#decided to change websites because its easier to show who's who

[thenorthblues]

@songofnoheart asked: [ Height Difference ]

↕ + 9'1 ( @songofnoheart ) // I request your shortest muse!

"First off, rude of you to ask for the shortest guy here, got somethin' to prove?? Second, I'm only shorter on a thechnicality!! Meet me in the ocean and see how tiny I am then!"

[toa-archive]

Nari Design Path

We're now on the final of the trio and we're finishing up with Nari! Part of the reason she's last is there is So Much and given smacked straight into the image limit it was the right call. Think she is also a great reminder that there is no "central hub" for finding information scattered across multiple artists with some being lost over time. The only place that is anything like that is the Dreamworks vault, all this is by one dedicated person who despite doing their best can still miss things.

As ever with these it is far from impossible something else will belatedly turn up. Should this occur, wherever it is added will have a [/edit xx/xx/xxxx] which includes a date marker. Just makes it easier to find the “new” thing :)

Much like with Skrael opening with these guys again if for flow reasons this time round. Francisco Ruiz Velasco had his own stab at a bunch of wizards which are nigh impossible to pin down if it was for any of the Arcane Trio specifically or not. This one will very understandably appear in all three as there could well be a Nari potential here for all we know.

Source goes to Linkedin so may require an account.

Next up is Yingjue Chen's initial forest wizard concepts which you may recognise from the Bellroc thread. We've even got some deer ankles going!

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Her next iteration is Nari as we know her for the most part if more "adult" in appearance, longer hair, possible deer ankles and lots of veils.

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The "adult" Nari has popped up one other time namely through Francisco Ruiz Velasco doing his own exploration of the nature wizard and funky magic vines.

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After this it was decided to make Nari "younger" and more childlike in stature though at this point still keeping everything else about her design. Fandom has generally fallen into two camps as either seeing her as a literal child sharing a weird spot with Skrael there or as a small adult. This is in part why the quotation marks are being used. Next to her here is the nature wizard design recast as Bellroc before they went off to a different artist. This is Yingjue Chen again!

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For some reason have the left image entirely on its own and not entirely sure why. Anyway.

On the right is more veil tests that were tried out until it was decided it would be cost prohibitive, a common reason for cape loss in animation. Her hair was shrunk into the snazzy braid for the same reason. Her design would have further tweaks before settling, notably in the legs and how the leaf plates fit together if you compare the above and the below.

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After this we have Nari's paint over a Leo Sanchez Studios model complete with callouts! Thinks ended up being tweaked a little bit more which really shows how iterative the process of concept to final design can be. Bonus is good reference particularly for that braid.

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This is the point where you will see some creative work arounds for the image limit. Prior to his website being changed, Ivan Gozali had a bunch of sketches, some Bellroc sketches and a Jilaire beatboard. The Nari ones are still accessible through instagram if small. These are a smidge bigger though have been grouped into twos because of aforementioned limit.

He does mention a very interesting tidbit however:

Some character studies of Nari. Early in production we didn’t have much to go on. There were several design iterations, we even had several name changes. I was never much of a “concept” artist so please excuse with these off-proportion drawings. I always find joy exploring character behaviours and attitude.

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In addition there was this little animation which is on both instagram and on his tumblr. There he says:

Nari character from Wizards, inspired by a ‘feral boy’ character from Road Warrior, which was a good jumping point, but I’m mostly inspired by @glenkeaneprd Tarzan test.

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Also by one of the storyboarders we have this series of art by Bianca Siercke. Completely non-canon these were part of figuring out her character and no doubt helped the boarders figure her out best for drawing as well.

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This can of course also mean rock fists. Specifically in this case to quote:

"Nari playful personality was especially fun because of how it might effect her fighting style". "This was one of the explorations I did to figure out what kind of magic she might use".

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"This was an exploration of how Nari's magic might change depending on her mood".

Given she can use plants like a telephone according to Aaron, murder hands seem fair even if they were just part of figuring her out.

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"These were explorations trying to find Nari's personality and magic ideas. They're non canon".

This is the last one! Ironically enough the seeds did come back in a sense in the form of her potted plant in Rise of the Titans.

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Decided to add a trio of bonuses just for fun. You might have noticed the Order pops up in the Wizards credits sequence though unlike Trollhunters and 3Below, it is not Headless Studios. They were drawn in a similar way though! They are by Alison Donato.

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Now firmly onto RotT related artwork, these various disguises for Nari are by Betsy Bauer painted over Yingjue Chen's original! Should you so desire you can have chav Nari in your works and point to this as to why.

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Thanks to Andy Murray we have a paint and orthographic turnaround of the chosen Nari in a giant beanie. Gives a good look at the t-posing model as well should you need it.

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This is also a great excuse to yet again break out Francisco Ruiz Velasco's Order band poster again! Some imagery shenaniganry was done purely to ensure this got in here again.

Source goes to Linkedin so may require an account.

Returning to Yingjue Chen a moment, Nari's staff! This and Alison Donato's credits paintings are the only currently known artwork of it. It might not have been used much but she does very much have a stick just like the others.

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In the previous two design paths this is about when the Art of Wizards panel gets pointed to with the really tiny screenshot. In a unique twist to Nari and as a boon when smacked into the image limit, we have the full-sized versions of the very art shown there!

Next to the very tiny Nari is the left most vine.

And beside it is both the "flame" and the beam that will be used to bass boost the Heart of Avalon specifically. The below was originally on Betsy Bauer's website though is no longer available. Why things are saved off :)

Do you recall the green butterflies/moths Nari seemingly produced out of nowhere while at Hex Tech? Well thanks to Isaac Orloff we have their orthographic and their glowy effects!

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Moving onto the RotT spell front, when Betsy Bauer revamped her website it came with some brand new art we hadn't seen previously. Not only does it show her potted plant unfurling and name it as a passion flower, there's an additional view of Nari in her "Fish fear me" hat.

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We have that same flower exploding into a massive vine. Even has a callout specifically to Betsy Bauer's spell effects which is neat! This one is by Sean Wang.

Returning to Andy Murray a moment, we have the glow up eye effect for Nari. While not shown here for image limit reasons, the mind swap between Douxie and Nari effects plus the ripping him outta there is on the same sheet. The one below, which is purely Titan related has been cropped for fitting this post reasons only.

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This is the Arcane Circle for Nari which is shown on the Earth Titan. The Genesis Seal marker is on the same row as Bellroc so is not shown here. As above it has been cropped for fitting this post reasons only. This time they are once again by Sean Wang.

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Sean Wang also has this on her website showing additional effects and the rune usage on Nari specifically. The artwork on the left is from one of Alfonso Blaas' colour keys which shows the Genesis Seals being opened.

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Nearly there now! While mentioned earlier and to fit with the format of the other two posts, one of Nari's in development names was Ilnara which we found out thanks to Bianca Siercke.

To close up on a fun note, Yingjue Chen has a headcanon of "adult" Nari having Excalibur which Schildwand went and cosplayed!

Source

With the trio now complete, all the link hops between now work! When this is uploaded please allow chance for the links to Nari to be updated on the other posts.

Bellroc - Nari - Skrael

[lazylogic]

Okay, here are some words, yes it's long

This drawing started as "homework" my therapist gave me to try and draw myself more, just to like...have more of a sense of self, but it kinda turned into somewhat of a vent doodle because I was feeling gloomy yesterday. I think I'd like to make an alternate version of this that's much more cozy and colorful when I'm feeling better, though. Now...updates? Or I guess a ramble, rant, whining, whatever: I'm still not 100% on coming back to posting art, and on top of there really not being any good art site to post on (FA is fine but I know it has its own issues, I just subsist on nostalgia), every single social media platform now seems like a dumpster fire - way more than they already were - that I don't wanna go back to, so I'm not sure if or when I'm gonna change anything anytime soon. I'm already bad at being social in communities but I super do not know where to turn right now if I wanted to be "present online" again. Way back in the day, Twitter and Tumblr were actually fun, but it's all long since become stressful and anxiety-inducing. And at this point, it really doesn't seem like it's gonna ever improve. Frankly, I do kinda prefer living under a rock anyway, but there's definitely part of me that still misses the positive and warm interactions I used to have with people online. Unfortunately, I still feel like there's really no part of the internet anymore where I feel like I belong, or even want to be. This is all very possibly my gloomy mood at the time of posting and seasonal depression talking, but I really just don't feel motivated to post, participate, or interact online much anymore. Partly a good thing, I think, because I have a lot of fun working on my website and hanging out in the small web community, away from the centralized web. But I know it's also partly due to my bad, chronic habit of isolation - because right now I'm not even interacting with said small web community. I'm just talking to my friends on Discord and Telegram, which typically is all I need. But idk, maybe it's FOMO, maybe it's just another art angst wave, but I miss having a place to go for art...just not the way it's been for the past 6 years or so. I wanna be here, for people to know I'm still alive, but at the same time I don't wanna be here and I don't want to be perceived at all. This feeling changes constantly. I don't know why I'm saying all this and I think I just need to stop thinking about it entirely. Ultimately, the internet is really not important in life and there are countless other things about life that I should focus on. I have a life full of love and precious things, and that is really the most important thing. The fact that I'm an artist who decided to start posting online so many years ago just makes this complicated. Being an artist makes me neurotic, and I'm also just so fucking overwhelmed with the way the world is right now that everything feels like an alien place, online and offline.

And I just care about people too much. I wanna give back to the people who always showed me kindness and support online, just for them to know that they've all been remembered and seen and I'm thankful for them. I think that's why this is such a floundering issue for me. I still think that I'm better off not being an artist online, at least most of the time. But idk. I think I'm just doomed to always have overthinking, neurotic turmoil over stupid shit. Time to stop thinking! At the very least, art IS starting to be fun again, so there's that. I absolutely do better when I'm drawing without worrying about perception and opinions. I think the problem arises when I start bringing commissions into the mix...I hate marketing myself, but you have to do that to have any hope of getting clients, so I should either not do comms at all or just not try to rely on it for income. Damn this shit was easier when I was a teenager with no bills drawing people's fursonas for $30

[andrewsonctranm12]

Real Honest Client Success Stories from Coaches & Consultants Just Like You

Full Disclosure: with Client’s full approval, I made testimonials they submitted to me more clear, helpful, expanded on important information they might have missed, and formatted in a more revealing way to best help you, because they aren’t professional writers. In all cases, the meaning is the exact same and they have all approved of these testimonials. When they forgot to put more meaningful details about their experience and process like how they paid, their story, or meaningful specifics. I included it and made the writing easier to read, as its 100% accurate, and more helpful to you. I submitted them the revision for their approval and accuracy and they all approved. So with full disclosure these were approved as 100% accurate and accurate representation of the clients results, experience, and process.

“I’ve been ripped off before. A couple testimonials on a sales page isn’t going to do it. I put off working with Andrew for 2 years. But his follow up eventually got me at a weak point and I decided to try him out. If I would have hired him 2 years earlier, he would have saved me from going broke, a divorce, and a complete mental breakdown. He took me from $89,593 that year (and being 3.2 million in debt), to $1,384,850 the first year, and now 3 years later I’ve past 2 million per year and have paid off all my debt. And I haven’t worked more than a few hours per month (usually this work consist of just monitoring membership signups, so not really work). The full system in automated so it’s lowered my stress to zero. My mental health is great again and I feel peaceful and serene most of the time now. I’m now investing in assets like real estate… my whole life has turned around as a result of working with Andrew. I know this all sounds hard to believe or too good to be true, but it’s real. I’m living proof of it.”

-Gregory Jackson, Coach and Consultant

-----

I’m a NLP coach and mental health and performance expert on a mission to change the world for the better. But I was stuck and not growing at the pace I wanted to and didn’t know what systems to use. I talked to Andrew Sonctranm on the phone as he gave me a strategy session that was amazingly helpful. A lot of light bulbs lit up in my head. I wanted to hire him, but I couldn’t find much on him than a few client testimonials on a sales page. And I thought it is very easy to promise someone the world once you know what their drivers are. I gave all the reason’s it would be important to me. However, I didn’t see the clear plan it would all be executed. I was wanting the secret Coco Cola formula. Being quite an unreasonable person to deal with. So I decided to not hire him. Man that was an idiotic move. I struggled in my business working hard and was just spinning my wheels for a few more years. It wasn’t until I learned from my friend who was a coach too, that hired Andrew Sonctranm, and told me of her results. She literally showed me her online sales website and showed the recurring payments every month making her 6-figures per month. I was pissed at myself for letting my fears get in the way of my successfully moving forward. I wrote Andrew and called to try to hire him with no reply for about 1 month. His secretary emailed back that there was no spots available for 6 months. I literally had to wait 6 months to get started. But when I did, Andrew Sonctranm also build me a 6-figure per month automated coaching and consulting business based on my NLP topic. Andrew is literally the best at what he does in the world for coaches and consultants. And the best part is it was all up and running in just 8-weeks and it’s been 9 months since and it keeps getting better because more members keep joining through other members that naturally promote so I never have to. Also I don’t use any social media or all that stuff I actually hated before anyway. I have my life back, time back, and freedom back in the best ways possible. And I’m helping much more people too. All thanks to Andrew Sonctranm’s help. Thank you Andrew. Words can’t express how thankful I am for what you do and deciding to help a mean acting doubter who you didn’t have to give a second chance to. For any other coaches or consultants who are wondering… I was hard for me to believe too… in fact, I was a doubting Tomas, but take it from me, just hire Andrew. The rest will be history, as they say”

-Lloyd Galley, Coach and Consultant 

-----

“I thought he wanted people to trust him and give him money with very little information. I didn’t want to have my money disappear. So I put off hiring Andrew so my own peril. Literally, I had to close my coaching business down because I was making so little profits. So little I wasn’t able to pay all my bills. I ended up at a crappy corporate job again and hated my life even more, but I saved enough money, and actually hired Andrew with the money I made from my corporate job after 7 months. I told my boss to ‘shove it’ and ‘your fired!’ just 6 weeks later as I saw how profitable the membership launch with Andrew was. He resurrected my coaching business from the dead and its now so profitable, bringing in money every month, automatically, that I don’t have to do any work anymore and I just bought my dream home on the beach front where I live. I’m very happy to say the least. I just think back to what I jerk and uptight ass I was when first dealing with Andrew. Man, I had no clue. Don’t be a fool like me. Hire Andrew if you get the chance, even if his value seems hard to believe, it worked for me and so many others, and can work for you too. After all, he is the expert. Not you. Not I. Just let him do his job by hiring him and getting out of your own way. That’s my advice.”

-Buddy Hansen, Coach

-----

“There were too many unknowns and a lot of money on the line, but I wisely took the leap of faith and landed safely in the delightfully warm waters. I remember it took me 30 minutes one time, to cliff dive into warm safe waters in Hawaii. When I did, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and overcame my wrong ‘gut’ feeling that it was unsafe. You see, that taught me ‘gut’ feelings are really just irrational fear and if we go around listening to these gut feelings, and playing it ‘safe’ we never experience to reward of victory, overcoming, and what every entrepreneur needs to succeed. Take a risk and keep doing so. That’s where life is. Playing it safe is the slow, desperate, lonely path to a life or coaching business of quiet desperation. Don’t be like that. As I jumped in and was safe, so it was with Andrew. And the rewards were… I’m sure if you know anything about Andrew Sonctranm… unless you were hiding under a rock… you know the value Andrew delivered to his clients over and over and over again. It’s no secret, he makes coaches like you and me millionaires and automated lifestyle freedom businesses. Let’s just say, I’m happily making millions per year thanks to Andrew. And I have total lifestyle freedom. I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do. Just don’t let your gut feelings or fears control your life like it did mind for decades and lead to failure and underachieving. Andrew is a warm inviting and invigorating water to jump safely into. His promises and his price is high, activating your irrational ‘gut’ feeling. But it’s just a feeling, not fact. Feelings are not fact. Facts are fact. If you jump into Andrew, he will never let you down. I feel confident saying that for any coach or consultant. In fact, he’ll make you rich too.”

-Sam Keller, Coach and Consultant

The world renown leader in 6-7 figure coaching business creation, Andrew Sonctranm is one of the most sought after coaches to coaches and consultants in the world today. He's praised by the biggest names in the coaching and consulting industry for good reason. He delivers remarkable results in his escape modern day slavery for coaches and consultants program - giving you total lifestyle freedom, and owning a 6-7 figure membership leg of your coaching business in just 8-weeks. Learn more here: https://andrewsonctranm.com/

[seoresellerca]

Can SEO marketing packages guarantee page one on Google?

Everyone expects some sort of magic from SEO specialists who put their websites on the first page of search results. SEO means making your website better so Google can find it and show it to people. But what is the real worth of SEO marketing packages? Can everyone afford them? Can they really get your brand to show on top rankings?

Can SEO Packages Guarantee Page One?

The truth is no one can promise you Page One. Not even the best SEO company. Because Google controls who shows up, not your SEO team.

Google looks at many things like:

What people are searching for

How many websites are writing about the same thing

How good your website is

How long your site has been around

What your customers do on your site

Despite great SEO efforts, Google still decides where you go. It changes all the time, so be careful about someone guaranteeing you page one.  

What good SEO marketing packages can do?

Good SEO packages help your website increase its search results.

Get more traffic

Help your website rank for the right keywords

Make your pages easier to read and faster to load

Build trust with Google

Bring in real people who want what you offer

Some websites get to page one. Some get to page two or three. It all depends on your business, your content, your competitors, and time.

Slow and steady gets the best results

SEO is not magic and not fast, either. With the right SEO work and time, your site gets better.

