware of Kazama?

Saito: Hm? hm.....of course!

Souji: Really?

Saito: Mm.....

Souji: Re~(poke)~al~(poke)~ly (poke)?

Saito: To tell you the truth, I bumped into Yukimura herself while looking for the other members. After thinking about which locations were suspicious, I came back here.

Anyway/Putting that aside [?]. Kazama! Prepare yourself!

Kazama: Che, Shut up, I'll cut you down later.

I must first cut down the man who put/laid his hand on my wife!

Saito: Put his hand—? Souji, what did you do to Yukimura?

Souji: Then, let's move to somewhere with more space. I'll cut you down today, it'll give me a peace of mind.

Kazama: You talk big! I'm going to/ I'll kill you first!

Saito: Eh? ah, wait, (they exit) Souji! Kazama!

Saito: I'll have to ask Souji what he did later...  

end~

------

video will be done later this month.... tho not sure when since juggling a bit too many srt files right now (you’d know if you saw my patreon’s latest post and extrapolated from that lol). 

link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1dx41177dj?from=search&seid=13990360835510964870

also i can’t believe that takeda is actually on one of the hakuoki shinkai drama cds. and on the sakamoto/nakoa one at that.... which makes miki the only shinkai char i know of who doesn’t appear on a drama cd.

oh and for the record, i only have translations for 2 of the 3 Japan girl’s fest hakuoki dramas (this being one of the 2).

[burnouts3s3]

Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid, a review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously.) Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 50 USD Digital Copy (MSRP): 17.99 USD How much I paid: 50 USD. Animation Studio: ARMS Licensed and Localized by: Funimation Entertainment Audio: Japanese Audio with Subtitles and English Dub available.   English Cast: Kayla Hardwick as Mamori, Morgan Garrett as Mirei, Brittney Karbowski as Meifon, Janelle Lutz as Akira Hiragi, Monica Rial as Charlotte Scharsen, Roseanne Palmer as Kasumi Shigure, Tia Ballard as Rain Hasumi, Jamie Marchi as Lady J and Cynthia Cranz as Torino. Number of Episodes: 12 Episodes Length per Episode: 25 Minutes on average. 21 Without Intro and Ending song. Number of Discs: 4 Discs in Total. 2 DVD Discs and 2 Blu-ray discs. Episodes per Disc: Episodes 1-7 on the 1st DVD disc. Episodees 8-12 on the 2nd DVD disc. Episodes 1-9 on the first Blu-ray disc with Episodes 10-12 on the second Blu-ray disc along with the special features. Does this come a digital voucher to redeem?: No. This only has the Physical DVD and Blu-ray discs. Also on: Amazon Video, Funimation Now, Funimation’s streaming service that requires a subscription. Bonus Features: Textless Openings, Textless Ending and Trailers for other Funimation Licensed Shows. Episode 3 Commentary. Notable Localization Changes: Meifon, the smuggler character who wears a pink cowboy hat, is given a southern accent by her voice performer, Brittney Kowbalski.   My Personal Biases: I never really invested in the Valkyrie Drive franchise before and never played any of the games the anime is adapting. Sorry. My Verdict: Trashy, lurid, gaudy and with enough fanservice to make even the most perverted of us blush, Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid is sure to give its intending audience the happy ending they want. It’s too bad that in 12 short episodes, there’s just not enough there, emotionally or lore wise, to get invested in unless you’ve already have backhand knowledge of the games. Wait for a sale. A/N: Okay, since I don’t want the moderators to flag this post, I’m going to have to put an explicit warning here. So while I won’t post any nudity, I will have to Age restrict this post just so I don’t get any flak. Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid. a review 

Girls from all over the world have been infected with a mysterious virus known as the A Virus (Armed Virus). These girls are divided into two classes; Extars, who can transform into weapons when sexually aroused, and Liberators, who have the power to wield an Extar's weapon form, known as Liberator Arms, through a process known as Drive. These girls are brought to separate islands to spend their days completely isolated from the rest of the world until the islands' Observers, authorized by the government Organisation AAA, ostensibly deem them ready to rejoin society again. Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid follows an Extar named Mamori Tokonome who forms a partnership with the Liberator Mirei Shikishima on the island called Mermaid.(For our friends not fluent in Japanese, Tokonome shares a very similar writing as the word ‘Virgin’ in Japanese, which Togonome is.). Mamori and Mirei are caught between a conflict between the Wärter, the island’s government that lives the castle, Veste, and those fleeing it. With Governor Akira (a supposed male Liberator that’s actually female) trying to be fair, Charlotte getting delusions of grandeur and wanting to rule with an iron fist and Kasumi attempting to be fair to the girls, the Wärter is in constant conflict. Those attempting to flee join up with Ms. Torumi, a kind soul who offers shelter for girls looking for freedom. Meanwhile, a sneaky smuggler by the name of Meifon is trying to earn a profit from the war. Along the way, Mamori and Mirei meet other Liberators and Extars, such as the team Lady J and Lady Rain in which one transforms into a ridable motorcycle. Other liberators, such as Charlotte, have their own harem of Extars and arouse multiple ones to form a multi-part weapon. Let’s get this out of the way. Yes, it IS in fact Soul Eater but with Lesbians. And the show isn’t afraid of being explicit about it. We are talking full-on nudity with lots of exposed breasts flopping around, bouncing and lots and lots of shots of nipples erecting… and hardening… Christ, this makes fanservice driven series like Kannazuki no Miko or Strawberry Panic look like the chaste Maria-Sama ga Miteru. On the technical side, everything is very well done. The animation for both the action and fanservice scenes is well animated, the music flows scene to scene (even if I couldn’t really remember any pieces that stood out) and the voice acting for both the Original Japanese and English dub is well-done. So, if you’re looking for lots and lots of scenes of girls kissing each other, breasts flopping around with the viscosity of jello and scenes of action with naked girls, have I got a show for you. Story wise, I found the series rather lacking. Seasonal shows really need to be careful with their pacing. With a limited 12 episode run, VD:M is already bursting at the seams with an overly long 4 episode prologue establishing the characters, the setting, the divide between the girls going along with Charlotte and Akira’s lawful order, Kasumi’s wavering allegiance and Torumi’s group of rebels and Meifon’s smuggling between the 2 sides. There’s a sense of urgency that the peace can’t last and conflict is unavoidable. But, not so urgent that we couldn’t have two light-hearted episodes involving one girl becoming Kaiju sized and another episode with a beauty contest in a cultural festival.

Boy, this season of Attack on Titan got WEIRD. When the main big bad does rear her head near the final 4 episodes, the show does a good ‘enough’ job establishing the backstory between her and Mirei, but you get the sense that maybe, had the show paced itself better, it would mean more. Yes, the final battle with all the girls joining together at the end is impressive to look at, but emotionally, I just wasn’t feeling it. If the show were as committed to giving me emotional turning points as it was fan service, I would’ve been more impressed. The characters are also rather lacking (writing wise). While Mirei is certainly admirable and one of the most likable of the cast, Mamori doesn’t really change much (character wise). Granted, the show pays lipservice (no pun intended) to the idea that the more courageous Mamori is, the more powerful the weapon she becomes, but there’s never that moment where Mamori ‘saves’ Mirei or gives her the comfort Mirei needs like the way Himeko comforted Chikane at the end. They instead fuse to one super being. It feels like at one point Mamori was supposed to have the final turning point and be the one to rescue Mirei, but Mamori just ends up being captured and put into the damsel role again. I also liked Kasumi and her dubious allegiance with the rebels as well as Meifon, getting into all sorts of trouble for some cash. I’m told by fans of the franchise that in peripheral media, some of the other couples get more character development. For example, the team of Lady Rain and Lady J were actually on opposite sides of a war but intentionally got themselves captured just to be together or that Governor Akira actually has a female lover back on the mainland and longs to be with her. Again, I am not here to judge what’s in an appendix. What’s in the show is in the show and it’s clear the TV producers weren’t interested in those stories to begin with, so why should I?   Funimation Entertainment did the localization for the show. And for the most part, the dub script stays as close as it does to the original Japanese version. Granted, Funimation has always played it loose with dubbing scripts and this is no exception. The English script contains lots of innuendos and sex jokes to make the English viewers chuckle (i.e. “I caught and she pitched.” “Let’s go digging for treasure” “I’m gonna let it all hang out!”) Karbowski adopts a southern accent for Meifon so thick, I thought I was listening to Nico Robin from the 4Kids dub of One Piece. (I’m aware that localizers tend to translate those with Kansai dialect and give them a Southern accent and Karbowski seems to be doing this accent winking to the audience and having fun with it). Special credit should go to Janelle Lutz as Akira Hiragi, managing to perform dual roles as both masculine and feminine variations of the character. The rest of the cast does a good job voicing their perspective roles. Monica Rial does with she can with Charlotte and Cynthia Cranz as Torumi seems to especially fit the role of a motherly caretaker for lost girls. (Yes, I find the fact that one of the characters is voiced by the same performer as Chi-chi and Botan very disconcerting). THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE AUDIO WITH SUBTITLES IS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO PREFER IT. The package includes the OVAs (Original Video Animation) which are short videos of each of the girls revealing motivation and backstory as well as a lot of nudity with nipples becoming more and more erect. Lots of them. What’s weird is that the OVAs are also dubbed with the cast members. Funimation didn’t even dub the OVA for Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. CAVEAT: It’s very strange that the series suddenly wants to take a more dramatic turn with emphasis on character development and history, but still plays out in a very fanservice driven anime. In some ways, I was enjoying the show more when it wasn’t really about anything and just amped the fanservice up to 11. With the exception of a few characters, I wasn’t invested in the goings on and 12 episodes is too short for me to have nostalgic feelings for Mermaid Island. For 50 USD, Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid is a bit on the steep end. While the animation, music, fight scenes and… PLOT are all well done, emotionally, it doesn’t have much to offer. Then again, I don’t expect emotional substance out of show where half the teenagers become sexually aroused and transform into weapons. Those looking for a happy ending (in both senses of the term) will enjoy this. Verdict: Wait for a sale or rental.  

