#everyone’s been saying how they like my art style in the memes i’ve been making but like…. that’s not my full power lol

[kellerybird]

idk if I ever shared this??

this is my self-insert tav aurelia (ft her custom druid armor bc I just don’t. fucking vibe with the weird denim-ish jeans-type pants in the normal armor)

so yeah this is the light purple character in all those ‘draw the squad’ doodles

she’s v fun to draw pls ask me about her

[bubblybloob]

Hey, so this kind of turned into a vent. Be wary going in, but it’s important if you engage some with my stuff. I think I’ve been thinking about it more as btg has become more active, and wanted to get it all off my chest.

I’ve wanted to bring this up for a while now, after my popularity grew. I’m sure some people have noticed my lack of joy at the 500 followers milestone, and the 600 one, but it’s a bit more complicated than on the surface.

So, there was something I haven’t really mentioned. It wasn’t ever really a secret, I just didn’t feel it was important, and was always taught it was dangerous to talk about and to dance around the subject if brought up. But I’ve noticed that the people on Tumblr find this kind of important to know when interacting. I know people on here can get really hostile, and this kind of became a secret because of that. I don’t know if it’s bad that I haven’t said anything or not, but I thought I should still make a post anyway.

So, I’m, in my country, since I know it might be younger or older in other places, a minor.

Okay most important stuff first. Yes, I’ve said or drawn mildly suggestive stuff, that’s mostly because I’m very unaffected by it and find it more amusing (I might be a little ace idk), though I do purposely keep stuff I make mostly tame simply because like- still technically a kid. I’ve seen stuff far more suggestive from afar before and just nod and say “mm, yes, that exists” and indifferently move the hell on with my life.

Being part of the STP community has been really strange for me and not all in good ways. I hate hate hate people looking up to me, or being jealous, or having anxiety talking to me because- in my head- I’m just doing everything and talking to everyone I can because I like making stuff and talking to people, and I feel so uncomfortable up on this pedestal where I’m held so high, but if I make one wrong step I’ll have tomatos thrown at me. It’s a really claustrophobic and isolating position and feeling and it makes me feel sick, anxious, stressed, and really really scared.

I like the community I’m in and friends I’ve made, but I’m really afraid I’ll say something unusual or wrong or maybe even offensive since I don’t know everything I’m supposed to say or do. I don’t know how to act when someone’s depressed, I don’t know how people feel about shipping, or designs for characters who canonically don’t have a physical appearance, or what the opinion is on all of the nsfw content. I do the Homer Simpson bush meme whenever I see it pop up because if there’s something that I do know, it’s that people don’t want minors reading their blorbos being sexy with each other.

(Side note: The amount of times I’ve accidentally clicked on an explicit fic thinking ‘Oo what’s this’ and then seeing what’s going to happen is… not staggering, actually. But enough for me to laugh in hindsight. I scroll to the bottom to read the comments to confirm my suspicions, and get the hell out. Happened with the same fics multiple times too because I forgot they were explicit and that I’d encountered them in the first place, wondered why I never read them and then boom, flashback, I never read the description like the fool I am).

And there’s the thing isn’t it. Some parts of fandom culture, it feels like all I can do is mess up. I just don’t know how I can handle all the fear of this attention?

Like, I don’t hate it. I like interacting, I like that people love my art despite my grievances with parts of my style, I’ve been so motivated to grow and get better because of everyone. You can all look at my oldest STP post and newest one and see the differences plainly.

But it’s really so much, and I’m as grateful as I am terrified. I’m terrified of hurting someone’s feelings when I don’t mean to. Like, what if I follow someone and they get excited because I’m a “big name” and then I decide to unfollow for whatever reason I might have at the time? I might crush that person’s soul or want to interact.

Despite my willingness, I do have problems with some ships, but I can’t voice any because what if I start a big argument with a bunch of people involved instead of the normal discussion I wanted to have? People are more likely to take my side because I’m the popular person, and we all know popular people are always right about everything and we must regurgitate their opinions without any thought put into how you actually feel. And then I’ll make whoever I was talking to retreat for a really long time, and everything will be awful and terrible forever and ever.

I can’t do that to people! I’ve been those people! I’ve was told things by people I looked up to and would get so so so upset, because I’m really emotional. I don’t want to hurt someone who might be sensitive like me.

I really just wanted to get all these feelings off my chest. Sorry if it got pretty venty. I’m open to discussing it, I’m still really scared to post this, it’s my only ever vent post, but I’ll try not to just save it in my drafts and let it rot.

[yourneighbourhoodtraumatisedkids]

You've done favorite music and fanfics... what's your favorite fan arts???

Okay, it seems like it’s favourite fanart this time! Not everyone could make it, but five people could, so we’re trying our best here!

*Clotpole and Hairdo Guy fixing the camera while Dark Raven goes through the script.*

Dark Raven: It says that it’s Claire this time on the list.

Clotpole: Yeah, I can’t deal with Toby anymore. He’s being an ass.

Hairdo Guy: *cracks knuckles* Need me to go talk to him?

Clotpole: Not unless you want a murderous time traveller on your heels. I can possibly get away with it, but don’t for even one second do you think you can get away with it, bitch.

Hairdo Guy: *flings hair* Who are you calling bitch here, darling?

Dark Raven: Hairdo, love you and all, but… no. Just no. 

Hairdo Guy: Fine. Get the first person on here so we can get shit over and done with.

Clotpole: *clears throat* CLAIRE, YOU’RE UP!

*Claire enters the room, grinning as she sits down on the first chair set up in a semicircle.*

Dark Raven: Hey, C-Bomb. If you don’t mind me asking, what is… your favourite fanart?

Claire: This one https://www.tumblr.com/inecole/649990950312181760/best-girl-some-more-of-my-weird-sense-of?source=share by @inecole. I really just like their type of style when drawing me, and typically, I’ve always been drawn to that sort of style.

Dark Raven: *glances at Clotpole* Yeah, no, we’re always going to be starting with her in the future, Boss.

Clotpole: Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with you there. NEXT!

*Douxie walks into the room, and sits down next to Claire*

Douxie: Ladies, my dear sir.

Clotpole: Okay, Douxie, none of the posh nonsense until after we get to cut the shooting.  Tell us, favourite fanart?

Douxie: Has to be this one: https://www.tumblr.com/honeyxmonkey/726948737517322240/more-of-him-douxies-hair-getting-long-in-the?source=share by @honeyxmonkey. I want my long hair back sometimes, and this piece of fanart certainly proves how much I need it.

Claire: *giggles* You’d look good with long hair.

Hairdo Guy: But my hair will always look better.

Dark Raven: Dude, we get it- your hair is amazing, it floats, and it likes whipping my boyfriend in the face. Speaking of which… where is Dollophead?

Clotpole: *blushes* Nowhere.

Dark Raven: I’m guessing it’s a secret, right?

Clotpole: You guessed it, sister!

Dark Raven: Well, as long as Lance and him don’t break into a museum again, I say we’re safe.

Clotpole: That wasn’t Dollophead, that was Lance, KK and Hairdo Guy.

Dark Raven: He was on video call with them. I was there.

Douxie: Wait, Hairdo Guy, Lance and KK broke into a museum?!?!

Claire: I mean, so did Jim and Toby. Nothing new to me.

Clotpole: Guys, I spent effort writing this script and we’re going off track already. And we need to get this posted by Tuesday at the latest we can! So let’s hurry up, okay?! NEXT!

*Mary walks in and sits down, before swinging her legs into Douxie’s lap*

Mary: I am so done with this room- I swear it doesn’t do our asks any justice.

Hairdo Guy: *shrugs* None can do, m’lady. You’re just going to have to do with it. Anyway, favourite fanart?

Mary: You’re not Chat Noir, so don’t call me, m’lady. Anyway, my favourite fan art has to be… https://www.tumblr.com/avirxy/701584713464283136/the-chaos-that-would-unfold-if-theyd-all-been?source=share by @avirxy. Way too good. I honestly just fell in love with this meme draw.

Clotpole: Avirxy and Honey have really been getting our attention lately, but then again, they’re both way too good at what they do. Oi, Dark Raven, did you see that one ask I sent Avirxy of a possessed Jimgana from her angsty art meme?

Dark Raven: Oh yeah… that one you sent me- I remember that one. There’s like a world of wonder to explore with a possessed Jim, but there’s even more to explore when it’s Jim and Morgana as a romantic pairing-

Claire: NO WAY!

Clotpole: Okay, moving on! Dark Raven, please for the love of god don’t say that again- it’s Jlaire forever and Ajim at the maximum for my wondering ass to bear as a multishipper-

Hairdo Guy: And then there’s Jeves-

Clotpole: That’s our secret, you idiot-

Douxie: I can’t believe I’m saying this but FOR THE LOVE OF MASTER MERLIN, NEXT!

*Toby enters, wearing sunglasses*

Toby: Hello, beautiful world!

Clotpole: Did someone give him tequila?

Hairdo Guy: Is that really your first reaction to Toby wearing sunglasses?!?!?!

Clotpole: Shut up, man. Anyway, Toby, what is your favourite piece of fanart?

Toby: *sits down* This awesome piece: https://www.tumblr.com/jae-in-a-trenchcoat/730304134181470208/this-tag-absolutely-took-me-out?source=share by @jae-in-a-trenchcoat. Love your work, Jae! It was super random when I found it, but the look on Douxie’s face was so worth it.

Douxie: What do you mean?

Toby: Not now, dude. I’ll show you later.

Clotpole: *rolls eyes* Someone definitely gave him tequila- or something spiked with it. Anyway, final person, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!

*Jim walks into the room, smiling*

Jim: Hey, guys!

*Jim sits down, and leans back into chair*

Dark Raven: What’s got you so cheery?

Jim: Nothing really. What’s the question today?

Clotpole: Favourite fanart?

Jim: Anything Percy Jackson.

Hairdo Guy: *facepalms*

Clotpole: Dude, we know you’re obsessed with Percy Jackson. We mean anything in the TOA side of things.

Jim: Wait… Trials of Apollo?

Clotpole: NO JIM, WE MEAN TALES OF ARCADIA, GODDAMMIT!

Dark Raven: Jim, just say it, dude. We’re going off script, and Clotpole needs a nap.

Jim: Then… anything by @bluheaven-adw. Love all her art.

Clotpole: *nods* Okay, I’m out of here. Claire, create me a shadow portal back to my house.

*Claire creates a shadow portal and Clotpole jumps into it, before it closes. Everyone looks at the camera.*

Mary: If you have any questions, hit that ask button, I guess.

Douxie: And give us a follow for more content!

*Claire hides her head in her hands*

Claire: Dios mio, we sound like a Youtube channel at this point.