It may not jump to page one in a week, but it will get stronger and attract more people.

Before you buy any SEO marketing package, ask the company about the work they will do each month. Get information about progress tracking and tell them about the type of result you have seen before.

 Conclusion

Be careful of big promises. Focus on steady growth instead. If you want honest SEO that works the right way, then consult with the experts at SEO Resellers Canada. Their SEO marketing packages can help you start growing the right way without the fake promises.

[zak-shit]

march 1st 2024 9:14 pm

don't greatly feel like doing this rn, but i know I do need to.

brain is constantly racing lately. i mean constantly i really do.

the grief of losing lisa has been coming harder, i really miss her and i cant believe she is really gone. i will never forget that woman. lisa was truly my favorite person growing up. she's a real angel now.;/ Marisa Lynn just called me while I was writing the below stuff, she said new years eve was the best. I think about thanksgiving alot too, we had a all nighter, I'll never forget seeing Lisa on the back porch as the sun came up. and that was practically the last time I really saw her. Her health went downhill so quick after that.. I had the thought earlier like things just came together in a way, and that night was almost a send off for her. except nobody knew. it was really our fucking reunion., and it turned into our last night together.

tomorrow ive got to go to my brother casey's wedding ;| i haven't seen this side of my family in like nearly 5 years. i ordered something I really like to wear, something that is appropriate, but also boldly ME. It may not arrive in time, and I don't know what to wear in that situation yet, also don't know if what I already have that is appropriate is something i feel comfortable wearing/ me. :/ but its fineeeeeee this wedding will happen. i'm going to see both of my brothers tomorrow, my dads brother (he's chill) and my other niece's and nephews. just weird bc i don't know these people honestly. we have a zero on the relationship bar. idk that just makes me anxious, uncomfortable... shruggg. i just know when I have a life event I wouldn't invite them, but I feel obligated. however i do also feel immensely happy for Casey, the divorce of his first marriage im sure was extremely hard for him. i'm glad he has a great partner now, large happy family. he seems content the last few times I'd seen him. Casey is the only one I have seen in the last 5 years. My aunts funeral, fathers day like two years ago, and Marissas baby shower. He is a good guy, and he deserves to be celebrated and have who he wants to show up for him, show up. I'll also have Cece, and Marissa there to keep me company.

i feel alone. Wrote that before Marisa Lynn called me. Expecting and hoping she calls me back. Idk, its Friday night and I'm all alone, not much is stimulating to me. I don't have a hyper fixation right now, so its like I have nothing lol. makes me feel like a zombie just coasting through life. I understand why my comfort/ favorite/ go to people cant hang out tonight but idk I miss them. And I had to cancel plans with Alyssa for tomorrow bc I changed my mind on attending the wedding. Texted her asking about other days after we talked and she said she was soooo happy I was going. and nothinnnnnn. idk a little "let me seee" and then get back to me would be nice... i know shes got alot going on though. im not upset with her at all. but I miss her :( Ruby cant hang because her back is killing her :( also not upset with her at all, i see her all the time lol. but idk maybe i'm just a bit bored... I have decided to start working shows at the theatre again! maybe partly for a little stimulation. Its been so long since I've done a show! I used to think strongly that I couldnt do it because I'm not getting payed.. but I was never payed before, I always did it because I enjoyed it so much! Its something to do thats a passion of mine. also the sense of community is great and admirable. everyone who is there.. wants to be there! its not like at work where people are miserable. I applied on the website, but i think I'll draft an email to someone tonight. I wanna jump on this burst of energy for it before it goes away and I don't take it up again. plus I'd like to see how much I like it. Crazy being able to get back into hobbys. lol for so long I thought it was possible to make time for it. and hey with me being active there again, maybe it would be easier to also get Cece into it.

I also bought some adderal from Kerri, I think thats what has awoken quite a bit inside me. i really need this shit to be real human. lol especially the highted emotions. I've actually cried both yesterday and today. and its been so therapeutic. Lisa also took me to my first audition into the theatre, she sat there while I did it, she filled out the paperwork. I thank her for that. I wished I could in person because that really means alot not looking back and seeing how far that took me/ changed my life. it really did change my life. so did our pitch perfect binges. <3

my mom has been really good lately. she stopped drinking as much. like for a few weeks, maybe 2 weeks. she didnt really drink at all. shes been alot more active around the house, she said she would treat herself to it on saturdays. which is fair, thats cool. so yesterday, a thursday when I came home and I could tell she at least had a buzz going on, it instantly locked up. idk i was dissappointed, i was angry, I was sad. It triggered me for sure, because, for once I wasnt expecting it. at least on Saturdays I would expect it. I can clock when shes had a sip of alcohol better than I can clock probably anything. so she cant lie to me about it.. but also highly emotional on it because I've wanted the last few weeks to be our reality for so long, and so badly... she really seems ready to cut it down to one day a week. and I know she can do it, she just did it. she just has to stick to it. I have high hopes, thats why I didnt blow up or something about it, also because i'm smarter than that, i know time and place to be heard best. and after a drink its never there. I just mentioned it this morning. I think she had a tiny bit to drink tonight too.

currently talkin flirtin with trey <3 i want him :((

xoxo wasted a bunch of time its now 12:29 am need to try to get sleepy byeeee

[nadeemkazi]

Importance of Digital Marketing: Top 10 reasons your business needs it

The importance of digital marketing is increasing day by day. We can see that merchants who used to only do marketing are now doing digital marketing. They are also starting to turn to digital marketing, from this we can see that the demand for digital marketing is very high now, and the demand for digital marketing is still increasing.

Professionals who used to do business in a limited space are now doing business globally. Digital marketing is a platform where every business is treated equally. Digital marketing allows you to be creative and stand out from the crowd in a crowded and global market, you can see here:

Top 10 Importance of Digital Marketing

1. Trackable & Measurable Results:

If you don't measure and review the work you're doing, it's a total waste of time. It is important to measure your successes and failures and take corrective actions. With tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics, you can track your business and its performance, from process to completion, and through this you can determine which strategy is right for you and which strategy is not and not only that but also you can decide which strategy you can continue with.

2. Remarketing Opportunities:

Remarketing is a very important part of digital marketing, through this remarketing you can send messages to the same audience through email and text messages. By which those customers will show interest in your product, and this way if those customers are interested in your product or even want to get information, they will connect with you, and in this way you can send messages to them again, this process is called remarketing. 

Remarketing has many benefits such as helping some of your old customers and regular customers remember you. Also, WhatsApp has now implemented a new feature called WhatsApp Marketing in 2023. Just like Facebook, Instagram are social media apps, we can now implement and use WhatsApp Marketing as a new option.

3. It Helps you Connect with Mobile Customers:

Now-a-days most of the customers are using mobile phones. this can definitely benefit us like if our website is mobile friendly then we can definitely benefit because shopping is done through mobile.

The advantage of your website being mobile friendly is that customers can easily interact with you and operate it easily, and you can easily connect and target them.

4. Easier to Monitor Competitors:

In any sport it is very important to pay close attention to your opponent and observe his work

Through digital marketing you can keep track of your competitor's business, see their social media posts, see their ads, compare them, there are some features or tools in digital marketing that make comparisons and they can help you and they can help you.

5. Helps you Target Ideal Buyers Effectively:

Digital marketing is a great way to target your ideal customers. Through digital marketing we can target specific customers such as age, gender location and we can target specific customers. 

Through digital marketing we can reach specific customers. Digital marketing is expert as we can see social media post digital marketing and some other digital marketing champions we are guaranteed to reach specific customers through. There is no guarantee that all of your radio ads and other ads will reach the public, and we make no specific guarantees.

6. Affordable Marketing:

The importance of online marketing is immediately apparent because of its benefits.

Online marketing tracks and accounts for all your money, keeping track of how much money is spent where. And it is a great option for credit driven businesses. Also, one can do radio and television advertisements here with less money than before. Like many SEO types and options, it's affordable for us.

7. Better Conversion Rates:

Digital marketing will surely bring good changes and good results in your business and better conversion rates, it also focuses on your customers. Also, digital marketing can help you reach your customers better than telephone and reach them. 

As such, there are lots of options in digital marketing  like marketing, traffic, leads generated, engagement, and many more options in digital marketing. Not only can you benefit from this, technology like this will also have a positive impact on your business.

8. Access to Global Markets:

Not every business needs a global advertising strategy, as businesses that are already using digital marketing may not need a global advertising strategy. As you can see, some of today's tools are allowing companies to focus on a more specific, and local, audience based on their needs and also if your business is growing, then digital marketing gives you more freedom. You can use an international tool, for confirmation and to see if the digital marketing campaign you run is performing well, That's time you can use SEO tools. 

With social media marketing you can focus your efforts on the country as per your needs. Also through e-mail marketing you can send the message you want to a specific customer according to your needs.

9. Gives Small Businesses a Competitive Edge:

Digital marketing is one such platform through which many small businessmen can run their business on a larger platform, and this is made possible by digital marketing.  Digital marketing is becoming a very important platform for businessmen who want to grow their company or make changes to something new.

Digital marketing is becoming a very important platform for businessmen who want to grow their company or change something new and engage in many businesses. That means small businesses can now compete with big businesses. They can take advantage of having the tools, features they want, just like a big company. And also world class and you can promote your product and you can compete with your competitor and you can promote your branding better than him all you can do is SEO, SEM and SMO and any other tools.

10. Scope of A/B Testing:

One of the greatest features of A/B testing in digital marketing is its ability to test two different ideas for the same campaign. Another name for split testing is A/B testing. A/B testing involves performing two different experiments in the same camping area, and an experiment that works well is used to grow the business.

Let's say you're confused, you can use A/B testing where you run both your ads exactly 50-50% and you can see which ad performs better and adjust your wording accordingly. This means that if you don't have doubts, you can continue with it. This way you can make your decision without any doubts in your mind through A/B testing.

Conclusion:

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[raayllum]

it’s high key really annoying the attention toh gets on this website while no one acknowledges tdp exists

Yeah, sometimes I wish TDP got more recognition and appreciation in a fandom space for its storytelling (the parallels, the worldbuilding, the mature theme explorations) simply because we haven't had a western kids' show go this hard since TLOK (even if I think Korra stumbles in a lot of ways) and arguably ATLA in its explorations of war and morality, two things that TDP is obsessed with, as well as a sometimes overwhelming discussion of Grief.

However, to be frank, while many teen and adult fans of kids cartoons say that they want darker themes and storylines, what that usually means, I think, is more akin to something like TOH or She Ra, in which you know 1) your favourite characters will always typically survive with maybe one or two minor parental or villainous exceptions, and 2) one or two characters in an otherwise fairly cookie cutter 'good guy' cast will have a redemption arc or be quirky morally dubious in a way that's played for comedy, and there will be a handful of significantly "Oh Shit!" darker or creepier moments. The characters are mostly teenagers, the heavier plot stuff is regulated to a few standout episodes, with most of the other conflicts being things like figuring out how to make friends or struggling with not fitting in or deciding what you want to do with your life. And those are all good explorations, and it's not as though TDP doesn't touch on some of that (Callum is finding his place in the world, Rayla is 'changing careers', Ez struggles with his new responsibilities and not fitting in, Soren - like Hunter - leaves an emotionally abusive relationship with a parental figure).

But I think it's TDP's attachment of all of those things to morality that makes the emotional stakes higher and less comforting and/or comfortable for people who are, likely, going to fiction for escapism rather than exploration. (To be clear: one is not better than the other, I just know what my personal preferences are.) Rayla's 'career/schooling' change is whether she's going to kill people for a living; Callum deciding what sort of mage he's going to be is rooted in deciding how much he's willing to either slowly destroy himself or take on the impossible, both with some dire consequences; Ezran not fitting is is also tied to having mysterious, unknown magical powers the story still hasn't fully explained the root cause of. Yes, the three main kids are typically good people who want to do the right thing, but that's much easier said than done (Ezran burning the monster soldiers, Callum's ruthlessness, Rayla's self sacrificial tendencies manifesting in destructive ways). TDP is never going to have an episode of "I lied to my friends because I wanted them to think I was cool or not a nerd" or "I'm scared of them preferring someone else over me" or "I need to learn how to be a good friend" (hi TOH with like 5 episodes and She Ra).

Like Rayla lies to the boys, but that's because she isn't sure how to tell them that her father murdered theirs and made them orphans, and she's worried it will accordingly be a wedge between them.

Like, there's hardly any episodes of TDP that don't talk about grief or death or both in some manner. The show consistently explores unreliable narrators across all sides of its ethical spectrum(s). S4 has a subplot regarding religious traditions and the ethics of the death penalty. Most of Arc 1 and now into Arc 2 sees good people with good intentions or understandable motivations doing pretty terrible things to either themselves, the people around them, or both. The death and body horror imagery aren't one offs, but consistent series defining elements that are always treated seriously. Villains aren't people who don't love their families (or anyone) and good guys aren't good because they're good friends to one another. It's more complicated than that, from the body swap and discussions of the soul in S1, to the cycle of violence laid out explicitly in S2, to explorations of punishment and exile in S3.

Overall, I'm fine with the success and appreciation that TDP gets; some of my students watch it, actually, which makes it useful in some of our lesson discussions. Because TDP is a good show for kids, yes, but it certainly never pulls its punches in forcing all of its ensemble cast through the wringer.

TLDR; due to age demographics and tonal differences, particularly in character conflicts, themes, and amount of Lore, I'm not surprised at all that TDP is pretty underrated on tumblr. Again, doesn't mean these elements of 'maturity' make it Better (although I do think it's written more cohesively than She Ra and more consistently than TOH in its set up and payoff), I just know where my (and many other's) preferences lay accordingly, and am not surprised at the split.

[melliotwrites]

10 tips for musical theater writing!

We've been getting asks about musical theater writing and thought it might be helpful to share some things we've learned from our writing process that've made our lives easier. DISCLAIMER: we are by no means experts in writing musicals! These are just things that've worked for us!

(Some great resources we'd recommend are Finishing The Hat and Look, I Made A Hat by Stephen Sondheim for good jumping-off books by an amazing lyricist, or websites like https://www.musicals101.com/write.htm (they have a good explanation of song forms here: https://www.musicals101.com/score.htm that cover the basics of musical forms, etc.) To chat with people more experienced than us, we'd recommend visiting https://www.reddit.com/r/musicalwriting/)

Here are our tips:

Collaborate! In professional musical theater, there are three writing roles: lyricist, who writes the words for the songs, bookwriter, who writes the words in the scenes, and composer, who writes the music for the piece. People can be any combination of the three- for example, Mel is a lyricist/bookwriter but Elliot is a composer/lyricist/bookwriter. You can also take on different roles on different projects! You don't have to choose which one you are Right Now, but writing a show is a lot easier if you have one or more collaborators. One of the most common mistakes I see in aspiring musical theater is trying to do too many at once -- people who are awesome composers but mediocre lyricists, or people who are great lyricists but their music is all over the place -- which can kill interest in a project before it even begins. Theatre will always be a collaborative art form, so try to find people you can create your best work with!

Choose a topic you have something important to say about. Something you feel like nobody else has said before, or something you think you personally can say in a new way. Our writing process for both TAOPP and Adamandi was to begin with some big ideas - for TAOPP, we talked about the transformative experience of falling in love, and for Adamandi, we talked about the ways that dark academia idealizes an unhealthy independence, and doesn't often include queer students or students of color. Focus more on complex questions than statements ("How does an Ivy League school help and harm its marginalized students?" vs "Racism is bad.") We choose a set of characters that allows us to have an interesting group of perspectives on that central idea.

Outline! Once we know who is in it, we write a rough outline of the show, deciding where scenes and songs are, though this outline often changes throughout the process (for example, at this stage in the Adamandi process, we knew how Act I would end, but initially Litany of the Martyrs was in the middle of Act I instead of Act II). Outlining is especially important for musicals, because you want it to be as solid as possible before you start writing. It sucks when shifting around the plot or cutting characters means scrapping great songs you've written too soon.

Know why you want this to be a musical! Why not a book or a screenplay or a concert or song cycle? What is it about the musical form that makes you excited to tell the story through it, and how will live theater help you tell this story? In a musical, the songs should move the story forward, help characters reach realizations and show new depths of character, etc. Musical songs should start at a point A and end at a very different point B. If you take out all the songs you've got planned in your show, are there huge holes in the plot or does everything still make sense? If everything still makes sense, maybe you don't want to write a musical.

Find a songwriting process that works for you! We tend to write lyrics-first, so Mel will write all the words to a song for Elliot to "set", or compose a tune for. After Elliot has a melody, he finds chords for the melody and builds the accompaniment from there. Another way you can write (especially if you are a composer more versed in instrumental music) is to start music first -- finding a fun melody or a fun chord progression and then building the rest from there. Songwriting is like filling in a puzzle. Elliot goes through many iterations of melodies and chords before settling on a melody he likes. When he finds a good melody, he'll record a little voice memo of it but revisit it later to see if it still holds up before building upon it. It's okay if something stumps you a little! Songwriting is usually a collaborative process; we edit each others' lyrics and talk about musical moments and the tone/feel of a song. We make sure we're on the same page with Mel reading out the lyrics of a song before Elliot sets it, so Elliot gets a sense of where Mel's rhythmic instincts for the song lie. Don't let your roles define what you're allowed to have an opinion in- the ideal collaboration incorporates both people's expertise in the form overall instead of being a neat delineation of roles.