[theartofpurebabble]

The one where I chose to adopt a blog naming convention from a TV classic

Hello Reader of my first time Babble, 

I don’t really know where to start to be honest. I guess the normal thing to do would be to introduce myself and talk about my life; but I am not a very exciting nor interesting person, so I am just going to do what I came here to do, and that is to babble on.

I hope the following layout of my personal “in mind” interview is sufficient enough for my intro:

YO, WHO THE EFF IS DIS?

(You’re my new best friend if you recognised this reference from the Hamilton Soundtrack)

I am a 25 year old South African Female with a muddled mind and a cool dog. I like dancing, but I’m not a dancer. I like singing, but I’m not a singer. I like writing, but I’m not a writer. I like being healthy, but cheese is life. 

I have a boyfriend, he’s cool. We have quite a cute love story that I will probably get to one day if I don’t pull a classic “Jess”. Oh ya, my name is Jess… but whose isn’t amirite??

**Definition of Classic Jess: starts something with great enthusiasm only to get over it in a short space of time 

Example: “You didn’t finish knitting that scarf, classic Jess!”

WHY NOW?

My journal entries are separated by months, if not years. I suck at writing stuff down. My mind seems to run when I don’t have a pen and paper with me and it’s as if my thoughts disappear into an abyss as soon as I think, “I’ll just write it down later”. 

Plus, I freak out when my things aren’t together so if my journal isn’t with me, there’s no chance of me using another paper or book. I figured a site to post all my ‘feels’ in one place, without harassing my few instagram followers, would be a good place to start. 

Okay, but why NOW: South Africa is currently in its third week of national lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak. Most of the world is in lockdown and if you aren’t in some baller mansion with tons of things to keep you entertained, then you might just understand where this sudden burst of enthusiasm for something new has developed.             

WATCHYA GONNA POST ABOUT?

I don’t have a set theme for this blog. Believe it or not, I am not only here to only express myself and be extra AF. I want to share the knowledge I have gained through my psychology degree, I want to share my own experiences with depression and anxiety, I want to share stories of how I overcame (or haven’t yet overcome) obstacles in my wonderful but chaotic childhood. Most importantly, I want to help people realise that we aren’t alone and that we aren’t actually as weird as we think.

WHYA GONNA POST IT?

As much as I feel Social media can be used for bad, it can be used for good too. I’m sure many of you are finding comfort in knowing that so many others are going through the same thing as you during the Covid-19 outbreak. I find comfort in knowing that I am not alone in my thoughts and feelings. I find comfort in relating to others, and I hope others can find comfort in relating to me. If not, then that’s cool too.

ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD?

Yes (she said answering her own voice in her head), I need to put out a disclaimer. I am sorry if I ever come off as offensive in any way. 

I will be ranting and babbling on about my own crap but that doesn’t mean I don’t know there are bigger issues out there. 

When I try to find comfort for myself, it does not mean I am not aware that there are others who need comfort far more than I do. 

We know there are always bigger problems, but that doesn’t mean that mine and yours aren’t important.

And there it is: my first blog post. Short and to the point, not too different from my “first time” (amirite ladies?). 

[thestudyfeels]

How to Get Back Into the Creative Process

A definitive guide by @thestudyfeels 

If you follow me (highly recommended, shameless plug), you might’ve noticed that I haven't posted in, well, a million years. The reason being that for about two months I hit an incredible low when it came to making content. I had ZERO creativity and inspiration for quite some time, and if you're a creator, you might recognize that as the best recipe for disaster out there. It's finger lickin' good! (Wow, now I'm dissing KFC, what's this turning into, Wendy's twitter?)

As a rule, I refrain myself from writing posts when I'm dead, since I know without a doubt, that the ennui will automatically transfer into the post. (I sincerely hope that none of my readers are walking zombies with a taste for lifeless posts and aimless rambles. Signed, me.)

But the truth is, my life revolves only around creating and doing crazy shit so I couldn’t deprive myself of this litness for too long. It meant that I had to pick my shit up real quick and get my ass back into the game.

Which is exactly what I did. (This is how you clickbait, youngsters. Watch and learn.)

During my record-breaking low, I couldn't fathom the thought of writing because of the non-existent ideas. I really wanted to, after all I felt empty inside from not doing anything worthwhile, but the lack of inspiration was eating me alive. (Again with the zombie jokes. Sorry, lmao.)

As a creator, such experiences probably sound common. Allow me to assure you that it's okay to be completely blank. It's okay to feel like shit because you love bringing your imagination to life but just can't seem to at the moment. You will get back to grinding again. Never lose faith in that. In fact, I'm specifically writing this guide to help you get back into creating (oh, and to rant about how awesome it is and how I can't get enough of it).

[And yes, this guide works no matter what kind of a creator you are. Bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, writers, illustrators, editors - legit every single one of you who identifies as a creator. I got yo’ back, my Liams and Janes.]

Finally! Now, with the intro done, let's settle down (here's your mint tea and Oreo cookies—no, no burnt popcorn this time #DoItDifferent) and get on with what I promised. Drumroll please, for this marks the starting of a new era where you make a comeback in your field, better than you’ve ever been.

I'm excited to see you win.

Creating is tough. Truly. I find it funny how most people under-appreciate the Arts, because a) hello Monica, wake UP. We're making stuff here. Fresh, crisp, and hot out of our skull-shaped baking pans. Isn't that insane? And b) I doubt any of us would be happy without the sappy rom-com movies and mystery shows to look forward to, or philo books to engulf in a day, or fast-paced vlogs to binge watch or addicting gam- ok, you get my point.

Although most of us are aware of how incredibly demanding and magical the entire process is, we still beat ourselves up for lacking those creative juices at times. Here's a pat from my side and a reminder to NOT do that. Why? Because all creators go through a “dry period” where they feel like they're totally done and are never going to produce anything ever again. In fact, even pop stars routinely take a step back from their fast-paced lifestyles to restore their creative talent - Ed Sheeran being a somewhat recent example (and a great one, have you listened to Divide?). I mean, if they can pause their careers and afford to take a break, then so can you. So stop making excuses and take that day off.

You can also think of it this way: the juices dry up (stop sniggering, ya hoes) because you’ve been using your craft too much, too fast (remember, genius only happens in small quantities) but they start flowing better than ever after a short period of revitalization. So, if you ever find yourself stuck, gazing at the walls in despair, blank docs becoming your serial killers - take that break and don't feel guilty about doing so.

Alrighty, moving onto making that break productive and getting those creative juices back into us. Oh, and Monica? Wipe that stupid smirk off your face.

Now, I don’t know why you started creating (bless you for doing so though), but I do know that there must be something which ignites you and keeps you pushing, even when you hit the lows. This can be anything - nature, music, puppies, art galleries, your loved ones - absolutely anything that makes your soul dance inside and your face flush with pure joy.

During my break, I spent a majority of my time listening to mentors and reading non-fiction. And listening to angelic yet badass music (cough, Billie Eilish, cough). And watching sunsets. And taking pictures of said sunsets. And doing yoga outside while that glamorous sun continued to dip below the horizon. (And trusting all along that I'll get back on track soon.) All things I genuinely love, no effs given. From outside, it seemed like I was on vacay, chilling out; but from the inside, I could feel inspiration and hope trickling back in, my needle moving towards full tank once more.

Point is, DO NOT waste your break loitering about. It's fun to play and party, but the real disaster unfolds when you get back to work and realize you're in the same state again, if not worse. A creative break should centre on getting inspiration back. Figure out what feeds your soul, be it watching other creators, spending time alone, or having meaningful convos, and just do more of it. Re-energize. Rejuvenate. And revive your art.

Now that break’s over and you finally feel more in touch with your creativity, it's time to ease back into it. And I said ‘ease’ because see, the thing is you simply can't force this process. A hint: the more you force yourself for ideas, the more you start relying on your surroundings and other people's work and start losing your own originality. So don't push your creativity.

BUT, good news, if you used that break to rethink your craft, you'll ALWAYS come back with a bunch of ideas, which are much more inventive than anything you've done before. (If you don't, it might mean that you need to extend your break just a teensy bit more.)

Easing means getting back slowly. With consistency. Every single day, without fail, spend some time creating in small chunks. And you CAN'T say “fuck it” or ignore it and purposely start a new show on Netflix after closing that blank doc again in the next tab because you didn’t wanna face the guilt. That's a rule. Obviously, once you get comfortable with the process, increase your time and increase the number of “create” blocks.

This is your life, so don't you dare tell me you're tired or sad or can't make stuff, because I know you can. I've seen you produce magic before and I know you have it in you to create lit fireworks this time as well.

… And soon enough, you'll find yourself happier than ever, for you'll be creating again. I hope you'll feel proud of yourself, because I, for sure, will be.

PS: let's also talk about me finishing this post. This is the first one after my break, HOHOHO! *wiggles eyebrow, which doesn't exist* The girl's back at it again as you see, and I hope you're just getting started too.

We're in this together.

Want to read more? Kay, plopping down some related posts right away —

Read my last post: Biggest Takeaways from The Alchemist (book review, sorta?)

Mentioned: Ed Sheeran’s creative break of almost a year

Rebecca Green and her creative low (you see, it happens to everyone!)

An update chit-chat post by Rebecca on the burnout (if you want the entire story)

Interview Two: motivation to get going (talks about how inspiration comes from inside - me recommending ways to regain your creative energy won’t help for inspiration is different for everyone)

+ Want to request a blog post? Leave your request in my ask box!

Well, that’s a wrap! I post new articles twice a week, on every Sunday and Thursday, so you can follow me if you are into killing the game & conquering life. I’ll do my best to help you in the tough yet amazing journey called life. ✧

If you want to go through my blog, I suggest picking your choice of post from my masterpost list! Or, if you want to read something insightful on your cozy afternoon while chilling under blankets, I recommend reading one of my interviews. Feeling spoilt for choices? Here’s another! If you want to implement the ideas I share in my masterposts by taking action, take on one of my challenges!

I hope you are well; stay strong and conquer life, my conqueror.

