#and I've been working on this new version on and off since like march 2021

[corneille-moisie]

So like i'm thinking

I'm indeed writing a book, but it's in french.

And while I'd love to see it translated, i'm not sure I would trust anyone other than myself translating it LOL

So i'm not sure it would even be possible, i'd probably rip all my hair out haha.

But ! I guess I can still talk about my book here because, like... Honestly ? tumblr is probably the best place to talk about it, considering everything I want to talk about, in this book.

So i might come and brainstorm here, sometimes...

[parisstreet]

Some Words On 'The Fade'

The Fade was conceived at the start of 2019. It should have been released by the end of that year. But, you know, shit happened, and then more shit happened, and then I reluctantly set it aside to focus on other projects. Then more shit happened.

Four of the songs were demoed and had completed lyrics by March of 2019. Later that month, I went to Memphis to record guitars and vocals with Jack and Neely, 2 of the 3 original Paris Streeters from the band's early years in Nashville.

The parts we were recording were for the You (Too) EP. Since they are both amazingly talented people, it didn't take too long. With some extra time available, I brought out 2 of the 4 new songs. Neely - only needing to hear the song a couple times, and having no clue what the hell the lyrics were about - recorded the backing vocals for 'I Promised Her A Tower' in 2 takes. Jack improvised a couple guitar lines for the song, then did 2 improvised takes on 'The Fade'.

Jack's parts didn't make the final version of either song. Instead, they inspired new songs, mainly because I liked them so much that I didn't want them to get lost in the clutter of all the other crap I toss into a mix. So the guitars from 'I Promised Her A Tower' became the guitars for 'In The City, In The Rain' (which is a cover of a song by The 6ths, and whose title is also a lyric at the end of 'Tower' - this all makes sense, right?). And the guitars from 'The Fade' turned into the guitars for the 'The Fade (Out)', which became the 5th song for the EP, and the closing number that it had previously lacked.

In October of 2019, I came back to Memphis, with the goal being to spend an afternoon recording once again with Jack and Neely, adding more guitar and vocals to the other songs on the EP. But things ended up being cancelled due to illness. It was a bummer, but not a huge blow - I knew I could just come back in a couple months.

You know where this is heading. But we're not there just yet.

In November of 2019, I went to work in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands for 4 months. On my way there, I realized that my creative tank was pretty much empty. I had The Fade - about 60% complete at the time - and not much else. That would have been a good catalyst for wrapping up that other 40% while in the Caribbean.

Instead, I set things aside - it couldn't fully get to 100% without Jack and Neely's parts anyways - and focused on writing completely new songs from scratch, one every day. This spawned the Encanto album, the Encantoo EP, and the Three Saints EP. The Fade itself started to fade from view.

But that was okay, I thought. It was nearing March of 2020 at this point. I decided that - upon returning to the mainland - I would get in touch with Jack and Neely, and plan the next trip to Memphis.

I returned Stateside on March 10. Tom Hanks announced he got COVID the next day. I've yet to make it back to Memphis.

For better or worse, my creative tank was overflowing as the world fell apart. I spent the first months of the pandemic on the 15th Street project, then just kept on writing and recording, releasing 7 different EP's since 2021 (plus 2 albums by my JUBANO! side-project). The Fade was on my mind for a lot of this time, taking up space on my ever-expanding to-do list, but kept being pushed aside for other projects.

But here it is, finally. And there's two main reasons for that.

I accepted the fact that Jack and Neely's only contributions would be those 2 songs we worked on in March of 2019. It'd be a solo thing for the rest of the songs, which also meant I no longer had any justification for putting things off.

My creative tank was (and is) once-again empty. After I Want To Write A Song About That came out in July, I didn't really have much else to focus on. There were only 5 songs left on the to-do list. So I hope you like this one, because it might be a while til the next one.

This was supposed to be my first Sacramento album, the first release entirely inspired by events that took place after I moved to the City Of Trees (even though the first song is set in San Francisco and the third in Scottsdale). Because of all the delays, that distinction ended up going to the hazy, torpid Mostly. This release slipped so far down my list of priorities that I essentially re-wrote the title track for a different release ('What Everyone Wants' from the Sparks EP), and reused one of the lyrics (describing sex as 'an easy kindness') on another one. Both were done because I wasn't completely sure if and when this release would ever come out.

In other words, the things that inspired these songs - a rainy walk around San Francisco, an existential crisis as a partner slept peacefully next to me, a hug in Arizona that couldn't have felt more final, and a lovely night of bar-hopping in my neighborhood - are so far removed from my current life that I sometimes feel like someone else is singing them, describing someone else's life. And maybe that's why I love these songs so much. In this current age, I can write and record a song, then release it within a couple weeks, then never pay attention to it ever again. But I've been singing along (and blissing out to the concluding instrumental) to these songs for over 4 years now. I sing the chorus to 'Topgolf Bullshit' in my car as if I'm singing along to 'Old Town Road' or 'Bad Guy' or anything else that came out in 2019 (I tried to use popular examples there - both are good songs but, in reality, my 2019 singalongs would be tunes by tindersticks, The Divine Comedy, and Lambchop that came out that year).

All I'm trying to say is I think these songs are pretty good. If you give them a chance, a couple might be even better than that (seriously, 'Topgolf Bullshit' is catchy as fuck). In a perfect world, you would have heard them 4 years ago. But, whatever, you can hear them now, finally, and that's all that matters.

Enjoy.

[mllemouse]

2022 holiday card

hi friends.

I've been feeling like i can approach tumblr from a healthier perspective lately, so

i thought I'd write you my version of like those family newsletters you get in holiday cards to keep everyone in the loop.

Uh, TW for like terrible mental health issues and sexual assault.

I last posted in October 2021, so to cover that bit as well...

that month i set my hair on fire over my stove and had to cut it up to my chest to get rid of all the singed bits. I was sad that my long long hair was gone, so I had my coworker shave me a raddddd undercut

In November 2021 i started seeing a few therapists after spending almost the entire year trying to get started with one and increasingly relying on friends and crisis lines to keep myself here. I settled on one therapist i really liked and still see him weekly.

In December, my coworker began sexually harassing me. It's still an issue and I no longer work with him one on one. Its brought up a lot of past trauma. My mum came to pick me up and bring me home for Christmas, but instead got COVID and had to quarantine in my studio apartment with me for three weeks. I didn't get COVID, but between that and the coworker stuff, i felt pretty traumatized by January. Thank God i got the therapist thing covered in november.