WATCH, READ, & LISTEN TO LOTS OF THINGS (especially musicals!) Make fun little movie nights out of it! You can learn a lot about what you want to create by seeing what's out there! Find things you enjoyed in shows you disliked, or things you disliked in shows you liked, and think about why. (Tip: Don't just watch musicals that have been made into movies: go to local theaters, watch proshots, get a sense for what staging can do to a story. Watch two different productions of the same show! Consume things written for the same medium you will be writing in.) This will also help you learn about song forms, musical structures that work, etc.!

Similarly, use a shared musical vocabulary as inspiration! If you're a composer and don't know where to start, discuss the vibe of the song you are about to write with your lyricists (genre, similar songs, etc.) Find a playlist with similar songs -- doo-wop songs, swing music from the '30s, or the discographies of artists you like -- and just listen to them for a while. Try to pick apart things that the songs have in common, or things you like from certain songs -- is it a certain song structure? Is it three-part vocal harmonies? Is it a certain combination of instruments? There are also lots of great resources on YouTube/online about what characterizes certain kinds of music. What are common chord progressions in the genre? Is there a rhythm or time signature that characterizes the genre (as is often the case with dances, like tangos or waltzes etc.)? Then try out what you liked from the research and play around with it!

Make it understandable! A musical isn't a novel or an album -- typically, the audience watching it can't reread a page or replay the song. They're watching and listening live, and you have to make sure they understand all the information! When it comes to songwriting, make sure you are setting your lyrics in a comprehensible way. Try reading out your lyrics before setting them at all, so you note where you naturally emphasize words (e.g., we pronounce the word MU-sical, not mu-SIC-al or musi-CAL). Once you have this for reference, recreate this natural rhythm to the best of your ability in your melody! It will help people understand your lyrics better. You want folks to understand as many words as possible on the first listen! (E.g., if someone's singing really quickly and then sing the word musical as mu-SIC-al, people very well might easily mistake it for another set of words entirely, 'cause their brains are not used to the word being said like that!) Similarly, you want to watch out for the amount of syllables you're putting in each line. If two lines sound similar melodically but one has a couple extra syllables in there, chances are it's gonna get squashed rhythmically and become word mush. Fixing this means revisiting your lyrics and cutting some/rephrasing them, which is a natural part of the process!

Finish it! Whatever else you have to do to get to the end of it, it's so important to have a complete project to see how your storytelling works and where it can be improved. A great thing about writing musicals is how often they can be revised -- you'll get feedback, or grow as a writer, and end up wanting to revamp it, which is fine! Look at the difference between Broadway shows and productions of the same shows before Broadway. Or you'll move onto a different project with the skills you acquired from this one -- either way, you have a show's worth of experience under your belt. :)

Be open to criticism, but form your own opinions based on many audience reactions, not just one person's critique. Have readings of your show for your friends, or host a talkback after your performances!

[mrsmarymorstan]

Manga Recommendations!

I've been asked a few times to recommend manga for people, so this is my Master List for Recs! The basic rules are that I have to have read at least 3 available volumes before recommending it, unless there are less than that available in English. I've included any major content warnings, but I will miss some stuff. I've differentiated between Romance, BL/GL and Queer Positive mostly because of vibes and the fact that I figured if you wanted to pick out Queer Stories then it was easier to jump to that section than scoot through romance! And also I didn't want people to think that just because I'm recommending a BL/GL series doesn't mean I think it's good Gay Rep! But as they say, I support Gay Wrongs AS WELL as Gay Rights.

If the series has a * it means it's available on the Shonen Jump App/Viz Media Website as part of their subscription service.

Action Adventure

Blue Exorcist* by Kazue Kato (159+ chapters, ongoing, final arc)

Rin Okumura appears to be an ordinary, somewhat troublesome teenager—that is until one day he is ambushed by demons. His world turns upside down when he discovers that he is in fact the very son of Satan and that his demon father kills his adoptive father with the aim of possessing Rin so he can conquer Assiah. Whilst the other Exorcists decide the solution is to kill Rin, he persuades them to let him train to become an exorcist himself under the tutelage of all those at True Cross Academy. Including his younger twin brother Yukio!

Another one to add to the list of "Good Shonen Written By Women".

Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP 9 Volumes, complete.

Quintesential Magical Girl series! Sakura Kinomoto is a normal ten year-old girl until she accidentally releases the mystical clow cards! Now with the help of Keros -- the Guaradian of the cards -- she must locate and capture all the escaped cards before they cause more mayhem on her home town! She's not the only one looking to become master of the clow though, and soon Sakura is making new rivals as well as new friends.

CW: This series was written in th 90s and it shows. There are multiple positive depictions of Student/Teacher relationships including one between a ten year old and her homeroom teacher. These are deemed as okay because they are soulmates.

Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui (14 Volumes, Complete)

What do you get when you cross dungeon adventures and food manga? You get Delicious in Dungeon, where we find our troupe of adventurers on a mission to save their lost team member while figuring out how to survive on the food that the dungeon provides. When young adventurer Laios and his company are attacked and soundly thrashed by a dragon deep in a dungeon, the party loses all its money and provisions. They're eager to get right back to it, but there's just one problem: if they set out with no food or coin to speak of, they're sure to eat it on the way! But Laios comes up with a brilliant idea: "Let's eat the monsters!" Slimes, basilisks, mimics, and even dragons…none are safe from the appetites of these dungeon-crawling gourmands!

Demon Slayer* by Koyoharu Gotouge 23 Volume, complete.

Returning home one day, 14 year old Tanjiro discovers that his whol family has been killed by a demon. The only survivor is his younger sister Nezuko, who has instead been turned into a demon herself. He must now join the Demon Slayer Core in order to find the demon who killed his family and find a way to turn Nezuko back into a human!

CW: Graphic depictions of violence. Implied sexual assult. Implied child sex workers. Child death. A character must repeatedly cut their throat in order to escape a dream world.

Kaiju No. 8* by Naoya Matumoto (ongoing)

"Kafka hopes to one day keep his pact with his childhood friend Mina to join the Japan Defense Force and fight by her side. But while she’s out neutralizing kaiju as Third Division captain, Kafka is stuck cleaning up the aftermath of her battles. When a sudden rule change makes Kafka eligible for the Defense Force, he decides to try out for the squad once more. There’s just one problem��he’s made the Defense Force’s neutralization list under the code name Kaiju No. 8."

What to do when you want to battle Kaiju but you yourself are also a Kaiju.

Magical Girl Dandelion by Kaeru Mizuho (7+ Chapters)

A teenage girl who's had a powerful bodyguard ever since she was a child: a monster lurking in the shadows. But one day, the girl is asked to become a magical girl to fight the villainous creatures who threaten mankind. Monsters similar to her loyal companion. But despite the complicated situation, he can't help but keep protecting her.

My Hero Academia Vigilantes* by Hideyuki Furuhashi ad Betten Court 126 chapters (complete)

"Koichi Haimawari couldn’t make the cut to become an official hero, so he uses his modest Quirk to do good deeds in his spare time. Then one day a fateful encounter with some local thugs leads him to team up with two other unlikely heroes. None of them really know what they’re doing, but they’ve got the courage—or foolishness—to try. But they soon discover fighting evil takes more than just being brave…"

Okay, hear me out. This one is for the Superhero fans wanting to get into manga. This is the Batman to mainline's Shazam, but without all the women in refridgerators. It's digs deeper on the more adult aspects of hero society, with a more anti-cop, anti-establishment appraoch. It's also facinating to see Koichi become LESS synical as the series goes on.

This series also made Midnight one of my favourite characters and now it's really awkward when people assume I just mean mainline Midnight and not Midnight who was allowed to have depth and development.

CW: Implied sexual assult

Prince Freya by Keiko Ishihara (10+ Vols available in English, ongoing)

"The powerful kingdom of Sigurd has slowly been conquering all the lands that share its borders, and now it has turned its voracious attention to the small, resource-rich kingdom of Tyr. Tyr cannot hope to match Sigurd in strength, so in order to survive it must rely on the intelligence, skill, and cunning of its prince and his loyal knights. But when the prince is poisoned, a young village maiden named Freya, who bears a shocking resemblance to the fallen prince, must step into his place to save them all."

CW: Non-Graphic Sexual Assault, sexual themes, Non-Con Kissing, Heavy Violence, Decapitation, Trauma, PTSD

The King's Beast by Rei Toma (14+ available in English, ongoing)

Rangetsu is an Ajin, a person with animal features, mystical abilities and a second class citizen. Female Ajin are forced into sex work and male Ajin are forced into the millitary. If they are lucky, they might be taken away as a Beast Servant for one of the King's children. That's what happend to Rangetsu's twin brother, Sogetsu until he was suddenly murdered in a political assasination. Rangetsu swears revenge, and diguises herself as a man in order to become the Prince's new Beast Servant. Yet when the time comes to kill him, can she actually do it?

CW: There is an underlining Master X Servant (Slave) relationship but this is depicted as knowingly problematic and messy, although still inherently romantic. A slave class is depicted as animalistic. Attempted Sexual Assualt. Sexual Assualt. Attempted child sexual assult. Forced Prostitution. Cannibalism. Mental Illness.

Tokyo Mew Mew by Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi (3 Omnibus Volumes, complete)

"Momomiya Ichigo was just trying to enjoy a date with the boy she liked, Aoyama Masaya. Instead, she ended up conscripted into a struggle against aliens intent on wiping humanity from the earth! The Mew Project has infused five young girls with the DNA of endangered creatures, and given them special powers to fight chimera anima, earth animals transformed into monsters by alien parasites. Somehow, Ichigo has to get her teammates to work together, battle chimera anima, and fend off the attacks (and advances?) of the aliens themselves. And that's in addition to keeping her identity secret and improving her relationship with Masaya. Not to mention, just who is that mysterious Blue Knight anyway?"

Witch Hat Atelier by Kamone Shiramama (12+ Volumes available in English, ongoing)

"In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with the gift for magic. She's resigned to her un-magical life, until a traveling magician passes through her village, and Coco learns what what everybody "knows" might not be the truth."

Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi 40+ Volumes ongoing

"Princess Yona lived a happy life with her peace-loving father, King Il. Surrounded by attentive servants and protected by her smart-mouthed bodyguard, Hak, Yona's only difficulties in life were her unruly red hair and trying to convince her father to let her marry her cousin, Soo-wan. Then one day a betrayal in the palace causes Yona to lose everything, turning her into an exile with no one left but Hak to defend her. Yona is determined to become strong in her own right and defeat those who wronged her, and an ancient legend involving the Crimson Dragon King and his four Dragon Warriors may be her key to reclaiming her kingdom."  CW: Violence, murder, drug abuse, threats of sexual violence

Boy Love/Girl Love

5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love by Zeniko Sumiya (One Shot)

The lone witch Meg has one-upped the witch hunter Lilith by turning her into a cat. The spell can be broken, if Lilith kisses the one who cast the spell upon her…

10 Dance by Inoue Satou (Lime) 6+ Volumes Ongoing

"Shinya Sugiki, the dashing lord of Standard Ballroom, and Shinya Suzuki, passionate king of Latin Dance: The two share more than just a first name and a love of the sport. They each want to become champion of the 10-Dance Competition, which means they'll need to learn the other's specialty dances, and who better to learn from than the best? But old rivalries die hard, and things get complicated even further when they realize there might be more between them than an uneasy partnership..."

CW: Internalised homophobia/biphobia, Casual Xenophobia/Racism (treated negatively)

A Beast's Love is Like the Moon by Guri Nojiro (One Shot)

Tired of the fast-paced city life, Izuki has agreed to take care of his uncle's house in the mountains, which are said to be "visited by yokai." Izuki, dismissive of the superstition, goes exploring — only to be attacked by a yokai in the woods. He's saved by a beautiful man named Haku, who claims to be the incarnation of a komainu guardian dog. He pledges himself to Izuki and begs him to be his master. Izuki refuses at first, wanting to return to the city as quickly as possible, but is swayed by Haku's lonely eyes and brings him back to the house. Gradually, he falls into a comfortable rhythm with the pushy but devoted Haku while living under the same roof, and Izuki wonders if he really wants to return to the city as he thought. However, Haku harbors a secret that could put Izuki's life at risk. Will Izuki and Haku come together in the end, or will Haku succumb to the loneliness that he's held at bay for centuries…?

Birds of Shangri-la by Ranmaru Zariya (Lemon) 2+ Volumes (ongoing)

"A paradise of sensuality, Shangri-La is a male brothel celebrating the glories of gay sex. Newly hired Apollo is in charge of getting the men ready for clients, but as a straight man, he’s a bit naive. Phi, one of the brothel’s most sought-after prostitutes, is tasked with getting him up to speed, but not before toying with him a bit. Too bad the rules of the brothel are clear—no orgasms, no penetration, and no falling in love!"

CW: Flashbacks to Child Sexual Assault/Child Prostitution, graphic depictions of violence, blackmail.

Overall it has a Positive depiction of Sex Work, but YMMV

Catch These Hands by murata (4/4 vols available in English)

"Back in the day, Takebe was a tough-as-nails delinquent who could throw hands with anyone. But right when she finally decides to leave her old ways behind, Takebe has a surprise reunion with her old rival, the “Bloody Cardigan” Soramori. After all these years, she still wants a piece of Takebe—but not in the way anyone expected! Her proposal: If Soramori can beat Takebe in a fight, they have to start dating?!"

Cherry Magic! 30 Years of Virginity can make you a Wizard?! by Yuu Toyota (Light Lime) 12+ Volumes (ongoing)

"It's complicated: A thirty-year-old virgin gets more than he bargained for when his newfound magical power reveals he's the object of his male coworker's affections! Adachi, a thirty-year-old virgin, discovers he has the magical power to read the minds of people he touches. Unfortunately, the ability just makes him miserable since he doesn't know how to use it well! And to make matters worse, when he accidentally reads the mind of his very competent, handsome colleague, Adachi discovers the guy has a raging crush on none other than Adachi himself! Things are about to get very awkward!"

Coyote by Ranmaru Zariya (Lemon) 4+ Volumes (ongoing)

"In order to conceal that he’s a werewolf, Coyote avoids getting too involved with humans. But Marleen, a pianist at a bar he frequents, is interested in him and just won’t take no for an answer. When Coyote unexpectedly goes into heat for the first time, Marleen catches him while he’s unable to maintain his human form and offers up a tempting invitation. Coyote wants to resist, but can he?" CW: Violence, Murder

Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher by Tama Mizuki (lime) (4+ Volumes, Ongoing)

In high school, studious Hitsuji had a secret crush on one of his guy friends–a friendly delinquent named Hatoyama–but never confessed. Years later, Hitsuji is a slightly anxious but responsible adult who found his calling as an elementary school teacher. One of his young students is upset with a sloppy and nonconformist dad–who turns out to be Hatoyama! When Hitsuji learns that Hatoyama is struggling to raise his son as a single parent, Hitsuji helps him out, first as a teacher and then as a friend who can teach Hatoyama how to clean his home and cook actual vegetables. As the men grow closer, some of Hitsuji’s anxieties begin to melt around the welcoming (and grateful) Hatoyama. What will become of the feelings Hitsuji used to harbor for his first love?

Dick Fight Island by Reibun Ike (Lemon) 2 Volumes (complete)

Every Four Years the Mighty Wyrm tournament takes place on the island of Pulau Yang Indah between the eight clans to choose the next king! The rules? He who comes first, looses. This year, Harto represents the diamond clan and has been doing important research in the outside world, where he has discovered a special technique that he hopes will lead his clan to victory! It involves a previously unknown spot hidden deep within the warrior's mighty arse: The Prostate.

CW: DubCon but in the same way that fighting tournaments are. You don't exactly WANT the person to punch you in the face, but you agreed to the terms when you stepped in the ring and can tap out whenever you want.

The Dragon's Betrothed by Meguru Hinohara (Lemon) 2+ Volumes, ongoing

"Troubled writer Chiharu Izunome reluctantly returns to his rural hometown, hoping some R & R will refresh his creative juices. Instead of finding respite, he’s quickly entangled by an old promise to wed a local god! Rin, the water dragon god to whom Chiharu has been betrothed, can be disarmingly friendly and charming, but inside lurks an animalistic ferocity. Knowing that he can’t escape Rin’s protective embrace, can Chiharu make himself fall in love with the god instead?" CW: Dubious consent that becomes explicit consent

Go for it Nakamura! by Syundei 2 volumes (Complete)

Nakamura has a huge crush on Hirose and is convinced he has it in him to become friends! Now if only he could actually say a few words in front of him?

The answer to "What if Rumiko Takahashi wrote a wholesome, unproblematic Boy Love?"

Goodbye, My Rose Garden by Dr. Pepperco (3 Volumes, Complete)

England, the early 1900s. Alice, a young noblewoman, has a Japanese maid named Hanako working in her household. The two have a fairly typical relationship… until the day Alice begs Hanako to kill her. As Hanako tries to figure out why her mistress would make such a terrible request, she and Alice grow closer until an entirely new feeling begins to blossom between them. CW: Suicidal Ideation, Racism, Homophobia, Misogyny

I Got Reincarnated in a (BL) World of Big (Man) Boobs by Tsukiji Nao (3 Omnibus Volumes)

"I just... wanted to... touch boobies..." Nagare Otokawa was an otaku loser obsessed with breasts. He tragically died never knowing the feel of the sweet, sweet bosoms he'd craved all his life. Little does he know, his wish is about to be granted in a way he never would have expected. Nagare gets reincarnated as a handsome guy and quickly realizes that he’s living in a (BL) world full of sexy (male) beauties. Even so, he sets out to find and squeeze the bust of his dreams. He does, in fact, end up with his face planted deeply in some luscious cleavage, but to his dismay, it's the magnificent pecs of the super-muscular class delinquent, Ryuji Onizuka! Now Nagare must try to dodge his way past the barrage of BL scenarios that hurtle into his path. Will he persevere and get the busty girlfriend of his dreams, or will he end up falling for the all-man—yet temptingly bodacious—Ryuji?