*Jim turns to look at his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow*

Jim: We’re worse than that. We’re a Tumblr account with no sense of self preservation.

Toby: That’s just you, Jimbo. I say we get Discord and Twitter.

Everyone else apart from Douxie and Hairdo Guy: NO TOBY!

Douxie: I say we give at least Discord a shot.

Hairdo Guy: I’m up for anything, honestly.

*Suddenly, the lights switch off, and electricity crackles. Dark Raven sighs*

Mary: I think that was Clotpole saying no.

*Electricity crackles again.*

Jim: And that was her threatening us with a fate worse than death if we do any sketchy shit.

Dark Raven: And that's why we don't talk about Twitter out of all the things you could, Toby.

*camera cuts to black*

[sh1-n0bu]

MOMMY NOBUUUU /p i need someone wise’s advice !!!!

i like to make silly looking “art” (i don’t even consider it real art, it’s more like memes/doodles) (like the ms paint art style, that looks a bit like pixel art and also looks sketchy and simple) and i CAN’T DECIDE if i should make an account to post it??? i really want to but i know NOTHING about ig and its algorythm (even though i did use to have disney and anime fanpages with a decent amount of followers when i was, like, 14). i don’t wanna end up with an account with like 2 followers cuz what if affects my self esteem and the way i view art hsjsg ???? i like my cringy artstyle but.. idk im probably overthinking this AGHH

yk it’s just that when i was a fan account it wasn’t my art so it’s not like i got offended if people didn’t like/comment/save. with things i created it would be different i think??? i’ve been wanting to make an art account for YEARS and i just got into the artstyle (i had a “normal” artstyle before) but wait wait lemme try to link the pics

(hope they work)

so this is the first thing i’ve ever drawn in this style https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-AJt9jSnPo1Enyg4B8Dnm0HMYeFIhxYX/view?usp=drivesdk

and then it just kept going. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-I8x_U-9_ZVwpPE6aDAWlW0ApEuJ2r5Z/view?usp=drivesdk

and going (yes that’s a gyaru trying to talk to a golfball and yes it’s a remake of this meme https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/d6udnl/why_wont_it_move/)

and then i saw this. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-1qO6MbBOo51PK-jhMltsnpfCb0yTGV2/view?usp=drivesdk

and i went “this is so hsr main trio” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-5MwpEQLIFx_iLdif6R9o66Xc2HW5vjw/view?usp=drivesdk

this is cursed, i’m aware.

then i started making these https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-60FA9_FROx2c0SQrzh1RXOXxm7tFl5G/view?usp=drivesdk

you have NO IDEA how many of these i’ve made. because idk either. all i know is that in three days i had made 20+ of them (which may sound like it’s not much, but for me and how little i used to draw it’s a lot)

and now i REALLY want to make the account but i’m TERRIFIED bc what if no one likes that kind of cringy stuff?????

i’m literally so sorry to bother you with this /gen it’s just me overthinking stuff as always :/ don’t feel pressured to answer me ofc!! <3 also i rlly rlly hope things are going better for you! sending love and support <33

gratefully yours

breaker anon~~<3

MOMMA NOBU HAS ARISEN /j j j j

first, those arts are fucking GORJUS my sweettums. as someone who has lost the ability to draw, that is beautiful. i used to think of becoming a free style painter or to learn how to draw digital but somewhere along the way i just gave up and decided to simply settle on writing instead. even now, when i see art tiktok or recommendations of compilation videos on yt, i feel a bit of an ache in my chest. its just there, y’know?

second, i think you should do for it. maybe try opening up an account on a platform ur incredibly familiar with. perhaps tumblr? or even ig? or even tiktok works too! just any platform you feel safe and comfortable and know how to navigate is good.

and yeah, i can def say felt to the “it will make my mental health worse if i only get 2 likes or smt” bc same same same. i try to write good and capture the characters’ personality correctly while keeping the fic ‘alive’ only to end up with like,,,, hundreds of likes but no feedbacks or reposts or smt LMAOOO

as for a single tip i would give is to expect everything. not everyones going to like ur content and they will suddenly crash into ur inbox talking abt how they hated this fic or smt of yrs bc it was disgusting or not their thing. that has happened to me like,,,, 3 times???? i think?????? and and!!! be sure to do a bit of research beforehand, me thinks. see what kind of attention you would get when u start to post on ur page or account.

honestly, i started this blog as only reposting blog. but then one day my very first 🦝 anon came and i decided, why not write a thirst thought i had with friend and see how it goes? and it just spiraled from there.

main thing is, have patience and love what ur doing. don’t burn urself out over it too much or else what u used to love will end up being what u hate and take good care of yourself sweettums<3

[randomkidstarfic]

How do you stay so motivated to write? You’re so prolific, it’s honestly kinda awe-inspiring. The longest thing I’ve ever written is currently 68 pages (26.5k words) and I’ve been writing it for like a year and a half, and it’s still not even close to done 😭 so how do you keep your motivation and spark going strong? Do you have any advice?

(I hope it's okay that I'm responding publicly, and I apologize that this gets a little Soap Box-y, I'm very passionate about the art form of writing)

I'm sorry to say I don't have any super solid advice in this regard. Honestly, the whole reason I'm a writer in the first place is because I never get tired of doing it. I was literally sitting at my computer in collage, writing something, wracking my brain to figure out a major and a career I felt like I could do forever, and it dawned on me that writing was the answer.

It's not always easy, and sometimes it's tiring and frustrating, and you really just want the piece to be done already. I think writers, at any level, get into the bad habit of feeling like they have to write a certain amount, or beating themselves up for not being as prolific as they'd want to be. I think the best advice I can give to writers who are just starting out, or using it as fun, or practice, or for the sake of getting better, is to write what you feel like writing. Don't force yourself from one project to work on another, don't feel like you need to obligate something. Write because it's fun, and because you want to. And if you don't feel like writing, then don't. I feel like there's kind of this weird idea out there that if you're not writing, then you're failing as a writer. But sometimes you don't want to do it, and that's okay. Writing gets a lot harder when you're forcing yourself to do it.

Everyone is different. A writer shouldn't chain themselves to a single style or a single story or a single goal. It's a flexible art. Have fun, get experimental, write something that is terrible. Sometimes we stop because we think what we've written is too bad to continue, sometimes we stop because we loose the passion. Write because you want to, whenever you want to, however you want to, at whatever pace you can.

You don't have to write like everyone else, no one has to write like anyone else. We have a tendency to compare ourselves to others, and it's a bad habit, but I haven't met a writer yet who doesn't do this. (If you're a writer who doesn't compare yourself to others, I envy you lololol, this is just my experience.) I constantly compare myself to others. But doing that will never make me a better writer.

This is kind of a case of 'I know how to do this thing already, so I don't know how to properly communicate to you how to do it.' I have an overwhelming internal need to write, I'm like Spider Georg (not to bring memes into this) but I shouldn't be counted, and I shouldn't be compared to because I am a god damn Freak who writes like I'm going to die if I don't. (I hope saying that 'I shouldn't be compared to' doesn't sound arrogant or conceited, I'm not sure how else to phrase it)

Sorry this got so long, I hope that all makes sense. If anyone wants tidbits of writing advice in terms of craft, please feel free to ask. Honestly, feel free to ask me anything! I really appreciate everyone who reads and enjoys my stories.

[shin-the-hopeless]

I Saw Her Again.

You ever feel like life is just one cruel, endless, cosmic joke? Like, you’re being forced to sit front row at the comedy of your own misery, and everyone else is in on the punchline except you? That’s exactly how I feel every single shift at work, every single time I see her. The goth goddess. The alt queen. The absolute embodiment of everything I’ve ever wanted and everything I will never, ever have.

She’s like something straight out of a dream—or maybe a nightmare, because the sight of her reminds me of how hopelessly outclassed I am. The choker necklaces, the loose black sweaters with her shoulders exposed like some kind of goth siren, and those thigh-high leggings that I swear must have been crafted in a lab to torment me specifically. Even her boots are perfect—those knee-high buckled masterpieces that clack against the floor like the death knell of my soul.

And her hair? Don’t get me started on her hair. Always in that two side-up style, with those cute little bows that make her look like she just stepped out of some anime I’ll never have the budget to watch legally. It’s like someone took every internet waifu I’ve ever loved and painstakingly crafted her to exist in the real world just to mock me.

She doesn’t even need to talk to make me feel like trash. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, just sitting in the break room reading Tomie or My Dress-Up Darling. And every time I see her, I’m hit with this wave of pure, agonizing attraction. It’s like she’s a Final Fantasy VII character made flesh, like if Tifa or Aerith had a secret goth sister who also played Genshin Impact and Baldur’s Gate 3.

The other day, I caught a glimpse of her phone wallpaper, and it was Cloud Strife. Of course, it was. And you know what? I can’t even hate Cloud because that would mean hating her taste, and I can’t even do that. I’m pathetic.

But here’s the real kicker: I’ve never even spoken to her. Not once. I couldn’t even say “hi” if my life depended on it. I just sit there, drowning in this pit of self-loathing, because what’s the point? Women like her don’t want anything to do with men like me. I know it. I’ve seen the TikToks. The ones where girls share horror stories about “creepy dudes” who hit on them at work or on the street. I’ve read the comments, seen the memes. Women don’t even want guys looking at them unless they’re hot.

And guess what? I’m not hot. Not even close. I’m like... the opposite of hot. I’m the guy they make TikToks about. I wear the same clothes every day because I can’t afford new ones, and honestly, I don’t even care enough to try. I don’t shower every day. I don’t brush my teeth every day. My life’s already a dumpster fire; what’s the point of pretending I’m salvageable?

I’m $10,000 in debt, for crying out loud. Even if I somehow found the courage to talk to her—like, let’s imagine a parallel universe where that’s possible—and even if she didn’t immediately recoil in horror, what could I offer her? Nothing. No car, no money for dates, no future. Just me, standing there like an idiot, while she realizes she wasted 30 seconds of her life talking to a loser.

I hate this. I hate her. Not in a violent way, but in this soul-crushing, helpless way. I hate how she exists so perfectly, so effortlessly, while I’m stuck here, a failure of a man, unable to even say a word. I hate that she’s everything I’ve ever wanted and more, and I hate that I’m everything she would never, ever want.

It’s insane how much I think about her. Like, she’s more in my head than Belle Delphine or Amouranth ever were, and that’s saying something. I didn’t think it was possible to feel this strongly about a real, actual person. I thought the Umbreon gijinka art on Tumblr had ruined me forever, but nope—she did. This real-life goth anime waifu has somehow eclipsed every fantasy I’ve ever had, and it’s torture.

