#even most of my tagged stuff doesn't usually go beyond that.

[queen-mihai]

Completely random

Thanks to my new avatar, I kinda wonder what it looks like with my profile saying some of the semi-raunchy stuff that I say.

"Scots get sex in Cumland and cum in Sexland"

- Tumblr Angel Princess

"Dictators' houses LOVE being on fire"

- An Angel

"I can't stand dogshit backwards disingenuous arguments. The people who make them need to fuck off"

- Can't make this clear enough. Halo. Wings. This is an angel saying these things. And a princess.

Eh not like any of it's real anyway. But it's just fun to ponder 😜😇🥰😂

[krurbbbylift]

(WORK IN PROGRESS, PLS DM IF YOU WANT TO ADD STUFF!)

MASTER LIST OF STORES AND EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!!!

2024 vers

Adidas:

Aeropostale: Basically broke, barely any cameras and employees tend to not care and not count items for dressing rooms which are usually open and don't have to be asked for. I have almost never seen anything tagged. jewelry and perfumes are right by checkout so not recommended for that.

Abercrombie & Fitch: 

American Eagle: 

Armani: 

Banana Republic: 

Barnes & Noble: Uses Rfid tags and sometimes spider wraps on kpop albums and anime figures if there’s frequent theft in area. Cameras are not actively monitored, but are checked after theft. Store managers are the only ones who have the authority to call the police. They won’t chase. Pretty easy to lift from. 

Bath & Body Works: Intermediate 

More than a few employees and a small but busy store, small items are right by the cashiers, employees will immediately talk to you and offer a basket but will usually leave you alone after first entering unless engaged in conversation. mall locations usually no/minimal cameras and no/obvious tagging.

No LP, and cameras aren't actively monitored. The stores are small and have many employees mostly concentrated at the counters except for a greeter who helps customers with questions. They don't prosecute, but they call mall security and will let them determine if police will be called. This is a store only good for small lifts, and then leaving quickly.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond: Out of business.

Best Buy: There is security in the front. They will tackle. Very hard to lift from.

Bloomingdales: 

Books-a-million: 

Burlington Coat Factory: 

Carson’s: 

Chanel: 

COACH: 

Costco: Wouldn’t recommend. Unless you have a gift card, they will use your membership info to find out more about you.

CVS:  Uses RFID tags on some products (some medicines and some makeup) but that varies on the location. Some at locations the security towers don’t go off (don’t risk it). Semi-Easy

 They have no chase policy and workers aren’t allowed to do anything. They can’t stop you, or ask to check your bag unless it’s LP. Cameras are usually non actively monitored. LP rotates regionally, usually working two, 8-hour shifts per week at specific stores.

Dick’s Sporting Goods: Not recommended for beginners. Conceal in dressing room or in tall aisles. Check for stickers/tags and dispose of accordingly. RFID Tags on clothes can set off alarms.

Dillard’s: Hard store. Dedicated LP.

Dollar General: Super easy, conceal in aisles. some stores are going out of business, take advantage of areas without cameras.

Dollar Tree: Beginner Friendly Store 

Oftentimes, the cameras are fake. Few employees are usually in the store. DT doesn't want to waste money on security or LP because their products are cheap. 

Family Dollar: Uses rfid tags on electronics, some hair and body products. 

At most they will have four employees in the store, but they usually only have one or two. Extremely easy as long as you watch over your shoulders. At some locations the workers are required to tell you to leave your book bag at the front. If you're a school student—but they usually don’t care enough to say it or enforce the rule.

Semi-Easy

Five and Below: Minimal employees, cameras spread out and usually shown on tvs around the store to deter, minimal to no tagging and sometimes even no sensors at the door. usually one employee at the front that can see a tv with camera footage displayed but usually distracted or busy and not watching cameras.

Finish Line/Footlocker: 

Flying Tiger: Medium

No LP, but small with a lot of cameras. Went to one in a mall

Food Lion: 

Gamestop: Intermediate with how small the stores are. I've only lifted once from there and it was a small pack of Pokémon cards, and I did so by concealing it in my sleeve behind a display case. gamestop is good for small and quick lifts— then never going back for a few months or weeks.

GAP: 

GNC: 

Gucci: Too hard. Best bet is a grab and run. I've legitimately witnessed lifters being tackled by security/LP. it's CRAZY tbh

H&M: 

Hobby Lobby: So easy. The aisles are very tall and usually the only cameras are near the front by the registers. Body concealing is recommended.

Hollister: There are cameras. Hook is required to detag. Fairly easy so long as you are not counted for clothes. Security is seldom called, so just be sneaky and don’t get sloppy.

Home Depot: 

Hot Topic: Use Pencil Tags and Ink tags. Sometimes there’s a camera up front near the desk but usually there’s no camera. Depends on the value, store location, and what the item is.

Hot topic is/was a good place to lift from, but they've begun tagging their shit to hell and back. its best to, if ur ht has it, take off tags in between the shirt racks (clearance, the ones that hang)

Jo-Ann Fabrics: Just as easy as Hobby Lobby, but there is a camera at the beginning of the entrance. Conceal in blind spots near the back of the store. Watch out for customers.

JC Penny: 

King Super’s: 

K-Mart: 

Kohl’s: 

Kroger: 

Lord and Taylor: 

Lowes: 

Lush: On busy days they tend to position their employees in areas of the store where they will just scan the area and look for anyone who's lifting. I suggest building a good reputation with the employees by acting like a good, possible customer so they'll pay no mind to you. I do believe that some lush stores have cameras but a lot don't, and not many security measures are in place.

Macy’s: 

Martin’s (closing): 

Meijers: 

Mervyns: 

Michael’s: Conceal in blind spots, quite easy as long as you avoid cameras. I wouldn’t recommend going super often as most stores exits are located by the registers and you have to walk past a cashier to leave. 

Michael Kor’s: 

Nike: Stickers on apparel tags. Take clothing and conceal in fitting room. For shoes, use structured bag and conceal where there aren’t any cameras. Check shoes for any stickers or tags beforehand. 

Nordstrom: If you are a teen, SA will be on your ass. Not only are they paid on commission, they make extra for catching shoplifters.

Office Depot/Max: Barely any cameras except near the front. Don’t try and get printer ink. School supplies are easy, just body conceal in aisles. Watch out for workers.

Old Navy: 

Pet-Co: 

PetSmart: 

Rite Aid: 

Ross: High LP, lots of cameras, and almost everything is tagged because of l1fting problems

Safeway: 

Sam’s Club: 

Sears: 

Sephora: Crouch down to conceal, and don’t go around in circles too much. If you have a blind spot, gather everything you want, conceal, and discreetly leave. Walk around the check out area so you look like you’re considering purchasing items.

Sheetz: 

Spencer’s: Uses sticker sensors on their jewelry; I'm unsure of what they put on clothing

Spirit Halloween: At my spirit halloween (all stores could be different) the monitor they have only showed 4 cameras at a time there were a lot of blind spots I hid behind a shelf and concealed a lot.  There was one employee walking around one at the front greeting guests and one at the register where the camera monitor was at.

Staples: Same as Office Depot.

Stop & Shop: 

Sunglass Hut: Easier to bring an old pair of sunglasses and switch them. Check tags, and don’t go if it’s not busy. LP situation is unknown but it’s good to practice sleight of hand.

Target: Uses RFID and hard tags. Notoriously hard to lift from, build’s cases, and employees and security are allowed to chase.

Things Remembered:

Toys R Us: 

Tuesday Morning: 

Ulta: Easier than Sephora. Conceal in haircare or while crouching. They cannot chase. Watch out for customers and don’t linger around too much in blind spots.

Vans: 

Virginia Diner Shoppe:

Walmart: Lots of cameras especially in high l1fting areas and usually a lot of employees. sometimes employ plain clothes LP and door greeters can ask to see receipts but not in your bag. lots of blind spots from cameras in home goods like trash cans and pet aisles. can put it in a bag and check for tags in bathrooms before exiting. jewelry is tagged (from experience). possibly shares database with target and handles l1fters like target. imo easier than target though.

Walgreens:

Wawa:

Wegman’s:

Zumiez: 

7-Eleven: Easy to lift food and candy. Don’t exactly know if they have tags but if you body conceal.

[ofallthingsnasty]

I just remembered that one ridiculously cute thing in uni during the body donor class - for context: we dental students got pooled together with the meds during the pre-clinical semesters a lot, and that class was no different.

We were separated in two main groups, and one body donor was shared between 12 students - coming in from Monday to Thursday. On Fridays, you could come in until 12 and just look at the donors without any supervision, you just needed your coat and name tag. And I remember going in before the situs oral and trying to understand how blood flows through the heart and then one of the meds (super intimidating buff guy) saw me struggle and was like '... Hey do you want me to explain that to you?' and then we sat there - him with a whole heart in hand, explaining it all to me, more than happy to help. Not gonna lie, I had a bit of a crush on that guy for the rest of the semester. We weren't even in the same group, so we never saw each other during prep hours but I always had my eyes peeled for him during lectures haha tw.anatomical stuff (i'm german so if my translations are a little off then i'm sorry hah), cadavers, just fluff

Long story short - I'm thinking about that with Law. You and Chopper are at the same table, come in every Friday to review the material of the week, both a little on the not-so-studious side. (Don't get me wrong, you go to every lecture - but those suckers are two hours long and not the only class you have. It's easy to lose track, especially when all you wanna do is catch up on sleep during the weekends.)

You pull your donor out of the body bag, lay them down and go over your notes, some sessions more and some less successful. The two of you are usually not alone, either - there is always someone else rifling around on their own table. Today it's a guy with a severe expression and some earrings. You've seen him in the lecture hall but you and Chopper aren't in the same group as him, so that's really all you know. You get through this week's lecture notes just fine - until it's time for the heart. The way blood gets fed through the atriums and ventricles, how the pressure changes, systole and diastole, the coronary arteries... You two are feeling beyond lost and so, so close to simply giving up - it's just too much and too intricate (at least for someone who has heard all of that info only once, maybe twice). But then there is also that other student - and maybe, just maybe, he knows more than you two do. It's not unusual to ask - and so that's what you do.