I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino, 4 Parts, 6+ Volumes (ongoing)

"Because of a hearing disability, Kohei is often misunderstood and has trouble integrating into life on campus, so he learns to keep his distance. That is until he meets the outspoken and cheerful Taichi. He tells Kohei that his hearing loss is not his fault. Taichi's words cut through Kohei's usual defense mechanisms and open his heart. More than friends, less than lovers, their relationship changes Kohei forever." CW: Ableism, Internalised Ableism (all treated negatively)

Marriage to Kitsune-Sama by Homerun Ken (Oneshot) (Lime)

Every few decades, the town of Hokutochou sends a human up the mountain to marry one of the fox spirits who reside above them–and Inaho has always longed for that role. When he comes of age, he ascends to his new home and meets his handsome new husband: a kitsune lord named Subaru. Subaru has been watching Inaho for a long time and is pleased to receive his new spouse. But before this supernatural marriage can enter its honeymoon stage, Inaho learns that Subaru is stuck with an unfortunate curse. This fox spirit wants to eat up his beloved: literally! Can Inaho and Subaru find a way to break the curse and save their relationship?

Megumi and Tsugumi by Mitsuru SI (6+ Volumes) (Lemon)

Tsugumi is a delinquent who hates all alphas for how they treat omegas like him, so when some alphas from an elite school attack another omega, Tsugumi beats ’em to a pulp! Megumi, the son of the elite school’s chairman, takes it upon himself to avenge his pummeled friends, but when the time comes, all he finds is a fired-up Tsugumi reeking of pheromones and insisting he can control his heat through sheer willpower! Faced with a different kind of battle, Megumi goes from attacker to savior, whisking Tsugumi to safety and leaving the cranky omega reconsidering everything he’s ever thought about alphas. CW: MPreg, DubCon, Attempted Sexual Assault

The Moon on a Rainy Night by Kuzushiro (6+ Volumes)

One day, while rushing to a piano lesson, a girl named Saki collides with someone on the street. As Saki collects herself, the stranger picks up the sheet music Saki dropped, hands it to Saki together with a band-aid, and continues on her way—all without saying a word. Saki is left wondering about the identity of the tall, lovely stranger, only to discover the next day that she is one of her classmates at her new high school. The girl’s name is Kanon, and though she is hearing impaired, she refuses any kind of support or “special treatment” from her teachers or classmates. Over the course of the year, Saki slowly grows closer to Kanon and begins to chip away at her cold exterior. CW: Bullying, Ableism, Internalised Ableism, Homophobia

Old Fashioned Cupcake by Sagan Sagan, Lime (2 Volumes, complete)

"The daily grind both soothes and troubles older salaryman Nozue, until an unexpected visit to a pancake shop with his blunt younger coworker shakes things up! At 39 years old, Nozue lives a routine, if not melancholic, life of sleep and work. Togawa, his younger subordinate, finds it troubling and takes it upon himself to shake up Nozue’s routine. During a lunch outing, the two go to a pancake shop full of exuberant young ladies to “do what girls do,” and it’s just the thing to breathe life into Nozue. The two men start an unlikely friendship—and perhaps something a little sweeter!"

The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter by Kazuki Irodori, Wakatsu Yatsuki, Kikka Ohashi 4+ Volumes, ongoing

"Seiichiro's always pulled his own weight, all day every day, for almost thirty years. Even when he gets stuck in a fantasy world because of some strange Saint-Summoning Ritual, he keeps on keeping on. It isn't until he meets the Aresh, the Captain of the Knights, that realizes he may possibly want more out of life than his job. Can Seiichiro melt the heart of the infamous Ice Nobleman—or is he destined to be married to his work…forever?!" CW: Dubious Consent

Run Away With Me, Girl by Battan, (Light Lime) 3 Volumes Complete

"A wistful romance between two women about how, sometimes, you need to run away in order to find where you truly belong. Midori was Maki’s first love and high school sweetheart—that is, until Midori broke up with Maki at graduation, saying they were now “too old” to be “fooling around” dating girls. Ten years later, will running away be the key to lead the two women back into each other’s arms? " CW: Domestic Abuse, Homophobia

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat by Yuzaki Sakaomi (5+ Volumes)

Cooking is how Nomoto de-stresses, but one day, she finds herself making way more than she can eat by herself. And so, she invites her neighbor Kasuga, who also lives alone. What will come out of this impromptu dinner invitation…? CW: Disordered Eating, Parental Neglect, Misogyny, Homophobia

Therapy Game by Meguru Hinohara (2 Volumes, complete) Lemon

"Shizuma only drank that night to forget his heartbreak. He didn’t intend to also forget Minato, the one-night stand who soothed his broken heart. And since Minato’s not one to be forgotten, he hatches a plan of seduction…and revenge! Recently dumped and very straight, Shizuma tries to drink his sorrow away, only to wake up being spooned by a man! When he explains to Minato, his drunken fling, that he doesn’t remember a thing about their night together, Minato secretly vows to seduce him again—and then dump him as revenge! But even the best-laid plans can go awry when Cupid has his way."

CW: Suicide of a Character from the Past, Biphobia (treated negatively)

The Titan's Bride by ITKZ (VERY LEMON) 5+ Volumes, ongoing

"Kouichi Mizuki has just graduated high school and is looking forward to the future, but after his last day at school, he finds himself summoned to Eustil, a world of titans! His summoner, Prince Caius, has brought him to the kingdom of Tildant to become his bride and fulfill a prophecy, but their considerable size difference makes Kouichi worry that he might not survive being penetrated by his huge new "husband". Caius agrees to send Kouichi home after a month if he is truly unhappy; yet as time goes by, Kouichi finds himself getting used to being a "dwarf" in a land of giants. And in spite of his protests, Caius's nightly ministrations on his body fill him with unimaginable pleasure..." CW: Attempted Sexual Assault, Violence, Abduction,

The Yearning Fox Lies in Wait by Nmura (OneShot)

In 1920s Tokyo, prodigy Kiyo has finally made it to university, only to find himself in a tough spot. He happens upon Ozaki, who invites him to live in his mansion. But is Ozaki just an eccentric recluse, or something far stranger? And what kind of relationship did he have with Kiyo’s grandfather?

Comedy

A Man and His Cat by Umi Sakurai 12+ Volumes, ongoing

"Fukumaru is a big, unusual-looking cat who has spent a long time sitting in the pet store waiting for a home. He's almost a year old, and the shop's customers only seem to want tiny kittens. Then one day a miracle happens - an older man comes along and takes him home! Thus begins the heartwarming everyday life of a cat who only wants to be loved and a lonely man who is delighted to give him the love and happiness he deserves."

Spy X Family* by Tatsuya Endo (137+ chapters, ongoing)

Not one to depend on others, Twilight has his work cut out for him procuring both a wife and a child for his mission to infiltrate an elite private school. What he doesn’t know is that the wife he’s chosen is an assassin and the child he’s adopted is a telepath!

The Emperor and I* by Mato (38 chapters, complete)

"One day something emerges from high school girl Kaho’s refrigerator—an emperor penguin, the largest of all penguins! When this emperor joins the household, fun and wacky antics with family and friends ensue!"

The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke Oono (8+ Volumes, Ongoing)

"He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to travel another path—the path of the househusband!"

I'll be honest, I have only read up to Vol 5 because as a gag manga it doesn't exactly GO anywhere but it's still super fun and funny! So worth reading if you haven't yet =)

CW: Positive depiction of the Yakuza/mob

The Yakuza's Guide To Babysitting by Tsukiya (5+ Volumes, ongoing)

Kirishima is a vicious demon of the Sakura Family, yet his vicious streak is starting to cause more problems than solutions and so in order to tame him the head of the family gives him the most important task: becoming the babysitter to his 7 year old daughter.

Cue adorableness, character growth and DILFs.

CW: Positive depiction of the Yakuza/mob. There is a recurring canonically gay character who is a bit of a stereotype but is overall portrayed favourably.

Disabled Narratives (Fictional)

Blade Girl by Narumi Shigematsu (3 volumes, complete)

"One year after losing her leg, 16-year-old Rin is tired—tired of the painful physical therapy, tired of being treated differently, and tired of her stupid, heavy, awkward prosthetic leg. All that changes when she encounters the Blade Runners, a group of one-legged athletes who run with “blades”—carbon fiber prosthetics specialized for competitive running-made by their gifted prosthetist, Kazami. The blades are light, flexible, and formidably difficult to control—Rin can barely walk with one, much less sprint. But as she tumbles to the ground again and again, she rediscovers many of the things that she’d forgotten, and finds a new goal: to compete in the Paralympics." CW: Internalised Ableism

Run on Your New Legs by Wataru Midori (5 Volumes, Complete)

"After the loss of his leg, Kikuzato’s dream of becoming a soccer ace comes to an end. But with use of a prosthetic leg, he finds a new goal -- to become a track star and win gold at the Tokyo Paralympics!" CW: COVID-19, Internalised Ableism, Ableism

Drama

Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga li by Asuka Konishi (7+ volumes available in English, ongoing)

"Yoshino grew up as the yakuza princess of the Osaka Somei crime family. Everyone left her alone due to her sharp gaze and mobster ties. But when her grandfather signs a truce with the Tokyo-based Miyama crime family, she’s offered for betrothal to the Miyama leader’s grandson, Kirishima. At first, Kirishima seems amiable and polite–but when he shows his dark side, he proves to be more disturbing than any gangster Yoshino has ever met. This engagement is sure to be a wild ride for a tough yakuza princess and her twisted yakuza prince!"

CW: Violence, Blood Shed, Sexual Themes, Emotional Manipulation, Everyone Is A Walking Red Flag But God Is Red Such A Pretty Colour Sometimes!

Non-Fiction/Informative

The Bride Was A Boy by Chii (One shot)

"Drawn in the style of diary comics with an upbeat, adorable flair, this is a charming tale about Chii, a woman assigned male at birth. Her story starts with her childhood and follows the ups and downs of exploring her sexuality, gender, and transition–as well as falling in love with a man who’s head over heels for her. Now they want to get married, so Chii’s about to embark on a new adventure: becoming a bride!"

CW: Societal Transphobia and Homophobia

Cells at Work! Lady by Shigemitsu Harada (Author), Akari Otokawa (Artist)

Life as a lady can be tough, but life IN a lady is that much tougher. From periods to pregnancies, it can be an emotional ride…especially when you’re the size of a cell. Thankfully, Macrophage, Killer T, Helper T, and White Blood Cell are joined by a host of hard-working allies equipped to deal with the daily struggles of lady life. CW: Cis-Normative, Miscarriage, Fertility Treatment, Fertility Difficulties, Diet Culture

Embrace Your Size: My Own Body Positivity by hara

A love letter to those who dream of being fashionable but consider their weight as an obstacle, this uplifting comic essay by a plus-sized author chronicles her own journey with body positivity and learning to love herself as she is. CW: Disordered Eating, Fatphobia

The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend by Mieri Hiranashi (One Shot)

Mieri is an awkward, nerdy college student with no dating experience, and her previous crushes on fellow butch women have all ended in disaster. That all changes when she meets Ash and has her feelings returned for the first time—but when first love turns to first heartbreak, Mieri will do everything possible to win Ash back. Based on true events, this is a hilarious and heart-wrenching story about love, loneliness, and the true meaning of finding one’s own happy ending.

I'm a Terminal Cancer Patient, but I'm Fine by Hilnama

At 38 years old, Hilnama, a manga artist, is diagnosed with colon cancer. Never one to lose hope or give in to despair, she begins cancer treatments despite the deadly diagnosis. But when going through such a grueling process, it can be difficult to keep a positive outlook… When faced with the struggles and trials of life, Hilnama turns to what she knows: writing and creating manga again, drawing herself as a rabbit in a world of humans and hospitals. This poignant and down-to-earth account of diagnosis, treatment, and living with terminal disease will be a reference for positivity and perseverance for years to come. CW: Medical Debt, Cancer, Medical Treatment, Past-Domestic Abuse. Note: Hilnama-sensei died shortly before the English publication of this work.

The Life Changing Manga Of Tidying Up by Mari Kondo

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up, but in Manga form! With a heteronormative romantic subplot and everything. Useful if you're like me and want to learn to declutter your room but don't have the brain worms to read the actual book.

My Brain Is Different by MONZUSU (One Shot)

"Anthology following the true stories of nine people (including the illustrator) navigating life with developmental disorders and disabilities.

This intimate manga collection follows nine adults with developmental disorders as they outline their struggles and triumphs. Experience the stories of a high school dropout’s new path to education; a person seeing the world through new eyes thanks to their medication; a father and daughter learning to thrive together, and more. This manga illustrates diverse anxieties but also self-empowerment in learning to navigate a world not built with everyone in mind."

CW: Domestic Abuse (violence and emotional), Ableism, Suicidal Ideation

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness by Nagata Kabi (Lime) (One Shot with Follow Ups)

"A hugely popular comic on Pixiv, My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness offers readers an honest and heartfelt look at one young woman’s exploration of her sexuality, mental well-being, and growing up in our modern age."

CW: Depression, Anxiety, A Homophobic Society

Sex Ed 120% by Writer Kikiki Takaki and Artist Hotomura (3 Volumes, complete)

Gym teacher Tsuji-sensei has one mission: help with Japan’s terrible modern sex education standards. The problem is, her students barely know their birds from their bees! CW: Frank and honest discussions about sex and gender in important detail.

Until I meet my Husband by Ryousuke Nanasaki, Yoshi Tsukizuki One Shot

"From school crushes to awkward dating sites to finding a community, this collection of stories recounts the author’s “firsts” as a young gay man searching for love. Dating isn’t ever easy, but that goes doubly so for Ryousuke, whose journey is full of unrequited love and many speed bumps. But perseverance and time heals all wounds, even those of the heart." CW: Toxic/Unhealthy Relationships, Dubious Consent, Homophobia

Occult

Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki! by Kanako Inuki (Collection of One Shots)

From the mind of Japan's "queen of horror manga" comes a short story collection sure to put a grin on your face and send a chill down your spine. For more than 30 years, Inuki Kananko has been terrorizing girls and boys with twisted catch-22s and ghoulish monsters. Discover one of the best-kept secrets of global horror with this selection of some of Inuki's most popular short comics. The six hair-raising stories feature an array of unnerving characters and scenarios brought to life in Inuki's signature art style, in the tradition of Junji Ito, Kazuo Umezu, Shintaro Kago, and Junko Mizuno.

Dandadan* by Yukinobu Tatsu, 181+ Chapters (ongoing)

Momo Ayase and Okarun are on opposite sides of the paranormal spectrum regarding what they’ll believe in and what they won’t. Their quest to prove each other wrong leads them down a path of secret crushes and paranormal battles they’ll have to participate in to believe! CW: Sexual Assault in the context of Alien Abductions and Yokai Attacks, Nudity, Crude Humour

Goodbye Eri* by Tatsuki Fujimoto (One Shot)

"With his mother dying, Yuta attempts to capture her last days on his phone. After her death, Yuta heads to the roof of the hospital to commit suicide, but a meeting with a strange girl leads him on the path to making a movie."

CW: Character Deaths from Long Term Unspecified Illness, grief, mourning, bullying, emotional abuse

Sadako at the end of the World by Koma Natsumi (One Shot)

"In a world torn apart by an apocalypse, two lonely little girls chance upon a strange video. To their surprise and joy, a girl with long black hair named Sadako climbs out of the TV...But little do they know that Sadako is a vengeful ghost who will kill them in a week! In order to help their new friend, these two sweet, innocent girls begin a journey to the end of the world to look for more victims friends. Can their bond with Sadako help her find peace and finally break the curse? Or will this tale have a tragic ending...?"

The answer to "What if Studio Ghibli made a Ring movie?

CW: Character Death, I mean it's the Ring Girl what were you expecting? Of course she's gonna kill people.

Hell's Paradise* by Yuuji Kaku 13 Volumes, complete

"Gabimaru the Hollow is one of the most vicious ninja assassins ever to come out of the village of Iwagakure. He’s ruthlessly efficient, but a betrayal results in him being handed a death sentence. There is only one hope: travel to a long-hidden island and recover an elixir that will make the shogun immortal and he will regain his freedom. Failure is not an option—on this island, Heaven and Hell are a hair’s breadth away." CW: Extreme Violence, Sexual Content, Nudity

Hiraeth: The End of the Journey by Yuhki Kamatani (3 Volumes complete)

"After the death of her best friend, Mika is determined to follow her into the grave. But her suicide attempt introduces her to a world unlike any she's ever seen...full of gods and spirits and entities of which she could never have dreamed. But even with this world of wonder, can she find a way out of her sorrow?"

CW: Attempted Suicide, Suicidal Ideation, Grief, Mourning

The Demon Prince of Momochi House by Aya Shouoto (16 Volumes Complete)

"On her sixteenth birthday, orphan Himari Momochi inherits her ancestral estate that she’s never seen. Momochi House exists on the barrier between the human and spiritual realms, and Himari is meant to act as guardian between the two worlds. But on the day she moves in, she finds three handsome squatters already living in the house, and one seems to have already taken over her role!"