— Nandini (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

[captainwhogotthecanary]

ClexaCon: Day 2

Same deal as day 1: this is probably too long and detailed, and if you want the facts, you can probably get them from the official videos. This is more about my reactions and vibes and the like.

I dressed as Wonder Woman this day. It’s my only store bought costume, but I look great in it, and I finished off the look with tall (not not heeled!) boots and rainbow socks and brighter makeup than I usually wear. I looked good enough that the barista when I grabbed coffee asked for my employee discount; she assumed I was a performer at the hotel. I got great comments all day, a little overwhelmingly so, but it felt pretty awesome until I left the convention. CW for brief mention of assholes at the end of this post.

Nyssara

I met some cool people in line waiting for the “doors” to open for the standard attendees. We ended up sitting together while my Friday friends sat behind, since we had trouble finding six seats together, not too surprisingly.

I needed the intro video because as I’ve mentioned, I like my faves to be happy, and while I never ever doubted Sara loves Nyssa and vice versa, they didn’t exactly get happy times together on screen, and I wasn’t yet into Arrowverse fic when they were on screen. It was a good video. They’re both great actresses and can seriously crank up the intensity when the scene requires it. Any Nyssara fic recs are appreciated, btw.

The panel was good. It was fun, different kind of energy, something like nostalgic and speculative and silly. And Jes came through! Again, there are videos and gifs, so go do yourself a favor and look if you haven’t.

Of note to people following my blog, when asked her favorite one night stand of Sara’s, Caity’s first thought was of Snart, though she said she couldn’t count him since they hadn’t slept together. I think that’s just so awesome that the characters had that connection, and the actors according to what I’ve read, that even after years have passed, there’s still some sort of nostalgia or whatever because they were genuinely close. The actors and characters in different ways, but still.

More is More: Polyamory in Media

I’ve got some ot3s (ahem, Rogue Canary), but as far as real life, I don’t know much about polyamory. It’s something I’ve long thought works with the RIGHT people and the RIGHT communication, which makes it rare and challenging, and it has to be so hard for some people, like some of the ones in the panel who explained that being poly is, for them, the same as their sexuality; it’s a need, a wiring, not a choice or a lifestyle. It’s rare (or rarely talked about/seen) and so there’s not a big demand for more of it in media, but then the lack of representation means fewer people know it can be a healthy option, so it becomes a cycle, like so many things.

Most of the panel ended up the panelists sharing what it means and what it means to them to be poly or practice a poly lifestyle. There’s a big no-no/disparaging negative in the community regarding “unicorn hunters,” which I’d like to have someone properly explain to me but google says it’s usually couples looking for a third person who fits their needs without considering the needs of that third. It’s objectifying and not setting up for a healthy relationship and I get why that angle is negative, but I’m not sure why multiple people in that panel and then in a later panel seemed to use it to apply to anyone looking for the trio presentation rather than the open relationship presentation. Not complaint so much as genuine confusion there. So anyway, there wasn’t much discussion of the trio+ aspect I was most interested in, because I’m not planning to write or practice a relationship where the people in it date other people but I adore stable (usually potential) trios in media.

I still enjoyed it very much and learned a lot in the “I didn’t know I didn’t know this” category. My favorite part (though it also made me sad) was how excited and relieved the panel was about being in a room where they could discuss all this without judgement.

Bi+ Representation in Media

I adored all the panelists here. I didn’t learn much; the basic gist was “there’s not enough representation.” Still, it was cool listening to and watching a bunch of bi+ folks talk about their faves and what they’d like to see. I bought a book by one of the panelists and will do a rec post later if it’s any good, ya and lgbt and superheroes. I’m excited.

Romance Between the (Book) Covers

Sigh.

Okay, so…

I don’t think of myself as an amazing or particularly experienced professional writer, but I do feel like I could contribute more than a lot of the writing panelists, and I found that very frustrating. It wasn’t that they were all lacking experience or talent, to be clear, but it was that for most of them, their experiences or input were almost entirely unhelpful for new or aspiring novelists.

For example, there was a writer whose story was, “I’d never written anything before in my life but I decided to write a book and they published it so that was cool.” Another said she’s unique because she writes in first person, which she does because “it’s a lot easier to tell instead of show. And I know they say you’re not supposed to do that, but I think it works.”

I get that the expectations are different in the smaller market that is LGBTQ+ romance, but…

I don’t know. I feel like standards are important. That’s why I all but stopped writing while I’m struggling with words and with tying things together; I don’t care whether it’s original fiction or fanfiction, free or paid, I have standards for my work.

I also had my feathers ruffled slightly when the moderator asked the panelists, “Did you write heterosexual relationships to start out in order to get a foot in the door or earn money?” with a clear implication that there was no reason to write a m/f relationship other than for mainstream success. The one bisexual panelist low-key called her out but I don’t think she noticed, with an, “I’m bisexual so writing a male/female relationship is a perfectly valid choice for me.”

For one, yeah, there was a bisexual panelist and there was a huge bi population amongst the attendees, so that wording could have been more sensitive, and for two, I know plenty straight people who like to write m/m or f/f romance, so why wouldn’t that be a valid choice in reverse, for something other than a cash grab?

Personally, I mostly write m/f relationships because I started writing while still closeted, because that’s where my actual experience is, and because my go-to is still to write canon or canon-adjacent pairings and tv still likes to fuck up most of the few canon lgbt ones. That doesn’t make me less valid as a writer who is lgbt.

Mazikeen: The Devil in the Details

This was enjoyable. The actress says Maze is her spirit animal, which is awesome. I was pretty frazzled and distracted (people were saving me seats even though I SAID I’d be late and it was equally appreciated and discomfiting) and also trying to liveblog the panel to a friend, so I didn’t get as much emotional impact from this as the rest. It sounds like we probably get to see Maze with a real relationship this next season, so that’s exciting. It seems like a decent next step for her after the growth over the last seasons. I’m also suuuuper excited she and Trixie will be okay; they have one of my favorite relationship of the whole show.

Amber Benson: Tara Maclay and the Legacy of Buffy

Teeeeearrrrsss. Do me a favor; if you watch the video for this one, watch the behind the scenes one first. The intro video they played left very few dry eyes, and then Amber came out all teary and emotional.

The singalong was a lot of fun, despite “Under Your Spell” being notes most humans can’t hit.

There was one answer she handled with some unfortunate wording, but it was so clear she meant well and she’s such an icon, so she didn’t get boo’d like I was almost afraid of. There wasn’t much applause, but then we moved on. She was the only panel I went to that earned a standing ovation. I cried a lotttttttt.

And then I left the con to go change before having dinner with Friday friend. And people were gross and staring in creepy ways and there were homophobic comments made “accidentally” too loud and just bleh. It was a small thing in an otherwise fantastic weekend, but it made me feel like I needed to take a shower.

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS & STUDIES - APRIL 2019

Welcome to CindyLouWho2′s periodic roundup of news, tutorials and studies from the world of ecommerce, content marketing & social media. This is my first time posting this news here on my new Tumblr account, so please let me know how the format is working out; I want to make it as readable as possible. I am working on making the links a little more obvious; I may have to change templates to do that. 

Sorry it is so long this time. I am working on getting it back down to a post once every 10 days at most, but it might take me til May to get back on track. 

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

Google core algorithm update started March 12; early winners & losers here and here, among other info about the update.

Also, Google accidentally de-indexed some pages last week, & they are still working on fixing it.

Etsy phone support finally available to everyone (if you speak English, of course).

Amazon no longer requires Marketplace sellers to keep their prices elsewhere the same or higher as on Amazon.

Worldpay, one of Etsy’s payment providers, sold to FIS for $35 billion.  (Etsy also uses Ayden for some of their payment processing.)  

TOP ETSY NEWS

Last week, Etsy sent emails to non-US sellers, telling them that their refunds for the overcharging that has been going on since October 2018 will be issued by the end of the day, June 30th (or earlier). It doesn’t mention when they will stop overcharging, though. 

Etsy held Investor Day on March . You can view the slides that went along with the presentations, and there is a short summary of the search info discussed here. CEO Josh Silverman then did an interview with CNBC (video only), which is summarized here. 

There was an Etsy podcast on search questions (links to recording, and transcription), but it didn’t have any new info. 

They’ve also released their spring & summer trends report, with a podcast & transcript, as well as a lengthy pdf file with keyword data (I will be summarizing that separately). 

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

Rand Fishkin (founder of Moz) is doing a series of 10-minute Whiteboard Friday presentations on learning SEO basics, with both video & transcripts included in the links.  Remember, some of these things do not apply to Etsy shops, but can apply to your website, depending on the coding.

Part 1, SEO strategy;  It assumes some knowledge of marketing terms, but the SEO part is definitely intro-level

Part 2, keyword research.  Long tail: “20% of all searches that Google receives each day they have never seen before.”

Part 3: satisfy searcher needs. 

Part 4:  optimizing through keywords & other elements.

And Moz’s Beginners Guide to SEO is finally fully updated. (Some parts are more technical, so stick to the on-page stuff if you are really new to this.) 

Chrome now offering the ability to select privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo as your browser default. This should increase DDG’s slice of traffic if Google continues this.

Google released its Webspam report for 2018. 

Hmm, wonder why I would come across SEO tips for Tumblr this edition?  🤔

CONTENT MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA 

(includes blogging & emails)

19 call-to-action phrases you should be using on social media (infographic)

10 tips for more clicks on your social media posts

US social media expansion has plateaued, but podcasts’ popularity continues to grow. 23% of US homes have a “smart speaker” (Alexa etc.); 56% have a tablet. Smartphone ownership has also levelled off. 

Related - most Americans dislike/do not trust social media.

3 tips for great social media content (infographic), & 4 more tips for writing social media posts.

Email marketing stats that show its impact. If you don’t already have an email list, it is time to start one. After all these years, it still works!

Instagram beta-testing checkout within the app; US brands only for the moment.

Facebook was storing your passwords in plain text & many employees had access.  “My Facebook insider said access logs showed some 2,000 engineers or developers made approximately nine million internal queries for data elements that contained plain text user passwords.”