Law can't be assed, actually.

He's reviewing his notes, trying to get his own studying done. He's really not the type to do tutoring, doesn't have the patience for it. But you two are loud - hemming and hawing over your own cadaver and if he has to hear you confuse the mitral valve with the tricuspid one more time, then he's going to get a migraine. What are twenty minutes of his time if it means that you get done with your little idiot session and finally leave the hall? So he sighs and motions you to come closer. He's surprisingly good at explaining. The heart of his donor in one hand, a tissue forceps in the other, he walks you through every fact one would want to know about the organ. You probably have stars in your eyes while he talks because finally, finally you're grasping the material - and really, it might be confusing at first, but it's not that hard. He even lets Chopper regurgitate it all to him and has the two of you giggling over it. Law is just glad you two morons are finally having your little eureka moment because it means that you'll be off in a matter of minutes.

But no good deed goes unpunished.

It's then that you notice his tattoos through the nitrile gloves and suddenly he's the most fascinating living guy around (the most fascinating guy is dead on table 5, with golf ball sized cysts in his liver, sorry Law). He gets bombarded with questions, you and Chopper all over him, way too loud, too excited, too fucking annoying. He's already regretting his little act of charity.

And not only do you have the audacity to ask him to explain fetal circulation (because, please, please it's so confusing) as well, no, from that moment on, you're all over him very goddamn Friday and he's been added to three different group chats the moment Chopper and you leave the hall.

[theink-stainedfolk]

Writer Questionnaire Tag

Thank you @drchenquill @the-golden-comet and @paeliae-occasionally for the tag

how long have you had your writing tumblr/writeblr? a fast and loose estimate is fine!

It's been at least 6 months or more I believe.

what led you to create it?

I actually had it from before but i never really posted anything. The thought that there might be people willing to read my works more than my own family and friends led me to create it. I was done shying away.

what's your favourite thing about the writeblr community?

I absolutely adore the supportive and inclusive nature of the writeblr community! It's a space where writers from diverse backgrounds and genres come together to share their passion for storytelling. I love how everyone encourages and uplifts each other, offering constructive feedback and celebrating each other's successes. The community's enthusiasm is infectious, and it motivates me to keep writing and improving my craft. I also appreciate the wealth of resources and knowledge shared within the community, from writing tips and prompts to editing advice and publishing insights. It's amazing to see how writers willingly share their expertise and experiences to help others grow. Most of all, I cherish the sense of belonging and connection that comes with being part of this community. Writeblr feels like a virtual writing group, where we can discuss our projects, share our struggles, and rejoice in our triumphs together

what's one thing you'd like your mutuals to know about you?

That i really love talking about my WIPs and OCs aand everything related to my story. I feel happy, seen and appreciated. If you like anything i woorte, please don't hesitate to ask or just tell me how you feel.

is there anything you'd like to see more of on your dash?

Uh..memes? More aisan drama related things? More HSR stuff everything about my interests etc.

which wips or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Very wrong question lol. I've been going back and forth between my WIPs. But the most recent one I've done, or am thinking about is The Masque of Murder .

how long have you been working on them?

Hahaha.... Since months, years and i still haven't even written a chapter for some of them. I hate myself for that. But since The Masque of Murder is recent, it's been a week or so.

do you remember what inspired them/ what got you started?

Yeah i remember reading a manhwa which had this crazy but mad genius doctor as a minor villan. It got me thinking that it was a waste of his abilities and damn good looks and he would have been surely protected by the plot armour had he been the main character instead. This forced me into making it lol.

how much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

🎵Every hour, every minute, every second. And night after night, I'll thinking 'bout you right, 7 days a week.🎶

name any characters you created. side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who've never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you'd like!

Uh... every single one of them? I created everyone, if that's what you're asking haha.. I'm not sure if i understand it correctly but i created everyone on my own. I'll mention the one that comes to my mind first then.

Side character- Emrys from In The Silence, Strength

Protagonist- Dr. Phineas Abel Thorncroft from The Masque Of Murder

Antagonist- Dante from Beyond The Pages (but he is also the protagonist)

And i can't really remember the last two.

when someone asks the dreaded, "what do you write about," question, what do you usually say?

Yknow, fantasy stuff with magic and murder mystery with actual murder and blood and stuff and all that hahah none of the stuffs that you like or understand or are interested in right? Hahah it totally doesn't have queer peoples. Just fictional stuff you don't wanna know hahaha.

Deadass.

who's the most unhinged?

Dr. Phineas Abel Thorncroft (from The Masque Of Murder), Acheron (from Legacy of Creation), Dante (from Beyond The Pages) and Eitenne Lumiere( from Wicked Games, Wicked Fates) from what i remember .

who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Vesperine, Cleo, Pareen

do you ever cringe at them?

Hahaha... sometimes..

how much control do you feel you have over your characters? do they ever "write themselves," refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn't expect? to what degree? are some less cooperative than others?

I feel like i have 70% control and 30% is something they do it themselves because i give them the freedom to do so. Because that is the story of my character and not of me, even if I am the one who wrote it. Sometimes the decision i make for them is not what they'd do.

do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? and do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? for example, as asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on ao3, etc.

Yes i absolutely love it please ask. Doesn't matter how just ask♡♡♡

what makes you want to follow another writeblr account? do you follow 'em as you see 'em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? do you follow based on wips, or vibes?

I take time scoping out the blog to make sure i align with it's content. And i follow based on both, wips and vibes but mostly vibes.

what makes you decide against following?

If i don't align with the content or i don't fond the story interesting, i don't follow.

do you interact with non-mutual often?

Not often but i do.

do your mutuals' characters occupy space in your noodle?

There are so so many characters of my mutuals that i love love loveee but my memory rn isn't functioning at its best so i will just write whom i can remember rn.

The Madness, the lady and that guy from Foliè written by @drchenquill, my friend. Whose writing always leaves me with surprises and cliffhangers. She supports me so much i almost feel guilty 💕💕💕💕 i love you so much💖💖💖

@paeliae-occasionally Xanren, Marsh and Paeliae. I love their stories it captivated me. I hope you can tag me on their journey 👍, @cssnder, my first mutual whom i talked with so much courage that i almost didn't open tumblr the next day due to embarrassment and nervousness. Her works are like renaissance paintings, truly mesmerizing and beautiful. Thus Saith The Lord is truly a work of art and i hope i get to read it soon.😭 And also, @roarintheheavens , my new friend, I'm so happy. Vron Carson, he is very interesting and i can't wait to know more about him. And of course, @the-golden-comet, I'd very much like to read more about peter hart.

Just because i didn't mention everyone doesn't mean i don't appreciate your works, it's just that i haven't read them yet. I hope you all can send it to me. I'll definitely read it.

I'll tag @finickyfelix @willtheweaver @ascotwriting @agirlandherquill @leahnardo-da-veggie @illarian-rambling @winglesswriter @graveyardshift111

[poswiecenia]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. REPOST, DO NOT REBLOG !!

NAME: da name is miles. sometimes called kilometers as a joke , ive had the alias satan before ( stemming from the hetalia rpc from all things , we don't talk about that era ) and uh. yeah ? milays. a single mile. 

PRONOUNS: he / they baybee. 

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: usually discord but if i would rather keep distance until i can figure if we can get some dynamics going it'll likely be through the tags of posts or tumblr im's. 

NAME OF MUSE(s): man. looks at my roster. c'mon now LOL. go here to find out but my main braincell has lumine in it thank u

BEST EXPERIENCE: thinking emoji. probably running into jamey and those currently in my affiliates and developing various oc's and interconnecting plots and stuff that have found their way to the dash itself. its been super uber fun thank u.

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS:

honesty when it comes to communication if something isn't a vibe to write anymore. it doesn't save fact not to say anything , it just makes situations even more dire or worse since it begins to pent up and then explode into something really bad. just be honest with what you do wanna write vs what you don't wanna write anymore. while yeah it might upset some people .. lack of communication isn't a price to pay for losing friendships or wild shit going down.

singleshipping. i can't due to trauma. and those who give the vibes that my muse interpretation is theirs and only there's but in a way that makes it uncomfortable ? miss me with that, thanks.

MUSE PREFERENCES: those that have gone through shit but are still able to be kind in some capacity even though it would've been understandable to see them crack and be cruel. characters with morally gray morals and don't see the world as a black and white slate. muses that are also full of sunshine and are innocent and haven't gone through the world to ruin that for them. characters that have a position of power or have immense power themselves and will do anything in their power to keep others safe. sad dads. old men who are tired.

PLOTS OR MEMES:  to begin things i'm usually partial to memes to get things going just due to my own braincell being unsure just yet but once things get going and im like waow this is super cool and will work . . plots fr. both are good and fun but something tickles when i can plot af.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: both. sometimes i wanna just do itty bitty meme responses and sometimes im totes down to clown with long form replies that are 1k words long or smth.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: honestly whenever. late in the afternoon into the evening sometimes flies more but its very ??? just dependent on my mood ig. sometimes i'll write 4 things then take a nap for 6 hours and then write 4 more LOL. 

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S):  some of my muses i kinda place bits of my brain into but uh ??? probably my oc's im most like bc i put pieces of my hopes into them. but beyond that idk i don't think any single muse i write is like. super like me 100%.

tagged by: @glacialswordsman + @aguilareye ( thank u guyyyyys :3 ) tagging: @draconicfool, @dawnbrst, @fckurselfie + anyone else who wanna.

[narsh-poptarts]

Who is the cowboy

How do I see more of him

oh boy you're in for a treat cuz

which one!!!