Historical

The Apothecary Diaries by Natsu Hyuuga, Nekokurage, Touko Shino 13+ Volumes (ongoing)

"Maomao, a young woman trained in the art of herbal medicine, is forced to work as a lowly servant in the inner palace. Though she yearns for life outside its perfumed halls, she isn’t long for a life of drudgery! Using her wits to break a “curse” afflicting the imperial heirs, Maomao attracts the attentions of the handsome eunuch Jinshi and is promoted to attendant food taster. But Jinshi has other plans for the erstwhile apothecary, and soon Maomao is back to brewing potions and…solving mysteries?!"

Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom by Nao Iwamoto, (One Shot)

"Once upon a time, two countries who shared a border wouldn’t stop squabbling over petty issues. Their spats eventually escalated into war…over an incident involving dog poop. Finally, the gods declared that both nations had to call a truce. The most beautiful girl in the Gold Kingdom would marry the smartest man in the Water Kingdom, paving the way to a new era of peace! When Sarah, a princess from the Gold Kingdom, meets a charming man named Naranbayar from the Water Kingdom, they decide to do what it takes to stop more pointless conflict between their countries–by pretending to be in love. Will their plan work? And what if real romantic feelings blossom between them?" CW: Xenophobia (fictional nations)

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga 19 Volumes (Complete)

"In the Tokugawa era, the dreaded redface pox is devastating the country's population of young men, and after a few generations, the gender ratio has fallen to roughly one male for every four females. Since sons rarely survive to adulthood, family trades are now passed from mother to daughter, and women hold even important governmental positions. In order to prevent the rest of the world from discovering this state of affairs, Japan institutes a strict isolationist policy, and female officials adopt masculine names so that even the official records don't reveal what's happening. Though the outside word is suffering from a shortage of marriageable men, the inner chambers of Edo castle are a lavish place, filled with hundreds of men who serve both as an emergency standing army, and also as the personal harem for the new shogun - a woman named Yoshimune who is determined to fix the rampant inequality and wastefulness of her country." CW: Sexual Assault, Rape, Domestic Abuse, Violence, Pandemic, Homophobia, Abuse of Power, Ableism, Sex

The Rose of Versailles, by Riyoko Ikeda 5 Omnibus editions of 14 Volumes (Complete)

"Since General de Jarjayes of France’s Royal Guard always wanted a son, he brings up his only daughter Oscar to dress, fight, and behave like a man. When Oscar’s excellent swordsmanship wins her the honored position as bodyguard to Louis XVI’s new bride, Marie Antoinette, the Jarjayes household believes it can finally be proud. However, what nobody realizes is the pit of thorns the royal court in Versailles has become – with all its excessive opulence, it attracts not just those with status and wealth, but also those with ruthless ambition. To confound matters, Marie Antoinette turns out to be an airhead whose selfish actions are turning the starving population against her. Amidst the sordid schemes and terrible tragedies, and with the tide of history sweeping against the nobles, can Oscar protect her new King and Queen whilst upholding justice for the oppressed peasants of France?"

Romance

A Sign of Affection by suu Morishita (10+ Volumes, ongoing)

"Yuki is a typical college student, whose world revolves around her friends, social media, and the latest sales. But when a chance encounter on a train leads to her meeting friend-of-a-friend and fellow student Itsuomi-san, her world starts to widen. But even though Itsuomi-kun can speak three languages, sign language isn't one of them. Can the two learn to communicate the budding feelings between them?"

Very, incredibly shojo and yet all the tropes feel completely relevant and earned! There is also a huge focus on consent and communication throughout which I am a very big fan of. Also the use of lettering to inform storytelling is SO DAMN GOOD it makes me want to scream. Also hands. So many beautiful pictures of hands. We also need more stories with disabled protagonists in this world <3

Changes of Heart by Kujira (9 Volumes, complete) (Lime)

"After being dumped by her boyfriend, Koyori went to her longtime friend Hijiri's house to drink away her sorrow…and ended up spending the night with him! Not only that, he tells her he loves her—and she's not sure how to reconcile the new development with someone she's known since they were kids. After all, the stakes are high—if things don't work out, she'll hurt one of her closest friends. And to make matters worse, her ex wants to patch things up…? Koyori needs to figure out what she wants, before she loses it all."

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, 23 Volumes (complete) Available in English as 12 Volume Collector's editions from YenPress

What starts off a story of an orphan high school girl who discovers that a bunch of pretty boys will turn into Chinese Zodiac Animals if she hugs them quickly becomes a heartfelt and moving story about escaping the cycle of abuse. It quickly becomes clear that the actual curse the Sohma Clan are under is nothing to do with turning into animals, but rather the suffering they endure under an unending cycle of abuse encouraged by all those around them.

It covers themes such as learning the importance of self love, allowing yourself to put you first for a change and being brave enough to ask for help when needed. The series is open and honest about the complexity of forgiveness, and how everyone deserves a chance to change and become a better person no matter how impossible that may seem-- yet at the same time does not demand that victims forgive them or accept their attempts at recompanse.

This series requires you to think and contemplate. I have read it numerous times over the years, and each time I come away with something new. This series shaped me as a person, and if you can put up with the late 90s/early 00s Shojo Nonsense then it's absolutely worth a read!

CW: Domestic Abuse (physical and emotional), Child Abuse, Cult Behaviour, Gender Essentialism, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Exagerated Female-on-Male Violence for Humour's sake, Adult/Minor romantic relationships including one between a Middle School Pupil and her Student Teacher.

Home Office Romance by Kintetsu Yamada (One Volume Complete)

Nokoru is finally afforded the chance to telework at home due to the pandemic lockdown. Rediscovering old passions and new hobbies, Nokoru is allured by his next-door neighbor, Natsu. CW: Covid-19, Mild Sexual Content

Horimiya by HERO and Daisuke Hagiwara (16 volumes, complete)

"At school, Kyouko Hori is known for being smart, attractive, and popular. On the other hand, her classmate, the boring, gloomy Izumi Miyamura tends to get painted as a "loser fanboy." But when a liberally pierced and tattooed (not to mention downright gorgeous) Miyamura appears unexpectedly on the doorstep of secretly plain-Jane homebody Hori, these two similarly dissimilar teenagers discover that there are multiple sides to every story...and person!"

CW: Mild Biphobia for humour's sake

In The Clear Moonlit Dusk by Mika Yamamori (5+ Volumes, ongoing)

"Yoi Takiguchi has long legs, a deep voice, and a handsome face…in other words, Yoi is such a good-looking guy that most people don't notice or care that she is, in fact, a girl. Indeed, she's had the nickname "Prince" as long as she can remember. That is, until she met Ichimura-senpai…the only person who's really seemed to see her for herself. To her surprise, she's not sure how to handle this new relationship, especially when her newfound friend is a prince himself (and a guy prince, at that). The story of the two high school princes starts here!"

Knight of the Ice by Yayoi Ogawa (11 volumes, complete)

"A rom-com manga on ice, perfect for fans of Princess Jellyfish and Wotakoi! Kokoro is the talk of the figure-skating world, winning trophies and hearts. But little do they know … he’s actually a huge nerd! From the beloved creator of You’re My Pet (a.k.a. Tramps Like Us)!

Chitose is a serious young woman, working for the health magazine SASSO. Or at least, she would be, if she wasn’t constantly getting distracted by her childhood friend, international figure skating star Kokoro Kijinami! In the public eye and on the ice, Kokoro is a gallant, flawless knight, but behind his glittery costumes and breathtaking spins lies a secret: he’s actually a hopeless romantic otaku, who can only land his quad jumps when Chitose is on hand to recite a spell from his favorite magical girl anime!"

Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time by Rin Miasa (Lime) 6+ Volumes ongoing

Eiko Kagehara truly loves one thing in this world: the MMO she's played with her friends for the last 15 years, in which she leads a fantasy life as a sought-after blacksmith. But when her friends start leaving to, of all things, get married, have kids, find new jobs...she's thrown for a loop. So much so, in fact, that she drunkenly shares her gamer ID with her super-hot new colleague...who just happens to have been helped by her in-game in the past, and who wants to repay her by teaching her how to love?!

Ladies On Top by Nejiganameta, 6 Volumes, Complete, (Lemon)

"Mizuki seems like an ordinary office lady–tidy, cute, quiet, and looking for Mr. Right–but while she yearns for love, she’s left cold by traditional romances where men take the lead. Then, at the age of 24, Mizuki discovers Shinomiya, a seemingly perfect guy at the office who likes aggressive women, and something awakens within her. Together, Mizuki and Shinomiya learn that reversing traditional gender roles can be both liberating and exciting, especially in bed!"

CW: A character's stated rejection of sexual advances is initially repeatedly ignored

Love's In Sight by Uoyama 8 volumes, complete

"Morio Kurokawa is the toughest-looking tough guy around. Yukiko Akaza is a self-possessed girl with a vision impairment attending a school for the blind. The whole city fears Morio, but Yukiko sees the real him—he’s a soft sweetheart who’s just searching for his place in the world! Morio the Black Panther has won over a hundred fights. He’s beloved by his goons and feared by the public. But now, he faces his biggest challenge yet when he meets Yukiko...and falls in love at first sight! Can Morio outgrow his delinquent roots and turn over a new leaf for his unexpected love?" CW: Discusses ableism in a plethora of forms, including a scene where a visually impaired person is violently attacked with hot water. Homophobia and ageism are also discussed.

My Happy Marriage by Rito Kousaka, Akumi Agitogi, Tsukiho Tsukioka 5+ Volumes, ongoing

"A browbeaten and mistreated daughter is cast out of her family home and sent to audition as a bridal candidate for the heir to one of the most powerful families in the land. Considered nigh worthless for having failed to inherit the superhuman powers of the bloodlines into which she was born, Miyo Saimori lives her days unwanted and unloved. She is treated as a servant by her half-sister who, unlike Miyo, is blessed with unusual powers, while her step-mother and very own father have little time or love for their eldest daughter. Ultimately seen as nothing more than a nuisance and a drain on the family wealth, Miyo is packed off to the Kudo house as a bridal candidate for its heir, Kyoka Kudo. But whispers abound about the Kudo clan, the most powerful in all the land. Still, will the allegedly cold and cruel house into which Miyo aims to marry prove much warmer than the family she left behind?" CW: Domestic Abuse, Physical Abuse, Emotional/Mental Abuse

Our Torsos Align: Human X Monster Love by Ryo Sumiyoshi (One Omnibus Volume)

"This manga collection of stories about beastly love is from the point of view of the devourers and the devoured. Mermaids bring luck, but drag you into the depths. A woman’s bird-like rescuer expresses his love in a language she doesn’t understand. An extraterrestrial angel with no limbs learns to feel. Enjoy these tales of monstrous and, at times, haunting romance in this beautifully illustrated collection that’s sure to thrill."

CW: Sexual Themes, A story starts out as a romance and is revealed to be a psychological horror

Snow White With The Red Hair by Sorata Akiduki (26+ Volumes, ongoing)

A fairytale inspired Shojo Drama! Shirayuki is a young herbalist famed for her skills and beautiful red hair. When the Prince of Tanburun hears about her, he demands she become his concubine. Seeing no other option, Shirayuki runs away from Tanburun and heads to Clariness where her real story begins! Full of healthy fairytale romance, STEM, Swords and so much queer coding it might as well be canon, this is an all ages series I'd recommend to any Shojo Fan!

Something's Wrong With Us by Natsumi Ando (Lime) (15/16 volumes available in English)

"A spine-chilling and steamy romance between a Japanese sweets maker and the man who framed her mother for murder—Something’s Wrong with Us is the dark, psychological, sexy shojo series readers have been waiting for!

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Nao became a traditional Japanese sweets maker, and at 21, she’s about to take the industry by storm. With unparalleled artistry and a bright attitude, she gets an offer to work at a world-class confectionary company. But when she meets the young, handsome owner, she recognizes his cold stare … It’s none other than Tsubaki, her childhood friend and first crush-the same boy who stood over his father’s bloodied body 15 years ago, and framed Nao’s mother for the murder. As the only witness of that fateful night, Nao is eager to chase down the truth and confirm her suspicions. Since Tsubaki has no clue who she is, she seizes her chance to get close to him, but instead of finding any answers, she begins falling deeper for Tsubaki’s allure …"

CW: As the title implies, this is a deliberately toxic relationship. She's gasligting him, he's possessive and aggressive. Contains references to PTSD.

Sweat and Soap by Kintetsu Yamada (Lime) (11 Volumes, complete)

"Don’t miss a romcom manga like no other! In an office romance, there’s a fine line between sexy and awkward … and that line is where Asako—a woman who sweats copiusly—met Koutarou—a perfume developer who can’t get enough of Asako’s, er, scent.

Asako’s living her dream, working at the toiletry maker Lilia Drop. Little do her coworkers know, the reason she loves the company so much is that she’s ashamed of her body odor, and their soap is the only thing that does the trick. So when the company’s lead product developer, a perfuming genius, approaches her in the lobby and wonders what “that smell” is, she’s terrified … but could it be … that he likes it? And, even more surprising to Yae … does she like him?

The hilarious ups and downs of an office romance at a personal care products company are the subject of this sexy, strange romp. Sweat and Soap combines the odd-couple chemistry of Wotakoi, the “too real!” workplace comedy of Aggretsuko, and a heavy dollop of office steaminess!"

If you were looking for an adult romance story that deals with healthy communication and kink negotation than this is the series for you!

Tamon's B-Side by Yuki Shiwau (5+ Volumes, ongoing)

"High schooler Utage Kinoshita works part-time as a housekeeper so that she can afford her fangirl obsession with Tamon Fukuhara, her favorite member of boy band F/ACE. When work serendipitously sends her to the home of her idol, she discovers that the real Tamon couldn’t be more different from his wild and sexy onstage persona! Tamon is an insecure mess in real life, and what’s worse, he’s threatening to quit! Utage refuses to let anyone stand in Tamon’s way—least of all himself. What’s a fangirl to do but roll up her sleeves and support her favorite singer with everything she’s got?" CW: Suicide Threats, Mental Health Disorders, Emotional Manipulation, Teens making mistakes and learning from them

The Invisible Man and his Soon-to-Be Wife by Neko Iwatobi (4+ Volumes, ongoing)

"Yakou Shizuka, a quiet and bashful woman, works at a detective agency. Her boss Tounome, who owns the company, is the gentlemanly type, kind and dapper, though he has an extra talent—he’s invisible! His special ability is perfect for detective work, but he quickly comes to find it doesn’t work on Yakou, who is blind and always knows if he’s near. Charmed, Tounome is determined to get her to date him and isn’t against using his many skills. Yakou’s quirky coworkers, a contrarian human man and a sisterly beastwoman, kindly watch over her as she stumbles and blushes through the uncharted waters of office romance." CW: Fantasy Racial Discrimination, Disability Discrimination, "Dark Elves" with Black Skin and "Light Elves" with White Skin

Slice of Life

Akane Banashi* by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue, 141+ chapters (Ongoing)

"Rakugo--the ultimate form of storytelling, where everything in a story is expressed with just your body and words. Shinta and his daughter Akane have been seduced by this wonderful form of classical entertainment. Having observed her father strive to pass the shin'uchi rakugo test, Akane will take her own steps into this unique world!"

My Girlfriend's Child by Mamoru Aoi (5/9 Volumes on English)

Sachi and her boyfriend Takara are a young couple in high school. They go to school together, hang out, and even engage in the more intimate side of dating. However, after a recent evening of sex, Sachi gets the feeling that something isn’t right and buys a pregnancy test. Later, in the bathroom of a family restaurant far from her home, she sees the two red lines that will change her life forever. CW: Teen Pregnancy, Abortion Discussion, Pro-Choice. Parental Pressure, Parental Discrimination

BL Metamorphosis by Kaori Tsurutani (5 volumes, complete)

"Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman living a peaceful life, unwittingly buys a Boy’s Love manga one day…and is fascinated by what she finds inside. When she returns to the bookstore to buy the next volume, the high school girl working there–Urara, a seasoned BL fan–notices a budding fangirl when she sees one. When Urara offers to help Ichinoi explore this whole new world of fiction, the two dive into BL fandom together, and form an unlikely friendship along the way."

Look Back* by Tatsuki Fujimoto (One Shot)

"The overly confident Fujino and the shut-in Kyomoto couldn’t be more different, but a love of drawing manga brings these two small-town girls together. A poignant story of growing up and moving forward that only Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of Chainsaw Man, could have crafted."

CW: This series was inspired by/created in response to the attack on KyoAni studios, and as such depicts violence, grief and mourning.

Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa (15 Volumes, complete)

"Defying the expectations of family and teachers, Yuugo Hachiken chooses to leave the city and enroll at Ooezo Agricultural High School. Having always been at the top of his class, Yuugo assumes a rural school will be a breeze, but mucking out stables, gathering eggs, and chasing errant calves takes a lot out of him-and fills him with something he's never experienced before. Surrounded by endless fields and fresh air, Yuugo discovers a new connection to the land and to life...Springtime begins at Ezo AG!!"

CW: Animal Death, but in a farming way. You know?

Queer Positive (fiction)

Blue Flag* by KAITO (8 Volumes Complete)

"An unexpected love quadrangle with a dash of unrequited love as two classmates, a boy and a girl, begin to fall for each other when each of their best friends have already fallen for them.

Love is already hard enough, but it becomes an unnavigable maze for unassuming high school student Taichi Ichinose and his shy classmate Futaba Kuze when they begin to fall for each other after their same-sex best friends have already fallen for them.