In January one of my coworkers quit, leading to a mass exodus over the course of the year. I'm so proud of my coworkers for pursuing new positions and getting out of this poorly run organization. My visa renewal application also began in January and was approved a few weeks ago, meaning i can stay in the country until 2025! And my employer has agreed to sponsor my green card app, after which I too am outta this place. I've learned a lot about distancing myself from work when the situation is so far from ideal. I also opened up to my closest coworkers about being queer, my history with sexual assault, and what had happened with our coworker in December (which continued into January), and we came up with a safety plan, plus i felt a lot closer to them.

in March i was still really struggling and my therapist recommended medication. I got a wonderful psychiatrist who gently introduced me to the appropriate drugs, not so gently introduced me to the pathological understanding of my mental illnesses. The first week I was on meds my best friend from undergrad came to visit for a week and we saw Tame Impala, which was incredible. Plus did a whole bunch of other fun stuff. I hadn't seen her since like... 2018? Despite the side effects of meds, being upset over my clinical evaluation, and overwhelmed at getting back into like going out in public and doing things, being able to wake up without immediately feeling suicidal was a huge relief.

April I went to Philadelphia TWICE in two weeks. Once to cheer J on in a half marathon and then with my coworker to a conference and sightseeing. I had really wonderful visits and can't believe I had never visited before then!!!

In May, my best friend from grad school and I rode the five boro bike tour. I made a goal at the beginning of the year to ride across the Tappan Zee Bridge and back, which is over 100km (aka a century ride) from my house. This was supposed to be one of my big rides to gear up for the century. This ride was not as fun as 2021, there were so many people and dangerous casual riders on the route, then we spent four and a half hours trying to get home cause the ferries we're overwhelmed. I had fun with my friend but I'm not so sure about next year.

In June i visited J's beach house after a gruelling exhibition schedule through May and June. i had a lovely time until i had a meltdown on the third day. I went to the beach in a binder for the first time and decided to just wear my board shorts instead of taking them off to swim, which was nice. J and our other friend began using they/them pronouns and my nicknames L and LG when they were talking with me in person, and it was super heartwarming and exciting to experience. It made me feel very special.

In July, i had my first appointment for HRT. They prescribed me testosterone right away, but it took around a month to get a response from my insurance, which denied the claim. I was crazy busy at work from August to the end of September and things really fell apart for me. I hired C as my freelancer to help on the exhibition be sure now there was so more staff left, which went really well. However, i stopped taking my meds and all of my good habits fell to the wayside.

In August i went back to Canada to photograph my uncle's wedding WITH COVID. My mum insisted that i travel even though I was sick and then didn't let me stay home for the wedding, because they had asked me to photograph it. It was really uncomfortable, but they were happy i got their wedding photos. Although, i still have not found time to edit and send them. Ugh.

In September i completed a 75 mile (100+ km) ride, meeting my goal of doing a century, but it wasn't to the bridge! i did it alone and it made me super depressed during and after the ride. I'm still evaluating what i want my relationship with cycling to be now, cause long rides by myself aren't really conducive to good feelings for me rn.

when the show at work opened in October, i went to J's parents' house for a Canadian thanksgiving/harvest feast weekend, met their dog, sister, and parents, and had ANOTHER meltdown. They told me they were dating someone--and it was incredibly upsetting, but i didn't know how to bring up my feelings about this. After my month off meds, i was a mess again. After this weekend though, i opened up to many more people because I felt like I needed to extend my support network.

I came out as trans to all my friends and close coworkers (mostly now former coworkers) in the city, let them know I use gender neutral pronouns, that I enjoy my nicknames, and that I was beginning HRT. I went to the pharmacy and got my prescription filled even though I had to pay out of pocket. I started testosterone on October 14th!! I cannot overstate how incredibly important this was to me. It felt like the most meaningful thing I've done for myself in my life. Coming out to people who i knew were safe helped me feel closer to them, and almost everyone was amazingly supportive about hrt.

In October i ALSO officiated my best friends' wedding. It was incredible, and really one of the best days of my life. Everyone in attendance was lovely. My speech and their vows went swimmingly. Everyone had so much fun and enjoyed ourselves into the early hours of the morning. My friends have the most wonderful community of people around them and I'm so glad I'm a part of their lives.

In November I got a new psychiatrist after my old one left the practice. She's ok, and urged me to get a primary care doc to begin keeping track of my blood work, so I'm building momentum for care in the new year. I scheduled an appt with a PCP at a queer-focused clinic in January. after a real scheduling snafu i got a follow up appointment for HRT in mid-December. I ended up missing two weeks of T because of this, which triggered a massive horrible period the day after my birthday. I missed two days of birthday celebrations, but the night out i did have with friends was pretty fun. Idk, i have mixed feelings about it.

things came to a head with J a couple weeks ago where they asked if I had romantic feelings for them, and when i affirmed that, they rejected me before i could say i didn't want to discuss it cause I couldn't handle the rejection in a healthy way. We haven't spoken since and I've been in a pretty bad place despite sticking to meds. However, I've been working through this stuff with my therapist since the incident in October and idk... learning about how fucked up i am is tough. I'm really sad about it all and still figuring out how to move forward.

I also tried to go to Canada for Christmas and couldn't because of the blizzard in buffalo, so I spent the holidays in my house again. at least my mum wasn't here this time.

I've been a little suicidal over the last couple of weeks even though I'm on meds, and only skipped a day recently. I skipped a few days right after the stuff with J happened and ended up going into withdrawal pretty bad, so I learned that lesson. So idk. I'm still trying to muddle through.

To end on a positive note, this morning i noticed that the hair around my belly button, the kind that like makes you the line down the centre of your torso, is getting darker. I feel a little bit scared but also excited. I love a lil bit of tummy fuzz and find it endearing that i can have some for myself. I've also gotten a bit more muscular just from the furniture lifting I do at work, and a few weeks ago I did planks for the first time without any shoulder pain since I injured it in 2012. I've picked a gym in my neighborhood to sign up for when i can get motivated to leave the house and return to strength training. One of the best things about being on T so far has been that it has virtually erased my chronic low body temp and reynauds symptoms, and is supposed to help alleviate my anemia, easy bruising, and PMS/PMDD (which have all been weakened but not yet eliminated). Like all this shit I've been told just sucks and I have to deal with is just disappearing. So eventually i can just be like, a person without symptoms of these conditions?!

Also, Fred and George are sliving. I found shelves on the street for them to climb way up high, and I started feeding the birds and squirrels from the windowsill. They love bouncing around the room and watching the backyard happenings.

I'm not sure I'm hopeful about the future yet cause things are still really hard, but I'm at least learning how to begin living on my own terms.

Fred

George

[usedpidemo]

Update - one year anniversary (+ some reflection and future?)

Hello, everyone. π here.

It has been a full year since I've opened this blog and released my first fic. I can't believe it's already been a year; how time flies! Plenty of highs and lows in between, but at least I haven't quit—at least for now.

Like a bunch of sports analysts, let's go through some completely pedantic and arbitrary stats and milestones.

First work: Sandwich - Red Velvet Wendy (published 05/13/21, 4:03 a.m.)