I've got two cowboy guys that i love and enjoy: Jack Cassidy, my dnd character in a nautical campaign that is a REALLY good shot!! he has a lot of guns and also he's sun coded but in a blinding, burning, and oh so heavy way

I've drawn and posted him a couple times with his character sheet here, a sketch page with pretty much everyone in that campaign here, and he's in this wip post :D! that wip post has more progress on it now :D

you can usually find him by searching through searching "Jack Cassidy" on my blog, im thinking NONSTOP ABOUT HIM right now you have NO IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he's currently going through a regression arc, it's great

THE SECOND COWBOY!!!!!!!!!!! Wesley Bernavelli, he's another ttrpg character of mine, this time from Monster of the Week!!! He's a Hex :DDD that means he's a WITCHY COWBOY!!!! so like he reads bones and tea leaves i mean coffee grounds and watches the embers and smoke of a bonfire for visions of the future and spots things beyond the veil with a hagstone, etc etc, VERY fun stuff

he doesn't have a set character sheet really cuz he doesn't have color, but i have drawn him extensively here

he's also the one i have done the most like. physical effort into making art for, cuz i made a woodblock print of him

if i ever make more art of the man, you can search "Wesley Bernavelli" on my blog and find him, i usually always tag my ocs with their names so i can also easily find them haha

I REALLY want to make more art of these guys, Wesley im obsessed with but his campaign isn't in session yet, i just got super brainrot with him before the campaign even started haha

Jack tho. JACK i am forever obsessed with. he's got fun homoerotic tension with the wizard <3

[tripleyeeet]

nine people i'd like to get to know

@aphrogeneias thanks for the tag <3

what "old person" things do you do: complain about how the cold hurts my arthritis. honestly, that's about it. i don't actually have a lot of oldie habits surprisingly?

last three books (or fics) you've read: the thing between us by gus morano - which i absolutely hated. it was such a compelling story about the haunting grief of a man who loses his wife to a supposed beyond the veil sort of entity and it literally went nowhere. so mad i wasted my time on it to be honest.

manacled by senlinyu - technically i'm not done this one. i think i have eleven chapters left but god it's so worth it. i'm not even a harry potter fan anymore (for obvious reasons) but people have been hyping this one up for YEARS. finally took the bait when someone talked about how heartbreaking it is and, holy fuck, they were so right. couldn't recommend more honestly.

the summer hikaru died vol. 1 - i've been looking for a good psych horror manga for ages and this one SLAPS. super excited to read more.

at a movie theater, which arm rest is yours: right side cause i'm left handed. :)

vintage or new: depends on the thing. with clothes i typically buy new because most vintage stuff i'm able to find doesn't really fit my body type. however, furniture, books, etc. i usually buy vintage if i can!

favorite part of your daily routine: it's a tie between that first moment i come home and i see my dog and the one before i go to bed where my partner and i catch each other up on our days.

are you scared of the dark: nah.

marry/cuddle/sleep (like, actual sleeping): asked a friend, they said to choose between loki, astarion, and nanami and to that i say -fuck you, first off all. second, i'm marrying nanami, no questions asked. honestly, i'd probably cuddle astarion because he deserves it. and sleep next to loki because lord knows we both could use a goddamn nap.

candles, essential oils or incense: essential oils, but only if they're the massaging kind.

favorite lyrics right now: pretty much the entirety of charlie xcx's brat album has been stuck in my head but especially this one which isn't technically on the main album but it's so good.

random fact/story you want to share about yourself: as of last week, i officially have 65 tattoos!

tagging: @vampiricgf @novarex @megs-98 @justporo and whoever else wants to join in. :)

[olderthannetfic]

Escapade Dance Party 2023 Writeup 1/3

Seeing as Escapade Online is coming up this weekend, I suppose I should finally write up some stuff about last in-person con that I never got around to.

I don't usually bother with a full con report, but I do like writing up the dance party. Instead of just playing music, I do a playlist of vids that we project on the wall. It's a small con, somewhere between a hundred and a hundred and thirty, generally, so I don't bother to ask permission. (This is also why we don't broadcast or redistribute the dance party in any way or do one for the online con.)

Escapade is a venerable con. In fact, it's the oldest still-running slash con. Back in the 90s, people would come here to find out what was going on in fandom that year, get pimped into the latest fandoms, find out about new zines. Fandom moves a lot faster now: between when we decide on panels and when the con happens, a whole movie fandom could have risen and fallen. Still, it's as easy as ever to feel out of touch, just for different reasons than in the 90s.

I want people to come away from the dance party feeling like they've heard of some of the Next Hot Things. It's also a great opportunity to cover some of attendees' own fandoms that may not end up in the main vidshow. As a vidder, I despise cons that try to make the main vidshow purely audience-focused and just about whatever ships are big. A con like that sees vidders as providers of entertainment, not fellow fans and attendees. But a con that honors vidders' actual current interests is a con with a vidshow full of weird fandoms of one and glaring gaps in what older fandoms are included. So having another curated show, like this dance party, is a nice way to bridge that gap.

The party is essentially like an enormous mixtape. It's a chance for me to make thematic links between vids and to inflict music I actually want to dance to onto a captive audience. Each discrete vidding community tends to have extremely boring taste in music. Sorry, not sorry. And for dance music, this is even worse. I often can't find what I'm looking for, but I can try.

Every year, I begin by looking at attendees' profiles on the Escapade site, filtering the m/m tag on AO3 for what's been active in the past year, and browsing around until I come up with a list of fandoms of interest. Fandoms that people suggested Escapade panels for also go on the list. These may be the big ones, but there are usually a lot of idiosyncratic options since it's a small con. It doesn't matter if Steve/Bucky is big if nobody at this con is going to care.

I set up my spreadsheet for my epic vid search: This involves not only sheets for my fandom list but vocabulary lists for searching: Слэш, 燃, etc.

After that, I go through the past year of the AO3 'fanvids' tag and maybe the 'amv' one, looking for interesting vids. They need to be at least somewhat danceable and 2-5 minutes without a ton of show audio. That's easier to find on AO3 than Youtube at large, but it still knocks out most vids I open everything, put the playhead to the middle of the vid, and test the sound. If I hear something viable, I go back and watch the vid. But if too many people I know have kudosed, I take it off the list since people have seen it already. For this step, I don't care about fandom, just about the vid being interesting and preferably slashy. (Yes, this is how I fell into Beyond Evil.)

After that, I start looking on Youtube and Bilibili, fandom by fandom, ship by ship. Some fandoms I never do find. They're just too unpopular with vidders. Some I find, but only a ship I have banned. I have a lifetime ban on Klance, for example. Anything too redolent of antis goes on the banned list. Anything with surprise tentacles is a shoo-in.

I also have some other rules for myself that I've developed over the years. I want at least a couple of vids with women, preferably f/f. Escapade is more m/m-focused, but a lot of attendees are queer and/or ship f/f as well. The show must have at least a vid or two that focuses on somebody other than white or East Asian characters. I mostly avoid vidders who are well known to people who attend the US slash/Media Fandom/vidding type cons unless I really cannot fill a particular fandom need elsewhere. I especially try to avoid vids that have already shown at other cons recently, though depending on how they're labeled, I may screw that one up. I've been more and more strict about this over time. I find a lot of vidding communities pretty incestuous, so this is a chance to shake things up.

A big one that surprises some people is that I try to avoid most multifandom vids and many ensemble vids. This one is negotiable depending on the vid, but I find that there's a distasteful pattern where a juggernaut will be deemed worthy of taking up a whole slot for itself with just a focus on the one ship while other things are relegated to an Awesome Ladies compilation. Those vids are fantastic in isolation, but if you play a lot of them together in a vidshow, let alone a vidshow that's a dark, noisy dance party, they all blend together into mush. A great ship vid or single character study, on the other hand, still manages to grab people. If you aren't willing to say "This ship gets the Star Wars/MCU/etc. slot, not that ship", what are you actually saying?

I try to find a fresh choice for any fandom that has been directly requested (so pretty much just Sentinel) and any where I know some attendees are mostly or only in that one fandom (The Professionals).

Of course, I can only play what people have already made, and this is a dance party, so sometimes, there just aren't any choices. I do shoehorn in a couple of not-very danceable vids most years, but they can only go right before or after the intermission or right at the end, so the number has to be limited.

One thing I don't always care about is the strictest standards of "quality" in a snobby vidder sense. Not only do different communities have different standards for what counts, but I'm more interested in novelty or great music. I won't play anything I think is terrible, but I'll take a B+ vid by a rando to an A+ song over an A+ vid that everyone's already seen.

For 2023's con, I decided the party should have a theme of vampires since I had guessed—incorrectly— that the new Interview with the Vampire show would be the latest hot thing everyone was talking about. In retrospect, I should have picked mafia for Kinnporsche and Gonchraov. At least vampires gave me good decorating ideas for cheesy fake candles and black spiderweb-draped tables.

It also sent me looking for goth club music, which I did find to some extent, but between who didn't attend this year and how awesome the cocktail party outside was, we got much less action on the dance floor than usual. (Excuse you! That music is totally danceable! "Drunken tai chi" as we used to say!)

At least my themed cocktail list was a hit. As an annoying cocktail nerd, it infuriates me when people just take a famous drink and slap a fannish name on it, so I insist on making a fannish cocktail list I find respectable.

Playlist in a moment.

[misc-obeyme]

CC, I desperately need to know. When commenting on or reblogging your fics, are suoer simple feedback comments still really nice to get? Like "This was beautiful" or something?

I'm struggling with feeling guilty because I am having a hard time getting energy to give longer comments and stuff. I usually write a few things about the story or related to the story but right now even just writing "I really like this!" has been taking a lot of energy.

Also, do you have an Solomon🤍 anon? If not...

~ Solomon🤍

Hey there anon! I don't have a Solomon🤍 anon, so I will be sure to add that to the anon list!

Now, as it happens, I have thoughts about this specific thing. I can't speak for all writers/artists, but I think my sentiments are somewhat universal since we're all creating and sharing on the same platform. I've also been on Tumblr since the very beginning, so that might have an impact on my personal perspective.