For some reason, Taichi Ichinose just can't stand Futaba Kuze. But at the start of his third year in high school, he finds himself in the same homeroom as her, along with his childhood friend Toma Mita, a star athlete. But one day, Futaba opens up to Taichi and admits she has a crush on Toma. She then asks for his help in confessing to him! There's just one problem-Toma seems to already have a secret crush on someone else"

Boys Run The Riot by Keito Gaku (4 Volumes, complete)

"A transgender teen named Ryo finds an escape from the expectations and anxieties of his daily life in the world of street fashion. This personal, heartfelt, fictional story from a transgender manga creator made waves in Japan and will inspire readers all over the world!"

This series is completely Own Voices, from the Mangaka to the Translator to the Letterer to the Editor!

CW: Transphobia (like, duh), forced outing on social media

He's Expecting by Eri Sakai (4 Volumes, complete)

When career-minded Kentaro Hiyama finds out that he’s pregnant, it will change the course of more than just his own life. In the Japan of Eri Sakai’s thought experiment, ten years have passed since the male sex has spontaneously gained the ability to get pregnant, and society has struggled to adjust. Kentaro isn’t sure at first who the mother might be, and quickly finds himself butting up against regressive attitudes and discriminatory policies—most of which long precede male pregnancy. In his previous life, he’d never given any of it a second thought—he may have even held the same views. But through his encounters with other pregnant people, and galvanized by his new perspective, Kentaro turns his skills in business and marketing to effecting social change. CW: MPreg, Misogyny, Gender Discrimination, Parental Discrimination

I Think Our Son is Gay by Okura, 5 Volumes (complete)

Despite belonging to a family of four, the Aoyama residence is typically home to three due to father Akiyoshi's job. While he's away at work, mom Tomoko and her two beloved sons Hiroki and Yuri go about their everyday lives—going to school, making dinner, doing homework, etc. But now that Hiroki's in his first year of high school, his thoughts are turning ever so slightly to sex and romance…and his mom can't help but notice his slips of the tongue when he's talking about who he likes. Supportive Tomoko has an inkling Hiroki might be gay, but she's going to let him figure it out for himself. Unfortunately, Hiroki has little talent for keeping his "secret," so he might die of embarassment before all is said and done! CW: Casual Homophobia

I want to be a wall by Honami Shirono (3 Volumes, complete)

"Any love story aficionado will say that the key to a successful couple is intense desire for one another—but what if the characters in question are an asexual woman with a passion for Boys Love stories and a gay man whose heart forever belongs to his oblivious childhood friend? Although romance will never be in the cards for newlyweds Yuriko and Gakurouta, the bond blossoming between them promises to be a wonderful relationship—the likes of which neither has ever experienced before…"

Is Love The Answer? by Uta Isaki (One Shot)

"When it comes to love, high schooler Chika wonders if she might be an alien. She's never fallen for or even had a crush on anyone, and she has no desire for physical intimacy. Her friends tell her that she just "hasn't met the one yet," but Chika has doubts... It's only when Chika enters college and meets peers like herself that she realizes there's a word for what she feels inside--asexual--and she's not the only one. After years of wondering if love was the answer, Chika realizes that the answer she long sought may not exist at all--and that that's perfectly normal."

CW: Casual Acephobia and Homophobia (treated negatively)

Kageki Shojo!! by Kumiko Saiki (11+ Volumes available, ongoing)

"Ever since she was a little girl, Sarasa has wanted to play the role of Oscar as part of the Kouka Acting Troupe, an all-female acting troupe similar to the Takarazuka Revue. But before she can do that, she has to attend two years at the Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts. As Sarasa practices singing, dancing, and acting, she grows closer to the other girls in her year, including her roommate, the stoic former J-idol, Ai. Though Sarasa is great at making friends, her outspoken nature and grand ambitions earn her lots of enemies as well. Can Sarasa keep her upbeat attitude and achieve her dream of stardom?"

CW: Past Child Sexual Assault, Bulimia, PTSD

Mine-kun is Asexual by Uta Isaki (One Shot)

"Mine-kun is Asexual. He doesn't like sexual intimacy in a relationship. He can kiss a girl, but it's not something he wants to do if he can help it. But Murai loves him so much that she's willing to overlook the fact that she can't hold his hand; that she can't cuddle up next to him when they watch movies together; that she can't fall in love with him the way that she hopes to be loved in return. In the eyes of those around them, is this even a relationship that's meant to last, or is it a train wreck just waiting to happen?" CW: Acephobia, homophobia,

My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame (2 Volumes, complete)

"Yaichi Origuchi's uneventful day is interrupted by a big, burly foreigner who shows up at his front door and begins to hug him. The man introduces himself as Mike Flanagan, and Yaichi quickly discovers that Mike is the widower of Ryouji, his younger twin brother. Since Ryouji left for Canada a decade ago, Yaichi heard nothing about him other than he married a foreigner and passed away the month before.

While Yaichi is apprehensive about the whole situation, his young daughter Kana is absolutely thrilled at the idea of having a gay Canadian uncle. Kana's lack of understanding of Japanese societal views on homosexuality cause Yaichi to reflect on his own preconceived notions. And as Mike continues to stay with the family, Yaichi gradually learns more about his brother-in-law, and he recalls his own past with Ryouji"

My Love Mix Up! by Wataru Hinekura (story) and Aruko (art) (9 volumes, complete)

"Aoki has a crush on Hashimoto, the girl in the seat next to him in class. But he despairs when he borrows her eraser and sees she’s written the name of another boy—Ida—on it. To make matters more confusing, Ida sees Aoki holding that very eraser and thinks Aoki has a crush on him!"

The more Aoki gets to know Ida, the more he understands why Hashimoto has a crush on him....

Perfect for the Shojo Comedy Fan looking for some more queer content!

Our Dreams At Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani (4 Volumes, complete)

"Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he’s also terrified that he’s been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all."

This is one of those MUST READ series, and I alway describe it as the definition of "It Gets Better". This is a series by us, for us.

CW: Suicidal Ideation, Homophobia, Transphobia

O Maidens In Your Savage Season by Mari Okada and Nao Emoto (8 Volumes, complete)

"As a teen, how do you start thinking about sex? This debut manga from anime legend Mari Okada (Maquia) follows five girls and their five moving, funny, and mortifying answers. Join their bittersweet (and a little spicy) journey from girlhood to … whatever comes next! One of Japan’s top female screenwriters, Okada hones her knack for aching drama and wry humor that became her trademark with anime like anohana and Maquia. Amid an explosion of graphic novels about girls’ teenage years, like Lumberjanes and That One Summer, O Maidens brings a diverse, fresh, and hilarious perspective on how it feels to leave childhood behind. Anime coming soon!

Kazusa’s first high school literature club meeting starts with five girls being asked, “What’s one thing you want to do before you die?” When one of them blurts out, “Sex,” it launches these new friends down a raucous, embarrassing, all-too-relatable path."

CW: Sexual Assault, Child Grooming, Negative Depiction of a sexually inappropriate Student & Teacher relationship

Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka, One Omnibus Volume, complete

From his heavenly perch, God distributes girl and boy hearts to babies about to be born. But a prank by the mischievous angel Tink leaves Princess Sapphire of Silverland with both a male and female heart! Due to an old-fashioned law preventing a woman from ruling, Sapphire must disguise herself as a prince to prevent the scheming Duke Duralumin from coming to power. The plan goes fairly well until a fencing tournament goes awry and the girl is stripped of her royal title. Now, in order to get her old life back, Sapphire must escape from jail, battle dragons, and even get transformed into a swan! Can the girl brawl and charm her way to true happiness? CW: Misogyny, death, written in the 1950s without the intention of writing a Non-Binary Character, that just happened and it's neat!

My Senpai is an Otokonoko by Pomu (100 chapter webtoon, complete)

Can true love really overcome any obstacles? Saki, a high school student, confesses her feelings to Makoto. Taken aback, Makoto reveals his secret, but the sudden discovery doesn’t seem to bother Saki who is already head over heels for him. After being rejected, Saki asks Ryuji, Makoto’s childhood friend, for some advice on how to win his heart. A love triangle unfolds when Ryuji realizes that he might also have some feelings for his old friend. CW: Transphobia, Homophobia, Queerphobia, Parental Neglect

Silkscreen by Isaki Uta, 0neshot

A girl falls in love and devotes herself to them, but they don't conform to her expectations, perhaps because she looks at them through a blurry curtain. CW: Transphobia

The Gay Who Turned Kaiju by Kazuki Minamoto (One Volume Complete)

"Bullied for being gay, teenager Takashi Arashiro wishes he could just be somebody else—but who could predict he’d morph into a giant-headed sci-fi creature?! Takashi’s tumultuous emotions become the catalyst for personal and social exploration of the LGBTQ experience in this quirky, profound manga from prolific BL author Kazuki Minamoto."

CW: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Colourism (all treated as negative), Verbal and Physical Bullying, Suicidal Ideation, Sexual Assault as a means of revenge that is later regretted.

To Strip the Flesh by Oto Toda, One Shot

Chiaki Ogawa has never doubted who he is, although the rest of the world hasn’t been as kind. Bound by his mother’s dying wish, Chiaki tries to be a good daughter to his ailing father. But when the burden becomes too great, Chiaki sets out to remake himself in his own image and discovers more than just personal freedom in his transition—he finds understanding from the people who matter most. CW: Transphobia, misogyny

[uncommon-etc]

Если вы русский, прочтите это

As the war in Ukraine has progressed, one thing has become abundantly clear to me...

NATO is not going to impose a no-fly-zone, nor does it have any intention of engaging in any kind of military intervention on Ukrainian or Russian soil. Many people across Europe already believed NATO was a toothless anachronism no longer fit for purpose in this supposed age of peace and diplomacy, the fact they can’t do much more than send arms to one side when there’s an actual war on has validated that view for many.

No Western force is going to try and enact regime change in Russia, especially not the US (and no other NATO member will attempt it without the backing of the US because even our lot in the UK wouldn’t intervene to protect their own people in Afghanistan after the Americans pulled out). If Russia is ever to shake off the shackles of 600+ years of authoritarian rule, the momentum for that will have to come from Russians themselves. 

I know how much easier said than done that is. I know that the Russians who have risked their lives and their freedoms to take a stand against the war showed courage beyond anything those of us with a right to free speech enshrined in law will ever have to muster and I’m in awe of them for that, but people have been protesting Putin’s tendency to invade other countries since I was a kid (I was almost fourteen when the invasion of Georgia happened and despite there being way less media coverage of that and the ten-year war in Chechnya I still remember being shocked that it was just allowed to happen), so far mass-protests have been as good as banned and protests by individuals get swept under the rug. 

I also know that the Kremlin has blocked or restricted access to many social media platforms, but so far Tumblr hasn’t been mentioned as being among them, so I’m putting this out as a kind of appeal, if there are any Russians reading this, first of all Добрый день! What can I, and other pro-democracy citizens of Europe do to help you to stay safe while taking a stand against the war and against Putin? 

Besides supporting the Free Russia Foundation, which I already do, and Navalny’s pro-democracy movement, what other genuine NGOs and pressure-groups are there that I can support within the Russian Federation? Which independent newspapers and websites (if there are any left) are willing to tell the truth about what’s happening in Ukraine? And while I know it is mainly Russians with money and means who have managed to escape abroad to avoid the possibility of being conscripted into a war they don’t believe in, if you decide to leave Russia and somehow find yourself in the UK I can find you somewhere to stay while you figure out your next move. 

It has always been my dream to be able to travel in a free and independent Russia, to hike the Altai mountains, see flocks of teal on Lake Baikal, ride the Trans-Siberian and photograph the iconic architecture of Moscow and Kazan. As a lifelong student of Russian history I’m well aware that your country is far more than a pastiche used to create bad guys for American cartoons, that it contains an incredible range of cultures, landscapes and peoples, each with their own stories. I know that you have the power to bring a corrupt and unjust regime to its knees, because unlike most countries you’ve already done it once, to please tell me, and other Westerners, what we can do to help you make it happen again  

(And if you’re not Russian please signal-boost this anyway, this war may end, but as long as Putin believes he can invade independent countries with impunity and the West won’t try to stop him it’ll keep happening, my family in Finland are scared they will be next, so are friends in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) 

[potteresque-ire]

hello, ily metas! thank you for taking the time for them. i hope you dont mind an ask with two follow up questions to your metas i'm curious about: 1) has mxtx rly been sentenced? i have seen others also share this news but other fans have quickly dismissed and gotten pissed at these reports for being fake news that are bad for mxtx, and as fearmongering. 2) for those who want to support yizhan but not the ccp, do you have advice how to navigate fan support and interaction with their media?

Hello! I apologise for the late reply!  You’ve brought up some interesting points, so please forgive me for responding with an essay.

First, about MXTX — This is a follow-up to this post.

Unfortunately, this is all we got—all everyone has got about MXTX’s current situation: on 2020/11/10, she was sentenced in Hangzhou Shang Cheng District’s People’s Court (杭州市上城區人民法院). No details were given on her verdict, due to “人民法院認為不宜在互聯網公布的其它情形”  (“The People’s Court decided it inappropriate to announce further details on the internet”). Here’s a link with the screenshot that showed all the information released about the case that day.

There are enough copies of similar screenshots to this one online, with the differences dependent on where the publisher pulled the information from the same website: 中國裁判文書網, an online archive of verdicts run by China Supreme People’s Court. There’re few reasons, therefore, to believe the information on the screenshot was fake. The link I used was Sina’s Financial News, which I believe is trustworthy enough for China’s standard.

It is also important to note, of course, that two scenarios may still render this screenshot irrelevant. 1) The verdict, which was not mentioned in the screenshot, was “not guilty” and 2) the name listed in the case, 袁依楣, was not MXTX at all.

Few have seemed to suspect 2) to be a possibility. Her real name might have been prior knowledge among some fans, or the combination of her surname and city of residence. 1) has been the where the concern / debate is.

I included China’s rate of conviction in the original post for this reason: acquittal is exceedingly rare (<0.1%) for the arrested in China. This short article discussed some reasons.

So, is it possible that MXTX is now a free woman? Yes. Is it likely? Not at all.

Still, since the probability that MXTX is imprisoned isn’t 100%, is spreading this news smearing her name? Fear-mongering?

I can only answer for myself, Anon, but my answer is no for both questions, which is why I’ve felt comfortable posting about her case. MXTX’s alleged “crimes” are things we already knew she did, or common practices among Chinese IP writers. We know she penned MDZS and other BL works; we know MDZS, in particular, has an 18+ element. She was said to have sold merch based on her works, but that wasn’t unusual at all for writers in Jinjiang, where she published her writing. Even those who don’t like her have seemed to agree that it was her writing that got her into trouble, not some other crimes she could’ve committed.

IMO, a guilty verdict doesn’t tell us as much about her as it does about the judicial system, the business practices of her country. It’s worth re-mentioning that media giants such as Tencent are closely tied to the government; Tencent’s WeChat, for example, is part of China’s Great Firewall and is used for surveillance, for censorship and removal of political dissidents. What MXTX’s case hints at is this: the government has (very likely) convicted her, while its close allies are continuing to use her works—works that got her into legal trouble in the first place—to make money. Some fans of MXTX have questioned if the courts have censored the details of the case to save the embarrassment of the rich and powerful, calling what has happened to MXTX 人血饅頭 (“human blood steamed buns”), an idiom used to describe the act of profiting out of someone elses’ life.

As for fear-mongering, here are my thoughts ~ it would’ve been fear-mongering if the public has access to the facts, and not years after they happen. Specifically, it would’ve been fear-mongering to leak the rumours of MXTX’s sentencing, when the judicial system is transparent and the case details will soon be published for all to see. Why? Because “fear” comes from the unknown, and “-monger” is the unnecessary promotion, stirring-up of this fear.

To promote, stir up anything, one needs a reference level. The reference level in this scenario is this: what is the level of fear if the facts about MXTX’s (and other BL writers’) situation are known? Of course, this knowledge doesn’t make MXTX’s experience any easier or more just; it doesn’t cause her less fear. However, she isn’t the target audience of this likely-to-be-true rumour. The target audience is the public and in particular, those who consume and/or generate BL material online.

What is the level of fear among this population if the facts about MXTX’s (and other BL writers’) situation are known? It’s the (relative) comfort in knowing the government’s stance on what they do: how the administration feels about BL, 18+ BL, and their distribution methods. The comfort comes from having the right information to decide how to act accordingly. For example, if I’m a BL writer based in China and I know the court has found MXTX guilty of bypassing publishing houses but not of writing M/M romance, then I’ll know to not produce paper versions of my writing, but I can keep writing.

This reference level of fear is unavailable here, however, since the government has decided to withhold all details about the case. Without this reference level, fear-mongering becomes a ... difficult to define concept.

Are these likely-to-be-true rumours agents of fear, or are they hints on how to survive in a country that lacks transparency?

Continuing with the example of I being a Chinese BL writer, since I cannot expect to hear more facts about MXTX, this rumour is all I’ve got in choosing what to do with my hobby, in deciding whether it is safe to continue. As I’m aware that a rumour isn’t a fact, I first research on the rumour’s likelihood of truth (similar to what I’ve done for MXTX’s case), and cross my fingers that I don’t get it wrong.

By doing so, I’m turning these rumours into my survival guide.

Is it risky? Yes. Is it exhausting? Absolutely. But this is the way of life for people who live under secretive, authoritarian governments—the authoritarian element making it impossible to demand more facts. It may take people outside such regimes some time to get used to—to the lifestyle, and to the idea that, in a place where news is often synonymous with propaganda, rumours are breadcrumbs of truth that should be sieved through with equal care as one would sieve through the news. Heeding, considering the probable truth of what the authority has deemed to be fear-mongering rumours can be a matter of literal life and death. 

Take...COVID. (I apologize for bringing up this unpleasant topic!)