I see her reading Tomie, and I can’t help but think, “Of course you’re reading Junji Ito. Of course you’re into dark, artsy horror that’s way too cool for me to even pretend to understand.” I see her reading My Dress-Up Darling, and I want to scream because even her manga choices are perfect. I bet she loves Marin Kitagawa because she sees herself in her—quirky, fashionable, effortlessly attractive. Meanwhile, I’m over here, some faceless NPC she doesn’t even notice.

The worst part? I can’t even be mad at her for ignoring me. Why would she notice me? Why should she? I’m just some broke, unwashed loser who can barely scrape together enough self-respect to show up to work. She doesn’t owe me her attention, and I know that. I know it, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting it.

And it’s not like I can just “better myself” or whatever garbage advice people like to throw around. Where am I supposed to start? I can’t even afford therapy, let alone a gym membership or a decent wardrobe. And even if I could magically transform myself into someone worth noticing, what then? Would she even care? Would she even look my way? Or would she still see me as just some random guy who doesn’t exist in her world?

I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that I’ll never have her, or the fact that I can’t stop wanting her. It’s like she’s living rent-free in my brain, and I can’t evict her no matter how hard I try. I hate myself for it. I hate myself for how much I care about someone who doesn’t even know I exist.

I’ve tried convincing myself that it doesn’t matter, that she’s just a co-worker, just another person I see at work. But then I see her again, and it all comes flooding back—the longing, the bitterness, the hopelessness. It’s a cycle I can’t break, and it’s killing me.

Maybe this is just my life now. Sitting here, stewing in my own misery, watching this perfect, unattainable girl live her perfect, unattainable life while I rot away in the background. Maybe that’s all I’ll ever be—a spectator to someone else’s happiness, someone else’s perfection.

God, I hate this. I hate everything about this. But most of all, I hate myself for caring so much. Because at the end of the day, it’s not her fault I’m like this. It’s mine. And that’s the worst part of all.

[leonard-chia]

MDA20009 Digital Communities Fifth Blog post week 9

Topic:

Finding My Place in a Fandom: A Journey of my Community and Connection

Hey everyone! Super excited to share my story with you all again! So, today’s topic is all about fandoms. Honestly, I used to be the type of person who wasn’t into any of that—no fan groups, no following fan pages, none of it. But, as they say, time changes people, and here I am now, fully embracing the fandom life!

Discovering the Fandom Community

So It started with a single interest, a piano piece compose by Chopin that caught my attention and slowly grew into it more the I aspect. Suddenly, I was part of something bigger, an online community is a Instagram page of people who shared my fascination, my theories, and sometimes even my strange sense of humour, my behaviour captures the essence of fandom: a community driven by intense enthusiasm that interacts with society, shaping new cultural meanings and values through shared social experiences (Fuschillo, 2018). Now I realise that Fandoms have this unique way of turning all people who have same interest into friends, and for many of us, they become spaces that offer acceptance, understanding, and an endless source of connection.

Why I Feels Like Home in the fandom communities

My Fandoms communities often feel like a home away from home. They’re places where you can express excitement without judgment I mean sometimes, We share our quirky, unpopular opinions and crack up over inside jokes that only fellow fans would get. For instance, we speculate: if Chopin, the legendary piano composer, had lived longer or if Poland hadn’t been invasion by imperial Russia, would his musical style have evolved differently? Would some of his iconic pieces even exist if history had taken a different turn? It’s all part of the fun! I found myself surrounded by people who saw the little details and appreciated them as much as I did. Being in a fandom meant finding a group of people who not only enjoyed the same things I did but understood why I cared so deeply about certain things.

This sense of connection goes beyond just shared interests. Fandoms can offer a unique type of support. If I posted a question, I’d get responses from fans who wanted to help, offer insight, or just share in my curiosity. In those moments of excitement, when someone shares a piece they’ve just discovered, I feel thrilled to explore something new along with them. And whenever someone learns a new piece and posts it on the page, I share in their happiness because I know firsthand the effort and dedication it takes to practice and improve.

Finding My Voice ( My Species )

One of the best parts about joining a fandom has been discovering ways to contribute. Watching others create fan art, write fanfiction, or discuss music theories really sparked my own creativity. Whether it was doodling, writing, or making memes, I felt inspired to join in on this collaborative, creative space. Even though I don’t often post my own content, I find myself quietly enjoying and appreciating everyone else’s work. It’s funny, but despite not engaging much, just liking and sharing posts makes me feel connected and part of the fandom community in a meaningful way.

A World Without Borders

Another remarkable thing about fandoms is how they bring people together from all around the globe. I’ve connected with fans from different countries, backgrounds, and life experiences, learning from perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise encounter. And because our bond is rooted in a shared passion, the usual social barriers seem to fade. Whether a friend is from across the street or across the ocean, our shared fandom makes us feel close.

This is also thanks to the development of social platforms that provide convenience, The growth of social media encourages fan culture to become a participatory culture, changing roles and actively impacting society and the economy (Jia, Li & Ma 2021).

Conclusion

In the end, being part of a fandom has taught me the true power of connection. I used to feel hesitant about identifying as a “fan” of anything, but now I see that fandom goes far beyond pop culture or celebrity followings like K-pop or pop music. Fandom can encompass a love for classical music, historical figures, or anything else that sparks a passion. I have a deep respect for all types of fandoms, and I truly admire anyone who has found a community they can call their own.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed diving into the world of fandoms with me! Keep exploring, creating, and sharing what you love, because fandoms are all about building connections and celebrating our passions. Until we meet again—see you all !!

Reference

Fuschillo, G 2018, ‘Fans, fandoms, or fanaticism?’, Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 347–365.

Jia, B, Li, J & Ma, J 2021, ‘Transformation of Fan Culture Under the Influence of Social Media’, www.atlantis-press.com, Atlantis Press, pp. 2173–2178, viewed <https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/ichess-21/125967353>.

[dispatches-from-the-lorecord]

Behind the scenes with The Calling

[January 14, 2023]

{Popia140:}

So I speedran through The Calling [Haji’s old Randomized Platinum fic] and lemme just say how I really love how the gym battle system worked, the dancing and literal physical combat between the Pokémon and the literal trainers themselves

Pepe’s adorable, but that scene in Floaroma when he stops the grunts from the stealing the man’s honey with his creepily calm assertiveness was pretty badass to me, ngl, considering his reluctance to confront and fight

Even though it is old, the mystery surrounding certain locations is pretty good (Old Chateau, the Ravaged Path, that weird pool thing in the Oreburgh Mines) it’s cool to see someone’s interpretation of events different from my own

Also Pepe and Pearl’s relationship was very fun to read! The mystery of Napoleon’s disappearance really piqued my interest, and I was not really sure if he was his older brother in this interpretation (idk if they got separated from birth or something, or just simply not brothers at all) but it’s nice to see that Pearl still cares for him

Another thing that interested me was Pepe’s religious upbringing, with the fossils and all and being raised in some church, before moving to Twinleaf Town- I think it really gave his character good background and depth, which also ties into his peacemaking pacifist-like mindset

But anyways that’s all I have to say about Haji’s The Calling series, hope you don’t mind my rambling review @Haji

{Haji:}

I don't mind at all! You're making me blush :AYAYA:

I really enjoy the battle system. I've been trying to study different dance styles to make each one unique in how it functions.

I would normally be all like "shhh spoilers" but considering the story hasn't had an update in like five years, it seems silly to ask you to wait. It's a separated at birth situation. Why though is because I play a lot with destiny in the TPP universe especially having a single timeline in a seemingly cyclonic world

Timeline wise as you may have noticed while reading, this is actually before original Platinum

{Popia140:}

oooh! Did not know that! :Begwan:

So I was right with the separated at birth theory!

{Haji:}

Yeeeaaah.... [Pepe’s religious background] was one of the factors in my nervousness. At the time I preceded every Author Note basically going "Look, my lore is weird. Don't eat me" or something because I knew even if that's how it played in my head, I was scared of "going against the grain" with what everyone else was doing. Which mostly was Pepe the Frog memes and artistic snob portrayal

{Popia140:}

Personally, I felt that the artistic snob sort of personality didn’t mesh well with his shyness (in my opinion, it’s just a matter of taste), but I imagine that if he did paint, it would be out of a sort of therapy for his trauma under the voices and the crazy things he experienced in his life… or he just wanted to paint a cute Skitty because he has a weakness for cute things :Begwan:

Could go both ways, imo

Also, who was the girl during the blackout at the Ravaged Path?

{Haji:}

I can see that. In fact, after Ultra events, I like to imagine he does a lot of art for that reason. Still trying to remember things and drawing out memories to make sense of it. His friends can remind him of things they recognize or talk to him about some of the more disturbing images

[The girl in the Ravaged Path] would be Mindy! The Candice replacement in this world. She was a Psychic Trainer and portrayed as a showman, but Fossil wise, I had her with Cover

{Popia140:}

Napoleon is mentioned by Pearl in the story, so I’m assuming they must have met when they were very young- where did Napoleon end up? And did Pepe learn that Napoleon was his older brother in the end, maybe after-game?

{Krizste:}

What if Pepe uses art snobism to cover his shyness. Like he's trying to appear..... Whatever the word is.. not-shy, but It just looks like snobism

{Newbie:}

Confident?

{Krizste:}

Yeah that word!

Tryna pull of confidence but just being really jank about it

{Haji:}

Given what people probably expect of him as Napoleon's brother, I can imagine him putting on that kind of face  at parties :Jebaited:

Napoleon went to stay with Aunt Grace and Richard while all this was going on. Honestly never knew he had a brother until after Ultra events. Which finding out after that just made him worse about the whole... Trying to murder Pepe multiple times while not himself thing. Pepe woke up at the villa after they got back home only to learn it's been months he's been in a coma (time shenanigans. He made sure Leo was able to wake up in the "canon" timeline in order to stop Cyrus but it seems in a weird way, Pepe took his place. Missed everything during the Bill Overlord events and was too injured to do the Unova stuff with Cly, but Leo knew he was okay enough to go with the other S1 hosts)

Pepe on the other hand found out about Napoleon during his journey, so he knew  about it WAY ahead of Leo but they still didn't meet for.... Some time??? Again, Pepe becoming a time traveler at the end of his run makes his lore in my timeline hilariously screwy

{Krizste:}

Oh yeah who was it that lost his head again? Was that pepe

{Haji:}

Yup

{Popia140:}

Ahh thanks for the answers!!

Napoleon completely in the dark about it, lol

Did their mother separate them at birth?