To begin, let me give you the short and easy answer: It is always nice to get any kind of feedback, even short and sweet comments like the ones you've given as examples. Please don't feel guilty about not leaving massively long, in depth commentary on things. Most people understand that not everybody has the spoons for that kind of thing all the time. It's honestly just nice to know that someone liked it at all.

That being said, I feel the need to give you a little bit more nuance about this particular issue, as someone who gets a lot of notifs nowadays.

Quite honestly, the fact that you reblogged it at all is really nice, even if all you do is tag it as "obey me" or something along those lines.

I get hundreds of notifications every day. And most of those are likes. I would say perhaps like 90%? It's a lot. And when one post is getting a lot of attention, my notifs just group them together. So it'll be like "username, username, and 12 other people" and then it'll indicate the post and that it was liked by all those people.

That means that if you reblog it, even without tags, it pops up as a separate notification. And to me, that's always nice to see. I'm always like OH! That person liked it enough to reblog! Thank you, friend!

I'm not kidding, that's my internal monologue lol.

I know there's a lot of discourse about reblogging vs liking, but I'm not really talking about any of that (I'm willing to share my thoughts if people ask though). I'm just telling you what it's like from my perspective.

Things that always catch my attention are reblogs with or without tags, a direct comment on a post, and asks.

Specifically about reblogs, there are different things that are more noticeable.

Like, yes, I'm going to notice if someone leaves a lot of tags gushing about how much they liked the story. I have screenshotted tags and comments that have made me happy just so I can go back and read them.

I often reread the reblogged tags on posts. It's writer-fuel.

And when I'm looking at the reblogs of a post all at once, I'm scrolling through and seeing one that's really in depth and one that's just "AAAAHHH" and i love them both equally.

Is it always going to be more meaningful and impactful if someone reblogs with a dissertation in the tags or even a whole analysis added to the post? Of course. But that is a rare occurrence and not something I ever expect to see. Nor would I personally want someone to force themselves to give more feedback than they can manage.

I just like to know that reading it meant something to you. Likes tell me you liked it, tagless reblogs let me know that you liked it enough to share it, but they don't really tell me much beyond that. A reblog that says "I really loved this!" lets me know that this piece of writing touched you enough for you to actually write a little response to me. You might even say something like, "I love *character*" or perhaps "that last line oof" or even just "a;lksdfkljasdfklj" - all of that conveys so much more to me than a like or tagless reblog. It doesn't have to be a lot. And when like five people do this on one post, it really adds up, too, you know? So I'm like Oh, the people like this one!! LOL!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, the more interaction you can give is always appreciated, but nobody wants you to force yourself to have elaborate comments. Just a reblog is also appreciated.

That being said, if you want to get elaborate in the tags PLEASE DO. You don't need to push yourself, but you don't need to hold back, either!

I appreciate every bit of interaction I receive, of course. And I'm thankful for everyone that has followed me and enjoyed my writing!

I hope that answered the question, I'm sorry for rambling a bit lol. I just figured I could take the opportunity to talk a little bit about what it's like from my side of things! Thank you for asking, honestly, I appreciate that you're worried about making fic writers feel the love on their works! But you don't need to feel guilty, you're already doing more than most by reblogging and leaving any tags at all. 💕💕

[sarandipitywrites]

Writeblr Interview Tag

@cowboybrunch tagged me for this - thank you! Go read her responses here

Tagging @breath-of-eternity, @darkangel319, @kingragnarok-writes, @ryns-ramblings, @wildswrites, and an open tag for anyone who wants to answer! Copy/pasteable template's under the cut.

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Novels, both to read and write. I just don't tend to seek out short stories or poetry to read, for whatever reason (legitimately don't know why - I enjoy it when I do read it?), and whenever I try to write something a bit shorter, it quickly becomes... not shorter.

What genre do you prefer reading?

I'll read most genres, but it seems like I usually end up reading speculative fiction/sci fi/fantasy.

Are you a planner or a write as I go kind of person?

Planner - I usually want at least a rough outline of a scene before I start writing. I find that breaking the writing up into two steps takes the pressure off of the actual 'writing' part and lets me focus more on prose/characterization/the fun shit because Past Saran already did the hard part :P

What music do you listen to while writing?

Ambient music/sounds that 'fit' what I'm writing, lately with binauaral beats layered under it. Nothing with words. Words going in ears = no words coming out of fingers

Favorite books/movies?

Books? LOTS. No Gods, No Monsters; Frankenstein; The Heart Principle; Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe; On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous; No Longer Human; etc etc etc Movies? Spirited Away.

Any current WIPs?

Spark Signature (high fantasy sci fi heist thriller; most current WIP; I am presently being very annoying about it) The Art of Empty Space (fantasy/paranormal mystery romance; WIP intro is no longer accurate; on hold because it has mutated beyond my control and I am slightly afraid of it) Dead Roots, Dark Water (dystopian fantasy adventure; Jak & Daxter fanfiction; currently on final draft and being updated weekly) Ambition is a Lonely Tower (paranormal mystery thriler; literally have not worked on this since I started posting writeblr stuff so it doesn't have a WIP intro but I am not giving up on this damn it)

Create a character description of yourself: 

Constantly messing with something (hair, face, nails, the springy cat toy in the pocket of every single one of their jackets); gets anxious when they don't have earbuds or earplugs available; sits like a pretzel; forgets everything within 5 minutes if they don't write it down; avoids wearing "real people clothes" where possible; when forced to go outside, wears a t-shirt, baggy jeans, combat boots, and a jacket

Do you like incorporating actual people you know into your writing?

Technically no? I use pieces from actual people I know, for sure, but there's no one character who's 'basically x.' Now it sounds like I'm over here sewing together chimera characters from people I know, oof

Are you kill happy with your characters?

Depends on the story, I guess. Nobody's died (yet) in AES. Murder's kind of a whole Thing in Spark. And DRDW... uh. Let's not talk about that one (sorry, half of my OCs).

Coffee or Tea while writing?

Coffee in the morning, tea in the evening.

Slow or fast writer?

All or nothing! It really depends on: 1. whether or not I have an outline (scene-level outline = words go fast) 2. my headspace (Sludge Brain day = no words. Fuck your outline)

If you were in a fantasy world, what would you be?

I'd get eaten by a demonic chicken or some shit within like five minutes. Assuming I didn't have a horribly quick and embarrassing death, I'd like to be an alchemist or something like that. Give people those Good Plants

Most fav book cliche:

Enemies to lovers/friends, or friends to enemies, or really any big shift in relationship dynamic. Do that well and I love you and your characters forever

Least favorite cliche:

The 'if only they would talk to each other' thing - if one conversation that the characters are fully capable of having (but won't) is the only reason for the conflict, I'm out. Especially if there's no good reason for them to be avoiding the conversation. I'm not sure if this is even a cliche, but it's what I thought of :D

Favorite scene to write?

I love writing 'calm' scenes with tension just under the surface. And any scene that lets me fuck with perception/senses. Love it when a scene isn't straightforward

Reason for writing?

Lots of reasons! It's by far the thing I get the most satisfaction and enjoyment from; I get to write (and therefore read) the stories I want/need to read; free therapy supplement; I have lots of thoughts and ideas and little guys in my head and giving it all somewhere to go helps my brain be a lot quieter (it's still pretty noisy in there though, not gonna lie)

Short stories, novels, or poems?

What genre do you prefer reading?

Are you a planner or a write as I go kind of person?

What music do you listen to while writing?

Favorite books/movies?

Any current WIPs?

Create a character description of yourself: 

Do you like incorporating actual people you know into your writing?

Are you kill happy with your characters?

Coffee or Tea while writing?

Slow or fast writer?

If you were in a fantasy world, what would you be?

Most fav book cliche:

Least favorite cliche:

Favorite scene to write?

Reason for writing?

[bagheerita]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @tiltingheartand thanks!! ❤

how many works do you have on ao3? 93

what's your total ao3 word count? 1,670,696 (I've finished re-posting (almost) all of my old stuff from FFN and AFF)

what fandoms do you write for? At the moment: Stargate Atlantis Before that: MCU/Avengers I have dipped my toes in all over, but by number of fics the next two most prominent past fandoms are: Inuyasha & Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar

top five fics by kudos: 1. Nemo (SGA) 2. Nyteridalatry (SGA) 3. One and One and One is Three (MCU) 4. Regina Donum (SGA) 5. Your Prison is Walking Through This World All Alone (MCU)

do you respond to comments? Yes, always (unless the person is reading through and commenting on multiple chapters in a fic. Then I usually only reply to the ones where I feel like I have something to say instead of all of them). The depth of my reply depends on my mental energy that day.

what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Technically Beast of Venery probably wins this (SGA fic where Sheppard has, to put it lightly, a very bad day)

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Can I go with Harbored (the actual ending of the series that began with Beast of Venery)? In general, I love happy endings, so I write a lot of them. But maybe Harbored feels like a brighter dawn because of the previous darkness.

do you get hate on fics? No, not really. Thankfully! I get weird comment sometimes, like ��why is everyone gay?” (which comment ignored the mostly-straight-reading bisexual relationship in that story), and “it’s so lame that you didn’t finish this story” (the story is clearly tagged and noted as abandoned, and I explained that the series it was part of only existed at all because of the comments and interest I’d gotten on the first installment, so when the comments dried up so did the series)

do you write smut? Yes, with varying levels of skill and interest

craziest crossover: Um, of the things that are posted… Conversations Beyond the Edge of the Galaxy, where Shigure Souma, Angel (the vampire), and Rogue (from X-Men) meet at a bar and talk.

have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of

have you ever had a fic translated? No, because that would be too awesome

have you ever co-written a fic before? No, though technically Eos and I are credited as coauthors on Aubade (SGA), because she did the art and I did the writing. (Her cover art is really just fantastically beautiful!)