I shall link to an article about the early spread of COVID in Wuhan here and ask: were Dr. Li Wenliang and the seven other doctors fear-mongering? Wuhanese chose to believe in the government, but at what cost to them? What would the world be like today if they took the early COVID rumours as true and masked up like Hong Kongers—Hong Kongers who weren’t any smarter or better, but had simply learned their painful lessons from the 2003 SARS epidemic? 

(Why hadn’t the Wuhanese learned? Because the government has long changed the narrative of SARS, taught their people that the illness originated in Hong Kong.) 

(How can one learn from past mistakes if one pretends those mistakes never existed?)

You must be wondering, Anon, why I’m talking about COVID when your next question is about YiZhan. The death of Dr Li Wenliang on February 7th, 2020, sparked a demand for freedom of speech rarely seen in internet-age China. Its fury, its ferocity forced the government to change its stance on Dr Li, again an unusual move. Since January 2020, Weibo had been censoring COVID news and opinion pieces that shedded a negative light to the central government; after the death of Dr Li, the censorship apparatus stepped up, making way for the propaganda machine to kick in later and change the narrative of the pandemic.

Here are some questions without definite answers, but may be food for thought for YiZhan fans:

1) While the Chinese government’s censorship apparatus (including Weibo) might have silenced the voices of dissent, of mourning on the surface, was it more likely to pacify, or fuel the anger of netizens, many of whom had lost loved ones, many of whom were still under quarantine?

2) Less than three weeks after the death of Dr Li, a group of fans demanded even *more* censorship from the government—the closing of an internet website that had been seen as a relatively free space to express oneself. How would these netizens react, even though they knew little about these fans or their idol?  

(It was, in the context of the massive silencing of COVID discussions in China, that I learned about the ban of AO3. There had been rumours that the government would censor more websites on 2020/03/01. When I read about AO3′s ban on 2/27, my thoughts were 1) Hmm. This came two days early. 2) AO3? Really?)

(I wouldn’t watch The Untamed or know who Gg was until several months later.)

Now, Anon, this is a good time to get to your CCP (Chinese Communist Party) question.

The very short answer is no. There’s no way to support YiZhan without, to a certain level, supporting the CCP. As mentioned above, the media companies are all part of China’s surveillance system. Weibo is where freedom of speech is curbed. Our two boys have been part of the propaganda machine; the BBC article linked above had a tiny picture of Gg on it, as he was a performer in the Hero in Harm’s Way (最美逆行者), a “real-life based” drama on COVID. DD just did a show glorying the Chinese police force (and here’s a video of the same force welding doors to lock in COVID-stricken residents).

Nonetheless, here’s my first advice: please do not beat yourself up for supporting YiZhan!

Gg and Dd are people who live within the system, inside the Great Firewall. They understand the world the way their government has taught them to—not only in school, but also in the news and media. Like most youths in every country, they’re patriotic—and to expect them to be otherwise, especially because of information they don’t have, is both unrealistic and unfair. Even if they do know about certain things impermissible within the Firewall, in China (as in many Communists countries), openly expressing / performing one’s proper political leanings (ie. loyalty towards CCP) is among the most important pre-requisites for any job. This has been especially true for c-ent in recent years .

They, like most of their countrymen, are doing what they have to do.

In this case, it comes to us, our decisions on how to interact with their works. How should we deal with them, their propaganda elements?

The answer, of course, varies from person to person. Personally, I’ve chosen the approaches of “immunisation” and “restriction”. By “immunisation”, I mean learning about as much historical and sociopolitical facts from non-CCP sponsored sources; this is understandably difficult for someone who doesn’t already have some familiarity with the culture and politics of the region, and/or cannot read the language. 

Restriction means limiting my consumption of media produced by China. I avoid shows (dramas, documentaries, variety etc) featuring topics that are likely to contain heavy propaganda, such as the military, the police, Hong Kong/Macao/Taiwan, and of course, anything pertaining to the CCP, from its rise to its governance of the country.

In general, I’m wary of all information presented about the post-monarchy years (post 1911), even though CCP wouldn’t begin its reign until after WWII (1949). Why so early? 1) Because CCP was formed in 1921 and so its glorification requires a change of narrative since then; 2) because the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT), which governed China between 1912 and 1949 (the so-called Republican Era 民國), would end up exiling to and setting up a new government in Taiwan.

How much propaganda should one expect in shows depicting the country post-1911? The current TV and webdrama directives (previously discussed in this post) offer some hints. Here are my translations of the relevant items:

D7) Dramas about the Republican era: Glorification of the Republican Era, the Beiyang Government, and Warlord Era requires strict control.

D10) Crime drama: crime drama is the focus of content auditing. The Ministry of Public Security (Pie note: in charge of law enforcement, ie, police) will be involved in the audit. The process of crime solving cannot be exposed; criminal psychology and motivations can however be depicted in detail. Undercover police cannot use drugs or kill, or damage the image of the police force. Criminals must be punished by law.

D12) Dramas featuring realistic topics: realistic topics must adhere to the correct world view, philosophy of life and moral values. They cannot place too strong an emphasis on social conflicts, must showcase the beautiful lives of the commoners. Regular folks should display larger-than-life sentiments and aspirations; they can pursue wealth, but must use proper means to do so; they cannot damage the public image of specific employment types, groups and social organisations. Do not preach negative or decadent world view, philosophy of life and moral values. Do not exaggerate, amplify social issues; do not over showcase, display the darker sides of society; do not preach affluence, avoid things that have no basis in real life.

D16) Dramas featuring the Revolution (Pie note: CCP’s coming to power): 2019 is the publicity period of the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. Although the “Three Importances” (important revolution, important people, important events) are still encouraged, the  National Radio and Television Administration requires all departments, at all levels, to strengthen the control of content and the overall management of the industry, and focus on the auditing of content pertaining to the Sino-Japanese war and espionage dramas.

These directives (as those translated in the other post) are as vague as they are restrictive, and to err on the side of caution, production companies tend to “overachieve” to avoid going against headwinds at the censorship board. This means their products have a tendency to malign the Republican Era (D7). It means they will likely twist history in trying to depict the CCP as faultless heroes (D16). It means they'll probably present a utopian-like society and call it reality-based (D12), a society in which the good guys share the same values as the CCP and always win (D10).

Yes, my “restriction” means I skipped Hero in Harm’s Way. It means I’ve never listened to Gg’s version of 我和我的祖國 despite my absolute adoration of his voice. It means I just missed Dd’s performance in the law enforcement celebration event. It means I don’t plan on watching Being A Hero and Ace Troops.

So here’s where I’ve drawn the line, Anon, but it doesn’t mean that’s what anyone should do. Only you alone can decide where your own comfort zone is. I write these metas in the hopes that it can offer a … gateway for those who’d like to understand, with a more telescopic lens, Gg and Dd’s country—a country that holds a particularly strong hold over its citizens’ fate including, yes, their romantic fate. It’s not my wish to impose my opinions on anyone.

If I have other hopes… It’s this. Please, as long as it’s safe for you to talk, do not self-censor—especially about facts, especially on sites like Tumblr or Twitter that have long been banned by the Chinese government. I don’t mean one should go about and confront those who insist on a different version of reality. To undo opinions rooted in years of education, IMO, the process has to be voluntary, and the information is already at the fingertips of those who’re surfing these sites and wish to learn more. More importantly, open discussions of these topics may be risky for those who still have close ties to China, and keeping them safe should always be the top priority. 

What I mean is simply this ~ please do not feel obliged to agree with every perspective presented in YiZhan’s work just because you support the leads. Please do not feel you must remain silent about the CCP—its good, bad and ugly—just because your favourite stars happen to come from the country it’s ruling. And please remember: “Chinese”, as a term, has always included people who live outside CCP’s control, many of whom still fully embrace the culture, traditions and values of Historical China, a 5000-years long string of dynasties with shifting borders, ethnic makeup and customs. The Untamed is a mainland Chinese production, yes, but its genre, its manner of presenting certain traditions, wouldn’t have been developed, or flourished, without the diaspora. The CCP has only been the ruling party of one country, the People’s Republic of China, for 71 years, and as a party with foreign (soviet) roots and a record of destroying the pillar of the country’s tradition, Confucianism, it doesn’t own a monopolistic say on how every Chinese should think and act—no matter how much it insists it does—or how everyone should think and speak about China and its people.

It isn’t qualified.

[luminescentauthor]

random fun RatLD hcs

you came here for RatLD shitposts and that’s what you’re gonna get!

SPOILERS AND LOTS OF THEM BELOW THE CUT, IF U HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET PROCEED AT UR OWN RISK.

I refuse to post about this movie without acknowledging the cultural significance of the first SEA disney princess and I will continue to do so until people on this website start remembering that this movie is about amazing cultures and trust and overall a WHOLE lot more than just the sapphics (as great as they are.)

anyway, so, headcanon time, my dudes!

The Next Adventure

Talon is a total mess after everyone gets un-stoned. (Ok so just for posterity, my marvel fan brain just went “un-snapped” on instinct and I hate it here.) The two chiefs are fighting for control, and Noi, being a baby, is not really in a position to help (unlike Raya, Naamari, and Tong.)

As such, the crew has to go undercover in Talon to try and, you know, stop the chiefs from destroying their people with their infighting. Tong insists on coming. Naamari happened to be in Heart and gets dragged along by Sisu and Raya, complaining the whole time, but everyone knows she doesn’t mean it. Boun also shows up and exactly no one is surprised.

During this misadventure, Noi’s mother names Tong as Noi’s godfather/honorary uncle/whatever, undercover Naamari and Raya go “noooooo, we’re not the princesses of Fang and Heart, what on earth are you talking about???” on at least five separate occasions, and the crew discovers that Noi inherited her sticky fingers from her very clever mother. She’s basically a grade-A spy and thief but she’s also just like, genuinely a very nice woman.

Rayaari!

Raya and Naamari take a long time literally just figuring things out and reconstructing their friendship, because really, as much as I love sapphics, there’s also a whole lot of messy there, and because these are my headcanons, they work out their problems and have a healthy friendship for a couple years before any romance happens, because that’s how Real Life works and I don’t believe in ignoring those Pretty Important Things in fiction.

They do eventually start a relationship, but they take their time. A bit into it, Benja accidentally mentions that Raya told him she liked Naamari when they met. Naamari’s like “ha you did?” and Raya goes “BA NO.” Then Virana immediately says “oh yes, Naamari also liked her, she didn’t stop crying because she thought Raya turned to stone for like three days” and Raya goes “you did, hmm???” while Naamari turns bright red.

Before they start dating, as their feelings grow, they start calling each other “dep la” more and more and everyone is just kinda of like “oh my GOD just date already???”

Eventually Raya and Naamari get married and become the leaders of Kumandra. No I Won’t Change My Mind.

Unification of Kumandra

The unification of Kumandra felt a bit shoehorned, and I suspect the nations aren't united under one leader(s): it's more that they're now becoming close-knit again. Perhaps they have a meeting council of all their leaders that makes decisions that affect the whole land, otherwise that probably becomes a thing at some point.

When Kumandra eventually becomes totally unified, the capital of Heart (which I believe is on the island we see on the map of Kumandra) eventually becomes the capital. It still has five provinces/states, though.

Fang and Heart

Heart and Fang help each other out a lot with recovering from the “most of our people got turned into the statues” stuff. Heart has more resources, but most of its people have been stone for 6 years. So the two states/countries are both capable of different things.

Of all the kingdoms, Heart and Fang have the most to rebuild: Fang’s only standing city was destroyed in the finale of the movie, while Heart has been growing over for six years. Sure, Spine’s been stone for a while, and some of Talon’s docks and water ships and whatnot collapsed when the water vanished, but it’s still significantly easier to repair than “six years of overgrowth and rot and rust” or “literally the ground collapsed underneath us and wow um I don’t think that’s reparable.” So they really team up to fix it, and the others help them a lot.

The actual leaders stay in their capitals to lead until things have calmed down a WHOLE lot, so Raya and Naamari travel around Kumandra on their parents’ behalf a lot, and wind up going between Fang and Heart a lot to establish diplomatic relations and also to help with rebuilding.

Over this period, and while doing diplomatic meetings later on, Virana and Benja come to realize that the other person is actual quite decent. There’s some mess and distrust because of Virana’s thing with the Dragon Gem, but it eventually gets worked out. (Virana’s reaction is “yes that’s fair. In my defense, I was trying to do what I thought was right for my people, who were starving, but Yes, That’s Fair.” Benja’s reaction is “honestly if your people were starving from famine and you thought the Gem would help, that makes more sense.”) After a while, they become pretty good friends.

And suddenly Raya and Naamari regret everything. See, Naamari mentioned that both parents make terrible jokes. The girls are Suffering. Help them.

Sisu loves the bad jokes. Sisu also makes bad jokes. Raya and Naamari are silently dying.

It’s silly, but I like the idea that 3-4 years down the line, Virana and Benja consider getting married just for political reasons (alliance and all that) (they’re not actually interested in each other, it’s just practicality) and Naamari and Raya, who are not dating but are definitely in deep for each other at this point, are immediately like “NO. NO. DO NOT MAKE MY CRUSH MY STEPSISTER. DO NOT.”

Virana and Benja (mostly Benja) tease them by “considering” it for a bit longer, but they don’t, since they talked about it and both kids are uncomfortable with it. (”They like each other, don’t they?” Virana asks dryly. “Ohhh yeah,” Benja replies.)

Music? Music!

I was listening to a youtube mix this morning and “Too Far Gone” by Hidden Citizens popped up and it just reminded me of Raya’s attitude towards Kumandra at the start of the movie. Also it’s just a beautiful song.

“Knife in my Back” by Alec Benjamin is Raya @ Naamari before they figured things out, change my mind.

Other Stuff!

We can guess based off how long it took the crew to get from Tail to Fang even with side adventures (I think it was 3-4 days max, I wasn't totally paying attention) that one can navigate from one end of the river to the other within a couple days even in a boat like Boun's, and the royal families probably have even faster modes of transportation. (I.e. Naamari got from Tail to Fang in a couple days, then to Spine, then beat the crew back to Fang. On land.) Therefore, unlike I was originally thinking, it's actually totally realistic for the crew to be visiting each other once or twice a month.

It's even more realistic for Naamari to crash Raya's place on a weekly basis, since that's probably like six hours on cat at max.

I don't know what the cats are, so I will be calling them saber-cats until someone corrects me.

TUMBLR JUST MYSTERIOUSLY STOPPED ACCPTING MY "E" KY HLP I HAV TO US COPY PAST

Wait I think I fixed it. Crisis averted! Sorry about that.

Because Naamari is in Heart half the time, Virana visits quite frequently too. It’s not a long trip, anyway.

Virana is not straight (haircut) but I can’t decide if she’s a lesbian or what. She doesn’t have a spouse and never did. Only those Virana closely trusts know who Naamari’s dad is. Naamari does know and she’s met him, because Virana figured she had a right to. He and Virana never had a relationship, Virana just sort of needed an heir and a trusted personal friend offered to father the kid.

Tong’s wife is a total badass and instantly fits in with the crew. She and Noi’s mother quickly become very close friends.

Noi and Tong’s kid also immediately get along. As in, they constantly throw things at each other while giggling madly and both love the Ongis, and -- are they whispering to each other in that corner?? They might be conspiring to take over the world. Who knows.

Noi learns how to talk and becomes about 5 times more chaotic. Everyone is Regret (except Tong.)

[kiingocreative]

The Structure of Story is now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book

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If you ask around, a lot of successful writers will tell you that they look at their writing the same way they would a business. And what do successful business all have in common? They have clearly defined brands that are designed to appeal to their target audience or customers.

What does that mean, concretely?

• It means that they know what they stand for, what their values are and what they’re offering.

• It means that they know who their target customer is, in terms of demographics, likes and dislikes, and general lifestyle or habits.

• It means that their messaging and content is tailored to appeal to that type of customer…

• …So that, ultimately, when their ideal customer lands on their social media pages or website, they can relate to everything on there and be more inclined to purchase a product or service.

Being a writers is no different, in that your work will be, by design, targeted to only a segment of the population. Nurturing your brand is how you’ll ensure your book will be put in front of the right readers, and have the best possible chances of success.

Before you set out on your journey to building your online presence, therefore, think about what you want your channels to reflect—be it across social media or through your website. The online image you’ll be creating has to be consistent across all of the mediums you are leveraging.

This by no means implies your online persona should be fake—quite the opposite in fact! The more genuine your online image is, the easier it will be to maintain over time and the more believable and consistent it will appear (because it’ll be true!).

Why Your Online Image Matters.

Trying to maintain a fake image will, at best, make it unconvincing and, at worst, confusing.

And that’s the thing.

Most people reject what they don’t understand. If they check out your content and it looks all over the place or doesn’t make sense, they’ll simply move on. Confusion turns people away from your content before they’ve had a chance to hear what you have to say.

Ask yourself some questions before you start:

• Who are you? What makes you, YOU? What is unique to you?

• When people think of you, what do you want them to think about? Someone who’s fun? Quirky? Talks about things as they are? Someone who’s formal? Someone with a particular interest? etc.

• How does this translate into the look and feel and content of your social media channels, your website etc.?

Take some time to write this down and use it to create your brand guidelines. And I mean exactly that: write it down. Make it a rulebook, and refer to it regularly. It may change and evolve with time, but having a reference point you can physically consult (as opposed to shreds of an idea of what your brand is about somewhere in your mind) will keep you and your brand on track.

Everything you post about, and the format in which you share it (e.g. photos, videos, long captions, blog posts, newsletter etc.) should be in line with the image you’re building.