Did you know you can remove your last name from your public Facebook profile? (Plus 12 other Facebook facts & tricks)

Create great pins on Pinterest.

Pinterest files for IPO; admits that Google changes last year hurt it. 

Backgrounder on short video sharing site TikTok.

Twitter Analytics has an events page that tips you off to annual events you may want to tweet about/around, under the Events tab in your Analytics.

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS)

Beginners’ guide to cost per click (CPC) ads - includes Google, Facebook, & Instagram.

Facebook & Instagram ad costs have rocketed since the site-wide outages on March 13.

Facebook’s advice on optimizing your Facebook ads.

Google fined by EU for blocking other ads. 

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

Ecommerce reports in Google Analytics (for websites, not Etsy shops). 

5 Instagram analytics tips.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Microsoft considers competing with Shopify.

eBay states it uses artificial intelligence (AI) pretty much everywhere on its site, as do most big sites.

eBay adds Google Pay as a payment option.

Half of US households will belong to Amazon Prime this year.  “Amazon Household, a program that allows different members of a single household, including teens, to have their own log-in for shopping and viewing of Prime content, was specifically cited by eMarketer as a factor driving adoption.”

Shopify is ending its MailChimp integration; interesting article here. “Mailchimp wrote a blog post stating that it asked Shopify to remove the Mailchimp integration from the Shopify marketplace. Mailchimp’s reasoning behind the move was due to the new term requiring partners to send back any data collected “on behalf of the merchant” back to Shopify. According to Joni Deus, director of partnerships at Mailchimp, that data (in Mailchimp’s eyes) doesn’t belong to Shopify.”

This is seen as a battle for data, a lot of which flows through APIs (APIs are how third party tools integrate with websites, like Etsy & label providers such as Shippo & Pirate Ship).

Square improves a bunch of ecommerce tools including social media integrations.  They bought Weebly a year ago, & are using that to make changes to Square Online Store and Square for Retail.

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

Tone is key to good customer service. I like the bit about answering apparently stupid questions - making the customer feel stupid (even if 99% of readers would agree the question was stupid) is usually not a good approach. But it can be hard to weed out negative tone. Other good quotes: “Directing the conversation away from the negative aspects and focusing instead on the proposed solution helps customers accept the situation and reduces the odds that they will be upset.” and “It almost doesn’t matter how good the news is; if it comes after “actually,” I feel like I was somehow wrong about something.”

Figuring out what motivates your customers.

Ecommerce customer service 101. 

MISCELLANEOUS (INCLUDING HUMOUR)

Facial recognition software is scraping the photos you post online to improve their software. “Despite IBM’s assurances that Flickr users can opt out of the database, NBC News discovered that it’s almost impossible to get photos removed. … There may, however, be legal recourse in some jurisdictions thanks to the rise of privacy laws acknowledging the unique value of photos of people’s faces. Under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, photos are considered “sensitive personal information” if they are used to confirm an individual’s identity. Residents of Europe who don’t want their data included can ask IBM to delete it. If IBM doesn’t comply, they can complain to their country’s data protection authority, which, if the particular photos fall under the definition of “sensitive personal information,” can levy fines against companies that violate the law.

In the U.S., some states have laws that could be relevant. Under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, for example, it can be a violation to capture, store and share biometric information without a person’s written consent. According to the act, biometric information includes fingerprints, iris scans and face geometry.”

Cookie warnings are getting really complicated in some jurisdictions. 

Microsoft killed Clippy again.

American drunk shopping continues to increase.

Posted April 8, 2019. 

[me-myselfs-and-mentalhealth]

Intro to Us

So I guess I'll do a little “my experience with D.I.D” post. As I've stated before, it's different for everyone. So, here is my personal experience and way of living with D.I.D.

I have 6 alters. I won't give their full names but because I will probably refer to some of them I will give a little list of the “main crew” as I call them, the frequent flyers if you will. I have two that have names that start with the letter “S” so I will refer to one as S and the other as Sky, although I don't talk about Sky as much because she's one of the ones that gets a lot of ridicule and judgment and I don't want to deal with that. So we have, S (most dominant outside of myself, Ash), Sky, L, and D (strong protector). Those are the 4 that present themselves on a more regular basis. The other two are pretty dormant but they still visit from time to time in certain situations.

I have been officially diagnosed with D.I.D by a licensed therapist. I didn't know what it was before being diagnosed, but I obviously experienced it and lived with it. There are still a lot of unknowns about D.I.D and I am definitely not claiming to know everything about it. Honestly, I'd still consider myself a “newbie” about actual information on it but I can give you my personal experiences about living with D.I.D.

I have other mental illnesses like Anxiety, Major Depressive Disorder, Agoraphobia and PTSD. I haven't had the best experiences with therapists/counseling in general so I haven't had a whole lot of help processing, or learning how to live with D.I.D so I kind of just do what works for me, and I honestly feel like that's okay, for me. I know some people with D.I.D that have gone to therapy for it and it has helped, and I know people with D.I.D that have gone to therapy for it and it has hurt them more. So even if I was currently working with a therapist I probably would be hesitant with working with my D.I.D, especially since we (my alters and I) have a plan that works for everyone in our system, for the most part. Still we have some “bad” days but we figure it out.

So I generally am in charge. There are certain situations that I willingly let S take over. She is really good at pretending to be “me”, I like to call her “the mask” because it's seriously like she's a mask to the outside world. They're all seeing ME but they are actually dealing with S. She will get along with anyone as long as they're not attacking me. If she, or I, feel threatened, she is the one that will “kill you with her tongue” as we like to call it. She is sassy and bitchy and that's how I want her when I'm feeling threatened but sometimes it can be inappropriate timing or her rage gets focused on the wrong target. She is my main protector, and usually we can work well together. But, she doesn't trust anyone, ever. So she really doesn't like my fiance, and she doesn't like that I trust him. She has shown her nasty side to him and it has been a lot of hard work but we have gotten S and my fiance on a truce-type of situation.

I do have a “little” alter as well, which is L. She usually surfaces when I've had a lot of triggers of my childhood traumas, or when I'm absolutely too overwhelmed. Typically though she happily sits in her room playing and just kind of exists. Another alter, my “mother hen” type of alter (Sky) hangs out a lot with L and is the one to soothe her when we're all having issues with a situation. Sky and L are good friends and L absolutely adores Sky so sometimes they will surface together and THAT is an interesting experience, but thankfully it doesn't happen very often.

The last alter I'll talk about is D. I won't go into much detail because this one is one of my own alters that I'm slightly afraid/unsure of. After D has surfaced I'm usually EXHAUSTED and emotional because she is strong and full of rage and being that angry takes a lot of energy. D is one of the alters that fights, hard, for full control and if I'm not watching her close enough, she takes over and I'm lost in a fight with her to regain control.

Now, typically in my day-to-day life, I don't refer to us as “us” or “we”. I don't use plural pronouns personally, but then again no one in my life besides my fiance and three very close friends knows about my alters. So if I were to walk around and use those pronouns then I'd get a lot of weird looks, which is what I try to avoid. I already get a lot of looks and questions with my other known mental illnesses, I get a lot of challenging behavior about me having PTSD, and for using a Service Dog as a part of my wellness plan. So I really don't want to deal with all the judgment, weird looks and questioning about me having D.I.D and alters. My family already makes fun of me for my OCD “quirks”, I don't need to be made fun of for having alters.

I also don't really refer to my alters and as a “system” like most others do. Although that is a very, very commonly used term, especially for those going (or have gone) to therapy for D.I.D. I'm not against the term or anything like that, I just personally don't use it. It is a good way to describe it for sure, but I just refer to my alters as that, my alters. When I think about all of us, living together, I just picture a house with a bunch of roommates. The two alters that don't really show up very often live in the attack, the difficult alters live in the basement and the others have their own rooms in the main part of the house. We're all a bunch of roommates living together in one smaller house.

This blog/tumblr is really hard for for me be doing but I felt like it was something that needed to be done. I'm being super vulnerable to people online that could cause as much, if not more, trouble than the people in my life. But I wanted to do this. I wanted to let other people with D.I.D to know that there are other people out here that live with D.I.D just like them. It's not weird, or bad, even though we have been made to believe that it is because of all the movies and crime shows about people with D.I.D being crazy serial killers or whatever. I personally can't even handle horror/thriller movies so I haven't seen any of the movies out there (like Split, for example) but I know that they don't portray D.I.D well. I have seen a few episodes of Criminal Minds that have focused on D.I.D and while I felt they did well representing the alter switches, they were still serial killers, and that just fuels the fear of those of us with D.I.D to the general public. But that is just MY personal opinion of it, others may have different opinions and that's ok.

Anyway, although I will be sharing my life of living with D.I.D to a point here, it is for others with D.I.D to know that they're not alone, they're not weird for having it and they're not a bad person for having it either. So if you are out there, living with those feelings, my inbox is open if you ever need someone to talk to. There are some other accounts out there that I've found that are good D.I.D accounts as well, so thank you to those accounts for being there too.

[sisangram]

Domain & Hosting Services

10 Best Domain & Hosting Registration Services (2018)

What’s in a domain? That which we call a site by any other name would smell as successful.

My self-proclaimed punny paraphrasing may have Shakespeare rolling in his grave, but I got your attention, did I not? While the famous quote is Juliet’s way of telling Romeo his family name doesn’t matter, the same cannot be said for your website’s domain name.

Your domain can determine your search engine rankings, your likelihood of being remembered by visitors, and your success as a brand in general. They say it all starts with a domain, but really, it all begins with a domain host — so let’s go over the best in the business.

1. Best Domain Host Overall

First, let’s look at what makes a good domain name host. A free domain is a great start — free for life or free for a year with a reasonable renewal rate. The typical domain hosting customer also looks for other freebies such as unlimited email hosting and a website builder. Managing your domains and websites should be made simple as well, using a popular control panel like cPanel.