all time favourite ship? Dude* I vibe with/other dude I vibe with/possibly a third dude I vibe with + story that writes them just right + I was exactly in the mood for this situation today = best ship (*dude is gender neutral)

what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? So many…. But there's this one AU I have that I want to finish, it's a multiverse John/Todd/Rodney. Chunks of it are mostly written, but there are these OCs that I was planning to kill off and as I developed the one character I made her black and a lesbian so now I'm like "well crap I can't bury my gays, I want her to be happy with her girlfriend, even though her girlfriend also dying was a huge plot point!" So it's back to the drawing board while I decide if I can get away with inserting a time loop where I kill another character but he's not actually dead (because it's the time-traveled version of him that dies, right? But I can't decide how to make this not a paradox).

what are your writing strengths? I’m good at editing. I love writing absolute shit and then tearing it apart and fixing it. And I think I’m good at blocking? Scenes that don't describe the setting very well confuse me, so I work to make that clear when I'm writing.

what are your writing weaknesses? Describing characters. Since it's a fic I tend to assume that everyone know what everyone looks like, which doesn't fly as well with OCs... 😅

thoughts on dialogue in another language? If it’s dialogue that the reader is supposed to understand it should be written in the same language as the fic. (Or notated in a way that the reader can access a translation. There are cool skins for this on AO3.) If it’s in another language, I had better not need to know what it says, because I do not have time to look it up.

first fandom you wrote in? OT Star Wars

favourite fic you've written? I really don’t think I could pick just one. Mostly I have favorite moments, rather than favorite fics. But some contenders might be: With Autumn Closing In (MCU, frostiron) Ivory Fanged (Kiesha’ra series, Danica/Zane) Oh, Talk Not to Me of a Name Great in Story (SGA, john/todd) Semper ad Meliora (SGA, Rodney & Todd) A Dram of Sweet is Worth a Pound of Sorrow (SGA, Michael/OC)

(I'm not going to link any stories bc it's late, and my AO3 is linked at the top of my tumblr if you're interested)

NPT: @adriankyte-writes @judgeverse @aintgonnatakethis @darklysnarky @anonmadsci @lord-aldhelm @annwayne @anomalousrobot @only-in-december

[salthien]

do u have any favorite hollow knight ships or headcanons? :)

yes have you heard about quirrelhol- [cartoonishly large anvil drops directly onto my skull]

(discussion below the cut - I've censored character names/keywords with periods so this (hopefully) doesn't show up in tags as it's entirely just me rambling.)

The requisite #1 Gay Bugs In My Heart aside, there are a handful of others I do care about! I really am fond of She.o and the Nailsm.ith. what if two big round bugs fell in love over a shared calling to Create and the finding of purpose beyond achieving 'perfection' in their respective crafts. I've a mind to go through their fic tag at some point. I'm curious about Lacen.et but it's hard for me to get into it with zero story context, so my interest in that will probably be very passive until The Day Of Reckoning (SS release date).

I honestly don't have much else romantically I'm very into - most other ships I'm either of the "it's cute/fine/funny, I can see it" or "not my thing, but live your life" camp, since I'm not generally a multishipper and Quir.rel and Holl.ow seem like the most popular people to throw other characters at. Generally not a big 'dead dove'/'problematic' ship fan, and I won't touch that pressurized can of worms any further than that. I'm not here to evangelize or condemn, just to do my thing like everyone else! If anyone really really needs to know my opinions on a specific ship, send me an ask/DM me and I can give my honest answer (I just don't want to kick up any drama, even accidentally.)

That being said, I am incredibly interested in explorations of quite a few of the nonromantic relationships in HK - I love anything to do with the Dreamers (Her.rah <3333) and postgame stuff with the siblings. I've got a long list of fics bookmarked in a Need To Read folder (includes stuff like sbab.l, Worldse.nse, Los.t Kin, etc.) and will likely have more properly-formed thoughts then, but I'm a sucker for narratives about healing and growth and general bittersweet angst-with-hope stuff so postgame fix-it stuff is probably always going to appeal to me the most.

As for headcanons, I am notoriously terrible at coming up with them myself oops. You'll notice I tend to gather what I like from fanon and mess with it in my own little sandbox (with all due credit) so common things like eight-limbed Horne.t, the Child of Three Queens lore (which I think is more cut-canon than fanon??), Quir.rel's antennae (and general elaboration on buggy qualities in general, for everyone), etc. As a personal headcanon for the Knight/Ghost of Hallown.est/whatever you wanna call our funky little player character, they are like. Absolute peak autism to me (in the absolute most loving way possible). Fully a sentient adult, but nonverbal/generally noncommunicative and not really a former-of-solid-relationships. They come and they go as they please and everyone finds them charming, even those who might not admit it right away.

I'm much better at "here is this idea, expand it" than "come up with something new from a vacuum". I will take a headcanon and run wild with it, but generating those on my own? That requires brain cells that I usually do not have a proper hold on.

Wow this got long. Anyways! them's my thoughts there's a billion of them

[yvtro]

also, in light of your writing on bruce and his secret identity vs jason not having a civilian identity, what do you think would change? i think it's an exellent point but i'm not sure there's more in it beyond he'll understand that split better? i mean personally i'm not sure how to interpret the way bruce uses this v much at all. like, beyond logistics. idk how bruce wayne processes this and how jay would, if you catch my meaning.

this is a really good question, and tbh i'm not sure of the answer myself? (and yet i went on to write a literal essay)

the thing is, i sympathise with jason on this a lot. there's no actual objective line between bruce wayne and batman. the way bruce compartmentalizes his identity is rather hazy, and esp in relation to people who know both of his identities it seems to be internal (and a coping mechanism) rather than anything else. there's certainly an element of wanting to remain true to civilian life in order to stay close to people (btw this is something that got severely distorted with the rise of popularity of an over exaggerated brucie persona) and avoid becoming an authoritarian figure (something that jason actually does... interesting). but as i said, with people he trusts (including his kids) he doesn't make this separation clear.

so there's no clear conceptualising of bruce's thinking that could make jason go: oh, that makes sense actually. valid. don't kill the joker then. but to twist your question a bit, i think what jason would need in order to actually reconcile with bruce is not even understanding how bruce divides all of this (because once again, it's arbitrary and of use only for himself), but rather:

- be clear with bruce on the fact that bruce is his dad no matter in cowl or not and that jason is his son both in mask and without it,

- (hey it's fascinating how it's possible for bruce to stay in denial and detach himself from jason's demands and desperation in utrh because jason is in mask too. do you think it would go like that if jay went through with his whole plan without a red hood? using his actual name? a dead son of bruce wayne coming back to gotham, going on a murder spree and establishing a crime empire. now that would be something that would actually disrupt bruce's flow. if jason recognised what the whole problem was about, and if he thought that he wanted bruce as his dad and not batman, i think he would do it this way.) (sorry for the random tangent.)

- but also appreciate that parenthood is not bruce's only role in life. this has to do with what was pointed out in the tags of my post; children tend to perceive their parents through their responsibility towards them. growing up, you realise that your parents are also normal people, and that while they are responsible for you, their failure to meet your needs does not always come from some place of neglect or malice. they're just flawed human beings. jay didn't have an opportunity to go through normal healthy emotional development, so he idealises bruce's role in his life (as kids tend to do) and all bruce's decisions extremely personally. so, tldr: you have to agree that batman is jay's dad, sure, but batman has other stuff going on for him than being a dad. only children can be as naive as to believe that their dad can (and should) abandon everything for their sake. and well, i'm not saying that jason's demand is completely confused: you would imagine that any father in power to protect their children would do so; and if batman can't do it, then maybe he shouldn't be a father. (fair and square. vigilantes don't make for the best parents because the world will usually come first) but most adults learn to compromise and sympathise with their parents more, and accept that they're not perfect. even if they love you unconditionally, they will not do everything and anything for you.

this will sound incredibly boring (and frankly speaking, is; there's no big resolution or anything) but i think if jason were in a better place and had time to mature more emotionally, he would eventually come to this conclusion. i know that lots of people say they hate scenarios in which he just gives up on his grievances to "play a happy family," but, isn't that how life goes? does it have to be "playing" a happy family if you simply learn to let go of something? personally i definitely wouldn't like it to happen abruptly, and as quickly as it usually does in fanfics, but i'd say realistically jason would either come to this realisation as years go by (and he's not 18 and scared out of his mind anymore) or he would decide that vigilantes with moral codes simply make for shitty fathers as a rule and give up. alternatively he remains resentful but in bruce's vicinity forever.

i don't know, does it make sense? this is all pretty much thinking out loud, let me know what you think.

[myloveletter]

Just Beyond My Reach - My Assassin (by Mismatch-lover on ff.net)

The fic that made me want to actually post stuff on tumblr because I'm a massive yapper. God this is so embarrassing now that I'm at my laptop. And to start: SPOILERS for the fic, obviously. I am NOT a writer, I just daydream and have a bunch of ideas all the time. I also don't use tumblr. I just needed a place to yap.

Some kind of tags I might mention: This mentions some kind of cheating & death in the story + MENTIONS of sex bc Ezio, but nothing explicit at all (Which is why no content filter). And I am a slut for angst and some misunderstandings.

link to the fic:

As a background: I first read this when I was young dumb and inexperienced. However, despite not fully understanding this one fully at my age, I loved it. It was the first long fic that I committed to, the one that fully sent me into a love for Assassin's Creed, and the very first fic that I've actually loved. I'm on my second re-read, which might not be a lot to be honest, but I never really re-read things. At least not at this moment. But honestly I love this story to death. Now I'm a lot older and actually have some sort of Maturity and Experience in life, I feel like I can appreciate the story a lot more. Now, I know that after like 12 years, they might think that the story is cringe. I mean, their profile literally has a rewrite of the same story. But holy shit does this story mean so much to me. Literally one of my clearest memories I have is of me sitting at the edge of my bed, running late for school, my mom calling for me but I was absolutely hooked on the fic. Yes I ended up late for class. I also ended up late for the entirety of my senior MS year, AND all of high school so.