Highest note count: Shot in the night - Blackpink Rosé (published 01/03/22, 471 notes)

Number of works published: 65 fics (1 fic every 5.6 days)

Average note count: 239.8 notes (15,587 accumulated notes)

500 followers: June 18, 2021 (36 days or 1 month, 5 days)

1,000 followers: October 12, 2021 (152 days or 4 months, 30 days)

1,500 followers: March 2, 2022 (294 days or 9 months, 22 days)

Follower count: 1,725 followers (4.7 followers a day)

None of this would be possible without you, the reader. Thank you so much for the continued support, whether it's a reblog, like, or the occasional comment. Here's to another year 🧡

From this point on, I'll dive into a bit of a tangent about things I don't really discuss outside of important context, so this is your last warning if you don't want to pay attention to it. Also, I kinda need a reason to vent some frustration out, so enjoy.

Quality/Quantity

If you've noticed, I've published 65 works over the past year. That's one new fic every 5.6 days. Sure, it was the pandemic and all so I had plenty of free time and there were a bunch of quickies in between, but it's certainly no excuse for some of them to be absolute fucking duds. I find reading most of my earlier works extremely difficult, if not completely impossible, to reread. Whether it's grammar issues, typos, or simply a rushed concept, I look at most of my work from the beginning with utter contempt. Much like how David Fincher and David Lynch hate Alien 3 and Dune, respectively. Part of me wants to remove them just because I don't want to give you the misery of watching a newbie π figure things out like a child, but I'm sure someone already has my work archived and saved. Or not. For historical purposes, I have no intention to delete them off my site, so you can see the growth with each passing work. There's still plenty to learn and much to hone, but I'm certainly nowhere close to the ideal version of myself as a writer.

Confidence/Competitive issues

At the end of March 2022, I announced that I'd be taking a short break for mental health reasons. Truth is, it was more of a personal problem in regards as to how I perceive my work and compare it with others. This has always been an issue rooted even in my childhood days: I was ultra competitive as fuck. If I wasn't the best or one of the best, then why the fuck would I bother? Of course, I've mellowed down since, but you always want to stand out and have something distinct about you when you're under the microscope of others, and writing was no exception. The more I wrote and the more I read, I grew more desperate to evolve and adapt. I became obsessed. I was disappointed when something wasn't hitting my personal expectation or threshold, or when someone wrote an idol that was subjectively better than mine. I'll briefly clarify that I bear no personal grudges toward anyone, you're just doing you and I'm doing mine. Anyway, as the months rolled by, while I knew I was improving with gentle hops and skips, I saw that everyone else were making leaps and bounds with their abilities. I wasn't gonna catch up and I felt defeated. This ultimately lead to me becoming unnecessarily frustrated and depressed. Something I had fun with at the start turned into a poisonous relationship and soured my mind. I tried to play it off as a mood swing, but it was growing to the point where I no longer could simply hide it. So into hiatus it was, and I stepped away briefly in the hopes that I can rediscover myself all over again.

Cynicism

If you've been interacting with me on Discord, you'll notice the gradual change in how I look at myself and other things. The most obvious thing to point out is how often I joke about how shitty or terrible I am, to the point that I've been called out a few times about it. How am I supposed to be idealistic? You have to realize not everyone will share the same attitude regarding life as you. Of course, I'm not one to cause conflicts, so I've deflected my thoughts into a private echo chamber that only the few people I can trust can hear, but nevertheless, please understand that everyone has different ways to express frustration. The last year has been incredibly fucking tough for everyone and I was no exception. Loss of a loved one, stuck at home for months on end, crippling loneliness, and so much more. I turned to writing as a way to escape and vent, perhaps spark my childhood imagination to life again, and for the first time in a while, I felt validated and accepted. So I continued, hoping that perhaps I can reach the peak of greatness that those before me stand, but I still have a long way to go. But instead of figuring things out, I beat myself and became a defeatist, unintentionally affecting the people around me in a negative way.

Future

I'm pretty much on borrowed time. I've started college. Next semester, I'm going back to class, touching grass and actually making friends outside of a virtual space. I'm still awkward as fuck. Additionally, my interests tend to burn out like a dying star. Writing is no exception. I might grow sick and tired of this hobby and just ditch it, much like movies and modern Western pop music. But I'm not gonna let myself go out in a whimper. As much as I have a long term plan, plans tend to go awry in a moment. With that said, I hope that with whatever time I have left before it's consumed by studies as a top priority is spent well. Delete this will be completed. I have already constructed the full arc including the ending for the series, so please look forward to it. It's a series very dear to me; not only did it launch my blog high up to the stars, but also it's a piece of legacy that I can leave behind should I be called away prematurely. Other stuff I have in mind are more non-smut fics. I've always enjoyed storytelling through my love of film, so perhaps I can expend my repertoire to more diverse story content. And of course, become a better writer. My therapist gave me one really interesting piece of advice, "You're only as good as your latest work." I apologize if my body of work or style is not up to par with some of the others, but I am trying my best.

Ending

I don't really have anything cool to say to finish up this tangent, but I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone—especially the cool people I've met through Discord. You've been a huge godsend during these difficult times, and though I'm not vocal about it, please understand that I appreciate you. For providing encouragement, giving your ears whenever I vent, or answering my stupid or silly questions, I sincerely thank you. If I could repay you in kind, I would. Regardless of how you feel or think about me, let's continue to live together peacefully.

And of course, this is nothing without you, the reader, for checking out even a single word I've composed. Much love.

Grace be with you all,

Peter / π

[drunkkenobi]

BuzzFeed Unsolved Views - The Finale

Hey there nerds, it's me, ya spreadsheet gremlin.

I first started paying attention to YouTube views back in March 2019. I got curious what the most popular BFU videos were by viewcounts and I recorded all of them one day while I was bored at work. Then a week or two later, I checked them again as a new season of True Crime started. And well, the rest is history.

I wasn't as consistent with BFU recording as I am with Watcher, although I did take them every week after a new episode premiered. Now that the finale has aired, I don't have plans to record these again, at least not for a long time. So, without further ado, here are some final thoughts on BFU's viewcounts. (full spreadsheet here)

First off, it is wild to see how much some of these videos have gained in the past two and a half years, especially videos that aren't new. Like 3 Cases went from 16 million in March 2019 to 32.5 this week! Literally doubled!

Okay, here are the top 10 most viewed BFU Supernatural episodes:

3 Cases of Ghost and Demons 32.5 million

Illuminati 25.8 million (Shane's first episode)

Exorcism of Anneliese Michel 25.4 million

Haunting of Hannah Williams 22.5 million

Goatman's Bridge 20.8 million

Men in Black 19.1 million (highest SPN Bront ep)

Waverly Hills 17.8 million

Queen Mary 17.1 million

Toxic Death of Gloria Ramirez 16.1 million

Demonic Bellaire House 15 million

And now the top 10 most viewed BFU True Crime episodes

Elisa Lam 27.6 million (highest Bront)

JFK 20.7 million

DB Cooper 19.6 million

Axeman 18.5 million

Room 1046 17.8 million

Jon Benet Ramsey 17.6 million

Jack the Ripper 17.1 million

OJ Simpson 16.9 million

Jamison Family 16 million

Tupac 15.9 million

Early season episodes dominate both lists (only 5 are newer than season 2 across both lists). Some because they're classics, some because they cover high profile cases, some because they've just been out longer! One thing I've noticed across all my viewcount recording is that once a video does well, the more likely it is to continue to do well. I guess that's how the algorithm works! if it works at all. (I still have my questions)

Now some averages!