From there, identify who your target audience is, and make sure your message (and its delivery) is relatable and appealing to that audience. It can take some trial and error to get right, so give yourself room to learn and grow!

Your Instagram Brand: Content vs. Aesthetics.

Looking at Instagram, you’ll see two main types of focus:

• Focus on aesthetics: these are feeds with high quality, impeccable pictures, quirky reels/videos, with a consistent theme and colour palette, and a huge focus on being visually pleasing.

• Focus on content: feeds where more thought and effort is placed on the post captions.

There are different ratios in which you can combine the two. Go back to your brand guidelines and see which ratio or combination of the two feels like a better fit. Ask yourself what would be more relatable for your target audience. Find what resonates most with you and your brand and stick to it, especially at the beginning when you’re growing a platform.

If you’re unsure what’s right for you, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Take some time to browse Bookstagram and find accounts you like. See what they’re doing and use the techniques you can see are working for them and feel right to you. Find what works, throw away what doesn’t.

Whatever you do, keep it consistent.

Wherever you land on the ‘aesthetics focus’ to ‘content focus’ ratio, as with a lot of things the first thing that people see when they land onto your channels (be it your instagram feed, your website etc.) is… Well. What they SEE.

People’s opinion of you based on your content will likely be formed (often subconsciously) within seconds of landing on your website or feed. Within those few seconds, they’ll decide whether or not to stick around or bounce, never to come back again.

For that reason, it’s important to keep the look and feel of your content generally consistent. Remember, confusing people is the surest way to fry their brains and turn them away from your channels before they give you, or what you have to say, a chance.

Your channels should all reflect the same look and the same message, i.e. they should look like they belong to the same person, and not show people one person on Instagram, a different one on your website and yet another one on Facebook. Things need to line up for your audience to get a sense of who you are and what you’re about, so that they can evaluate whether or not they can relate to it all. Once again, and I can’t say this enough, confused brand messaging is your worst enemy.

Professional, or not at all.

Consistency is one thing, and it’s crucial, but it’ll mean nothing if your channels don’t all look professional. Professional doesn’t mean it can’t also have a casual vibe, or be a friendly brand. Professional means whatever your brand is, it should have a certain polish to it, and clearly show that it was thought through and well-executed.

If you’re not convinced, riddle me this: When you land on a website that looked hacky or unsafe, do you still stuck around and browse through it? Or when you find an instagram account with burry pictures, weird-looking captions and totally unrelated content throughout, do you still scroll through for more?

…

My guess is you wouldn’t, because when you find something that looks dodgy (or, in other words, unprofessional) you can’t get away from it fast enough. We all do, because on a primal level that sense of uneasiness, uncertainty and insecurity signals to our brain that there may be danger, and it triggers our flight response.

Here are some prompts to get you started with building professional-looking and consistent channels:

On Instagram:

• What’s your Instagram handle? It is unique and memorable? Find a handle that says what it does on the tin, and one that doesn’t include a string of random numbers and letters. e.g. @authorjohnsmith is good, but @johnny_1999 and @John_Smith99 aren’t because they say nothing about who you are and they won’t be easy to remember.

• What type of pictures are you posting? Are they all clear and high-quality?

• Will you be using filters? If so which one? Ideally pick one and stick to it to give your feed a homogeneous look.

• What format are you using for your captions?

• Are your captions properly spaced out and easy to read?

• What content are you planning to post? Will there be recurring themes? If so, which ones?

On your website:

• Does your website look professional? Or does it look like a dodgy website that people will want to run away from immediately?

• Is your domain clear, specific and easy to remember?

• What does your landing page (your website home page) say about you?

• What imagery are you using?

• Is the look and feel of your website aligned with the look and feel of your Instagram feed? i.e. do they look like they belong to the same person?

• If your website navigation clear?

• How many clicks does it take to go from your home page to finding key information about you and your books?

• Is it easy for people to get in touch with you?

REAL and GENUINE does it.

I appreciate that a lot of the information we’ve covered so far sounds like it involves a lot of over-engineering of your online persona, but that isn’t to say that to succeed you need create a fake alter-ego.

Quite the opposite, actually.

What it suggests is that you should take some time to think about what makes you YOU, what feels real and genuine to YOU and to see how you can best translate that into images and content that will help people get to know YOU and what you stand for.

The illusion of perfection won’t make you attractive. All it’ll do is make you seem one-dimensional, and most likely make it look like you lack substance. In this day and age, people like to be able to relate to others and to see what goes on behind the scenes, the good AND the bad.

That’s all that your writer brand is. And the people who can relate to it will be the ones who stick around to hear more of what you have to say and will be more likely to enjoy your books.

In fact, look at it that way: building our writer brand online is like matching-making our books to their ideal readers. It’s getting our work in front of the people who are primed to love it and embrace it. And if we’ll give our characters a chance to find their literary soul-mates, why wouldn’t we grant our books the same courtesy?

[plutoswrath]

hi! what do you think about harsh aspects with saturn in a synastry? i have a few harsh aspects with my crush and i got a little bit worried because some websites talk about these aspects in such a negative way that it scared me... could you give your opinion about those and other harsh aspects in synastry? thank you. 🥺💓

Hello! Short disclaimer: I can understand your worries, but in astrology we always need to consider that eventually we choose what to make out of the potential presented to us. Saturn, no matter if it’s positive, neutral or negative can bring growth and thus has the potential to lead to longevity. And this absolutely counts for every harsh aspect! Also, in general people should not be afraif of seeing a at least a few harsh aspects to Satun in synastry. I know there are charts with less/completely unaspected planets, but it should be considered normal to have harsh aspects in synastry and not always indicated as a sign of doom.

With harsh Saturn aspects (I have written a similar post about harsh natal aspects with Saturn, you can look it up if you want to! x) it is always a lesson for eahc own, individual life path. The lesson here is for both, but the person that is Saturn will be the judge, the one limitating, while the otehr planet person will feel somehow restricted and unaccepted/judged maybe. The planet person often times will either see it as a wake up call of realizing the self and growing more into them, overcoming limits and giving own boundaries, and/or they will use Saturn criticism to realize their own weak points and define and polihs themself, especially in order to become more practical. That being said, Saturn will become more conscious of their set in stone world views, fears and at best, will allow themself to grow and consider the otehr side of the coin. This doesn’t mean they will lose their individuality, but will discover more room to grow inside their own individuality. I think this is something that is very profound in harsh Saturn aspects. It’s about me/us and an itruder, an external force that threatens us aka the hardship/fear that minfested in Saturn and thus can also show up physically. Saturn involves profound karmic lessons. 

Harsh aspects with Sun deal with the ego, our foundation we base everything on, something we can not get rid of, even if we wanted to. The Sun person usually feels rejected and the problem is that it’s hard for them to change because how can you change/deny yourself in order to make something work? Shouldn’t they like you for who you truly are? The other planet person usually aims for compromise, for the sun person to make an exception in certain situations (this would be the themes of the planet involved). Depending on the other planet involved, it can be easier to adjust or not, but Sun usually has to rethink their sense of self. But again, this isn’t hopless either, it just affords a willingness to be openminded for change without losing face.

Harsh aspects with Moon can be tricky as it’s one of the most important planets to consider in snyastry. Everything is important in synastry(!), but there are planets I would focus on more first when makinga  quick, basic rundown, and this  defenitely includes Moon. If Moon is malnourished it wil show most of the time quickly in the dynamic. Moon can quickly feel unloved, scared to open up because of feeling misunderstood, or even worse it can trigger some sort of hidden painful memories/trauma that caused Moon to prioritize in life/a relationship exactly what they crave for now. Planet person usually can not (easily) provide for Moon on this (planets theme) level and can feel easily burdened. But this can also count for Moon, depending on how Moon decided to deal with the neglect (look at sign here and natal aspects with moon). This calls for a deep emotional understanding of how both function and getting behind it. Here we have to look at the bigger picture of Moon and planet person. This calls for depth, honesty and understanding. 

Harsh aspects with Venus usually indicates a difference in love languages and ideals. Venus shows us how we live out ur relations of any kind, not only romantic. If Venus is neglected or feels misunderstood, creating romantic feelings in a relationship is hard. The difference to Moon here is, that Moon is also responsible for romantic feelings, but Moon can take on a more practical side on order to function in general, while Venus specifically give the magic that romance is. Venus also connects to individuality, this is something we need to manifest in our world and in our lives in order to live peacefully. Whenever Venus is in harsh aspect it can manifest in immediate ‘turn offs’, something that just makes you believe you could never ‘click’ - but oppositions and squares nutoriously known for creating attraction as well, so both is possible. What you want to manifest in order to feel comfortable, and what others need to give you manifest your Venus and live out your individuality is challenged here and the way you love or the other ones loves feels wrong or unfulfilling. Both need to become familiar with each others love language/individuality and need to decide of compromise is possible or if the differences are too big, leaving Venus dissatisfied and neglected, unappreciated. 

Harsh aspects with Mars can lead to attraction or competition. Mars is direct sexual energy, meaning it’s the force that keeps us moving. Mars can enjoy a challenge because the planet Mars is assertive in it’s nature, but if Mars needs are neglected or challenged this can turn one away from teh other. Mars needs to be given what it naturally chases after (look at sign here) in order for Mars to keep that energy going, still being intrested, still searching for ways to make things work, etc. Whenever Mars is challenged, it can try to force its will or just give up. When Mars energy is repressed by another planet, the Mars person can easily lose a sense of direction and become directionless. Mars needs to be able to follow their instincts, because Mars can not change it’s sense of direction. You can not make a Leo out of a Pisces Mars, because the sense of direction, the way the person takes action would change completely, meaning they’d become someone intirely different. And that’s not really possible. 

[illfoandillfie]

I’d love a platonically blurb ab them applying to foster/adopt kids 🥺

i love you for this request but also it made me very soft and emo and how dare you

It ended up being a little less about them actually applying and more just them deciding they wanted to adopt or foster and discussing their options because i can't read but perhaps i could do an actual fic later about the process involved and them meeting their kid and stuff?? idk...dad ben makes me 🥺🥺🥺

Anyway, here's the second last blurb in my Platonically event!

Words: 1,683

Warnings: Nothing much really, discussions about children including pregnancy, adoption and fostering, a little mention of sex but nothing explicit.

“I wanna be a dad.”  You weren’t surprised to hear Ben say it. You’d seen the signs. There was the way he’d befriended and doted on the adorable toddler who’d played his daughter on a TV project. Every day he’d come home and his face would light up as he talked about her – how she babbled little kid nonsense at him all day and how they’d played silly games sitting on the floor of the set while the cameras were set up around them. You’d almost expected him to bring up the possibility of having kids then but he’d surprised you and not mentioned it. You could tell he was thinking about it though which made you think about it too. It made sense to at least discuss it and see where you both stood now that you’d been in the QPR for a while and knew that it worked and that you made a good team. You asked about it one night while you were washing the dishes and Ben was drying them. “Do you ever think about kids? Like having one?” “Yeah, sometimes,” he said, bumping your shoulder gently with his, but the conversation didn’t go any further than that.

It wasn’t until about three months later that you heard him say it. It took one of his mates having a baby with his wife for Ben to bring it up. You’d gone over a couple of weeks after they left the hospital, gifts in hand (a cute little spotty onesie and soft toy elephant that he hopefully wouldn't grow out of as quickly as he would his clothes). It was a lovely afternoon, catching up with the new parents and meeting brand new baby Bertie who just stared at everyone who cooed over him. You each had a turn holding Bertie too, marvelling at how anything could have such tiny hands and such big brown eyes. Ben happened to be handed the bundle of blankets that Bertie was swaddled in as the baby began to fall asleep. He didn’t mind though. When the new father asked if he should take Bertie and put him in his crib Ben waved him off. He said he didn’t mind sitting there a little longer to make sure Bertie really had dropped off. The parents didn’t argue, a little relieved that they were able to take a break and just relax. Both of them excused themselves for a moment to get some more food and use the bathroom which left you and Ben and the sleeping Bertie alone together. Quietly you stepped towards the armchair Ben was in, sitting on the arm so you could run your fingers through his hair. “I wanna be a dad.” Ben glanced up at you as he said it, and you could see how much he meant it. “Let’s talk about it tonight,” you reached out to stroke Bertie’s pudgy cheek as Ben lent his head against your side, his attention turning back to the baby.

Neither of you mentioned it on the drive home. In fact you both specifically avoided mentioning it, though not from fear of what might be said but rather just wanting to make sure you had adequate time to go over it without rushing. Once you were inside, shoes kicked off and the kettle on, you opened the discussion.  “So....a baby?” Ben nodded, as he settled into the couch, body angled towards you, “I’ve been thinking about it for a bit, it’s not just because of this afternoon but that did help. I really want kids and I think I’m at a place where I feel ready to. Is that...is that okay?” “It’s wonderful Ben. Honestly, I’ve kinda been waiting for this conversation for a while. I’ve seen you interact with kids and I knew it wouldn’t be long before you wanted your own.” He laughed and inclined his head in amused agreement, “So does that mean you like the idea?” “Yeah I do.” “Really? Just that I know you weren’t really sure about it when we first decided to be partners.” “I might not’ve been then, but I am now.”  “What changed?” “Well...you, obviously.” “Me?” He seemed surprised. “Look, before we got together I couldn’t imagine being in a relationship that didn’t make me feel at least a little uncomfortable. I figured I’d be single forever and I was okay with that. I’d considered just having a kid on my own – sperm donor or whatever – but that seemed like a really hard thing to do and I wasn’t sure I’d ever want it bad enough to do that. But then you showed me that it was possible to be in a partnership that felt good and, I don’t know, I started thinking about the possibility of having a family with you, and the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea.” Ben smiled as if he was trying not to look as pleased with your answer as he felt, “So we’re doing this then? For real?” “Yeah I think so. Weird.” “Bit weird.” There was a pause as you both just sat with the knowledge that you were planning a future together, that you both wanted to go ahead with it. You never would have guessed you’d get to that point with anyone.

Ben was the one to break the moment, “How would you want to...I mean how should we...How do you feel about being pregnant?” You bit your lip in thought, “I’m not sure. Honestly, it still kinda freaks me out.” “That’s understandable.” “I mean, if it was a dealbreaker for you then I would. I’m not entirely against the idea of carrying our baby and it would mean we’d get to do the fun part of making it.” “We do the fun part a lot as is,” Ben laughed, “But it’s actually something I thought about a lot.” “The fun part? That doesn’t surprise me.” “No, the you being preggers part,” he said exasperatedly, “I knew you weren’t super keen on the whole thing so I got thinking about whether or not it really mattered to me and I don’t think it does. I think I could be just as happy with a kid that came from someone else. And,” he paused as if giving you time to prepare for what he was about to say, “I might have looked into our options for adopting or fostering.” “You did?” “Mmhmm. It’s kinda complicated so we shouldn’t rush into anything and we should probably contact some agencies to ask questions and stuff.” “How complicated are we talking?” “Well, basically, if we want to adopt I think we have to put our names down with an agency and then there’s an interview process and if they think we’re suitable candidates then they’ll put our names in the system and find us a kid. And I guess it depends on the age bracket you’re looking for. I think if we wanted a newborn we’d be more likely to get one through adoption but it might still take a while whereas older kids are a little easier to find, so that’s something we need to consider.” “What about fostering?” “It sounds even more complicated. Like adoption you put your name down and go through an evaluation process but then there’s a few different options. There’s short term fostering where we’d look after kids for a couple of weeks or months while plans for their futures are finalised. Then there’s long term fostering which is usually for kids who can’t go back home but don’t want to be adopted out of their birth families and they mostly stay with you until they’re adults. Emergency fostering is another option which is a few nights or weeks at most but it’s for kids who need to be moved quickly and you don’t always get a lot of warning about them coming to you. And like, there’s possibilities to end up adopting the kid or kids you foster depending on what they want and how it goes.” You puffed your cheeks up with air and slowly blew it out, head swimming with the sudden influx of information, “That does sound complicated.” “Yeah. We’ll really have to consider out options and decide what sort of family we want to have. I think reading about adoption and fostering made me want to do it more though. Cause like...” he paused as he tried to find the right words, “These kids are out there without good homes and I really believe we could give them that.” You noted Ben was getting a little misty eyed, blinking more rapidly to hold back the emotion, so you tried to make him laugh by nudging him and calling him a sap. But you loved seeing how much he cared.  It worked a little as he chuckled softly and shrugged, “Look, either way – adopting or fostering – it's probably not going to be easy. There’s challenges involved in fostering for sure – kids with trauma we won’t be able to understand, kids who are grieving the loss of their birth families or who’ve had bad experiences with other foster carers and who struggle to trust anyone. And the kids who are up for adoption might not have the same problems, especially if they’re younger but, I don’t know, I think finding out you were put up for adoption would leave its own scars. Issues with abandonment and things like that. So I think we have to be really, really sure before we put our names down anywhere. But I also think we could properly help someone doing it, maybe more than one someone. So, if you’re up for it then so am I.” “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “What are you thinking?” More pros and cons lists?” You both

laughed at that but Ben grabbed your arm, encouraging you to leave your seat and sit on his lap instead. He wrapped his arms around your waist and tilted his head up for a kiss which you gladly gave.  “I’m really happy we’re talking about this,” He almost whispered, squeezing you a little tighter. “Me too. I guess we should start by going through all our options and seeing which ones would suit us best.” "I've got some websites bookmarked and a few documents downloaded so why don't I go get my laptop and you make us a drink and we'll start working through it, okay?" "Okay,"