{Haji:}

Sort of. With Forrest's [Gardenia] backstory I was going to get more into the pre-RPlat / pre-Red war stuff that was going on when he was a kid. Gravund [Roark] and the boys would have been too little to remember but Forrest was a little younger than Pepe is now so he's got some scars from it. Basically the family got split up when fleeing the violence so Johanna has Leo with her and thought her husband and other son didn't make it. Pepe was taken to Hearthome like many other war orphans but while it wasn't separated at birth they were both around maybe one or two years old at most

And before you ask about their father, I had an idea and then I wasn't sure but I've been on the fence about things so let's just leave him as a giant question mark

{Popia140:}

Aw, that’s sad for them :BibleThump: the Quinnels never really got to bond as bros

{Haji:}

Yeah... But things are peaceful for next several decades (next Sinnoh run wasn't until Gauntlet), so they've got time. Help out with the others when duty calls, but even many of the other hosts know they can go to Napoleon's palace to get away from things for a while. Cly's mansion is often a nice hang out but it also happens to be the gang's base of operations in secret so there's always some level of alert since Unova isn't as stable as Sinnoh is. (And besides, for Aaaaaall the trauma of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn seeming to be in a consistent state of peril, Sinnoh is lovingly close by for Leo and Pepe to give a sense of normalcy for the newbies)

{Popia140:}

Aww, a happy ending :Burrito2:

{Haji:}

I love these two so much, but my gosh I feel bad for what I put them through. I feel bad for most of the hosts I wrote for, but good lord did these two need a happy ending

{Popia140:}

They def deserved it, they went through so much

{Haji:}

[cough] can I tell you a secret? |D

{Popia140:}

yea sure

{Haji:}

Even though I stopped writing it, this is the story that has never left my mind. I've actually continued working on it, but never posted and one of my goals is to continue at some point if I ever get my projects in order

Sometimes I'll just be watching a show or something and get reminders of the characters and how much I miss them

[Bonus: a mildly out-of-order side tangent from Haji’s comment about the TPP universe being cyclical]

{Trollkitten:}

In my headcanon, the TPP-verse is cyclical the same way the Zeldaverse is cyclical. All of this has happened before, and it will happen again.

{Haji:}

Yup! Though why is always different in my books partially because the villains have different motives each time (and adds to why they think it would be any different this time because they're not like the last guy who did)

{Newbie:}

i vibe with the idea of the universe just breaking down and getting rebuilt over and over again, reality in smithereens and then being rebuilt from the ground up... or just completely coming up with entirely new plots while disregarding canon :Kappa:

{Mitzi:}

my lore somehow manages to do both. frequently at the same time

{Newbie:}

you and i are like-minded :Keepo:

[wolfstarlibrarian]

Welcome to the fifth installment of Beyond The Shelves!

This month’s creator spotlight is on the truly unique and amazing @mlim8. Mel has brought new life into fandom with her stunning art and comics that can make you laugh and cry. She's also the artist behind the Padfoot you can pet on the Librarian's home page (desktop) and the Moony gif on the Help Desk page. Now let's get to know this incredible artist!

Name: Mel is fine :D (she/her)

Where can people find your art?/Support you?

I'm only on Tumblr! @mlim8 (I tried getting a Twitter but I got confused so it's an account in limbo~). My Wolfstar/HP Masterlist is here (links only work on mobile)

What's your favorite thing about Remus & Sirius?

I'm a biggggg sucker for the 'childhood friends' trope. As well as pairings that scream mutual pining, but on the other hand, can be pure fluff. I like pairings where the couple can play off each other, can support each other, who might not always see eye-to-eye but have also been with the other for so long now, they know what they’re doing to make sure they still work, because in the end, they LOVE EACH OTHER. Somehow, Remus and Sirius can tick off all these different boxes and I love them for it uwu And then, there’s also just so much mystery about them in the books and therefore, so much freedom to interpret them, given how little we actually have to go on - it’s so cool to see them in an assortment of AUs, tropes, canon, non-canon fics and see them fall in love over and over and over again… So ultimately? I guess my favourite thing is that it’s so damn obvious how in love they are with one another that the Wolfstar fandom is as big as it is :)

What do you think your signature style is?

I think I’m known for fanfic comics, cute fluff, and my chibi style. You will also see a blush on my characters’ cheeks like 98.9% of the time. I can’t help it… it belongs there lol

What inspires you?

Fanfics, usually. I actually came back to drawing on tumblr because of some beautiful fanfics that I couldn’t get out of my head and needed to draw them. Afterward, it would be songs, videos, memes, conversations with friends, posts from friends, etc - it’s not difficult to take something and go “Do it again, but as Wolfstar.”

What advice would you give new artists?

I guess some obvious ones would be to practice, practice, practice. Use references and 3D models, they help so damn much. Video tutorials and other art tutorials are there to help you make things easier, there really is an endless pit of things to learn and techniques to master. Some other things that people might forget: drink water, do stretches for your wrists and neck, get up once in a while to get blood flow in your legs. But most importantly, even if you want to practice a lot, don’t forget to TAKE. BREAKS. Your body and mind will thank you.

You also don’t need anything super fancy to draw: traditional art is just as valid as any digital art (more so because you don’t have a CTRL+Z function and it drives me insane, so power to you!!). Cheaper $50 art tablets can do what you need them to, as long as you know how to use it. With art programs, there are tons of free ones that you can get your feet wet before committing to any expensive programs (I’ve used Paint Tool SAI for years in the past and I know artists that use FireAlpaca and GIMP with amazing results as well :D)

Lastly, and this is gonna be a hard one: Don’t compare yourself (or your progress) to other artists. People take years (decades??) to make art that they love and develop a style/technique that they’re proud of and it’s not worth the stress. You’re only in a competition with yourself and that’s challenging enough already!

What do you use to create your art?

I use a Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch - it was a birthday gift from waaaay back that I’ve had for a decade now :’)

For art programs, I’ve been using Clip Studio Paint for about 8 months now and I use Photoshop for stitching larger GIFs together uwu

What's a favorite piece you made and why?

Oh my God, how to decide… there’s been a ton that I’ve been proud of but my favourite (spelling with a u because I’m Canadian, eh) would be the recent Candy Heart Post I did a couple weeks back now. Just a lot of love and effort went into it, not just the art itself but trimming the song, all the editing and timing of each frame. I wanted so hard to tell a story and I think it came out the way I wanted it to :)

Pick one of your own pieces/AUs and give readers a little note about it. What inspired it? Why is it a favorite?

Okay, so this is probably an obvious one for those that have been on my blog for the last few months - but I have an AU called ‘Rembus and Hunter AU’ that is about an incubus demon, Remus, and a Demon Hunter, Sirius. The demon, affectionately called Rembus, is surprisingly sweet and adorable. In short: HE IS BABY. And when Hunter comes to the Village of Gryffindor to get rid of him, he learns that there’s more to demons than he’s known through the church and his family.

It’s just a really stupidly cute AU, despite the premise, and I’m so excited to share their story with everyone (one day, haha I’m a slow artist -)! Here’s Part 0 (the info card), if anyone is interested :)

It was created when I came upon an outfit ( similar to what Rembus wears) and thought “Okay, but Incubus!Remus.” - and that’s it. That’s usually how my AUs come about. The smallest inspiration and I spiral out of control with a backstory. This AU was fleshed out a lot with the help of Whippy, who was great to bounce all these ridiculous ideas off of lol

Make sure to check back later today for a list of works and recs from Mel herself!

[melisusthewee]

OC Interview: Quinn Trevelyan

This took... a while. But it was such an interesting meme! Thank you so much @noire-pandora @morganlefaye79 @cleverblackcat and @darethshirl for tagging me! I almost sort of gave up on this and went back to my Warden as she would be much more open and candid about things, but when have I ever done the easier task?

For context, we will say that this interview was organized by Ambassador Montilyet once the Inquisition had comfortably established itself in Skyhold and its reputation had begun to grow, generating curiosity and interest among several circles across the south. Its subject found the whole idea questionable at best, but Josephine has her ways of wearing the Inquisitor down.

Introduction

Can you introduce yourself?

"Formally? Are you sure you want to write all of this down? Lord Inquisitor Quinn Julius [he grimaces] Barrington Trevelyan... His Most Holy... Herald of Andraste... etc etc. Look, just put down 'Quinn.' That's good enough."

What is your gender identity, orientation, and relationship status?

"I - what? I'm a man. And everything else is no one's business but my own. Unless this is a proposition. In which case - hang on, are you still writing?!"

Where and when were you born?

"Ostwick, 9:08 Dragon. If you want more details on the event, you'll have to go and write to my mother. Except please don't, as I don't want to read about it."

What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

"I've used a bow since I was eight years old and I assure you I am even better than everyone says. You can go and check the competition board if you like. I'm surprised they haven't barred me from taking part yet... probably because I'm the one in charge. [he winks]

"There's an art to it. Everyone looks at a bow and thinks they can handle it just like everyone thinks they can pick up a sword and flail around until they hit something. But longbows aren't like you're plucking the strings on a harp. The average broadsword is what - two pounds? Compare that to the average draw weight of eighty-one pounds. You have to be strong, accurate, and careful. If the string's too taut, your aim will be off at best... at worst, it will snap and you'll lose an eye.

"As for style? Put down deadly. Yes, just like that. You didn't really think I'd give away all my secrets, did you?"

And finally, are you happy?

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Family and Friends

What is your family like? What is your relationship like with them?

[there is an extremely long silence]

"They're Trevelyans. There are a lot of them, they're wealthy, chances are that someone somewhere knows at least one of them. And they are all - well almost all of them - are all the way in Ostwick and I am here. And that's the best thing for all of us.

"...Yes, I did say almost. One of my brothers is - or was - a templar, and the Order's sort of not really around anymore so he stuck around with the Inquisition. Can you also interview him? Sure, if you want to. He's never had an interesting thing to say in his entire life though, so you're going to be disappointed. I'm the one with the looks and the personality."

Have you ever run away from home?

"There was one time when I considered becoming a bard - not the Orlesian sort - and just slipping away during one of the Grand Tourneys. I imagine no one would have noticed. But even I knew that was a very foolish idea as I didn't know how to play any instruments."

Would you want to get married or have children?

"No. Marriage is so... limiting. Why tie yourself down to one person? The idea is so dull."

Do you secretly hate any of your friends?

"What is the point of hating anyone secretly?"

What friend knows everything about you?

"No one. And anyone who claims otherwise is lying. Trust me."

Asked by fans

Can you read and write? Did you go to school?

"My father's the Bann of Ostwick. Do you really think they would have let me grow up without tutors? Life certainly would have been more fun that way, but no... I had lessons. I will admit that reading and writing is useful and important, but I'm not sure how important it was to learn to sing the Chant in its original Orlesian... unless you're trying to seduce someone who is very into that."