I added up all the views I recorded yesterday (November 23 2021) and the total amount was a whooping 1.317 billion views. With a B! That makes me kind of emotional! Ryan Bergara! Your baby has a billion views!

Supernatural episodes had a total of 645.5 million views over 55 episodes, which averages out to ~11.74 million views per episode. Considering 6 of these episodes just came out, I imagine that average will rise in a few months

True Crime episodes had 671.6 million views over 66 episodes, which averages out to ~10.18 million views per episode.

When I first started this, one thing I was curious about was which version of the show was more popular. Over the past two years, SPN has become the clear winner on that front, although it used to be much closer.

The total average of all episodes is ~10.89 million.

And some other numbers:

The boys can't count, Thelma Todd was their 100th episode, not the Somerton Man Revisited.

There are 121 episodes in total. 112 with Shane.

Shane's 100th episode was the Hammersmith Ghost.

The clearest thing to me about this whole exercise is how popular BFU continues to be, even if it's not the high days of BuzzFeed anymore. It's only gained views and viewers since 2019, and this only considers YouTube. Unsolved is also on Hulu and Prime, who knows how many people the show has reached solely on those platforms.

I tend to think of this fandom as on the smaller side, because it is compared to many other things on Tumblr and the like, but that doesn't mean its impact has been. Millions of people have watched these two goofballs wrestle with ghosts, murders, aliens, demons, heists, lost treasure, conspiracy theories, Mothman, and each other. But the one thing that has never been an unsolved mystery is their success. Comedy pairings cannot be forced, the chemistry has to be there naturally, a bizarre unseen link between two people that have no business having it. All thanks to a clear Google calendar in 2016, we have been able to enjoy 112 episodes of Ryan and Shane and their weirdo bond, growing from friendly antagonists, a hardcore believer and skeptic, to business partners who see in more shades of grey now, thanks to each other. It's been one hell of a ride, boys. I can't wait for what's next.

[mary-is-writing]

(The banner is by @ecwrenn)

Hi there!! I read about this activity proposed by @ecwrenn and I thought about giving it a try. A Year of Writing is basically a newsletter to sumarize the writing you did throughout 2021, as a way of closing the year.

I don't have the greatest memory so it took me a little bit more than I thought to remember all I did this year, so I got my summary done by quarters.

It's under the cut, but before that I wanna say that I'm super glad I got into writeblr because I've met a lot of cool people who bright my day just by seeing them in my dash (I'm sorry I don't talk a lot on discord tho Dx). Even if my following is small I'm happy each one of you is here, and to know there's people who like and show interest in my writing has been a boost to my confidence.

Anyways, thanks!! It's been a good year. Now for real, here's my year of writing:

~ January - April ~

It was on February this year when I decided to change my blog to go into writeblr and I did the post that's pinned on my page.

Around that time I was writing the third act of The Monsters Only We See, as well as the outline for Where Camellias Blossom. After the many troubles a single plot hole on TMOWS story gave me, I finally reached the point where I could finish the second act and go fully onto the third. It was very exciting because I felt I was getting closer and closer to the end of the 1st draft after having to take a big detour to fix the plot hole.

Seeing that I was near the end of writing, I thought it was time to start prepping for another wip and I picked WCB. I had already wrote around 45 pages, but decided I wanted to take a step back and do the outline. And... Well I already new that the story in my head was long and I wasn't gonna be able to fit everything in one book, but the more I wrote the more I realized this needed to be a trilogy. After fixing stuff here and there post-writing, I managed to structure the whole plot on 3 books.

Then I got excited and also plotted a spin off. So the whole series has 4 books now I guess. Oh well.

On March I pushed myself and wrote 80 pages on 10 days or so for a contest and I was very proud of myself. I didn't won and, looking back, I get why: the stories there weren't that good. Still, I was happy to get them out of my brain and into words, and it was a good writing exercise. I'll never repeat what I did to make it to the deadline tho, that left me exhausted mentally and creatively.

It was during this time where I also did a bunch of posts about TMOWS and WCB, a new post a week for like 2-3 months. I thought about keep doing it but my writing speed is simplu not enough for it, and having to do weekly posts kinda stressed me out. So, even tjos I wanna keep doing posts like those, I think I'll avoid the weekly release format for now.

Ah, and on February, my comic celebrated its first anniversary!!! owo)/

~ May - August ~

Okay so one of the most important things of this year happened between this months because I finished the first draft for TMOWS!! I was so, so happy when I did, and ever since then I've been working on editing it. After the 2nd draft was done, I gave it to my first betaa readers and 2-3 said good things about it and also gave me insight of elements to change for the 3rd one.

Not a lot else happened here, I was mostly working on this wip and progressing on my comic, but also enjoying summer vacation and watching the Tokyo Olympics. I probably got a few new wip ideas but I'm too lazy to check them out and see which ones xd

~ September - December ~

So now, finishing the year I managed to do a 3rd draft for TMOWS. However, I think it's better to consider it a 2.1 version of the 2nd one, since the changes were minimal. I also submitted it for a contest and I'm expecting news about it for next year :D

But obviously, the most inportant here was Nanowrimo 2021!! Tho I didn't finish it I managed to reach almost 20K on WCB, so I'm calling that a win. I also realized a few errors on my outline that need to be fixed, so I'd been working on them as I write and thinking about how I'm gonna pace the first book, considering that many things and characters need to be introduced here and I want to make it as smooth as possible, without info dumps. It's gonna be tricky but, hopefully, I can do it.

(Maybe I can do a little bit of info dump and get away with it, who knows, we'll see.)

And I did the 100th page of my comic a few days ago, too! I believe it's already scheduled on Tapas for next year to be published.

~ Next year plans ~

A friend encouraged me to translate my works myself and tho I still feel intimidated by the task, I think I'll do it. So based on this, I want to open a BetaBooks account next year to get feedback on the translations I do, but also on the book in general (this won't happen if I get to win the contest tho)

I definitely want to find a way to publish TMOWS at some point next year, wether it is traditional route (via the contest) or indie route.

Maybe do something with Patreon, too? I saw somebody on Tumblr talking about using it as a platform to release book chapters and at the end give the e-book, but Idk if it'll work for me. And since my book releases aren't exactly gonna be regular, asking for a monthly payment seems like too much. We'll see, but I do wanna give it another look to see how I'll use it.