As of right now, I'm on chapter 17 / 44 on the re-read. And I don't really know where to start. I'm going off a review I already posted onto FF.net, but it's still going to be messy because I'm messy LMAO

Narnia had FINALLY started to open up a bit and trust Ezio romantically. They've shared a few hesitant kisses. And god- that one scene where she is emotionally vulnerable and asks if she can trust him. I don't know about you, but as someone with MASSIVE trust issues, this hit. And it hit HARD. Like I'm in physical pain because. Ouch. Not to mention, my memory is shit but I'm pretty sure she even told him not to leave her. And that?? Fucking FLASHBACKS to Fredrico. Dude they could've had something great, but then he kinda, yk, died (RIP. I can understand why they killed him off early but OUCH MAN. And look: I can understand that yes at this point Narnia and Ezio haven't made it official and exclusive yadda yadda, but that does NOT MEAN. EZIO CAN JUST KISS NARNIA. AND THEN FUCK A GIRL BEHIND A BUILDING OR SOMETHING. ARE YOU SERIOUS.

LAST time I reread this, and even the first time, I had to put my phone down after this. Like, I could NOT believe the AUDACITY OF THIS BITCH. Sure, he's a playboy and such, literally Narnia calls him out for being a whore, but DUDE. YOU CAN'T JUST., DO THAT TO NARNIA. She's been with you for YEARS. She SLAVED away healing you for MONTHS. She shed TEARS over you, and it's pretty much established that both of them would fucking break if they ever lost each other. I mean, Ezio fucking admitted being afraid he would lose her during the drowning incident. And of course that wasn't like totally romantic, but it was fucking something. And not to mention when he got badly hurt, the whole "I don't like your tears" or something about the story her tears tell??? AND THEN YOU MAKE HER CRY? BRO. B R O.

Okay, another thing I did say in my review thingy. I acknowledge that he's young and lived the life of a playboy of course. He's used to women falling for him, usually really fast too. In my hc at least, he didn't realize that this isn't like most of his "conquests" where the girls might slap him, maybe yell at him, and he'll be able to just leave. It doesn't CLICK in his head that Narnia isn't just a girl to him, she's not a stranger, she's the other half to the duo they make.

He's not used to long-term, meaningful relationships. I mean of course, he had the girl that eventually got married to someone else. But otherwise? Most of his relationships were short. So he doesn't fully understand what it means to kiss a girl, to tell her she means something to him, to show her beautiful views. He's used to them falling for his charms, it's just the next step to him, he forgets that this isn't a stranger.

And of course, Narnia gets angry at this. As she should be, she knows her damn worth. Can I just say I love how the writer made her angry by the way? She does dumb stuff, throwing away the necklace along with the ribbon into the ocean because of course she's fucking hurt. Her anger and sadness mixed together. The way she later yells at Ezio about how it's not just about the necklace, which just highlights how much Ezio Doesn't understand. (I just realized I can use italics.) I'm in tears, man.

At this point, I like to imagine that he never really knew what it felt like to be yelled at, not by someone he considers close to him. Not like this at least. Or more importantly, for his actions to hurt someone he cares about. He's hurt women in the past before, but someone like Narnia? Who's gone through the same hell he's been going through? Who went through the same losses? I think he's taken her for granted at this point, so hurting her must have felt strange at the very least.

I don't think he understands that it wasn't his "charms" that made her love him. It took time and trust and shared baggage, building that care. So something as trivial as a kiss might have been to him was a huge fucking leap of faith for her. She literally mentions it in the earlier chapters, that she like what she has with Ezio. They're friends, not lovers. Closer than lovers. They're a pair. So that kiss was a HUGE risk. To love him was a huge risk.

So fucking IMAGINE. After YEARS of being together. She thinks she might actually be special to him. He didn't immediately try to fuck her. He likes hanging out with her. There's signs of an actual long term relationship that might bloom out of this. AND THEN HE FUCKS A GIRL BEHIND THE BUILDING. Not only that, but there's another girl who comes by and he says she's his next CONQUEST???

EXCUSE ME THE FUCK???

No wonder she's fucking mad. AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THEY GET TOGETHER AFTER THIS? HONEY.

But to be fair, she's in a whole different city. Unfamiliar, can't kill, basically wanted by so many people. She's basically trapped here now with Ezio, the person she trusted and broke her heart.

"I want to go home."

Girl. I felt that. It really does just feel like she has nowhere to go. She can't run away to be alone. She's stuck with Ezio. I feel like the home she talks about is the one back with Mario and Claudia, because they care about her, she cares about them, and it's a familiar place that's home to her.

But at the same time, at least in my hc, she means the home she's from, before she got isekai'd and lost her memories. She just doesn't know. That might just be me tho, cause it doesn't exactly make sense. It'd be cool if I was right tho.

Anyways, after this, I just want Ezio to hurt. I want him to have a woman in his bed and have it feel wrong. I want him to have this realization that he fucked up. I want him to realize he loves her and that he's doing her WRONG. I feel like at this stage, he needs to lose things to understand what he has/had. I want him to lose Narnia and beg to get her back. Hell, I want Narnia to get a lover herself and have Ezio feel the fucking pain he caused her. Is that toxic? Oh absolutely, but I'm a petty bitch. I want him to have protected another woman, and have Narnia be critically hurt because of it. Maybe it would've been a rational decision, because Narnia is more capable of fighting than the average woman, but still. I want him to make a choice that hurts her and have him feel the overwhelming dread as he watches her blood spill out, her skin be scarred, her voice to scream. I want that shit to haunt him. I think something somewhat similar does actually happen, but it's not as intense so. lol. I forgot how exactly they made up after this, but I'll find out when I continue reading lol.

And some closing things I want to mention before I post and forget about this bullshit. THIS STORY'S A SLOWBURN Y'ALL. As in they don't get together within 10 chapters. It's actually fucking great! They don't just confess and get together, there's complications and Narnia hesitates and everything!!! AAAAAA It makes me so happy!! Because I just love it when things ACTUALLY take it slow. Hell, I can understand it. I've had my fair share of experiences and god, it's rare that a relationship is better than a friendship. Ugh. So I can totally relate to Narnia here. And it makes me cry.

And finally, to the author. I'm copy pasting what I wrote in the vent channel in discord in tears to my friend but:

stranger, you have no idea how much your work you made literally 12-14 years ago means to me. what it meant to me as a kid. what it means to me today even. i hope that you understand the absolute fucking. talent. the insane ability you have to create a world and make beautiful emotions erupt through words alone. i hope you always have confidence in your own ability. i hope you love yourself. i hope you live a life full of wonder and love for the world around you and that you enjoy the little things. live a blessed life. i fucking owe you a part of my childhood. even if its not a huge part, it is one that i love a lot.

and that's about it. give the fic a read if you guys like. no pressure if y'all don't like it like I do, but totally let me know if you guys did :) i'll see you guys next time I get overly emotional about something. bye :3

[dragonofthestone]

Get To Know Me

Tagger: Taken from @bidotheuncanny

Name: Dragon

Pronouns: She or They is fine

Most Active Muses?- Even counting my other blogs honestly Tim - (Trying to boot the others to be more active heh)

RP PET PEEVES

My knee jerk reaction is just to like point to my friends/fellow rpers and go "What they said" lol since quite frequently honestly things I'll see others bring up I pretty much tend to agree with (to some degree or another)

Like if you are looking for hyper specfic personal peeves can't say anything comes to mind beyond the more I guess Common/expect.

God modding,

mis/lack of communication, which look hands up and full admittance been on both sides at times and I get it. It's hard. I fully acknowledge my own flaws and failings in that area. I feel like I've improved but there's always room to be better and I'm trying to be. I Want to be and do better.

and by no means am I even expecting like perfect communication either just gotta try your best ^.^ No judgement here.

LEVEL OF RP EXPERIENCE

So.. so much, been doing this for so long. At times it doesn't feel like a lot and I realize I'm probably just way to harsh of a judge on myself, but I also just always no that although I've come very far from my earliest rp beginnings there's still so much I can improve on and hope to improve on you know.

FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT?

Honestly pretty open to anything, From light hearted fun to more complex feelings and situations. Gimme it all. Not generally one for smut (That would actually involve this man gets in a relationship first lol) but like if someone was interested I'd be open to at least discussing things but generally not my thing, not something I'd initiate you know- find most other scenarios far more fun to explore anyway.

He's a very versatile lad most of the time.

PLOTS OR MEMES?

Both. Love em both, I have had great stuff come off from just playing around in memes but plotting can be a lot of fun too, doesn't even have to be deep plotting, the plotting could simply consist of yelling "Hey what if X happened" or something you know. Plotting def can help build and move things you know especially if you're stuck, but I've had a lot of fun with memes and otherwise just winging it you know

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES?

Again both. Really depends, sometimes I want to do something lengthy but can only manage short and quick other times I plan on short and then it gets long you know (and if it means in terms of feelings on receiving I'm cool with both I don't expect for someone to always be able to write the same amount as me - so long as its enough for us both to work with is all cool)

TIME TO WRITE?

*shrug* Never timed myself, can be pretty quick and I always feel awful when I let things sit- ngl also can be more motivated to reply based on if the person is online, if friend is online I just wanna rp faster (no so much because I expect a response just brain goes brrrr knowing they'll be on to see it at the very least and just excited cause friend you know )

Or does it me what time do I write at? Idk anytime in the day usually evenings tho.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE?

Maybe?? Like not intentionally made to be like me but I can't say there aren't some elements taken from me / my own personal experience sorta but I'd still say we are far more different then alike

TAGGING:

Whoever wants to go forth, you see it do it ^.^

[nyasialiveshere]

The Exo critique/ comparison continues more of a kpop/ western cultural overview though

for educational purposes only of course. So many links. I never did this if it doesn't work I'll just do something else..