When we reviewed the best domain hosting companies, we expected providers to bring value (in the form of a free or cheap domain), ample resources (storage, domains, emails), and a hassle-free site-building and management experience. Our top-recommended domain host checks all of the above boxes:

2. Best Domain Registration and Hosting Provider

The key to being an exemplary domain hosting provider is not just providing domain names but simplifying the registration and renewal process in general. These days, most shared hosts will offer a free domain to entice entry-level customers. Not every provider, however, carries a reputation as the largest domain name registrar — supporting 52 million domains at one point.

Yes, I’m talking about GoDaddy, Ongsho Web Services a popular host with a flair for domain and email services. Get a complimentary domain registrar when you sign up for a year-long plan.

3. Best “Free Domain” Hosting

So far I’ve alluded to one of the hottest marketing tactics in the shared hosting realm today: the complimentary domain name registration at signup. Typically costing $10 to $15 per year, domains are a highly sought-after signup bonus. Many hosts add to this value by offering free email accounts hosted at your free domain, or offering to transfer your existing domain to your new host’s services free of charge. Below we introduce our favorite hosting provider for those looking for domain perks:

 4. Best Domain Name Hosting for Bloggers

Hey, bloggers! I know y’all have specific features on your shopping list as you’re browsing domain hosts: blogging software such as WordPress, for example. We took your needs into consideration before declaring the best option for finding a forever home for your thoughts on the web. If you’re looking for easy-to-learn blogging tools, plenty of storage for your content and media elements, and, of course, a domain name, look no further.

5. Best Email and Domain Hosting

Your website’s domain name not only functions as the label and point of reference to direct web browsers to your site, but it can also serve as the basis for email accounts. Whether for personal or professional use, having an email address hosted on your own custom domain bodes well for your brand identity.

Certain hosts specialize in domain and email hosting services with features such as spam filtering, auto-responders, the ability to host unlimited email accounts at a free domain, and a free control panel license for managing it all. If this particular domain hosting niche strikes your fancy, check out the best email hosting provider below.

6. Best Domain Hosting for WordPress

If you’ve already decided a WordPress site is what you want, and you just need a domain host to help you launch it, you’ve reached your section. WordPress is a powerhouse platform trusted by the likes of TechCrunch, TED Talks, and the one-and-only Beyoncé. Heck, you’ll even see the Hosting Advice domain sits comfortably on WordPress!

We thoroughly vetted the web’s most popular hosting plans for WordPress and recommend you consider the #1 host to get started. Choose your domain, download and install the WordPress software with a single click, and you’re on your way.

7. Best Cheap Domain Hosting for Personal Sites

We’ve noticed an interesting trend in the web hosting market: Prospective customers don’t just want shared server hosting, they want cheap (shared) hosting, and that’s what they’re typing into search engines. This is especially true of the individual interested in launching a website for their own personal brand, portfolio, or résumé.

Building your first site is exciting! You want to talk themes, color schemes, the content for your first blog post — not agonize over uptime rates and other server stats.

We hear you. After reviewing the most affordable hosts on the market, evaluating their price, support, and feature sets, we’ve determined the best hosting bang for your budgeted buck.

8. Best Domain Hosting for Small Business

In case I didn’t drive the point home enough in my intro, the domain you choose matters! It can have a dramatic impact on your brand identity and business success. Small- to medium-sized business owners can’t afford to mess around, so read up on experts’ tips for choosing a domain, and sign up with the host we recommend for SMBs:

9. Best Domain and Hosting Services for Enterprise

The enterprise-level website owner is no stranger to the significance of a domain name. Your hosting needs transcend the desire for a simple domain registration process and intuitive cPanel interface for managing accounts.

Your site’s page load times need to be nonexistent and your site being online is non negotiable. Perhaps you own multiple domains. The need for speed, power, and performance doesn’t diminish with more sites under your belt.

Whether you’re interested in a fast and flexible VPS or a robust, resource-intensive dedicated server, Liquid Web is ready to help you scale — because your domain is not just your brand name. It’s your business, your livelihood, and the livelihood of those you employ.

10. Best Domain Hosts By Region

While the beauty of the modern web hosting landscape is that websites can be reached from anywhere in the world, hosts do specialize in serving certain regions more so than others.

Let’s go over the top domain hosts in the most popular datacenter regions.

# OWS is Remains the Best Domain Hosting Company in the Jashore.

In case the pricing doesn’t give it away, OWS has claimed the best value status in the Jashore-based shared hosting arena.

Which Domain Host is the Best For Your Next Project?

Whether you came for the domain hosting advice or the corny references to romantic tragedy, I hope you enjoyed the show. In all seriousness, I hope you found the ideal hosting provider for your next project. Whether you’re looking to sell online or share your own literary witticisms, I urge you to head on over to our domain hosting page for further guidance and information.

[minatozaki-sana]

Can you help me with one kind of stupid thing? How can I start rping on tumblr? Like... How do i plot and interact?

we all had to start somewhere, so this is a more than valid question ! first off, here and here are two pretty extensive guides to tumblr rping, but i’ll try to cut everything short under the read-more and have it be more up to date. also if you have any more questions or want more details on a certain topic, don’t be afraid to ask again !

i. types of rps.

since you found this blog i hope it’s safe to assume you somewhat know your way around the rpc ? but just in case, the following tags are most popular for different type of rps: appless rp, bio rp, skeleton rp, semi appless rp, twitter rp and lsrp. there are also a good amount of subcategories for rps, for example apartment rp, mumu rp ( multi-muse ), new rp, pairs rp, etc. it all kind of depends what you’re looking for but for starters i’d recommend appless rps as they’re the easiest to step foot in.

all of the above are group roleplays with set rules, but if you’re not into that, there’s also indie rping. the main tag is indie rp with different subcategories as well. the indie com is more laid-back as you basically write down your own rules ( always make sure to read other ppl’s rules as well ) and you can take as much time for your replies as you’d like opposed to groups where the time limit is 2 - 5 days nowadays. though, i’d only rec the indie com for people over 18 as it has many muns who like to post smut starters without properly tagging them but using nsfw gifs. also there are quite a few nasty ppl out there who like to write inc*st or non-consenting threads which just .. yikes Blocked.

ii. joining a rp.

as you’re browsing the tags, you’ll hopefully find a rp you like and would like to join. please, please make sure to read the plot, rules and if applicable faq pages completely and if it’s a new rp also scrolling through the blog itself just to avoid possibly joining a rp that allows something ( or someone ) you’d rather not be affiliated with. in case everything’s fine and you went through all the pages, it’s best to have the taken / characters page open along with the application format just to avoid using a faceclaim ( the celeb you’d like your character to look like ), name or even label that’s already in use. 

most admins are very adamant about the app format not being changed ( ex. all lowercase or certain words in uppercase, etc ) so please listen to them otherwise they’ll ask you to resend the app or they’ll have to change it on the taken page. it’s always good for an admin to see that their members actually care about what they created.

most apps ask for a faceclaim, name, age, gender, pronouns, label ( + tag ), occupation, positive and negative traits ( + tag ) and sometimes a fun fact, their zodiac sign, what they googled last, a movie / song / show they love, etc. basically just send in your app as soon as it’s finished ! below you’ll also find an old app of mine for an appless rp.

iii. setting up an account.

hopefully you know how to set up an account on tumblr, but if not, the first guide covers it  well. as soon as your account is set up, install new xkit ( without it you basically won’t be able to write replies ). select xkit on your dashboard and install the following extensions ( click ‘ get extensions ‘ ): anti-capitalism, drafts+, editable reblogs ( the most important ! ), go-to-dash, no recommended, old sidebar, old stats, one-click reply, outbox, timestamps, tweaks, xinbox. as for tweaks, go back to ‘ my xkit ‘, find ‘ tweaks ‘ and try to see what you like best.

from here on i recommend following the steps from the first guide, starting at ‘ THE ACCOUNT: AESTHETICS ‘ as i basically do the same. here’s also my theme tag along with a general one.

iv. writing your intro.

now before you’re able to plot with others, you’ll have to write an intro. it’s essentially just to introduce yourself with a small blurb and then elaborating on your muse ( character ). below you can find an example in the form of an old blog of mine, it was for a skeleton rp, but basically it’s the same for appless rps ( except that i never write a bio or create a headcanon page for those ). if you follow the link to the intro, you’ll see a load of text.

the first thing i always do for my intro is add a gif icon ( usually 100x100 pixel or below and you can find them by typing in https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/danielle-campbell-gif-icons for example ), write something small about me / the rp and then add the app format under a read more. everything underneath is the muse’s backstory, personality and wanted plots. ( also as a tip it’s always good to trigger warn your writing. )

v. plotting.

this is often dreaded due to bad past experiences or anxiety but honestly.. keep calm during this. plotting is actually one of my favorite things and i tend to ramble a Lot while talking to strangers so as long as you’re passionate about your muse it’ll work out. and if someone’s not interested in plotting with your muse someone else definitely will. as a true flop i didn’t include any wanted plots in my intro, but i’m also very spontaneous regarding connections aka i’ll read their intro and think of a plot that could work and let them add onto it bc only the mun knows their muse best. if you need any connections idea though, here and here are a few.

as for approaching someone, most of the time i’m looking for something in their intro i could use to bond over outside rping, like with my intro it could be a shared interest for dc and / or marvel. or honestly just compliment them on their muse bc i love doing so when you can really feel they put a lot of effort into creating them. alternatively just quote a vine in all caps.

one thing to avoid doing is sound soo very monotone when you can clearly see that they’re excited to plot and you just don’t seem to care. sharing excitement is a good thing while plotting and the rpc in general !

vi. replying.

plugging in this guide one last time bc the last part covers all of it !

vii. extras.

make sure you’re only following blogs from the main rp’s blogroll to avoid confusion.

if you want to leave a rp, please message the main. a simple ‘ hey ! i’m afraid this rp isn’t for me ‘ or ‘ i won’t have time to dedicate to this rp ‘ will do. it’s always better than to just delete or switch to another rp.

it’s nice to check the starter tag from time to time to make sure new members feel welcome ( most if not all rps have their own starter tag which can be found on their blog ).

in case you join a rp that has meme days, don’t be afraid to ask the admins for help even if it’s just to find some to reblog ( museinspo has a tag for them as well along with other musings blogs ). in addition it’s polite to send everyone a meme to answer / reply to.

museinspo’s navigation might also help clear up a few things, plus it’s a great blog for character creation and development.

hopefully this was beginner’s friendly ?? and happy rping !