Of course, I'm gonna keep writing WCB and, hopefully, can also get a good progress on That One Wip I have in the back waiting for me. But next year's Nano is gonna be WCB again for sure, and it'll keep being that until I finish the trilogy I guess.

Thank you for a great year, and see you in the next one with more writing and more wips!!!

[ct-hardcase]

ID: A 3 by 4 tiled square, with each tile containing an artwork I've created in the year 2021. Each artwork is labelled with the month it was made in.

I've decided even if tumblr is shadowbanning all new posts from their tags that I'm just going to post it and re-reblog a few times anyway.

My commentary, for anyone interested:

January: I straight-up spent most of a month working on this drawing alone. I'm still pretty proud of the general vibes and how it came out in the end, but I learned that I should really, really work on composition. A lot of working with this one was figuring out how the figures would balance with each other, the fire, and the trees. It still turned out well, but I could've spent a lot less time working on it if it weren't for that. February: I also drew some rwby that month (it seems so long since we've gotten any new RWBY episodes which isn't a knock on the crew, but a knock on the passage of time), but I decided to drop my picture of Voe here. I feel like I need to use Luke's Jedi Temple Grounds as a background at least once a year, and also, Voe! Fun fact: the twitter crop cut off right at where the water begins in the slightly uncensored version, hence the hastily-added bandeau to make it clear that it wasn't a blatantly nsfw art. March: I was feeling stagnant about my art (when am I not, recently?) so I did a screenshot redraw again, and though it was loose and sketchy, I really enjoyed the vibes of this one—I think it was the catalyst that pushed me into finally buying a new paint program that was a bit beefier than medibang paint. The reception on this one was also fantastic compared to the usual Eighth Brother art, so I think people just like screenshot redraws haha. April: Pyreny!!!! I've been shipping this pretty much since Pyre and Tierny glanced in each other's directions on Star Wars: Resistance, so I decided to finally put a piece of finished art to it. I really love how this one came out, and it might even be my favorite of the year. Once again, composition is key, and I was worried I had too much negative space in the bg, but the window took care of that. Also, this is one of the first times I've done a full interior background and I really love how it turned out. Also, Sumalee Montano thought it was cool, which is a pretty big plus and ego boost.  May: Is it really a year if I don't do something for a long-dead fandom? Anyway, it was nice to take a crack at John and Christopher again and some good old fashioned repressed gay romance. June: This was a fun art month for me—work was less busy and I had inspiration in spades since I'd just gotten a new paint program. There are a few solid contenders from this month, but the vibes of this one could not be beat. Also, it's nice to draw something for inquisitors who get less attention. Also, I'd forgotten how proportions worked for this and the next month? References were my lifeline. July: This one's simple (save the anatomy and perspective practice) but I like it and it looks like other people liked it too.  August: I threw this together for Remembering Resistance week in about a day since I had no inspiration up until that point. The proportions are sort of wack, but it turned out cute and okay all things considered. I have to throw this one in as an honorable mention, but I really did not want three inquisitor ones in a row, so.  September: Sometimes you just want to draw your ship kissing but not spend an entire month on it. Also, I remember about once a year that I enjoy two-toned art so this was fun. Once again, the effort piece of the month was an inquisitor but five in a row would've been ridiculous, so pyreny it is.  October: This is where the year got busy, and time (and inspiration) to draw was a precious thing. I really enjoy this one though, so I'm glad that I got to draw one good thing that month. This was the year of referencing poses, and I think that this one produced a quality product. Also, fun fact. I've drawn Eighth many times, but his armor is still a pain in the ass every time you try to draw it from a new position. November: This month was rough, buddy, but at least I drew Luke's Jedi. December: Also a rough month. Low on art inspiration, and though I've done a few sketches, no finished product. This one that I've posted is the closest I've gotten, and it's a bit of a self-indulgent sketch, so no post here.  Ultimately,

the end goal for 2022 is to dedicate more time for/have more time to do art. Have more inspiration. If my motivation isn't to draw fanart, to draw original stuff. To branch out. To work on my linework. To draw more ocs. To draw more star wars. To draw more stuff that's not star wars. I just want to draw.

[specialability]

personal/writing update

tl;dr, brain meds might be influencing my ability to be creative and write, good news is I might be going off the ones i'm currently on rn cause they don't work so uhhh might start writing again soonish? who knows

the tmi version:

So up until age ~19 I wrote fanfic or roleplaying pretty much every day. Then I sort of gradually stopped and didn't write anything again until last summer when I got sick. I was spending so much time drugged up on anti-nausea pills and laying around I decided to watch some BL tv shows that had been recommended to me via FujoCon... that was The Untamed. Then I found out it was based on a book so I read MDZS, then I looked up other danmei tv shows and watched Word of Honour and started reading TYK and really started writing every day again.

It was like going from black and white to colour, something made my imagination turn on again after so many years and I was having a lot of fun. I didn't really know why though and I talked to my therapist about how worried I was that it would just go away again, since I don't know what caused it in the first place. I had short periods of writer's block / depression but mostly it was good. Up until about April. That's when I started feeling like I just lost the ability to come up with ideas again. It's like a switch was flipped in my brain or something.

Well, the only thing that lines up with those periods of creativity/brainlessness is... depression medication. I'm like the textbook "treatment-resistent depression", I've taken every SSRI/SNRI in the book over the past 10+ years, and last year we kind of ran out of options so my doctor and I took a break on trying things until I could fix my physical health problems (gallstones, as it turns out) and my housing issues (needed to get a new roommate to split rent). I was only taking a few lighter/weirder possible brain meds from June 2021. Then in March I started taking a tricyclic antidepressant and that basically coincided with my current writer's block... and I ran out of pills on Thursday and the pharmacy couldn't get any in blah blah blah basically I started feeling more creative again even just not taking my pills for a few days. Now I can't just go off the pills randomly it's not safe (serotonin withdrawal syndrome is Bad, kids) but since it's not doing anything for my depression I will probably taper off them again over the next few weeks.

Long story short, I might get The Magic back soon, hopefully.

I don't want to discourage anyone who is on or trying various brain meds because certainly there's no point in being creative but also being so depressed you can't work or live your life or finish projects etc. But I've tried literally almost every med in the books and none of them work, so there's no point in taking something that doesn't work *and* has all kinds of side-effects, one of which is not being able to do something I really enjoy.

Incidentally, one of the well-known side effects of anti-depressants is lowering your libido / erectile dysfunction / inability to orgasm. And that's been pretty consistent for me too - when I was a teen I was Horny and when I'm on meds I'm basically asexual, don't think about sex at all and don't masturbate. So I'm not saying my writing ability is all about being able to fap but uhhhhh it's correlation not causation lol

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, April 6, 2021

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles, podcasts, videos and infographics I came across since the early March report, although some may be older than that.