The scariest prediction you made that later came true?

"Hold on, did someone claim I was a fortune-teller? I'm Andraste's Herald, but she's the prophet, not me. I'm not making predictions about anything. I don't do that. Please don't start telling people that I do."

Do you have mental or physical problems?

"My back aches when it rains... old war wound and all. [he laughs] No, I've never been in a war... well, maybe depending on how you look at the current situation this might be my first. But I'm perfectly healthy. Make sure you put in that I was bright-eyed, alert, firm-chested..." [he continued but the transcript did not, despite his insistence to the contrary]

What's your main goal right now?

"Well, that's a complicated thing to answer. We're here to set things right. I'm here to keep the world from falling apart, and it isn't easy, and not everyone is amenable to stability. But I'm going to do it anyway."

Choices

Drink or eat?

"I don't think that's really an either/or choice."

Cats or dogs?

"If this is being published in Ferelden then I feel I should answer dogs. But I'm fond of cats too. Well, maybe fond isn't the right word. I am... amenable to both animals. There are a few cats around Skyhold that we keep as mousers, and only one of them is particularly mean. The rest are all right, and fond of chin scratches."

Optimist or pessimist?

"If you assume the worst then you can only ever be pleasantly surprised."

Sassy or sarcastic?

"Is there a difference? There is? Huh..."

Have You Ever:

Been caught sneaking out?

"Yes. So then I got better at it. And as long as I was back in my bed by sunrise, no one was the wiser. Oh, I'm certain this isn't new information to my parents. Trust me, nothing you write down about me is going to cause any greater scandal than all the times the city guard had to escort me back to my family's estate."

Broken a bone?

"I had my cheek broken in a tavern fight once. Cracked the skull right around my eye right about... here. [he taps his cheek just below his eye] It swelled up terribly and my father made me live with it for two entire days before he finally summoned a healer from the Circle to set it right. He thought it would teach me an important lesson, and in some way it did... just not the lesson he was hoping for." [he grins]

Did you get flowers?

"No, I can't say I ever have. [a pause] I'm going to be inundated with bouquets now, aren't I?"

Ghosting someone?

"Ah. Um. Well. Look, mornings are made of regret, so I don't intend to stick around for them."

You pretended to laugh at a joke you did not get?

"If I don't get the joke then it means it isn't a very good one and the person telling it shouldn't probably know that."

Oh lord, this took me forever... I hope this was amusing if not interesting though!

Tagging: @inquisitoracorn @rosella-writes @1000generations and anyone else who wants to do this and has yet to be tagged!

[lilypixels]

Izzy’s Dag-Dag The Artist… Tag

By @morgynemberisagenderfluiddaddy

~ Rules ~

Show us a rendition of yourself in your own art! Can be anything! Sims render? Random stick figure? Picrew? Go nuts! (Just be sure to tag the artist if you use someone else’s picrew!!!!) Tag the blogs you want to know, and don’t be a dick that’s it! Also, feel free to answer as vague or in-depth as you want. And if you don’t want to answer a question for any reason just don’t vibe with it! Skip it if you wanna! Also make sure you tag me and use #dagdagtheartisttag so I can see it!!!!!!!!

This is a bit long so i’m just gonna...

~Questions~

1.) Do you prefer to be referred to by your name or blog name? Both are fine! I don’t care much about what people refer to me as in general and have had someone on here call me lily once

2.) Where are you from? I won’t say exact, but I live in the middle of USA (I can’t wait to move-)

3.) Do you have pets? 👀 Yes! 3 dogs and 2 cats, tho only one cat is truly “mine”

4.) Tell us about your “dream”. uhh like where I want to be in life? what I want to do? um I’m still working on the exact job title, but I wish to do research at a natural history/science museum (sorta like archives or collections manager, but neither of those are quite right i think). Otherwise, I just hope to adopt and even foster kids cause my life would not be complete without little ones :3 (spouse/partner optional lol) 

5.) Aside from art, what are your hobbies? Randomly researching things that grasp my attention, games...lots of games, reading, watching tv, coloring (wait does that count as art-), uhhh spacing out

6. )Does anyone irl know about your blog? yeah, but mostly just know about, not like see my posts i guess

7.)Do you know anyone from your blog irl? not outside of just chatting on discord

8.) What are some fun facts about you? I’ve had some poems published before (it was with entering a poetry contest), I have surprisingly good balance, my brain is not properly awake/functioning until 10am which has led to me almost using soap as toothpaste a few times too many, I have a birthmark on my finger (bonus: it sorta changes color/how noticeable it is depending on how hot or cold I am lol, i call it a mini thermometer cause of this), apparently Lion King was my Disney movie obsession as a kid...oh and I have a certificate in cryptozoology lolz

9.) What’s your day job? i work as a private nanny/glorified babysitter (i don’t live with them or drive but work regular hours through week and as needed; even join the occasional vacation with them)

10.) Do you have a celebrity look alike? i don’t think so; a girl in high school once said I look like Cameron Diaz tho-

11.) What’s your aesthetic? for my blog I think it’s becoming like dark academia meets cottage core?? idk for myself...who knows

12.) What kind of artist are you? the tired kind lol

13.) How did you get into your form of art? if we’re looking at sims, uhhh well I just happened to learn about cc one day, then happened upon simblr, saw edits, and thought I’d give a try cause I can’t draw but I need a creative outlet so this worked for me

14.) What do you watch/listen/read/anything else while you create? if I do anything, its listen to music; music is generally random based on what I feel like but more recently its been 2d anime groups (idolish7, hypnosis mic, etc)

15.) What is your favorite of your own creations so far?  lets see...this, this, and this edit wise I think

16.) How would you describe your art style? idk chaos

17.) What is more satisfying to you coloring or outlining? coloring, I like coloring 

18.) What meme would you use to describe yourself?

19.) What character from any media form do you most identify with? oh gosh uhhhh there’s a few but I’ll say Iori and Sogo from Idolish7 since they come to mind first lol. Iori is a fellow aquarius who hides his interests and agonizes over past slipups even a year later, others have legit moved on but he’s still stuck on it (that was true moment I was like “omg you are aquarius” lol cause yeah meee). Sogo i heavily relate to as well cause he’s,,,very nice and hides his own feelings, putting others before himself (but when right buttons get pushed, he can be scary lol) so yeah, those two

20.) If you were on the run, what would you change your name to? I’ve never thought of this...no clue

21.) Have you ever or do you want to change blog names? I have changed names, yes; I used to be silverine-sims but after a time i didn’t ~vibe~ with it

22.) God forbid Tumblr decides to pull a MySpace and lets us have page songs, what song would you choose?  page songs like adding playlist to blog? i mean its possible already with bit of coding and I used to have one set up but uh one song huh? gosh um I guess Twisted Hearts by tasuku hatanaka; it was op for Moriarty the Patriot s2 and I’m pretty obsessed with it rn 

23.) Oh yeah, I’m still on the MySpace train and I’m starting discourse! Who’s your top 8? my brain refuses to think and rank; i have trouble with choices and that extends to favorites,,

24.) Did you understand those references or did you have to look them up? (I’m fully aware I’m ancient, but are you?) i know of myspace but otherwise i have no clue what all it entailed

25.) One last question; why are you like that? I grew up watching Secret Saturdays, He-Man, Teen Titans, Danny Phantom, and Spongebob idk what to tell ya ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Dag dag?

Now tag tag!!!

I know not all of you will do this or was tagged by izzy already but I’m tagging everyone I can think of anyway-

@cyansimblr @neriney @lunchsims @waysims @klayde @sinfulwunders @void-imp @ladykendalsims @lazysunjade @almost-spring @smolteabirb @lunaziie @clumsyghostie​ and uh uh anyone else cause its too early and my brain just quit

[ladyartemesia]

✔︎ Why did you choose this URL?

Artemisia Gentileschi was an incredibly talented female Baroque artist who painted her way into history with determination and cleverness. A woman who overcame outrageous odds and tremendous challenges to be a female standing tall in what was a man’s field. She was one of the original girlbosses and I consider her the patron saint of my blog. I changed the spelling of her name to ArteMEsia to reflect—well… ME 😂🤣

✔︎ Any sideblogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them.

@cafeartemesia (my fic rec and review blog)

@artemesiareads (where I reblog any fic I want to read or looks interesting to check out later)

@artemesiacreates (where I reblog my artistic creations, any writing or editing resources I find, anything that inspires me to create, and any images I may want to use in a creation)

@violavante (my regular/not BTS blog where I reblog memes and diverse nonsense from a variety of fandoms…really just anything that I want with no theme whatsoever)

✔︎ How long have you been on Tumblr?

I had a blog for a different fandom in 2017 (and it’s pretty much dormant now). I created this blog in November of 2019, but I didn’t write anything until March (I think?) of 2020. 

✔︎ Do you have a queue tag?

I do! But I always forget to use it 😭 it’s #across the queniverse

✔︎ Why did you start your blog in the first place?

Um. So. I was looking for BTS memes and wanted a place fo collect them… heh 🤡

✔︎ Why did you choose your icon?

I made my icon from one of the ICONic new Taehyung headshots because he literally looks so ethereal and gorgeous. My art style is bright and kind of bold so I edited the picture accordingly. I actually produced several versions before I was truly satisfied with the result.

✔︎ Why did you choose your header?

I made my header too! I just really liked the paint splatter color palette so I did an overlay collage of my biases, my wrecker, and Jin (who I refuse to give a title to on principle because he’s rude).

✔︎ What’s your post with the most notes?

That honor goes to my Daechwita fic, The Mark of Yunki…

✔︎ How many mutuals do you have?

I have no idea 🤡

✔︎ How many followers do you have?

Way less than some of the amazing creators who tagged me, I’ll tell you that. But I’m grateful for every last one of them! 🥰 I have the best followers in the world.

✔︎ How many people do you follow?

A bunch 🥺 I love stories. I am a voracious (and fast) reader and I gotta keep the beast fed, ya feel me?

✔︎ Have you ever made a shitpost?

Not intentionally 🤡

✔︎ How often do you use Tumblr every day?

Really depends on the day. Some days I’m popping in here and there basically all day. Then there’ll be a stretch of days that I’m not on at all for various reasons.

✔︎ Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won?

Ana (@xjoonchildx), D (@untaemedqueen), Lindy (@ppersonna) and I fight every night in the back alleys of tumblr like entitled 18th century white men dueling over a woman’s honor. There’s a lot of flowery language and firing into the air. Lemon (@lemonjoonah) referees when she’s bored.

(In all seriousness—no. I’m too tired and too busy for that. Most people are on here just trying to have fun. I’m not about drama in any form. I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt and vibe with my followers and moots.)