I believe a lot of my issues with exo and struggling to appreciate their discography like I do other groups I listened to was the lack of personal touch as I once said. I don't believe I'm being negative or whatever but at this point you literally can't even give your opinion without being called weird Korean slang terms by ironically non korean people..who don't usually speak korean..super weird. I just am tired of it. I feel like there's worse things in the world than someone giving their honest opinion but understandable some people feel extremely attached to bands and shows. Which I kind of get somewhat. But like I always do I will try to give as much detail as possible it's my thing on here. Weird opinions central. None of my friends ever//ever ever really wanted to discuss kpop on a deeper level. I was going mad not being able to express myself to anyone cause nobody knows it that deeply. That sucks so for a lot of people it's a stress reliver and it's aesthetic. I completely understand. But to me there's a million people that give kpop praise, or even rude unhinged hate. I'm not that type of person. I try and be as honest as possible and then sometimes I make a funny. This is more for people who like history than people who like kpop. But some people who like kpop like history, theories and deep diving. So I just tag relevant things and if you don't like reading that much..you..don't have to..which is kinda obvious. Also if opinions not harming anyone makes you mad, that's fine, but just don't..freak out. Or do. Idk, it's a free world, but the main reason I talk so much is because I care. I want to live in a world where everyone can express themselves respectfully and intently. That will only happen if we start speaking on things nobody wants to speak on. I try and only talk about confirmed stuff that's free real estate on the internet. So it's not a just trust me bro situation. This is stuff anybody can dig into and if it's my opinion I will make that clear.

If I never branched out and read/watched random documentaries etc I wouldn't know any of this stuff either. Many people spend most of their time scrolling may as well teach something while I'm on here.

WARNING I TALK A LOT..so you already know before I keep going

To me I like to stretch back to this infamous quote because it ties in with what I was talking about with the motown inspirations and such

A Motown alum with many

Grammy's and a history with Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson to me was Lee Soo man's main inspirations for what he wants his S.m artists to be. The entire kpop industry is built off of that model. In the U.S the inspiration is great but I believe in Korea it's what the foundation is built off of almost entirely.

The want to create someone beyond a human being, with a devout fanbase and global success. The indie music industry is barely thought of or given much attention, the rap industry takes a backseat and the idol culture reins supreme.

But why?

I believe many misunderstand that although Micheal Jackson is the name used he himself is used as a stand in for the African American race.

The true inspiration is African American culture itself, the jazz, the rhythm and blues, the hip hop, popping and locking, B-boying. But nobody wants to say all that, it isn't Michael Jackson but he is a representative of the African American population so of course they use his name, because that's what everybody says.

Lsm's first artist was in fact a hip hop star, the large majority of 90s idols were reflections of artists like boys II men, who is a big blueprint for the white American boy band and later the K-pop boy band

They were clearly and unapologetically black people. The market allowed for glitz and glam and also for performers who were toned down.

With K-pop the market is extremely geared towards the Michael Jackson type of performance extremely theatrical and to this day that's where most of the focus is the performance and not really the vocals.

Lsm's first artist had a different experience than other k-pop idols later would. In the begining things were a bit more loose, still heavily western inspired but relaxed

To understand the way kpop is now you have to understand it's roots, not the superficial this song sounds like these other song, NO, the actual roots of how this industry even exists.

I could go into what was going on in America at the time while all this was happening but I might do a whole seperate thing on that. The asian american experience during the 80s and 90s had more to do with assimilating into white culture, while trying to distance itself from black culture almost entirely.

Meanwhile in Korea, things where changing in the opposite direction.

Now, stick with me, taking all of this into account looking at Exo's trainee process which for some members was right when the hip hop industry was at it's height/also the white boy singing black music craze was also very popular. From a business standpoint of course they want to promote a group that's hip hop inspired. After the incident with Hyun-jin it's clear they may have wanted to distance themself from the urban scene and cater to different audiences.

When Exo debuted they did have that style people were used to from edm, hard base, edm, electronic, not necessarily urban by any means. But they would have a turn in genre for their first full album which featured their first hip hop single Growl.

I consider it old school hip hop, but this is what Rolling Stone said about it

the original sounds like something that could easily be a Corbin Bleu song or something or a very young Chris Brown. This would be one of S.m's first real step back into the urban market with Exo, but it wouldn't be the last

They went full urban with Call Me Baby

and remade this demo to a more tame tune. I believe this is the first but not last sample of a black girlgroup they would use. This song has a sort of sample/reference with the 'say my name' which I believe is still dantaethekid's vocals. This using of the demo's singers vocals and remixing it was used one other time. But it's a blend. If you aren't aware of blending vocals, it's a smooth trick to use the original artist vocals and the new artists vocals to get something that sound like normal to the listener, but when you hear the singer sing it acapella something is missing.

S.m paid for all of this, so it's not stolen. That's not what this is about, it's more of a artistic overview and a behind of what went into creating Exo's themes, concepts and what made their music 'special'.

I had no idea Marz was the person who leaked a lot of the original versions, I knew about the older ones but hearing the demo's and now knowing a bit about the music industry...like hearing the original versions help so so much. Good on him.

I honestly thought black people were capping when they talked about what was going on in Kpop. Because, isn't black culture just uesd by everybody? Like they listen to music and their brain makes something similar. That's what I thought was happening...only partially. There is a whole world of information I didn't know about and I thought I knew a lot.

Now that the basis is out of the way, back to the creative process. I believe an integral part of music lasting has to be the emotional connection one has with the music. If an artist's music catalogue was taken away could they start over, if they didn't have songs made for them could they craft their own, or at least try? In a group that's easier, because members can rely on each other.

Using modern western examples, Justin Bieber certainly started out like many artists, he was handed exactly what he was going to sing. He had very little if any connection to his music at all.

Scooter Braun a former party organizer and the opposite of Lee soo man had connections that helped his young client get started in the music industry

unlike in Korea where many groups may never collab with another artist in their entire career. The west survives off of collabs and hit singles. It's a different system. Justin was helped by a Ludacris feature that gave his sound some validity. It helped him not seem like just a nerdy little kid singing about love.

He did not start off with hip hop and it took years before he developed into a sound he and his voice was comfortable with

But wait..there's another part we're missing. Justin wasn't a songwriter but he was a musician. Let me explain

He was not a composer yet, but he wasn't dead weight, he could play any instrument in a band and sing acapella at random. He even did so in one of his first youtube video's.

there's a lot and you can only put so many links on here but this is one of his busking performances

A common misconception when lumping all artists togther is saying they are all untalented or the label helped them sound like this or that. Anyone can get singing lessons, but if this kind of talent could just be put into anybody to sing like this acapella every parent in hollywood would be doing it. Every performer, disney kid would sound exactly like this. Justin was helped by the fact that he didn't need tremendous work on his voice. Only to maintain when he began touring and learning proper technique.

Sm vocal trainer Yoo Young Jin's first album Blues In Rhythm Single 1. and the demo's he does for sm clearly show his singing inspiration comes from Slow Jamz from the 1990. He helped out on Tell me what is love where D.O mimics his style. It becomes like a pattern when you see where they are pulling inspiration from. In terms of american style singing he is thought to have the best voice for rnb. That may not be his preferred style but with the vocal coach they gave him that's clearly what they wanted from him.

I never knew there was another person on this track and back in 2014 I didn't know about their individual vocal coaches and just assumed they were all trained equally. But it seems they gave vocalist specific teachers to improve their craft, screw the others I guess

Hearing it in 2024 it's clear the soul and feeling that existed in the 90s in Korea is..like it just doesn't exist anymore. Yoo youngjin is honestly amazing and I am wondering why he isn't like on Rain's level. Like, he's one of the best clearly. He recently left s.m I believe but he should make a fortune as a vocal coach wherever he goes though.

Good training is definitely important, but as a wise woman once said

Honestly there's nothing to explain it there are just some people that are like angels, there voices are out of this world. Yet, sometimes it's not that complex some people just have a knack for music, they create their own special sound and emotion it's incredibly personal they put their soul into what they do.

How s.m teaches...I really think it's similar to what this woman did. Like first time watching it but it's pretty obvious.

I'm not the most articulate person when it comes to singing, but it feels like they try to purposely use this style to create a flavor that may natural come when other artists are singing, but they do it purposely. Everyone in the company is kind of the same, the stop start, belting, quick talk. It leaves a sense of..how am I even sure what happened, no less what the quality of the vocals are. I like to listen to them cover songs in english because I'm able to tell what their natural rhythm is and not 'sm's rhythm for them' this is important because I like to know that outside of their job an artists likes music and sings music. Korean songs are find but I can tell they depend on vocal tricks they learn to get around actually having to master their voice completely like Yoo youngjin did. That takes mastery. Knowing every limit of your voice.

Not every singer can do this but most successful ones definitely can. Even talking should sound like singing. In general sm and extension Exo sing restrained and restricted even when belting so they hardly ever encounter those surprising vocal tone moments when an artist riffs freely.

I try to be fair yet also I want to use a small pool of artists, Exo is male musicians but I'm not talking in terms of vocal range but technique which anyone can learn.

In this one take Haley showcases a bit of her preferred vocal technique. She's able to belt, keep good breath control, project, and keep a consistent yet give emotion and go all the way with her lines without getting outside her vocal range. It takes self knowledge completely.

She actually has a wide range but rarely hits the notes Exo is known for hitting. It's her stability and projection and belting that stands out.

Also a lot of people say kpop is performance is choreography, which is true, but Rockers are known for running around jumping up and down during concerts, similar energy is being exerted. Not exact but very similar.

Early in Justin's career he was going through puberty. A very straining time for a singer because the voice gets deeper and you loose your original tone and possibly range. Many singers work very hard to maintain their voice if you ruin your voice that could be it for life.

In his early 20s honestly he still had a great voice but he also kind of treated his body poorly, more recently he's been trying to improve his health and get used to his older male range. His sound is different but the technique he learned still holds him. The biggest thing I want to show is the importance of being comfortable in your own range it's less about the falsetto's and belting and more a person mastering their own sound and voice.

That's what matters.

I personally in my opinion don't think s.m cares about this and only wants people to adhere to their vocal standard, this is bad for their overall health and will only lead to strained and bruised vocals. Impressing people is not worth declined quality in your natural singing voice.

I think many fans of singers are afraid of them showing their true voice, cracks and bruises and all. Personally for me it's the mark of a weathered person who's lived life. It's genuine, it leaves an impact on people.

apparently this was at drake's hockey party? I don't know a Canada thing, and he performed a private event, there were no official camera's so the person took the audio that was clear from some and tried their best to cut up and splice it like a seamless video. This is the song most people know him for, it's a completely different arrangement and a natural progression. His voice is rough, smooth, his belting is usually projecting a lot. That's the one thing even back in the day nobody could explain his chest voice, it's evident acapella and with the mic. He does lip sync at times but for the most part whenever he sings acapella it sounds the same or better because he has a crisp to his voice that gives it a unique 'texture'. It's like his voice is the instrument. The projection is crazy though particularly when he's outside. I don't want to put a lot of video's but I wish his talent would be studied more than the gossip. He's a very hurt person, but his talent is a wonder. It's unfair people are only appreciated after they are gone. His relationships, gossip and drama many times over shadow his God given abilities.

There's so many good vocal moments..but I have other stuff to talk about, he's just an example here.

I mainly mentioned him because he trained under the same people Exo's songs come from, but he was trained similar to how the oldies where trained..not in a gospel choir like Elvis but very very close

Justin sang worship songs on the street and mimicked mainly that sound as a child and other black artists, he copied them pretty much all day and night. Once you get into it...like it's a rabbit whole you won't believe. I'm just trying to fit a little bit of this circus into an article. Elvis basically was heavily inspired by the black Pentecostal church and in his movie in idk 2022 with Austin Butler you can see just how much black culture had an effect on him. Like people even me didn't understand. He allegedly really had a spiritual experience

there and it changed basically everything about him. Many didn't really like his style and they thought he was too much, too raunchy or whatever. So it took awhile for people to accept what he was doing.

There's a pattern hear somewhere, but it's a lot.

I'm mixing the history with the vocal analysis because it really does overlap, okay back to the black singers from back in the day. So as I was saying, black culture was having a renaissance away from the stereotypical stand up and snap boy groups of the past. Something new was burgeoning, the soulful sensual group that actually danced and walked around. There were so many black boy groups. This could have twelve parts if I go into every way the black entertainment industry has it's grasp on other music industries. And this is just the music, not even talking about the clothes, the hair, the slang, the walk the talk. It's not even making me upset anymore like this is anthropology at this point. So really we should be glad because I've yet to see so much absorption of black culture. Like it was under lockdown and was considered evil and dark for a long time but now it's like people can't get enough. It's honestly interesting.

So one group I always knew about but never went into was Hi-five who have this hit called the kissing game. A super schoolyard song that is like a black community staple. I never thought I'd analyze it or take a deeper look at it because I've been listening to it since childhood.

But looking back at this live performance that they looked like they just walked on stage and are just doing their thing. They seem so casual and calm like singing like that is just normal and anybody could do it. Two members passed away(rest in peace) it's just insane thinking about it. The black community doesn't even think twice about this kind of stuff it's like pretty much everybody has a cousin or two that sings just like this, or an aunt, uncle. It's like nothing. But in other races we praise something we wouldn't praise in our own race cause we'd expect better. Just something to think about.

Like lord, this precious talented child. Like it's funny cause he don't even take it serious and he's playing around. It's nothing to him, the notes he's hitting so many people have to try so hard. The deep bass to the belting, it's like I always wondered why black people belted like they did, I'm not even sure and I haven't found an answer as of yet.

I purposely chose him singing post puberty because him singing at like 11 literally isn't fair he literally sounds like an angel. From what I understand black boys have a long ribcage and large lung capacity, idk there's theories about it.

Also the audience is important ;a lot of acts mainly K-pop will never play anywhere they don't already have fans, the fans are already there. They will even fill the audiences with fans specifically for each filming session for a broadcast, so they can get the chants and avoid a dead crowd.

They were playing at the Apollo, which is a very tough crowd they boo a lot of people. Like black audiences can be notoriously rude so it's always a hit or miss even if people like you. Like idk if anybody ever got jumped but I wouldn't be surprised.

A big part of sm is their extensive trainee process which is supposed to produce global talent. I still wonder what actually is going on, like there are many cases where the people aren't ready or struggle dang near there whole careers to hold a not and dance properly. I really don't understand it. There is also varying things, on one hand some people train for a short time and debut young, so they aren't ready to sing properly and have to learn but then some train for too long of a time and it's treated like that hurt their talent instead of helped it. So there's hardly ever a person that debut's ready to sing, dance and perform with complete comfortability.

Even by the time they have a solo, their is usually little improvement and it may of been better if they debuted as a soloist and been allowed to grow if being in a group would inhibit their growth so much. Yet at the same time their soloist sometimes struggle as well to make a mark and go global.

The main goal of sm is to focus on fandom and pleasing the fans no matter what so they won't have to truly compete on a global level and will be able to fall back on fans support. Which leads to less cultural impact overall. An artist should be apart of everyday life, there music should be known and listened to passingly not because it's all there is. Variety is key, rock, hip hop, rap, pop being staples in American culture gives soul music credence cause people had choices. When the main acceptable thing is one genre and everyone feels inclined to like it to support the culture it leads to less good music. Variety means competition.

also I believe me using the younger but post pubescent versions of these boy groups are fair because I'm trying to get around Exo's vocal range.

It's not a young Justin completely and not an older Justin so I just used two different video's comparing growth.

I used Haley to cover the belting to compare the technique. I struggle putting into words completely so to give a basis I'm using musicians I actually listen to, in order to give a fair explanation on why I feel like for the kings of K pop operating on a global performance level they don't really hit for me. But not just that, also I just like talking about their impact and what made them a group, both good and bad. I really don't like stan culture, like I really don't. I feel like it took defending celebs way too far. I can't even find an honest review anymore. It's turned fans into babies who can't even articulate what they mean anymore. The brains are beyond fried and it's by choice. Simply to fit in and impress the next person.

I always question if I'm on the right path so I listened to Exo in the studio..I-- it's like average modern korean vocals.

Vocal teachers in Korea that actually want the kids to have vocal chords left after 35

Because forcing people to sing out of their range when you can instead let them mature, and marinate is so dumb. All to impress people and to keep up with 15 year old idols it's not smart.

A good example of proper technique is Bang Yedam, his parents are godtier stage parents, with their kid every step of the way. YG didn't make him, he can write good decent music on his own, he knows his worth. He was taught I'm supposing in a similar manner to the western artists. Very smart. He never went out of his range for a group and now he still has his voice and will continue to if he cares for it.

I remember watching this years ago, and I still to this day can't put into words everything I have stated Exo I suppose wasn't taught to do..but that's wrong. What I believe is similar to dance there's a breaking in process. You cannot just wake up one day and sing like Aretha Franklin or Mariah Carrey you must start from childhood and train your vocal chords. Also I'm assuming..it is something people may be born with. Training is apart of it but some have trained for close to almost 20 years and like I'm not finding what I find in the other artists even children/men/women from the Philippines can sing a Beyonce song randomly like I've studied a lot. It may be something unseen. Like who's gonna study this. Nobody really cares.

Anyway concerning Bang Yedam he hasn't sung many western songs post puberty but this cover of thinking bout you where he's barely raising his voice yet implements bass. He switches into chest voice effortlessly. Many mistake head voice for chest, if the neck veins are popping for someone slightly lowering there voice that's head voice. Chest kind of flows out. That's where the belting and heavy flow out of projection comes from. He has definitely at a very young age solidified his own voice

Like if you don't think this is impressive...lord it's like ..this is a talented child for real. Texture is so hard to come by, like he has real texture, he's aware of almost every facet and can bring out emotion like man there's some talented kids in this world. Like, studying the science of it makes it truly more enjoyable for me. The more Iearn it truly helps me understand more about God and how he works, like everybody is truly different and the best part is when a person does what they specifically are made to do. Forcing someone to become someone else, I hate that. Nobody should try to be anyone else but they encourage these kids to do it instead of figuring themselves out

These companies did not make their trainee's. The credit they are given is honestly blasphemous, it irks me. They helped them get famous but I blame any parent who didn't have their child taught outside these companies. They loose confidence, will struggle to become artists and will loose themselves in this industry.

No everyone isn't the same level of talent. With a lot of these people it's not their teaching, it's their knack for it plus genetics and anatomy. This is clear now, because if everyone were capable of singing just like this is kpop they would. His training helped but people have to stop taking away the self appreciation these people have. They are who they are because they were born with a specific set of skills.

I honestly don't think of western artists much when others berate the talent of others and lift some up. I always think about the precious children left behind because their looks aren't as up to par with the beauty standards, or their fanservice isn't as good.

It's sick to be honest. I understand people can like whatever they like but the lies are getting under my skin, false narratives. Certain talent suppressed. Over obsessed fans laughing at those who are actually more talented than their preferred person but they don't have clout or a huge fanbase so what do it matter. Meanwhile the company isn't even concerned with making good music. They just buy whatever sounds decent hire western producers to do most of the work the throw their staff on it to even it out so they seem self sufficient.

I actually feel better doing all this research cause I always go to the ends of the earth to figure out the truth. I wanted to do other things but this was on my heart for awhile.

I have more specific opinions on Exo but.. I don't know if people are ready for that, it's not rude at all but it's..I'm very blunt and do a lot of research so it's so true to me it would be nothing to say but a pain to explain. I will one day but I mainly just wanted to put non exo musicians here because sometimes you need a fresh perspective. Personally I can't imagine listening to kpop as much as most people do, I bet my perception would be messed up as well. I barely knew s.m had a sound or what techniques s.m used and how once you notice it you can hear the shortcomings of all of their singers, how badly they are straining themselves and how unhealthy it is.

I guess that will be another day when I feel like it. I barely do theories anymore like I used to because reality is way stranger than a theory. But this is just something I do for fun so it depends idk I kinda wanna look at some movies or comic books. It depends whatever is least stressful.

End of pt 2.