I am hoping to launch a new ecommerce resource page on my website in May, although that is looking a bit ambitious with everything else I have on the go. (I've released the latest version of my Etsy search ebook, and am working on updating the keyword research ebook this week as well as still drafting a few new blog posts on Etsy search.)

If you have any questions, please drop me a line here on Tumblr, reply to this post, email me, or contact me on Twitter.

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

Etsy Ads have been turning themselves on without sellers taking any action. There are threads here, here, here, and here. There is a video here with more people reporting the issue in the comments. A few cases seem to be related to using vacation mode, and at least one person reports a much higher budget than they would have chosen. So go check to make sure they ae still off (unless you want them running).

eBay, Etsy and some other marketplaces have formed a coalition to lobby against proposed laws they say could harm small sellers and microbusinesses. The Coalition to Protect American’s Small Sellers (PASS Coalition) is currently fighting the INFORM Consumers Act, which “would require online marketplaces to disclose third-party seller information to consumers, including name, address, email and telephone, or face civil penalties.” An Etsy rep said that this would be problematic because it would affect the privacy of sellers, and could potentially move communications off-site meaning Etsy would have less “ability to ensure seller integrity and consumer protections.”

PayPal is now allowing Americans to pay using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin; this is rolling out over the next few months.

ETSY NEWS

Remember when Etsy Ads got way more expensive and stopped working for some people? Here’s the technical explanation of what they changed. [It is very technical in some parts, so most people will struggle with a lot of it] Note they explain that the Etsy Ads algorithm “ranks listings based on their bid price, multiplied by their predicted click-through rate”, and that they added contextual factors such as the time, the day of the week, and the buyer’s platform to tailor the bidding, and the expected order value is supposed to be part of the final bid calculation. They also mention that the current system is using the “30-day listing purchase rate” as a factor. The results of testing: “[t]he buyers saw more relevant results from ads (+6.19% CTR), the buyers made more purchases from ads (+3.08% PCCVR) and the sellers received more sales for every dollar they spent on Etsy Ads (+7.02% ROAS).” It’s clear that Etsy Ads are designed for the really big spenders, not small shops.

April’s attribute updates include candles and desks.

In their latest sustainability initiative, Etsy will now offset carbon emissions from packaging.

Etsy’s “disaster relief fund” has launched, but it is only available to US sellers, which is something not stated until you click to the application form. The FAQs actually state it is available to “all sellers”. Because everyone on Etsy is American, right?

Etsy donated $500,000 to two groups working against Asian hate. Ironically, they also got called out for having an algorithm that was surfacing “erotic” photos of Asian women as recommendations on listings that were completely unrelated items with only “Asian” as a common keyword. The issue was also noted in searches for “Asian photo”. Etsy’s response was to remove 3 listings and to promise to “continue to work on improving our algorithm to avoid surfacing recommendations where not relevant or appropriate.”

The Spring and Summer Trend Report is out, with the usual detail on trending items and keywords used. Some of the search trends:

“143% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for checkered prints”

Things like mushrooms, and “waves and squiggles” are hot

Outdoors, plants and gardening, staycations & decor related to travel are all expected to continue to be popular

“286% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for vintage colored glassware”

“42% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for pendant necklaces”

“86% YoY increase in searches on Etsy for clothing patterns”

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

If you are fairly new to SEO for search engines such as Google, you may find that it seems way too complex, and you might worry that you are missing something. Here is a great basic checklist for websites. Most of these items will not apply on marketplaces such as Etsy; e.g., Etsy rewrites the file name, and doesn’t allow you to create an URL separate from the listing title, or a meta description different from the listing description.

One of the most common questions I get is “how do I get backlinks”? Fortunately, Moz just came out with the Beginner's Guide to Link Building.

You know that links are very important for Google ranking, but do you know how Google decides that? Read this, and you will. [text with lots of graphics]

If you really want to know everything about SEO, Search Engine Journal compiled a fabulous list of resources. Some get very technical, so this list is definitely not for everyone.

A new study says that ⅔ of Google searches do not result in a click; people are getting the information they seek from various Google features on the search page. The study does not separate out simple searches such as the temperature outside, or a spelling check, in which users wouldn’t benefit from clicking. But while the click rate is dropping, users are still growing, so the total number of clicks continues to increase. Here’s a bit of commentary on the study.

Although Google says it likely won’t change ranking much, here’s a good overview of the upcoming Core Web Vitals algorithm update.

Good news! Bots don’t hurt your Google ranking.

SEO for videos on Google, appropriately in the form of a video. [links and highlights in the video’s description]

Former Google employees are involved in Neema, a subscription-based search engine which will protect users’ privacy. The site is currently in beta and there is a waitlist.

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails)

Trends in the best headline/caption/title for sharing have changed. BuzzSumo’s review of 100 million posts shows that emotional phrases are no longer as big as they were in 2017, and the most shared headlines are now shorter: only 11 words/65 characters. There is a lot of analysis of Twitter and Facebook as well as general info here.

Ideal image size is different on every social media platform; this infographic gives you all the sizes for the major sites.

Reminder: don’t buy Instagram followers. A lot of the services sell bots and inactive accounts, which means you won’t get any engagement. The article ends with a few tips on how to get authentic followers that will actually help you.

Coming to Instagram: the ability to save drafts of Stories.

Reddit has opened a Canadian office, a logical decision since Canuck Redditors are the third-largest country base, and are increasing by 40% a year.

Which app was downloaded the most in the first quarter of 2021? You will be unsurprised to hear it is TikTok.

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

You can’t know how successful your ads are, or how they could be improved, if you aren’t paying attention to several different metrics. Here is what to watch on Facebook.

Here is an overview of what we know about how Google is doing away with advertisers’ third party cookies; the new set up is called Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC).

Ad design can be tricky; here are 11 tips for creating Facebook ads that will work.

TikTok is forcing users to see ads related to their TikTok history; as of April 15, you will not be able to opt out of ad personalization. You can still refuse to let them use your activity on other sites, though.

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

Here’s an overview of how the new version of Google Analytics works.

Facebook Analytics will be retired June 30, 2021, and some people do not feel there are adequate alternatives.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Poshmark now has listing videos. Any videos added also show up on a seller’s Posh Stories. eBay is also rolling out videos on listing pages and storefronts.

Walmart’s Marketplace now allows sellers from outside the United States; the first new group is from China.

Hudson’s Bay Company is the latest to invite third-party merchants to sell on its site, the Hudson’s Bay Marketplace. There isn’t much there yet, though.

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

Half of Americans hate seeing the same ads all of the time. 40% were interested in learning about deals through ads, while almost as many want ads that are “entertaining”.

Make sure you are using the correct words to get buyers to convert. This infographic lists some of the most useful psychological trigger words, depending on your goals.

Increasing the average order value is a smart way to increase your income without adding more new customers. Here are 4 pricing strategies to get you there.