[cinnamon-sorceress]

[TokenClub Live] ForTube Lei Yu & Chu Kang: The continuing future of Blockchain and Open Finance _ Binance Block 101

-This may be the 67th__ conversation of #block 101#- Another preview: Coco_�m__Huang Lingbo: How does capital capture unicorns in industries such as for example DeFi? �n_ On July 28, 2020, Binance Yingge talked with Lei Yu, co-founder of The Force Process & ForTube; and Chu Kang, co-CEO of ForTube & BN Capital, founder of BN Capital. Lei Yu and Chu Kang shared this content of blockchain talent training and DeFi monitor related content material in the live life broadcast, and distributed to the viewers the see of the central bank's issuance of DCEP. Lei Yu and Chu Kang mentioned that liquid mining will be the new wealth program code. Lei Yu and Chu Kang believe that blockchain has begun to get attention in domestic university education. Blockchain isn't just a technology, but more is highly recommended to integrate economic theory and education in the economic climate with blockchain. At the same time, the growth of the industry must focus on the, highly integrate creation, education and analysis, subdivide research instructions to put into action an interdisciplinary teaching model, and combine concept with practical tasks to market blockchain talent training. Regarding the recent very hot DeFi track, Lei Yu stated that DeFi is a classic case of paradigm change. DeFi is based on cryptocurrency to subvert the traditional financial design and successfully improve transaction performance. In addition, Chu Kang believes that it is still too early to state that DeFi will replace centralized finance, but the advantage of DeFi is based on the relatively fair and equitable use of time and funds. Over time, DeFi and centralized finance will mutually advertise typical prosperity and development, and obtain prosperity. Block 101: Lei Yu & Chu Kang "The monetary theory itself, blockchain technology is inseparable, so it's a good idea to inspire learners to use blockchain technology for financial innovation to cultivate this type of talent echelon." "Actually, in the 2017 crypto asset bull marketplace, many people are usually actually eager for the financial qualities of the blockchain, but the real implementation of the blockchain requires constant technological updating and iteration and repeated practice, especially for the entire blockchain industry inside 2019. Since this type of strategy to rise to the united states, a lot more universities have begun to pay attention to and vigorously promote it." "I think that the early launch of the main bank's digital currency is definitely good and no harm. The team that is working on the Chinese version of the stable currency on Ethereum or Binance Chain can in fact consider how to collaborate following the central bank's digital foreign currency is released. The near future will definitely It will expand between your central bank's electronic currency and Libra." "Now I've used Huabei's non-repayment record meeting to collect credit. I think this is not directly linked to the issuance of DCEP. Last year, Director Mu Changchun said that DCEP is really a replacement for M0 money. For DCEP, It is equivalent to encouraging everyone to take the cash at hand or portion of the bank deposit to exchange for DCEP in the future." "DeFi completely breaks the barriers in between different CeFi platforms and makes the flow of funds in the chain smoother, and we know that now even CeFi systems have invested part of the funds in DeFi to get profit optimization." "China is quite pragmatic and makes use of blockchain to empower the real economy. I think it is spring when a hundred plants bloom. In accordance with your personal characteristics, it is possible to lay out your preferred blockchain projects. I believe I'll look back in two or three years. There will be great gains." MC Yingge inside this issue Guests Lei Yu & Chu Kang A total of 14121 words Estimated reading time: 36 minutes 1 Binance Yingge: Nowadays, our first guest of "Block 101"-Lei Yu, may be the CEO of The Pressure Protocol and the co-founder of For Tube. The second is Chu Kang, the co-CEO of For Tube and the founder of Benrui Capital. Hello two bosses. Lei Yu (left) Ying Ge (best) Chu Kang (bottom part) Chu Kang: Hi everyone, I'm Chu Kang. Binance Brother Ying: Hi, boss Chu Kang. Hello, boss Lei Yu. Lei Yu: Hi there everyone. Binance Brother Ying: Let's say hello there to everyone initial, Lei Yu shows up first. Lei Yu: Many thanks. I am happy to become a live broadcast of Binance's "Block 101" today. I am the co-founder of The Drive Process and ForTube. Binance Brother Ying: Let's talk about Boss Chu Kang. Chu Kang: Hi there, everyone. I'm Chu Kang. I am the founder of Benrui Funds. We have sent many excellent co-workers to Binance. We are furthermore the co-CEO of For Tube, which was officially introduced today. 2 Binance Brother Ying: Applaud. Both guests have completed the intro first, let me first arrived at a hot spot questioning session. I'd like to ask both big men. Let's start discussing entering the. When did the two sign up for the blockchain sector, and from which channel do they 1st hear about Bitcoin? Boss Lei Yu, come first. Lei Yu: The very first time I arrived to contact with Bitcoin was relatively early. I studied for a master's degree at Tsinghua from 2009 to 2012. In 2011, I graduated from 2nd to third in graduate college. I loved to go over the walls and go to Twitter at the time. Some content material and progress in computer technology. In those days, there was several big men in China. I recall there were keso and others like Li Xiaolai. At that time, they shared various technical items on Twitter. What amazed me the most was that Li Xiaolai kept discussing how good Bitcoin is. I thought to myself the facts? Just started to read some information regarding Bitcoin. After reading it, I felt that Bitcoin was in line with Hayek's liberal economic philosophy, and that private individuals could issue currency, that was actually cool. In those days, there were hardly any domestic individuals who understood this point, and I furthermore understood that I thought this thing had been very fashionable, and it would have been digging Bitcoin for a time period. Because of the technical complex, I didn't purchase it in the market. I simply dig using the pc and didn't dig very much. After graduation, We was busy and didn't pay attention, so I let it go. In 2016, I arrived to contact with Bitcoin once again and discovered that this issue had been 10,000 RMB. I understand that it'll only cost several yuan in 11 years. When I saw, I almost broke my thigh at the time. This is one way much prosperity I skipped. Later on, starting in 2016, he systematically started to research Bitcoin and blockchain, technology, products, and ecology, etc., and came into connection with representative tasks such as for example Ethereum. Binance Brother Ying: What about the coins it is possible to dig, can't you find it? Lei Yu: I dug on the computer in the laboratory at the time. After graduation, the personal computer was gone. In those days, I dug such as a sport each day, and no one cares. Binance Brother Ying: Next Mr. Chu Kang. Chu Kang: Actually, I started to get in touch with Bitcoin in 2014, but I remember the bull market that year quite clearly. The boost from RMB 800 to RMB 4,000 or RMB 5,000 was also very crazy. At that time there is Bitcoin China, etc. And so forth these sites. In fact, there was no particularly systematic information to comprehend Bitcoin in those days. There are not many blockchain press and self-media, therefore in those days, just from Baidu Blog post Bar, Weibo, and some forums. Learn in a few small offline actions. I was even now studying Internet financing at China UnionPay, therefore the complex and financial features of Bitcoin actually aroused my strong attention. I remember that what was particularly interesting at that time has been that I had been with my good friends at the time. I took my pocket money to buy BTC. I furthermore bought BTC every day. He didn't purchase it himself. Afterwards in the huge bull marketplace in 2017, he delivered me a note. I skip the scene you told us about Bitcoin before. In 2016, I did so in-depth research on the representative blockchain tasks of Bitcoin and Ethereum from the technology product ecology and so forth, including its decentralized attributes, which completely subverted some of my previous knowledge and understanding of Web products, especially ours What I've learned about Internet platform strategy is completely different from that of system strategy, because I have experienced system strategy in the web boom of 2014, 2015, and 2016. It was also in 2014 that I acquired the initial Bitcoin deal in my life. Binance Ying: Next, I wish to ask. At present, our major universites and colleges have started to offer courses on blockchain technologies and programs. Blockchain customers and investors may also be developing right into a young team. Two bosses Have you got any opinions and suggestions about the country's advanced schooling when it comes to talent trained in the blockchain market? It is possible to chat separately. Chief Lei arrive first. Lei Yu: There is a phenomenon now. If you seek out blockchain technologies on station B, you can find some blockchain programs from universities in China, like the Computer Division of Peking University. This demonstrates, in terms of domestic advanced schooling training, blockchain has already been becoming deployed and receiving corresponding attention. But because I'm currently working on the blockchain project, I have observed a problem. In fact, this blockchain also includes cryptocurrency, that is inseparable from financial innovation. Today some overseas tasks, such as for example DeFi, may be mentioned later on. If overseas, these areas are actually revolutionary and R&D. It could be described as modifying with each moving day, new things turn out every day. Aspects such as financial theory and financial thinking are all in the field of cryptocurrency, combined with blockchain technologies to get innovative procedures. What will it reflect? It displays that in addition to technology, overseas blockchain practitioners already have a deep financial theory. Blockchain is not just a technologies. It really is some sort of advancement in creation relations. We contact it a paradigm shift, which involves many major monetary improvements, both technically and theoretically. Therefore, if only the blockchain technology is emphasized, there may be too little research and innovation in neuro-scientific theory within China. I have a suggestion. This is a good thing for universites and colleges to develop courses such as for example blockchain technology, but I would recommend that more should consider combining education such as financial theory and economic climate with blockchain technologies. Everyone should see the development pattern of foreign DeFi and so forth. It is far less simple compared to the current hot projects, and it will definitely be a very important trend and improvement later on. The financial theory itself, blockchain technology is inseparable, so it is necessary to inspire students to use blockchain technology to handle financial innovation such a thinking, to cultivate this type of talent echelon. Binance Brother Ying: Okay, then Mr. Kang is here. Chu Kang: In fact, in the big bull market of encrypted assets in 2017, lots of people are actually looking forward to the financial qualities of blockchain, but the real implementation of blockchain requires continuous update and iteration of technologies and repeated practice, specifically in the blockchain industry in 2019. Since rising to the nationwide core strategy, a lot more colleges and universities have started to pay attention and vigorously promote it. I just talked about Tsinghua University. Tsinghua University has already been at the forefront in the areas of internet and computer. Everybody knows that a lot of of the well-known domestic tasks have got Tsinghua backgrounds. Tsinghua includes a systematic education of specialized talents. But I think that the development of commercial blockchain technologies demands universities to get greatly in scientific research money, including concentrated study on technology. They should also concentrate on the industry and integrate creation, education and study right into a high degree. Simultaneously, I think there's an interdisciplinary training model. Why can you state that? Because numerous majors in universites and colleges have become subdivided, especially the research direction. If the industrial blockchain will probably land and create, it isn't enough to rely on the so-called encryption algorithms, so-called encryption, timestamps, and distributed ledgers that people usually discuss. Blockchain technology should form an interdisciplinary subject matter with artificial intelligence, big data, G, etc., and at the same time use market-oriented solutions to inspire learners and talents, and present them some practical tasks for exploration in community, such as authorities affairs such as traceability. When training them, it could be truly integrated with their actual tasks, and I'll sense that the complete country will make greater improvement in the cultivation of blockchain talents. Binance Yingge: We saw that Mr. Kang proved helpful for a core organization like UnionPay for a long time. What possibility did you get from the original financial market to the field of encrypted possessions to start out a business? Chu Kang: I used to truly have a one job and career. To state single is usually to be even more devoted to the work. After graduating, I have been employed in the China UnionPay system for more than a decade, and I have time to really understand the blockchain business in a comprehensive and systematic manner. After the big market situation in 2014, I was responsible for the construction of the payment talent training system at UnionPay, so I integrated the data of blockchain into a talent training system. There were no teaching components and no Any articles to make reference to. We searched the marketplace for many publications on blockchain, developed it into an electronic course, and wear it the official website of the Financial Coaching Center. Because of this, many practitioners from banks and finance institutions go through me systematically and seriously. Such a set of teaching components compiled at that time. Because throughout writing the program, I was really systematic and learned to comprehend the blockchain. Furthermore, I committed to some good projects in 2017 and 2016, so in 2018, I made a lot of dedication to depart I became a member of China UnionPay and devoted myself to becoming a Fund. Recently, I was furthermore the co-CEO of For Tube simultaneously. Why did I prefer to get the co-CEO of For Tube? First, I have a background in the economic industry. I have some useful and profound understanding of debt, technology and finance, like the securities marketplace. If blockchain technologies really must be practically applied, I think the mix of blockchain and financing itself is really a direction I'm thinking about, and blockchain + financing itself is DeFi. Of course, in 2020, we will have the true DeFi funding rise, from 1 billion US dollars to 6 billion US bucks. I always think that it will reach 15 billion US dollars by the end of the entire year. I believe some related tasks will be at least 3 to 5 5 times larger. This is exactly what I think I can see at the end of this year. The DeFi platform For Tube is a financial service platform developed by The Force Agreement, and the entire For Tube team has known it really early. From starting to end, I think the entire For Tube group is a very practical group in Asia and also the planet. For Tube items may also be very revolutionary, not only with mortgage agreements, but also for issuing bonds. It is precisely because I've self-confidence in the product, including the entire group, that I have talked about with the building blocks on the basis of capital, and lastly became a member of For Tube, wishing to become the top DeFi task in Asia , This is a extremely original idea in my own heart. Binance Brother Ying: After discussing this, I still desire to ask Boss Lei, when did you begin your business here, and what was your original intention of starting your organization? Was it really optimistic about the blockchain sector at that time? Lei Yu: I resigned from the market position of a multinational medical device company where I actually worked at the earliest in 2015. After leaving my work, I went to work as an entrepreneurial group in the Internet medical industry in China. Later on, in more than half per year, this entrepreneurial group was Tencent invested in WeDoctor Team acquired. Later, in 2016, I visited another startup business in the field of Internet rehabilitation and medical care. Then this startup firm was bought out by an A-share pharmaceutical company. After the takeover, we transformed right into a rehabilitation hospital Investment and construction function. In complete, there have been three entrepreneurial experiences before the Force Agreement. Although these were not their very own bosses, they were all close to the management plus some of the core of the company, so that they knew what sort of survival condition startups are usually. For instance, where will be the shortcomings or advantages of an entrepreneurial team, which includes how to begin a company, and what pitfalls you have to pay attention to in the entrepreneurial process, these have grown to be the foundation for me and several business school classmates to create the Force Contract. . The key reason why I started my business was not at all hard in the beginning, that is, I hope to realize a value in my own life through entrepreneurship. It sounds like I am a little more idealistic sometimes, not to mention I am hoping to be able to gain monetary freedom incidentally. It's just that when i re-exposed to the blockchain in 2016, I was still doing preparations for the reason that hospital, so I had some free time to review the blockchain. Once We was fascinated with the research, We felt that this industry definitely has good potential later on and has the power to subvert the original financial system. Even I thought at that time that it may affect the entire human society in the future. From all areas of politics and economy, blockchain will penetrate and play its role. Later, in 2017 and 2018, there have been plenty of thunderstorms in domestic Internet financing. In fact, two or three people in our team directly invested in Internet financing, or had worked well in it. Everybody knows that Internet finance actually has serious and deep pits in it. of. But after everyone came into contact with blockchain, they found that this thing can fundamentally alter most of the flaws of Internet finance. We thought from the perspective of financing at that time that investors and debtors can achieve lending procedures in a fair, open and transparent investing environment. Therefore, we hope to use the blockchain to contribute a little to the forwards development and reform of the economic climate, and we jointly produced the task of The Push Agreement, that is the original purpose of entrepreneurship. For future years of blockchain, I'm firmly bullish. 3 Binance Brother Ying: You mentioned The Push Agreement at the moment. The brand of Force Contract can be very popular. I wanted to understand about it last year. I would like to ask you what sort of company the Force Contract is? Can you reveal about your company's team history, main company, including corporate eyesight and so forth. Lei Yu: The title of the force of our Force Agreement originates from "Superstar Wars", which is The Pressure. At that time, the name was selected for the international market. It is relatively simple for everyone to contact, and it is more international. Once you expose it to foreigners , It'll know this concept. Later I found out that it didn't appear to be the case, but the title had recently been used, and that was it. We have been now predicated on Ethereum. Later on, we have plans to dock the public chain systems of popular blockchains such as Binance Chain. We develop encrypted open up financial protocols based on these open public chains. The current The Force Process comprises a couple of DeFi technology parts and a tokenized process. Our current technical element of DeFi is that we see that along the way of Dapp development on Ethereum, your smart contract can't be upgraded once it is deployed, and the data structure is relatively solidified. Simultaneously, the quickness of conversation on your chain, everyone understands that gas expenses are high today, and the conversation speed is slow. Last year, an individual experience was not good, the necessary financial infrastructure is lacking, and security problems are also emerging. So we came up with a couple of technical components, a couple of expansion components and financial components, three types of DeFi components, the three forms of components are collectively called the initial force, this is the articles of the DeFi component, you can observe for information Official website and white paper. On the basis of DeFi technology, we developed a tokenized protocol. Tokenized protocols consist of debt funding, cryptocurrency current financing, and decentralized stablecoins, etc. We have integrated these tokenized protocols right into a one-stop lending, investment, and financing assistance called ForTube. Platform, it is a positioning of ForTube. Our ForTube provides personal and corporate customers with expense financing in direction of encrypted electronic asset lending, along with transactions between bond token users. That is an introduction to our ForTube and The Pressure Agreement products. Talking about the team, we has been originally founded by me, my partner Allen, and some business school classmates from Chaoge. Allen has a background inside traditional financial expense. He's got successfully invested in several Internet boat loan companies and provides a solid judgment on the advancement of the. Brother Chao has an engineering background. After graduating, he worked as a cloud computing architect and important account manager at ZTE Team. , So he is more experienced in product procedure, and at the same time has stronger business capabilities. Later, our team gradually joined technical talents. Before 94, the CTO of the world-renowned swap Yunbi.com also joined our team. His technical strength is very strong. Nowadays Gangguan Xuan Kang Shao furthermore joined up with, and our strength is constantly increasing. Simultaneously, the structure of overseas communities and the recruitment of groups are also underway. We now have corresponding full-time or part-time workers in Singapore, Europe, and the Americas that are working about our FOR token and ForTube systems. We now have slowly become an international team. Lastly, the vision is similar to this. We have been committed to providing an inclusive, innovative and protected programmable encrypted economic service to users all over the world. Through the solutions provided by ForTube, we are able to really do inclusive financing. Blockchain can perform this. . Throughout the procedure for realizing our vision, we still prioritize items, do item and technology research and development first, rather than do air tasks. We are in charge of our customers and token holders. We pursue excellence in item and technology growth. We realize that we are actually The product continues to be extremely inadequate, and the technology still has several areas worthy of improvement, but the team will continue to work hard to offer you better services. This is a value orientation. Binance Brother Ying: Many thanks, Mr. Lei. There's one more question. I'd like to inquire two guests. Mr. Lei has been interviewed by way of a reporter from China Periods. Once, he explained that the new version of Libra will continue for US$8,000 and the DCEP test is in full swing. Talking on the event to analyze the modifications Libra has brought to the planet, the two will talk to the buddies about the distinction and contest between Libra and DCEP, which is more powerful. Lei Yu: Once the China Occasions interviewed me before, it just happened that Facebook released the next edition of Libra's white papers. The design of the second edition was different from the first edition. In the initial edition of the whitened document, Facebook pursued Libra as Super-sovereign currencies are usually independent of the lawful currencies of varied countries and also have their own exchange prices to operate. Consequently, we later discovered that it was beaten by Europe and in addition beaten by america, and it became a sovereign foreign currency system. In the next edition of the look, the U.S. dollar was anchored to launch the U.S. dollar Libra. This style is the same as the popular USDT or USDC stablecoins available. However, the next edition of the Libra whitened paper leaves a mouth area for the super-sovereign currency. He stated Problem a super-sovereign currency that can be exchanged with a variety of mainstream currencies for trade with the swap rate of weaker countries. Libra should be a US dollar version at the beginning. From this viewpoint, Libra assists the US dollar to continue the so-known as US dollar hegemony in the field of digital currency. It has turned into a defender or a vassal of the US dollar system. I understand that Zuckerberg and his team have a liberal ideal, but the resistance of conventional forces is too strong. Libra was created like this. NEO Going back to the main bank digital currency, the central bank's digital foreign currency competitors aren't so-called cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. They are actually Libra, because the user foundation behind Facebook reaches minimum one billion, with this type of large numbers of users. If Libra turns into global After being widely adopted, people utilize the Libra system to ostensibly anchor the legal currency of varied countries. If you need to use rmb abroad, if you want rmb to enter the market, you must go to dock with Libra. To put it nicely, the marketplace is kept in the hands, and rmb should be negotiated with others as well as begged by you. Opening Libra's RMB foreign currency depends upon its face. For RMB internationalization, this sort of result will be unwilling to see.

Therefore, at this time, whether it is the central bank digital foreign currency or other domestic stable foreign currency teams, it must not be taken gently. Libra is really a relatively huge mountain while watching internationalization of RMB. There could be a comparatively large marketplace for RMB, however now that Facebook hasn't entered China, the forex market is not available to Facebook, also it does not matter abroad. Because of this situation, the near future still needs to look at Libra's face. So I think the first release of the central bank's digital currency is definitely good no harm, and when there are other Chinese version of stable foreign currency tasks in the united kingdom, such as our stable currency on the chain, as the central bank's digital foreign currency is not on the Ethereum chain, etc., I haven't heard about it. To create a team like the Chinese version of the steady currency about Ethereum or about the Binance Chain, you can actually consider how exactly to collaborate after the main bank's digital currency is launched to market the internationalization of rmb in different marketplaces, and the internationalization of rmb will be promoted everywhere. Occupying various marketplaces, that is my personal viewpoint, the potential future will definitely be the central bank electronic foreign currency and Libra. Chu Kang: Actually, Mr. Lei has already spoken in great details, but I believe there is absolutely no such matter as a contest and who is more powerful. You can find more differences in the organizational structure, distribution system, and technical routes. What requirements special interest? The DCEP issued by the People's Lender of China is actually RMB electronic and is lawful currency. Libra itself is in fact issued by business organizations, and at exactly the same time anchors a lot of legal currency digital currency, it generally does not have a certain degree of legal compensation itself, this is actually the most fundamental difference in credit endorsement. Due to such a difference in itself, it is destined that the entire development path, including the background duties of the period it carries, is totally different. I very much buy into the possibility that Mr. Lei simply pointed out. The issuance of DCEP will form an exterior RMB electronic foreign currency zone, which will form an internal circular optimistic incentive mechanism for the economy, and can resist the interference of several external plans to keep independence and endogenousness. It is extremely beneficial to the internationalization of RMB. Actually, RMB accelerates the procedure of internationalization in the form of digital RMB. Somewhat, in fact, we may be able to see this type of process of rmb internationalization in a relatively short time of time. Just like the colleagues of the entire Central Bank Digital Currency Analysis Institute, they're right now in Meituan, Are you currently hungry, Die Didu offers carried out the internal tests of the national legal digital currency, that is doing perfectly. The ordinary people are getting nearer and closer to the digital currency. The spread, use, and media of digital currency itself are inseparable from Internet application products. We simply discussed Ele. Meituan, and Didi. It really is an app with an extremely large user experience. How about To realize the internationalization of RMB? We also have many, several app applications overseas. Of course, it is a pity that people are viewing instability because of the uncertainty of the entire global political economic climate. Some countries are now going to suppress a few of our country's Internet products. This may be a far more obvious trouble before us. I really believe that with the improvement of China's national strength, rmb's worldwide voice may also increase. The bigger, including DCEP to help its internationalization is merely nearby.

4 Binance Brother Ying: Okay, many thanks two bosses. Somebody asked, is Huabei's credit score investigation a prelude to the issuance of DCEP? Will any guest desire to answer? Lei Yu: Let me share briefly. Given that Huabei will not repay, your record will be called for credit. I don't think this is directly linked to the issuance of DCEP. Last year, Director Mu Changchun stated that DCEP will replace M0 and replace cash. For DCEP, , Which is equivalent to encouraging everyone to get the cash at hand or area of the bank deposit to switch for DCEP in the future. Of training course, this is actually a cash-level behavior. Huabei is at the credit degree, which is equal to not repaying with a debit card. There is currently no direct relationship between the two. Binance Yingge: Will Mr. Kang have anything to include? Chu Kang: Actually, there is currently no exclusive relationship between your two. Huabei is still an work of credit lending. Huabei is really a financial item provided by the centralized organization Ant Financial. It is mainly predicated on your normal usage of Alipay. The situation comes to a thorough credit assessment. Then give a certain amount of credit score, and you may benefit from the financial services out of this institution as a centralized economic service. However the credit it offers you or the money it gives you belong to the existing legal foreign currency, and you will point out it to the lender cards by withdrawing. If we have been issuing DCEP throughout the country, the entire application situation becomes quite rich, and you can consume in various places in e-commerce. Simultaneously, if the main body of Ant Financial Huabei can be part of DCEP. For huge pilot units, it's possible that what Huabei borrowed is the statutory DCEP, but between the two, it might be a mapping on the use scenario, in fact it is not particularly linked to the growth and advertising of DCEP. 5 Binance Ying: Let's get down to company. Next, let's discuss the recent sizzling DeFi topics. Everyone thinks DeFi is the future and is very optimistic. It doesn't appear to be an especially easy task to displace centralized finance institutions in the short term. What do the two bosses think may be the benefit of DeFi? What are the dangers of DeFi, you two can talk about. Lei Yu: I simply mentioned a expression called paradigm change. In human history, every major paradigm shift provides about a change in society and sector. We know DeFi, and looking at it now is an example of a paradigm change. To begin with, the generation of blockchain and encrypted electronic currency is really a main technological or paradigm innovation. The initial DeFi application based on the blockchain has subverted numerous traditional financial versions. Now the typical application situation of DeFi is decentralized exchanges, decentralized transactions, Binance, Huobi, etc. are CeFi, following a order book transaction design, DeFi jumped out of this type of gameplay, it changed to AMM One way, automated market makers. In the AMM design, the counterparty of the deal is a smart agreement, and the marketplace price is usually solved by an algorithm. The algorithm and the offer and demand connection determine the marketplace price of a token collectively, that is a subversion of the traditional order book model. Then comes the improvement of deal efficiency. Provided that I have a pool of money there, as long as the swimming pool of money is deep good enough, I could get estimates to trade tokens anytime, and the amount of independence of transactions will increase accordingly. Today uniswap isn't shown. Any threshold, so long as this is a intelligent contract, it is possible to go to DEX. The initial exchange for most projects isn't as laborious as discussing an IEO before, and also some trade cards will withdraw money and card funds. Now it is called IUO. They are new adjustments to the industry after the entire paradigm shift. Let's take another example in the field of lending. The latest innovative task in the field of lending is called yearn. Through its own ytoken, it could implement smart agreements and invest in the investment targets with the highest return on user asset search. Following the release of yearn, you can view the impact of the current period. The allocation ratio of resources to the underlying Compound and AAVE's fund swimming pool. In traditional CeFi, which exchange or platform where user funds are put, it is difficult to flexibly invest in the subject of various other platforms. I have never heard about which company puts funds in its solutions and instantly finds the most ideal interest rate for you. Investment, it is impossible. DeFi totally breaks the barriers between different CeFi platforms and can make the stream of money on the chain smoother, and we realize that also CeFi platforms and companies today invest part of their money in DeFi to get optimization of revenue. Let us give an example, such as Binance, Binance can find BNB wealth management or BUSD prosperity management services inside DeFi. It is difficult for Binance to put its BNB or BUSD on some other CeFi platforms. What if that system runs aside? But also for DeFi, the intelligent contract is here. Following the audit, everyone understands that it is safe. Centralized exchanges such as this are furthermore willing to put assets previously for financial administration. DeFi and CeFi will integrate with each other in the future. From the perspective of user needs, users desire to be in a position to configure funds more efficiently across platforms. Therefore, the openness and mix of DeFi will normally attract users to participate. As long as users understand the truth, they will give priority to selection DeFi. DEX such as for example Uniswap, which does not require permission to establish investing pairs on the foreign currency, is well-liked by various tasks. You can view the inherent benefits and characteristics of DeFi, and there is absolutely no question that it will continue steadily to gain even more room for advancement. And the marketplace share will definitely continue to increase, also it may even make the idea of cryptocurrency really from the circle. Moving away from the field of cryptocurrency to obtain more from traditional funds, the large amount of money in the traditional field may also be in the future. May enter the DeFi industry. But DeFi, you can't just talk about its benefits, it will be has dangers. DeFi is composable. In the event a particular DeFi process or DeFi application has security problems, it'll affect not only itself, but also other protocols combined with it. Everyone provides complications together. This degree of harm, From top to bottom, from underneath to the very best, and the even more you go directly to the bottom part, the higher the scope of harm caused by problems with the underlying protocol, the greater losing, and the wider the scope. For DeFi, everyone is in a stage where it has only begun to build up. The developer's first priority must be security. Simultaneously, they must focus on the code, including the security of the code, including the security of the business logic. When you match others, the complexity of the mixture should be controllable.

The even more DeFi protocols combined jointly, the greater the likelihood of security vulnerabilities, since it is impossible to ensure that other DeFi protocols value security just as much as you do. Everyone offers high technology and low technology. The more vulnerabilities, the higher the potential reduction. . Along with paying attention to the security of your code, you must also pay attention to the complexity of the composition and keep it inside a safe variety. This is one aspect that I think DeFi needs to be strengthened now.