✔︎ How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

There are so many versions of those... There’s the ‘luck’ ones and the ‘awareness’ ones and the ‘help needed’ ones. It’s hard to categorize them as a group really…

I do worry because many of those types of posts contain harmful misinformation and/or misrepresent facts. As a history teacher, sources and information bias matter a great deal to me and I’m very wary of anything I read. I encourage all of you to check the sources and facts of any information you consume. Nothing should be accepted at face value—no matter who posted or reblogged it.

✔︎ Do you like tag games?

I do! But sometimes I forget I’ve been tagged or I lose the tag and then I feel bad 🥺 but I really do like them even if I don’t always have time to play because they make me feel like I am part of a community. It is also a delightful way to learn new things about my mutuals and followers. I do tend do go overboard with them aesthetically sometimes though 😅

✔︎ Do you like ask games?

Yes! But I’m really picky about the ones I play and I’m so far behind on asks I feel guilty playing them 🤡

✔︎ Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

I don’t believe in being Tumblr famous. It’s against my religion.

✔︎ Do you have a crush on a mutual?

They are all the recipients of my intense platonic adoration 😂🥰😍😘🥺

tagged by:

@floralseokjin • @propinqxity • @yoonia • @bts-bay-bee • @xjoonchildx • @sunshyngal @caiuscassiuss • @ppersonna • @youarejesting • @kithtaehyung • @taegularities • @sumzysworld (I think that is everyone please forgive me if I missed you, it wasn’t on purpose I PROMISE)

tagging:

@untaemedqueen • @lemonjoonah • @kinktae • @jessikahathaway • @chateautae • @hobi-gif • @cutechim • @hobidreams • @xiaokoo • @ilikemesometaetaes • @hueseok • @extravaguk • @pjmsdior • @illneverrecover • @johobi @writtenwhalien • @blueversaillesdreams • @gyukult • @monoismytherapist • @remmykinsff • and anyone else who wants to play! Just say I tagged you 🥰 • this is just for fun so don’t feel any pressure to play or respond • I just hope it brings a smile to your face to know that I was thinking of you 🥺 •

[zirkkun]

Maybe this is cheesy, but with all the praising on stream, I decided I wanted to just gush about my friends and people I look up to on here too. I’m gettin’ sappy and sobby at this hour and I just wanna go out on a high note.

(Started writing this at about the half hour mark before Unus Annus’s death, and now it’s like an hour later. Gosh I just don’t know when to shut up huh? lmao)

@zilthai37 - heya!♥ know you don’t follow Unus Annus stuff, so this will definitely be out of no where for you, but god. You’re too good of a person. I can go to you for literally anything and honestly I probably take it for granted. Something trivial, something serious, you’re always down to talk. I’ve never met another human being who’s so open with talking about things and so open to learn about other people and ideals. You’re honestly so great and so wonderful, man. I love talking to you and I just want you to know that you’re incredibly irreplaceable as a friend and a person.

@cheshiregrinnbuttoneyes - I think you’re the only friend of mine from high school that still talks to me consistently -- and that’s so wild, considering during high school we almost never had the chance to talk. God, you’re just so passionate about your works and you’re always working on your art, and your art is so cute and wonderful. You’re also one of the NICEST people in the world. I don’t know many people who would be willing to give away what they have to support someone else. I adore talking to you and I’m so glad I didn’t lose you, and I never want to, not prematurely.

@secretly-neurotic - heyo! i dunno if you’ve been watching Unus Annus at all, so this might be a little random, but I just really want to say that you’re such a great friend and such a great memelord to talk to. Your art is AMAZING and I’m so glad that you’ve had the chance to be able to spread it to more people recently. I should do a better job of reblogging it so even more people can see it, haha. I know you’ve been real busy with school stuff lately and honestly i just feel really proud seeing you work towards things that you’re really interested in doing, while memeing it along the way. Tell your dad good luck with his BOTW game, hope you get your Switch back eventually lmao

@thoughtfullytired - i think of all my irl friends on this list, i’ve know you the shortest amount of time, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less valuable to me than any of my other friends. You always work so hard to improve your art, and you’re always so amazing at being able to express your emotions into your artwork. I love talking to you about everything, whether it be our nerd stuffs or just regular stuffs. You’re also so incredibly kind to offer your help on Act to Flirt, completely unprompted, when I came to you just ranting about my inability to write music, haha. Hoping the best for you in school (and for your space ship!!) even though I haven’t seen you in a long while.♥

@sansismybitch - ah the name sticks out in this sappy list, but it’s still a very fitting name regardless lmao. you’re honestly a really great and really inspired person. your dedication and interest in supporting those whose works you like is honestly unparalleled. i love when i get asks and memey submissions from you, it brings a smile to my day! talking to you is just so wonderful, and i know a lot of people out there would agree. i just want you to know that you’re really a wonderful person, truly.

@alch3mic - we’ve not talked very long, and I know I definitely already wrote you an incredibly sappy message the other day lmao, but this write-off wouldn’t feel right without saying something to you, especially since the two of us have been watching this stream together (though separately!) You’re just so incredibly passionate with all your projects and I honestly really look up to you and what you do. I’m always so happy seeing when you post because everything you write or draw always brings a smile to my face. Keep doin’ what you do man♥

@teirrart - maybe we don’t really talk (unless it’s some intense thirsting over milo), but I still really adore the work that you do! i think you were one of the first couple of people i followed when joining the fandom and re-joining on Tumblr here, because I adored the buttons you had on your store and bought them IMMEDIATELY haha. It’s still kinda funny to me to realize I have a set of buttons with Ink and Lust made by you and you’ve got my charms of Ink and Lust too.. it’s like a trade in a way, but I’ve just never had it happen lol. Your work is so cute, your characters are wonderful, and your stories are so emotionally driven. I adore them and adore what you do.

@tatatale - god, I still think about the drawing you did with Lust, Insans, and Ace. It brings such a smile to my face and it makes me so happy. I never thought someone who’s artwork and comics I’ve been reading since they started and really admired would ever make something with the characters I’ve made. And you do collabs and fanarts of people’s others works a lot! It’s so incredible to see. This kind of fan interaction is honestly so precious and rare. I adore your comics, I adore your art style, and you’re just so kind.

@owl-bones - we’ve only talked a few times, usually passively talking about the development of our dating sims, haha, but honestly your artwork is amazing, and the work you put into what you do is amazing. sometimes I sit here, a bit jealous of just how good Bonely Hearts Club is, but it’s honestly some silly jealousy lol. You put in an incredible amount of heart and soul into every bit of that game, and it’s so clearly evident even in just the short demo we’ve had so far -- everyone can see that. You’re an incredibly talented person.

...and, well, although you two will probably never ever see this, I suppose I’ll take the chance and throw my voice to the wind anyhow lol:

@markiplier and @crankgameplays - jesus christ, I’ve been watching you two for so long now that i can’t even believe how long it’s been. i was literally barely in high school. it’s so funny to me how I literally had the thought of “Man, I wish Ethan and Mark did more collabs” when YouTube decided to recommend me the escape room video from Unus Annus, a channel that I had somehow MISSED entirely. (At that point, of course. I watched every video from then onward and the ones from the couple of weeks I’d missed). It’s just so wild to me to really think that... a lot of what you two have done have really shaped me today. People often talk down upon the idea of looking up to others because people can do things wrong in the future and then - oh no - now you’re suddenly regretting supporting them. But you two have never once given me that kind of vibe, and I don’t feel like I’ll ever get that from you two in the future. Your work ethics and dedication to what you do really inspires me. It’s gotten me to where I am. Unus Annus ironically made me want death less when I was at such a low point in my life, and made me realize the value of using the time I have been given. It just somehow clicked for me. So, if either of you ever do see this? Just - thanks.

Memento mori.

but also, memento vivire. Remember to live.

[fawad-khan]

Me! With Peter hehe🙈

Ahh I knew you'd be the first one to request hehe love you sisso 😘

Me!

Pairing- Peter Parker x stark!reader (coz it's just better that way amirite?)

Warning- none, some swearing, shouting, enemies to lovers?

Word count- 1.3k whoops

Masterlist ☆ Blurbs

"Peter why do you have to bring up such atrocious ideas? Why can't we just go about it in a simpler way?"

"Because, I'm not your fucking puppy alright? For once let us just do this my way!"

No matter what the situation was, Peter and you always ended up having a first class row with five to ten minutes of being together in a single room. Be it missions, be it a movie to watch, be it suit improvements, he always managed to counter your opinion in some way or the other, and you hated him with your guts, your rage would rise and you'd end up shouting at each other till one of the avengers ripped you apart. He always had to find something to point at and criticized every single thing in your life, just to annoy the hell out of you.

Now, you maintained your composure when it came to school, as you did not want to get into trouble in school, and so did Peter. But this time, he had crossed the line.

You both had unfortunately been partnered up for your chemistry finals project. Normally, you wouldn't worry about passing it as chemistry was one of your strong subjects. However, the teacher just had to pair the two of you together, and none of you were eased about it.

You always liked to be as creative as possible and loved to integrate some art and splash of colour to intrigue your audience and to add creativity to your projects. Which is why you had come with a simple, yet effective plan to do a project on chocolate analysis, something that would catch everyone's attention, and at the same time with the fusion of chemistry be a very interesting experiment indeed.

Peter would rather die than admit that he actually thought this idea was pure genius. He had never really thought about something like this which was actually not very hard to do. But his arrogance got the better of him. He kept on giving stupid excuses on how this and that could go wrong, and how they could instead do something machine related. Of course, doing that wasn't easy as you required various complex tools to make a project related to machines and wiring which weren't easy to procure and neither your dad nor Bruce would give them, they themselves getting blasts of messing around with them.

"Peter this is not the time, okay? I've never once just brushed your idea by the side and went ahead with my thing without your consent. I came up with this idea for the both of us and I thought you'd be more interested in this, but clearly you have to go against every single idea I have." Your voice was now very loud and practically the whole tower could hear you..

"can you just shut up? Just calm down for fuck's sake."

"No no I am calm, alright? Here I am, trying to plan out a project with a guy who always disagrees with me, will find fucking faults in every little thing I do when I'm trying to score a grade for the both of us, yeah sure I am CALM!" You shouted the last word and picked up your stuff and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind you.

He let out a frustrated groan, and held his head in despair. Tony saw you storming out yet again, and decided to take matters in his own hands. He entered your room, where Peter was still there.

"Another fight, huh kid? What is it this time?"

"it's nothing, Mr Stark. Just between (y/n) and me."

"Kid I've seen enough of you both bickering and almost at war at each other to say that it's nothing. It is something, isn't it? What's the matter?" He asked calmly, taking a seat beside him.

"I don't know, I just, every time she suggests something, and they're good too, I don't know, I just find myself counteracting towards them, you know? Like my brain somehow decides to just disagree and shout at her for everything. And it hurts me when I realise that I hurt her each time, you know? I really don't know what to do about it." Peter took a deep breath followed by this rambling, his face holding an upset expression.

Tony knew his protege very well and could sense that he did not want to go on like this. There was a high chance of why he always behaved like this.

"Kid, there is a possibility as to why you're behaving like this." He said, patting his back.

"Really? What is it?" He asked, perplexed.

"Normally when a guy and a girl argue a lot everytime they see each other, it usually means that they like each other. But sometimes they don't want to express it and so it comes out as rage and end up fighting."

"What? I- uhh" Peter had no words. He was thinking of how your cheeks always were flushed red and your hair wild and toussled whenever you two fought. The way your lips pursed together, made you look like a tornado and even then, he never failed to notice your beauty. Oh god Tony was right, he liked you!

Judging by his expression, Tony realised that what he said was true. Without uttering a word, he pointed his head towards the door, silently urging Peter to go to you.

He got on his feet and rushed out of the room, searching for you. He climbed downstairs to the kitchen and walked towards the storage cupboard where all snacks were kept, as this is where you usually came to eat from your secret snack stash whenever you were upset or angry.

He knocked on the shut door and waited. He could hear some shuffling inside, indicating that you were going to open the door. You opened the door, revealing your tear stained face, sniffles escaping your mouth. He had made you cry. He was now internally kicking himself for upsetting you. Yet how did you manage to look beautiful even when you cried?

"What happened, Parker? Come to tell at me more? Because I can't take this anymore." You said in a quivering voice, looking down at your feet.

"I -uh, don't know where exactly to begin, but uh I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. I just shouldn't have. You know better, and I uh- how do I say this?" He let out a breath and continued, "your idea wasn't that bad, y'know? I think I kinda liked it." He shrugged.

"Uh that's actually different than what I expected. Anything else?" You asked curtly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I hurt you. I don't have any right to treat you how I treated you, and now that I look back, I was such a dick, it's a wonder you didn't run for the hills." He laughed at this.

"Oh, Peter uh, that's, uh really sweet of you." You paused, thinking of what to say next. "Actually, I uh am sorry too. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that today or all the past times I've shouted at you. It was just wrong, and I should've been more calm, I guess."

"Yeah, but also you look pretty cute when you're all flared up like that you know?"he said in a cute shy voice.

"Wait what? You really think that?" You asked, playing with a loose hair strand coming out of your ponytail.

"Yeah" he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Well what would you say if I said that I think you're kinda handsome too?"

"Really? Are you serious?"

"No I'm (y/n)" you giggled.

"Shut up." He laughed.

"Well I'm the only one of me, and that's the fun of me."

"Well you're right about that. Maybe wanna go on a date sometime?" He shrugged.

"I'd love that Peter."

Spotify Wrapped Blurbs Event

Permanent taglist- @mischiefmanaged011 @justanothermarvelmaniac @fancyxparker @deans-daffodils @meme-lord-shit @lovewolfspirit @keilabug406

Peter Parker taglist- @hollanderfangirl @peterspideysstuff @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh @call-me-baby-gir1 @more-like-reyna @givebuckyhisplumsnow @starlight-starks @yoongi-holland @the-panwitch @quaksonhehe @spider-babe @parkerpeter24 @hollands-weasley @holland-styles @quxxnxfhxll @musicalkeys @itscaminow @chewymoustachio @yikesyikesyikes95 @god-knows-what-am-i-doing @theamuz @siriuslyslyslytherin @theliterarymess @anjalika03 @agentnataliahofferson @perspectiveparker @little-baby-vixen

Add yourself to my taglist

Page dividers are mine, take permission to use them :)

[chrisjake-cp]

History 3 Trapped Filming Diary (full English translation) - Days 1-10

Just before you start reading, a little note of explanation: the author of this diary will frequently use the character’s name when they mean the actor. I have added the names of the actors between square brackets sometimes to avoid confusion. Also between square brackets you will find some words that are implied, so I added them in the translation to make the translation a bit smoother, but they aren’t included in the Chinese text. 

The book’s author will also talk in the first person POV sometimes, refering to themselves as either “I”, “we” or “this little editor 小编”.  So each time you see me write “I”, it is not my own opinion I’m inserting in the text, but the author/editor’s. If I have anything else to add or explain myself, I’ll add it in a note at the end of the text.  

I’ll repeat: I don’t own the book so I can’t post my scans of the pictures that came with every day. So I posted some other pictures of the scenes that were being filmed with each day. These pics belong to LINE TV or Choco Media, or I’ve taken screenshots. 

Day 1-10 under the cut. 

Day 1

The first day of shooting happened to coincide with ‘Li Dong’⁕ but the temperatures of that day soared to 29 degrees. The crew was going sleeveless, but the actors were all wearing sweaters or dress shirts. Tang Yi, who had on the most, was wearing a turtleneck sweater and a suit jacket on top at one point, but he didn’t sweat very much.⁕ Meanwhile A De [Stanley], wearing a shirt and a suit jacket, was [clad] the ‘thinnest’ at the scene. When he got off work and took off his sweaty shirt, the wardrobe department exclaimed: “This shirt is so wet!”

Officer Meng’s scenes for that day consisted of eating from 10 am in the morning until 6pm in the evening. He basically ate from when he got to work until he got off work. All in all he had two large bags of rice and poured 4 liters of coca cola. Junhao [Jake] will start sweating profusely and start flushing when he eats spicy food, so as soon as the director yelled ‘cut’, the crew would immediately pass him a plastic bag so he could spit out the spicy Kung Pao Chicken he was eating.

⁕ Li Dong 立冬 literally means ‘establishing the winter’, so it is some kind of winter solstice in Asian culture. In the Gregorian calendar, it falls on 7 or 8 November. According to the IG stories of some of the cast of Trapped, it was indeed 7 November 2018 when shooting started. 

⁕ Chris apparently doesn’t sweat much, no matter how hot he gets. He says as much in his vlog as well. I envy him, because I’d just be sweating buckets like Stanley. 

Day 2

The first meeting between Tang Yi and Wenhao is also the second time that Chengyang [Chris] and teacher Jiakui [Chen Jiakui, the actor who plays Chen Wenhao] worked together. They cooperated for the first time on a movie. At that time teacher Jiakui served as the movie’s drama teacher. When Chris had gone through make-up in the early morning, he sat alone in a corner with the script. You could easily see that he was conflicted and upset. [For the other movie] teacher Jiakui was Chris’ mentor, but here Wenhao was the target of Tang Yi’s revenge.

In the process of their scenes where they faced each other, the director hoped that Tang Yi could hate Wenhao even more, but Tang Yi’s personality is subdued and calm. So how could he fly into a raging fit and still keep his calm? In a part that was not captured on camera, teacher Jiakui aggravated some lines to make Chris more infuriated. Afterwards teacher Jiakui also said that the role of Tang Yi is not easy to perform. [Tang Yi] is a young mob boss, The hate in his eyes must therefore also carry a bit of youthfullness, which is difficult to experience for normal people in the course of their lives.

Day 3

Today was the first time that Zhaozi arrived on set, and while he was bored waiting for his scenes, Zhaozi started to act as the shop’s clerk to sell suits. Apart from suits, bowties and regular ties, he even managed to sell shoehorns. By oneself, the words just kept on flying out of his mouth which left Shaofei beside him looking dumbfounded (if you want to see Shaofei’s dumbfounded meme-like look, you have to absolutely watch the behind-the-scenes on the DVDs)⁕. [Shaofei] continued to shout “If you buy a shoehorn you get Zhaozi for free with it, please someone take Zhaozi away, Unit 3 can’t stand it anymore.”

Boss Tang was tired, and took a nap in his own shop. ‘Just a little while will do. Shaofei and A De, you two be on the lookout for me, and if the director is coming, remember to wake me.’

⁕ Excellent advice. Please do watch the behind-the-scenes after finishing this book, because a lot of what is written here is visualized in the bts. The bts are arranged per episode though, and not per filming day, but it’s still amazing to be able to see what went on. 

Day 4

The set for the offices of Investigation Unit 3 is actually the office of LINE TV’s Choco Media branch. The contemporary industrial style caused the atmosphere among Unit 3 to be even more lively. 

For Unit 3’s first scene together, the director used a one-shot to have everyone appear on the scene, which meant that the first time all the actors were present, they had to have a ‘chemistry’ test. But apart from the actors, chemistry also had to be there for the whole staff, as the directing crew, the camera crew and the sound crew, really everyone, also had to follow [the actors] along⁕. I still remember that by the 20th take, everyone’s lines ran very smoothly, the shot was satisfactory and everyone was where they were supposed to be. The director and the crew were holding their breath in concentration, and just when they thought they’d succeed, A Zhi [character Zhou Guanzhi, played by Kass Tsai] forgot a line in the very last sentence hahahaha. In the end, this round took 27 takes.

⁕ The author uses a metaphor/reference here. They write 乾坤大挪移 which means something like ‘The Great Shift of the Cosmos’ and is apparently a kind of martial art from a martial arts novel. It consists of 7 increasingly difficult skill levels, whereby the 7th level is almost unattainable. In other words, shooting this one-shot scene required the whole cast and crew pulling off this great cosmos shift, and thus was a big, big challenge. 

Day 5

After we shot the scene where the two idiots from Unit 3 [Shaofei and Zhaozi] got into trouble and received an explosive scolding by Dapao [Shi Dapao, the name of Unit 3’s Captain]⁕, the director told Shaofei that she wanted to add a scene where he sat next to the window thinking about Sister Lizhen, continuing in the same mood [as the previous scene]...Everyone in Unit 3 felt that Shaofei was continuing to set his teeth into a meaningless old case. If there had only been some progress in the investigation...but [Shaofei] not only didn’t find any new leads, but he also got into trouble everywhere. If Sister Lizhen would still be alive, he wouldn’t be like this now...Shaofei really, really missed sister Lizhen. Rather than say that the director added this scene at the last moment, it’s more like she deliberately didn’t tell Junhao [Jake] that she would add this part. 

When they were shooting, the director played the music from the music box through the megaphone and from time to time talked as well, to provoke moody feelings in Jake. In the end Jake grabbed his phone and scrolled through his mother’s Facebook, and to all our surprise Jake started bawling, so much so that even after the ‘cut’ he couldn’t stop, until the director walked over and lightly patted him on the back. To be able to cry like that in a short amount of time, even he himself hadn’t expected that.

⁕ How much fun is it that the name of the Captain of Unit 3 literally means big cannon, when he explodes in anger all the damn time? 😂 I am quite convinced that in the hospital scene where Shaofei tells Tang Yi of his fortune-telling and that only a cannon can strike him down - he uses the exact same wording ‘dapao’ - it’s actually an inside joke and he may not have meant ‘cannon’ literally. 

Day 6

Today’s weather couldn’t be called very fine, and when we were shooting until 3 or 4 P.M., the daylight was almost gone, just when the filming location had large windows in every corner that reached the ground. Our funny director said “Why did the production team run out of light after 3 P.M.? Did they forget to send notice⁕ to the sun?” This caused the crew that was present to not know whether to laugh or cry. But in the end, before the sun got off work, everyone else smoothly finished their job as well.

⁕ the term “to send notice” is quite literal, but the word is indeed an entertainment industry term as well, that means to hire someone for a short amount of time or for a specific show, without there having to be a longer-term contractual agreement. So it could also be translated as “did they forget to hire the sun [to star in today’s scenes]?”

Day 7

It was a day with complicated feelings for Shaofei and little Tang Yi, as Shaofei discovered Tang Yi’s past history. 

Before going to meet the adoptive father of his lover, of course Shaofei had to straighten himself out first and shave his beard to leave a good impression. In the evening, today’s final scene was shot. Before starting filming, the director hoped that [Tang Yi’s] adoptive father could guide little Tang Yi’s mood, because the intensity of this scene needed to bring out the reason why Tang Yi’s feelings for Tang Guodong ran so deep and make everyone feel the warmth that Tang Guodong brought to Tang Yi even more. 

Under the constant conflict of raising [little Tang Yi] through much difficulties, a loud and clear slap came down heavily on little Tang Yi’s face. The silence at the [shooting] site caused the loud sound to be infinitely amplified, and the director and the crew were all shocked. When the ‘cut’ sounded, little Tang Yi instantly started crying, and the director rushed to the room immediately. On every crew member’s face was reluctance and shock. Meanwhile the adoptive father sat with his head down on the sofa, full of remorse. 

An extra tidbit from the same scene: the crew’s love for little gadgets

There are always a few conspicuous toys in front of the director’s monitor. She explained that these were toys that members of the crew who are close to her gave her to alleviate stress. I don’t know which toy is the director’s favourite?

 Day 8

For the setting of the toilets of Unit 3 we actually used the toilets in a department store. Zhaozi, who arrived at the store very early in the morning, was hit on by an older lady who was just coming into work. The lady said: “Aren’t you Zhao Youting [Mark Chao]? You definitely are Zhao Youting!!” Even though Zhaozi went on to deny it, the lady didn’t listen and believed that this handsome guy in front of her was Zhao Youting himself. 

Actually, Zhaozi passed on the above story [to us], and no one actually saw this older lady. Zhaozi often tells bluff stories with a straight face, but I [this little editor] have my reservations about its credibility. But be as it may, after he was told that he looked like Zhao Youting, Zhaozi’s acting skills immediately leveled up. So okay, whether or not the story was real, we thank this lady ‘from the legends’.

Day 9

Can I call you dad after this hug? 

I still remember the story of a friend coming out to his mother. He said to his mom: “I’m sorry if this thing disappoints you. I don’t dare to ask for your blessing. I just hope that you can show some understanding.” Through a chat message, his mother could only briefly reply: “If your other half is a good kid, I will give you my blessing.”

Many people in a same-sex relationship don’t dare to confess to the older generation and they don’t dare to ask for their blessings. Their only hope is not to be hated. It’s like that facing this society, and it’s the case when facing your beloved family. When Wenhao and Shaofei met each other, Wenhao gave Shaofei a hug. This hug must have carried [Wenhao’s] unspoken blessing. 

No worries, dear father-in-law. I, Officer Meng, will take care of everything (pats on the back). 

Wenhao and Guodong together brings its own hint of romance.⁕ The fighting was very intense that day, so much so that the police dispatched a Quick Fight Force team in concern [for the situation]. 

⁕ The term that the author uses is 腐味 (fuwei, the taste of fu). The first character, ‘fu’ is the same ‘fu’ that is used in terms like fujoshi 腐女子 and fudanshi  腐男子 (which are Japanese) but it’s the same pronunciation for that first character. So the author implies that there might have been something more than friendship going on between Chen Wenhao and Tang Guodong. They imply the same thing later in the book as well (day 60, where the two are called a CP). 

Day 10

A Mei [Stanley] who portrays A De, said that he was the expert in getting beaten [in this drama]. I say that Stanley definitely dedicated himself to taking on that role. Many times his head bumped into the wall and the crew told him to take a break, but Stanley couldn’t stop yelling “no no, hurry up, I’m familiar with it now!”

All the way through the end Officer Meng and Vixen⁕ no.1, A De, cheered each other on before ‘Action!’ [was called]. 

⁕ The word for vixen is ‘fox spirit’  狐狸精 in Chinese. I love that and I could probably write essays on this subject. In classical Chinese literature, foxes were most of the time portrayed as (mainly female) temptresses who seduced males for sex and then didn’t shy away from sucking the soul out of them, kind of like a succubus. If anyone is ever in the mood for some academic literature about foxes in late imperial China, I've got you covered  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3237790-alien-kind

So A De and Andy are constantly referred to as these foxes who want to seduce Tang Yi and snatch him away in front of Shaofei’s eyes. 

[rissynicole]

DTIYS Contest Winners!

I’m still reeling from how much love this DTIYS received, and so thankful for all the amazing people who participated, boosted, and sent me well-wishes following Parade’s 1,000th kudos. Once again, thank you so, so, so much.

I had an incredibly hard time picking winners for this. As in, I sat up in bed last night just clicking through them all, agonizing over which three to choose. They’re all so beautiful, and they all came from sweet, dear friends of mine. I had 10 entries and, more than anything, I just wanted to be able to award something to everyone. 

This is what I eventually decided I wanted to do: just as I said before, I will be choosing three winners, in no particular order. Those winners can request a 1,000—1,200 word one-shot. Anything they want, as long as I’m comfortable with it! However, for all other entries, if you give me a short prompt of your choice, I’ll write a drabble for you! (My drabbles usually go a tad over the usual 100 words).

Just to be clear, this is not a burden for me, and it is something I very much want to do for my friends. It might take me a hot minute to get through everything, but that’s only because I want to make sure I’m not rushing my writing. I’m going to tackle this by first DMing the winners to ask them what they would like me to write for them. Then, once those one-shots are done, I’ll start reaching out to the rest of the contestants to get their prompts.

Alright! I’m going to put this under the cut, because I got rambly. 

Without further ado, here are the winners! 

@kovablue 

(kovablue’s art)

Okay, I’ve absolutely not made it a secret that I adore your art, but I did not expect you to draw something for this DTIYS! Seeing my boys in your style almost made me choke up. They’re positively amazing. I can’t even narrow down what my favorite part of this drawing is. The composition, the colors, the way you drew the planet and galaxy in the background… it’s all so beautiful.

@cozymochi

(cozymochi’s art)

Cozy! I don’t even know what to say. You’ve been such a kind and supportive friend to me for so long. Also, your art is so amazing, it gives me heart palpitations. This one almost did me in lol. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I can’t stop staring at it. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you 100% nailed the expressions on Zim and Dib. As in, you totally understood what I was thinking when I wrote that scene and drew it in the most beautiful way imaginable. I love it so much. 

@rllyaangrlly

(rllyaangrlly’s art)

Brit! My shitposting, zagr-loving, art-drawing, majestic buckaroo. Seeing your picture for this DTIYS seriously made my whole day. I love it to absolute pieces. Every time I zoom in to look at the boys’ faces, I want to start squealing. They look fantastic, and I still can’t get over how Dib’s legs are all pulled up to his chest. Poor guy has zero room in that ship. It’s incredible, and I am beyond grateful for your friendship. You’ve definitely made this fandom a wonderful place to be. 

Honorable Mentions

@0palite

(0palite’s art)

Opal! You were the first entry into this contest, and it really gave me the optimism I needed when I started to let my low self-esteem get the best of me. Seeing this scene drawn in your beautiful style really kept me going, and I absolutely adore it. Thank you so much for being so amazing.

@i-like-pink-lolzz

(i-like-pink-lolzz’s art)

Okay, I know you just drew yours for fun and not for the contest, but I really wanted to include you in the honorable mentions. I know that you really enjoyed Parade, and it really means the world to me. Your drawings, memes, and asks have been such a boon to my confidence lately, and I appreciate it all beyond words. You’re an incredible friend, Pink, and I am endlessly thankful for that.

@poppun-chan

(poppun-chan’s art)

I love seeing your art so much, Poppun. The way you drew the boys was positively adorable, and I’m still not over how soft and pretty the shading is. Thank you so much for drawing them and for being such an amazing friend.

@faithfulwhispers

(faithfulwhisper’s art)

Oh Faith, I’m absolutely in love with Zim and Dib in your style. You just have this way of making Dib look so sweet and charismatic, while Zim always manages to look like a smug little bastard. Even in this scene, you can see those traits shining through, and I think it only manages to add to the resounding message at the end of Parade that, with time and healing, things will be okay for them. This is such a beautiful picture, and your galaxy in the background is one of my favorites out of all the entries. Those shades of red are breathtaking. 

@reptile-ruler

(reptile-ruler’s art)

Your style is so amazing, and I still can’t get over it. The way you drew Zim’s and Dib’s expressions is so sweet, and I keep going back just to look at them. Absolutely lovely. And all the different shades of purple you used are gorgeous! It really makes yours stand out, and I love it so much.

@dana-chan-the-control-brain

(dana-chan-the-control-brain’s art)

I was seriously so thrilled to see that you drew this scene, Dana! I know you’ve been busy, both with fandom projects and irl stuff. It meant the world to me to see this scene in your style! I love the mix of colors you used in this. Seriously, that plum-purple color you used for the galaxy is my favorite color ever. And the way you drew Irk is gorgeous! The rings are perfect, and I think your interpretation of what it looks like is one of my all time favorites. Thank you so much, again. You’re such an amazing friend, and I don’t take that for granted. 

@ittybittybumblebee

(ittybittybumblebee’s art)

Bee! I remember following you ages ago, and seeing your art style change and grow is one of the most inspiring things on my dashboard. I can see your confidence increase, your characters get more and more expressive, and your color choices get more adventurous. This picture is so beautiful, I can’t even nail down just one thing that’s my favorite. The pops of bright colors, the soft shading! It’s all incredible! I love it so much. 

Thank you all, again, everyone. I can’t explain just how much it means to me that I have such amazing friends, readers, and people who fit both those two categories. You all mean the world to me, and I love you so much.