Ecommerce spending is projected to continue increasing, and installment plans have been popular early in 2021.

How fast a website loads is directly related to sales and conversions. “If a page’s load time slowed from one second to three seconds, the chances of a bounce increased by almost a third (32%). And going from one to five seconds increased bounce rate by a whopping 90%!”

[resinatingbeauty]

To my dearest supporters on tumblr. - Update For March

New Listings

Update On Delays / Runes

Plans for the Future

You have helped me achieve my dream. As of Saturday, I have requested temporary leave from my standard job to focus more on my passion. This may become permanent if I find that I can sustain myself running my little witch shop alone. I went from working two jobs to just one that I LOVE. If that's not magic then I don't know what it is! My leave starts March 27th 2021, so if you're still waiting on an order you can count on production speed picking up!

These beautiful 'Witch Runes' are the newest rune design to be added to the shop. I was super excited to get this mold and do something different than the standard Elder Fulthark set. This 14 piece (including blank tile) set features common esoteric symbols and is a bit easier to start with for beginners, especially those more experienced with tarot / oracle cards who are used to working with imagery over learning a new language. As you all know, I love adding special effects to my creations to make them truly unique, and you can see by the photos above that this set features both Thermogenic. pigments and glow in the dark pigments.

Also added these adorable wish bottle pendants, each one filled with crystal chips hand selected just for their future owner wire wrapped with Selenite to create what I've dubbed 'Bottled Rainbows'. I have had so many bottles around the house for herbs and spell jars that I wanted to do something different for my jewelry section. These crystals are spiritually cleansed and positive energy charged before they arrive in your hands.

-Shipping, Processing & Fulfillment

I know that some of my customers are still awaiting rune sets and I'm sure if you're waiting on an order that you're wondering why I'm using my time to make new things and not your set. This is, unfortunately, part of the game that is selling online. I create many things in advance and wait to list them because newer listings draw more traffic on Etsy. This must be done to stay relevant. Since I am not depending on other sources of income any longer, it is important to maintain my presence because I cannot afford to flounder now. It is still just me until I summon an army of Fae to assist me. I have been asking for everyone's patience at this time while I continue to fill backorders from the end of February when I was recovering from temporary blindness and light sensitivity in my left eye. All affected orders will receive special extras for their patience!

If you have placed an order and are curious when to expect it, please don't hesitate to contact me. I often purchase shipping labels on my phone which triggers an automatic shipping notification through Etsy. This does NOT mean I have shipped your order- I will update you personally when I have. Until I find some way to turn off those notifications when labels are purchased, please only go by my contact with you.

I have been triaging orders according to complexity. If your order is only for one or two small items, I will try and assemble it in time to reach shipping expectations. I have been attempting to notify everyone that their order may take longer than anticipated and have updated the shop policies and announcements to relay this message.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• Rune orders, mystery boxes, and orders containing multiple items will take longer depending on your request and demand at any given time.

•Spell Kits & Spell Jars are generally shipping on time depending on quantity. + 2 days max.

•Jewelry & Accessories are generally shipping on time, depending on quantity and complexity.

•Customized & Personalized orders depend on what your request is. When you place your order, I will give you an ETA.

•Large Items (Trays, Skulls, incense burners, candle holders etc) will be affected by the delay. These items take 1-4 days to create and finalize with shipping on the next business day. If you have ordered a large item your order will be triaged as if it were a rune set. The current wait for runes and other large orders is estimated to be 2-3 weeks.

I will NEVER sacrifice quality over quantity. I would rather have a customer complain that it took them a year to receive their order BUT it was everything they had hoped for and more. Out of over 200 sales this past year on Etsy since I shifted my focus from Mercari to building my Etsy presence, I have only had ONE customer complain that their item was not up to standard and it was immediately replaced, free of charges to them, with one that was. I would like to maintain this track record, even if it means taking extra time to do it. :)

The Future

Creating Mystery Boxes has allowed me to explore some other ideas that I hadn't otherwise elaborated on before because I wasn't sure anyone would be interested in them. One of those ideas was creating themed 'satchel blends' of pre packaged herbs and botanicals hand selected for a specific element, purpose, deity etc. Because I have had many customers come to me saying that they are beginners and not sure what is what, what they need for spellcraft, what they should put on their altar. I originally put these together for Mystery Boxes, but now that I see they may help those of you exploring the Craft and spirituality, a larger version of these satchels may be available in the shop soon.

Each Mylar bag contains a unique selection of herbs and botanicals that focuses around a specific purpose / intent, theme, element, etc that may be used all together or a la carte for whatever you choose. Each bag is unique with all selections chosen based on their properties and alignment with the subject. I decided to create these inexpensive 'grab and go' bags as a way to make spell craft, talisman creation, and witchcraft in general less daunting for those who are just starting. They are also great for more experience practicioners as they feature at least 1g of herbs and botanicals you can integrate into your Craft so long as you know what you want.

The above is a sneak peek at what will be the basis for the future 'Air Elemental Rune Set' as I have already created Earth, Fire, and Water. This particular variation was requested as a custom order (hence the addition of stars per her request) but the overall theme will be available in the shop soon to complete my handmade elemental series.

I expect to also add more inexpensive selections like this for general use to make magick more accessible and less intimidating for all, putting my knowledge to work for you to make everyone's life and practice a little easier.

I would love to hear your opinions on some of this! If you like these ideas or think they are garbage- I am happy to listen!. I just wanted to take some time today to thank you all, for without you,I do not believe I would see the success I have had over these last few months. I appreciate ALL of you and it has been nothing but a pleasure to serve you and pursue my passion.

You can find these creations and more in my Etsy shop- all listings are hand crafted and each made to order / one of a kind from my hands to yours @ blursedbaubles.etsy.com

Now, back to work. Wishing everyone a blessed week!

-Samantha Luck (Owner / Creator)

[drunkkenobi]

I posted 382 times in 2021

24 posts created (6%)

358 posts reblogged (94%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 14.9 posts.

I added 337 tags in 2021

#watcher - 138 posts

#buzzfeed unsolved - 73 posts

#shyan - 35 posts

#puppet history - 24 posts

#too many spirits - 20 posts

#my fic - 13 posts

#my spreadsheets - 10 posts

#riverdale - 9 posts

#dish granted - 8 posts

#fav - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 130 characters

#as the daughter of a professional photographer you don't know how happy it makes me to see somone teaching these goofs how to pose

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

BuzzFeed Unsolved Views - The Finale

Hey there nerds, it's me, ya spreadsheet gremlin.

I first started paying attention to YouTube views back in March 2019. I got curious what the most popular BFU videos were by viewcounts and I recorded all of them one day while I was bored at work. Then a week or two later, I checked them again as a new season of True Crime started. And well, the rest is history.

I wasn't as consistent with BFU recording as I am with Watcher, although I did take them every week after a new episode premiered. Now that the finale has aired, I don't have plans to record these again, at least not for a long time. So, without further ado, here are some final thoughts on BFU's viewcounts. (full spreadsheet here)

First off, it is wild to see how much some of these videos have gained in the past two and a half years, especially videos that aren't new. Like 3 Cases went from 16 million in March 2019 to 32.5 this week! Literally doubled!

Okay, here are the top 10 most viewed BFU Supernatural episodes:

3 Cases of Ghost and Demons 32.5 million

Illuminati 25.8 million (Shane's first episode)

Exorcism of Anneliese Michel 25.4 million

Haunting of Hannah Williams 22.5 million

Goatman's Bridge 20.8 million

Men in Black 19.1 million (highest SPN Bront ep)

Waverly Hills 17.8 million

Queen Mary 17.1 million

Toxic Death of Gloria Ramirez 16.1 million

Demonic Bellaire House 15 million

And now the top 10 most viewed BFU True Crime episodes

Elisa Lam 27.6 million (highest Bront)

JFK 20.7 million

DB Cooper 19.6 million

Axeman 18.5 million

Room 1046 17.8 million

Jon Benet Ramsey 17.6 million

Jack the Ripper 17.1 million

OJ Simpson 16.9 million

Jamison Family 16 million

Tupac 15.9 million

Early season episodes dominate both lists (only 5 are newer than season 2 across both lists). Some because they're classics, some because they cover high profile cases, some because they've just been out longer! One thing I've noticed across all my viewcount recording is that once a video does well, the more likely it is to continue to do well. I guess that's how the algorithm works! if it works at all. (I still have my questions)

Now some averages!

I added up all the views I recorded yesterday (November 23 2021) and the total amount was a whooping 1.317 billion views. With a B! That makes me kind of emotional! Ryan Bergara! Your baby has a billion views!

Supernatural episodes had a total of 645.5 million views over 55 episodes, which averages out to ~11.74 million views per episode. Considering 6 of these episodes just came out, I imagine that average will rise in a few months

True Crime episodes had 671.6 million views over 66 episodes, which averages out to ~10.18 million views per episode.

When I first started this, one thing I was curious about was which version of the show was more popular. Over the past two years, SPN has become the clear winner on that front, although it used to be much closer.

The total average of all episodes is ~10.89 million.

And some other numbers:

The boys can't count, Thelma Todd was their 100th episode, not the Somerton Man Revisited.

There are 121 episodes in total. 112 with Shane.

Shane's 100th episode was the Hammersmith Ghost.

The clearest thing to me about this whole exercise is how popular BFU continues to be, even if it's not the high days of BuzzFeed anymore. It's only gained views and viewers since 2019, and this only considers YouTube. Unsolved is also on Hulu and Prime, who knows how many people the show has reached solely on those platforms.

I tend to think of this fandom as on the smaller side, because it is compared to many other things on Tumblr and the like, but that doesn't mean its impact has been. Millions of people have watched these two goofballs wrestle with ghosts, murders, aliens, demons, heists, lost treasure, conspiracy theories, Mothman, and each other. But the one thing that has never been an unsolved mystery is their success. Comedy pairings cannot be forced, the chemistry has to be there naturally, a bizarre unseen link between two people that have no business having it. All thanks to a clear Google calendar in 2016, we have been able to enjoy 112 episodes of Ryan and Shane and their weirdo bond, growing from friendly antagonists, a hardcore believer and skeptic, to business partners who see in more shades of grey now, thanks to each other. It's been one hell of a ride, boys. I can't wait for what's next.

70 notes • Posted 2021-11-24 19:17:18 GMT

#4

Spreadsheet gremlin here to bring you shiny numbers for the first 6 weeks of the year. It’s been surprisingly weird!

First up, the good news: Dish Granted did really well, in my opinion! For a new show, those are good, consistent numbers. The Andrew/S’moyster ep is a little lower, but it premiered a full 24 hours later so I think they expected that. (for those not on the Monitor tier on Patreon, Steven explained that they were late with that one because Josh, the editor, lost his power the night before it was supposed to go up and Steven made the decision to not enforce the crunch time to get it done for a Friday release). Another really fun detail about Dish Granted? It boosted Homemade considerably. During the month of January, all 4 Homemade episodes gained a total of ~251k views! These episodes normally gain 1-4k a week, so like I said, a huge boost! I think this is the only instance of a new show on Watcher boosting a different show so significantly. Like, new Puppet Histories boost old Puppet Histories, but not a different show. it’s pretty neat! And I’m really happy for Steven, he deserves it.

Now we’re halfway through season 2 of Top 5 Beatdown and this show continues to be the hardest to predict. The episode with one of their old Buzzfeed cohorts, Rie, has done the best so far, but Jon’s original episode of Top 5 remains their highest viewed video period, so perhaps we just have to wait on see on this series. These particular topics are not seasonal (like holiday movies) so any of them could pop off at any time. I am surprised it’s not doing slightly better, though? The Cities one was especially entertaining, an actual educational episode with thoughtful remarks and the guest, Zach Honig, muted Shane! What more can you ask for? Anyway, I am SUPER intrigued to see how this week’s episode does. The guests are certified YouTube royalty, Rhett and Link, and I’m dying to see how the views stack up. 

Some other odds and ends:

The episode of Watcher Weekly where they ordered DoorDash from last April randomly got 25k views since the new year. Watcher Weeklies get around 1-2k views a week (and sometimes less for older ones) so it was very noticeable. I do not understand YouTube!

Both The Dancing Plague and Stealing the World’s Most Expensive Necklace episodes of Puppet History hit 2 million views. I expect the Black Plague one to hit it this week as well. 

The old Top 5s are getting a bit of a boost from the new ones. Top 5 Chips is in the 900k range now.

I’m not sure what will hit a million next. There are a couple Are You Scareds? close, along with WWW Pie and Soda Pop, and the first episode of Holiday TMS. TMS has slowed down a lot since it first aired (both seasons), but I think the livestream version was a huge success so I hope some version of it will be back again soon.

As for what comes after Top 5, I have an inkling it might be Puppet History (Shane posted a Professor pic a few weeks ago and Sara mentioned he was buying doll clothes again). After that, I have no idea. WWW seems very hard to shoot in These Times, Homemade is off the table until they can safely shoot in strangers’ homes again, it’s too soon for more AYS. Perhaps another new show? More Dish Granted? These knuckleheads being secretive makes it hard to say, but I’ll keep on speculating anyway.

91 notes • Posted 2021-02-15 17:44:06 GMT

#3

Sara is the hero of the week and I could not be more grateful.

109 notes • Posted 2021-05-08 04:43:12 GMT

#2

Thank you Puppet History for the extremely useful new reaction image

638 notes • Posted 2021-09-03 17:47:43 GMT

#1

Always a good day when Shane decides to be defensive on reddit. 🥰

2099 notes • Posted 2021-10-18 17:45:43 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →