#how long to youtube polls run for anyway?

[strunmah-mah]

Saw this running around as a poll on youtube, was curious how different the results would be on tumblr.

[seokminfilm]

mystery of love | jeon wonwoo

🪄 pairing, jeon wonwoo x reader

🪄 warnings, non-idol au, fluff w a bit of angst, best friend's older brother trope, confession, mingyu is mentioned as wonwoo's sister's boyfriend, reader is a mess, open ending??

🪄 summary, sharing a bed with your best friend's older brother (who also doubles as your two-year crush) takes a turn for the better.

🪄 author's note, lots of people have been asking me for a part 2 to the professor wonwoo fic but i don't think i'm ever gonna write one, so here's my peace offering to you all 😭 ALSO this was WAYYY longer than i expected it to be BUT i still really like it!! i'm probably going to do a poll to see what type of fic lengths you all like...anyways, enjoy lyrnation! (and yes yuna is referencing the one and only @jjjjeonww 🤍)

🪄 now playing, mystery of love, sufjan stevens

🪄 word count, 2.1k | for @kstrucknet

"i've got to talk to you," yuna has a nervous look on her face, and you pull away from the conversation with mingyu, approaching her with a matching worry. "what's up?"

"so....apparently there's a mistake in the system," yuna sighs, walking up to you as you stare at her confused. "what do you mean by that?" you question nervously, and yuna sighs again, running a hand through her dark hair.

the four of you─you, your best friend, yuna, her boyfriend, mingyu, and her older brother (and your long-time crush), wonwoo─all went out of town to celebrate her acceptance into her dream college. she had been looking forward to the trip all semester, and now that she was out for a two-week break, the trip was underway.

everything was perfect on the way here─the weather was nice, the traffic was minimal, and the music wasn't that bad (mainly because wonwoo had the aux). even when you arrived at the upscale hotel, the vibe of the place was warm, and you couldn't wait to get in a warm bed and watch youtube to your heart's content.

apparently, that's not what was going to happen.

"the lady that helped us buy rooms swears up and down she has us paying for three, but the system only says we have two." yuna points to the recipt on her phone, clearly showing there were only two rooms reserved.

"so, what does that have to do with me?" you ask confusedly, and yuna glances at wonwoo, currently texting someone on his phone, listening to mingyu ramble half-heartedly.

"you and wonu are going to have to share a room." yuna coughs out, and you nearly squeal, eyes widening like saucers as you gasp loudly, directing the attention of a few patrons.

"share a room? with him? come on, yuna, you know i can't do that." you blush, rubbing the back of your neck shyly. yuna was aware of the two-year crush you've been harboring, and she's been overly supportive of it, doing everything in her power to push you together.

she was also aware of how shy you were when it came to her brother, and how complicated it made things when you were shy and wonwoo was usually closed off.

"this could be the night that finally sets it off for you too! plus, mingyu and i want to share a room tonight─" yuna pauses to sigh dreamily, to which you roll your eyes.

"wonwoo will kill mingyu if he does anything," you mutter under your breath, and yuna purposefully steps on your toes, earning a hiss from you.

"he's not going to know, so it doesn't matter." yuna states proudly, crossing her arms. "anyways─" she continues quickly. "─this could be the night that finally gets you and wonwoo together, and the lady at the desk is getting a bit pissy with how much mingyu and i have bothered her, so..."

yuna trails off, leaving you with a gobsmacked expression. imagine that: sharing a room with your best friend's brother who you also had a massive crush on. your night couldn't get more laughable than this.

"we'll take the rooms!" before you can stop yuna and beg her to not leave you with wonwoo, she's already taking the keys from the cranky lady, having mingyu take your luggage as the four of you reconvene.

"wonu, you don't mind sharing a room, right?" yuna asks her brother. wonwoo shrugs, his blank expression not very confirming as he nods. "i don't mind." his voice is still so shockingly deep, and it still makes you jump a little, hoping it wasn't noticeable.

(it was, as you saw wonwoo glance at you from the corner of his eye.)

"okay, cool! here's your room key! you two are right beside us, so just knock if you need anything! mingyu and i are gonna go for a snack." yuna hooks her arm into mingyu's muscled one, and you know your mouth is wide open, because mingyu mocks your expression before yuna pinches him, causing him to hiss to himself.

"why can't i go with you?" you plead, doing anything to stop yourself from having to stay behind with wonwoo─alone, mind you─and sleep in the same bed as him.

"this is a date, silly. it's for kim mingyu and jeon yuna only. are you one of those people?" mingyu teasingly asks, and you glare at him, eyes sharp as he chuckles. "that's what i thought."

"okay, now, bye!" yuna says quickly, giving you a not-so-discreet wink as she yanks mingyu back into the lobby.

now left alone in the awkwardly quiet hallway, wonwoo looks down at you. he's always towered over you, but now, it feels like he's gotten five inches taller (or it could just be the nervousness talking). his sharp eyes have hardly any emotion as he looks at you for a split second, and he just takes his backpack and your luggage in his arms, quietly heading to the room down the hall.

not knowing what else to do, you follow him from a distance, awkwardly fidgeting with your hoodie string as wonwoo fishes the key from his back pocket, unlocking the door with ease.

the two of you quietly pile into the nice furnished room, and wonwoo places your things down, backpack now on the floor as he yawns.

"you can go ahead and shower first, if you want. i can wait." wonwoo's voice is deep, bouncing off the walls of the room. you nod quickly, fishing through your drawstring backpack as you get your pajamas.

after your hot, ten-minute shower, you step out of the bathroom fully clean, quietly maneuvering your way around the room. wonwoo has his headphones in, reading a book as he sits on the bed. his posture is scarily straight, and so is his face─as if it's not 24/7.

his full lips are pressed shut, and his sharp eyes survey the pages slowly, taking in every word as he flips the pages a few minutes later. he's discarded his hat, short hair still scarily neat. wonwoo was really an attractive man, you thought to yourself. even if he didn't try to be, he was naturally distracting.

finally pulling yourself away from secretly admiring wonwoo's strong figure, you drop your clothes beside your suitcase, awkwardly grabbing your phone and climbing onto the bed.

wonwoo doesn't pull his attention away form his book once, and you sigh, preparing yourself for the worst as you pull up enough courage to tap his hand.

when you do so, it's soft and warm, making you blush at the tiny contact as wonwoo's eyes flick to yours. he takes his airpods out quickly, closing his book as he turns to you.

"are you done with your shower?" he asks simply, to which you nod.

"thanks for letting me go first, by the way. i was really tired, so it meant a lot." your words spill out from your lips faster than you want them too, and wonwoo cracks a small smile─a smile─at your blushed expression, nodding.

"no worries." wonwoo says, and you smile, watching him get up as he closes his book and places it on his bedside.

"oh, and wonwoo─" you start, surprised that the thought you were formulating in your head came out of your mouth. wonwoo stops short, turning back to face you as his piercing brown eyes lock with yours.

"i hope─i hope that you weren't offended by my overreaction or anything. i just..." you trail off, cheeks flaring hot as you sigh. "i didn't think we would have to share rooms. it just caught me off guard."

why were you specifying this? you didn't really know. you really did care so much about what wonwoo thought about you that even the natural reactions you had always had to be justified to wonwoo. you really were in love with this man─so in love it was painful to watch.

wonwoo shakes his head, cracking another small smile as his deep voice replies. "it's fine. i mean, yuna didn't really try that hard to fix the problem, and it was unexpected. i'm not hurt by it," wonwoo takes his glasses off, revealing that side of him you only rarely saw early in the morning or late at night.

"oh─oh, okay good." you hold an awkward thumbs up (why did you even hold that stupid thumb up?), and wonwoo matches your energy, holding your gaze for a bit longer before grabbing his sleeping clothes and heading into the bathroom.

sighing and considering suffocation by a pillow, you settle for just trying your hardest to go to sleep, closing your eyes and turning on rain sounds. you could deal with your racing heart tomorrow morning.

your heart did not wait until tomorrow morning.

your phone was dimmed, but even when you turned it on, it was too bright for you. glancing at your screen, you saw it was 12:15 am, and it felt like it too. the hotel was completely quiet, save for the distant hum of a tv and the crackling of the air conditioner.

wonwoo's sleeping beside you, breaths deep and steady as he stays bundled up under the blanket. his eyes are closed peacefully, lips still as he sleeps. he has an oversized shirt on and matching sweatpants, decently covered (thank god) but still comfortable.

sighing, you stare at him, saying nothing as you watch his slight movements. wonwoo really was a beautiful human being, sculpted perfectly by whatever higher being there could be. everything was perfect about him, from his thick eyebrows to his strong nose, and everything in between.

"are you okay?" wonwoo's voice is raspy and deep from disuse, and it makes you freeze in your bed, surprised and embarrassed.

"yeah, i'm okay. i just can't sleep," you sigh, and wonwoo turns on the lamp on his bedside table. it lights up the whole room in a warm, golden glow, and illuminates the dark room, which you're grateful for.

"me too. i guess all those energy drinks mingyu bought haven't worn off just yet." wonwoo rubs at his bare eyes, and you laugh, sighing into the sheets.

"why were you drinking all the ones mingyu wouldn't finish? i thought you were stopping the whole energy drink thing," you remark, and wonwoo doesn't say anything, looking at you as he weakly smiles.

"i did say that, didn't i?" he questions, and you laugh again, nodding. "you did."

the two of you laugh together, and the tension in the room seems to fall to nothing for just a split second. your heart is still hammering in your chest, but it's because you're happy. being with wonwoo in this moment doesn't feel like you were forced by your circumstance to sleep in the same bed with him. it feels domestic, in a way, natural in the way you're looking at wonwoo like he hung the stars in the sky.

for the past two years, you had always wondered why you had a crush on jeon wonwoo. he was completely different from your best friend and your usual type─he was quiet, studious, low-energy, and emotionally stable. wonwoo was rarely moved by outside factors and always seemed to keep to himself, minding his own business and going his own way when he felt he needed to.

you had finally found why you loved him so much tonight, in this moment.

wonwoo was everything you needed in your life─you needed someone to bring balance, and he was perfect for the job. you admired him for who he was and admired him because he was what you wanted to be. you wanted wonwoo because he made you want yourself. he made you want yourself to be the best person you could be.

for yuna, for him, and for most importantly─yourself.

"you're thinking about something." wonwoo says softly, voice deep and pressing as you nod slightly, inhaling and exhaling. "i am."

"i'm thinking..." you trail off, rethinking everything. you could lay everything down right here, telling wonwoo how you feel. so many things could change from tonight─change from right now, or you could ignore it all, going back to the way it was before.

why would you do that? you've gotten so far now.

"i'm thinking about how much i love you." your voice is barely a whisper, and you swallow, eyes filling with tears as you finally mutter the words you had been waiting to mutter for two years.

"i'm thinking about how much i love you and want to be with you." you add, and wonwoo turns to face you, eyes so soft they feel like feathers dancing across your skin.

"i was thinking of the same thing." wonwoo says lowly, smiling at you. his arm is just inches away from yours, and you know it too, growing the courage to reach out and hold his hand.

your hand fits in wonwoo's perfectly, and at that moment, you feel like a piece of you is finally complete.

[vidding]

The Best Vidding Safe Haven?

Forgive the "read bait" meme above but if you are reading these words right now that means it worked. If you are a vidding fan then it was worth it. Vidders.net was born July 19, 2010. It is a Vidder-friendly AO3 Embed Certified Vid hosting & streaming site with over 18K vids. Its growth benefited from You Tube's increased use of content ID and the closing of Imeem. It was mentioned in the "Vidding: A History" book by Francesca Coppa. Its members (most who host some great vids there) include:

Luminosity

Lim

Laura Shapiro

Lithiumdoll

Obsessive24

Clucking Bells

Charmax

Bradcpu

thedothatgirl

kiki miserychic

Milly

Hollywoodgrrl

bop radar

Loki (secretlytodream)

Condsdmlk

newkidfan

NCISMelanie

Shoopdancer

Absolute Destiny

SD Wolfpup

Arefadedaway

camelia1986

adfproductions

Astarte

Such Heights

Mithoborien

mresundance

Just to name a few. You may not recognize these names but if you do you know these vidders literally made a name for themselves with the quality of their work during that time. At least in my opinion. The site is a time capsule of awesome vids even if some of the vidders listed are no longer active. Additionally, it hosts vids no longer available on You Tube like "Boom Boom Ba" by Charmax (a classic Xena vid). And yet it can still host new content without the issues faced on some other vid hosting options.

How much does it cost to host and stream all those vids? Well, that is one of the reasons for this post. The assumption I'm making is that if there is a Vidding "community" it's more likely than not that members of it would see a post like this and/or share it with fellow members of the community. Is it worth it to keep a site like this around? It's mostly been a solo operation for these past 13 years but now I am starting to wonder after such a long time.

I'll spare you the obligation of filling out a poll or survey. I'll make it simple. We have a Patreon account at patreon.com/vidding. If you don't feel it's worth keeping up. Nothing to do. Thank you for reading this far. If you feel there is some value based on what was mentioned earlier, then a minimum level of support at the Patreon is $1 a month. You'll not only be supporting the Vidders.net but other projects like the recent purchase of the Vidding.com domain name and more. The OTW October fundraiser drive begins in October and is on track to raise about 250k. Rasing even 1 percent of that amount would be more than adequate. After all Vids on AO3 make up less than 1 percent of the content on there anyway. I've been told by a fellow fan that I should keep it running but if it's not even supported by a community, it's a personal expense at my expense I am on the hook for. Again, there is no survey or poll to take but if you have questions that may help you determine your willingness to support just contact me. If you find value in preserving the site just visit Patreon.com/vidding or get your questions answered. This form of funding is more sustainable than occasional stop and start donation efforts we've done in the past. If you prefer another form of funding let us know.

I will check in by the end of October to see where things are. I am not going to do anything drastic. It's just that it's been 13 years and I started to wonder especially with my current financial situation but didn't want to do anything without communicating the situation. The site costs about $720 a year to run. At about $60 a month to run so it should be doable.

Boom Boom Ba by Charmax

If you liked this post you might like this:

The YouTube Vid Purge of 2021

[tamamatango]

“Keroro Gunsgo To The Polls”: The Possible Behind-the-Scenes of the Ad-nime Short Nobody Expected

A much less existentially depressing display of political campaign buffoonery.

Here’s yet another unplanned post from me. The other long-form ones I was talking about before I keep putting off because of work and also another pretty ambitious project I’m putting together taking my attention—I don’t know how or when to talk about it here juuuuust yet, but it exists in public and some of you already know what it is/have seen it, so stay tuned perhaps.

As you can see from the video link/photo, this post is a writeup about a surprise video apparently commissioned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that uses the Keroro characters to encourage young people to go out and vote in the upcoming elections for the Governor of Tokyo. It came out about a week ago, but I initially glossed over it because…well, I thought it wasn’t new. After all, the copyright DOES attribute the copyright to 2014 and it looks very similar to the Flash anime at first glance, so…this must be a reupload from the 2014 Tokyo gubernatorial election or something, right?

Upon looking more deeply into it, no. There’s no record of this ever existing before this week, and it was later confirmed to be new via social media channels. Which means this is technically a brand new piece of animated Keroro content, which I pledged I would report on. So here I am. Whoopee.

This post is going to be about the short from a production standpoint, primarily. I’m not going to spend time on the plot (if you want to call it that lol), as it was already pretty succinctly summarized by this post here by @unfo11owmelol , and I can say it’s more or less accurate, so thank you! I will make a comment in that the Dororo ranting about plastic thing seems to just be a running gag he has now—he was always an environmentalist of course, but his hatred of plastic specifically is kind of new; it was even a major punchline in this month’s manga chapter. In fact, this short has the manga’s quirks written all over it. It’s almost as if Yoshizaki himself was heavily involved in it. Oh wait, he was. But we’ll get to that.

The Context

As previously mentioned, this short was commissioned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and posted exclusively to their YouTube channel. This is where I was going to have a few sentences about how it was literally exclusively on the YouTube channel because none of the official social media accounts posted about it, but as I was writing the last 40% of the post, Keroro PR and one of the Tokyo government accounts finally mentioned it. So give a pat on the back to ol’ Kirb’s amazing procrastination abilities. Anyways, for the whole week before they finally decided to acknowledge its existence, it literally just dropped on YouTube with no warning and the only reason anybody on social media knew about it is because people whose YT feeds it popped up on were like hey what the fuck is this.

“What the fuck is this” is a pretty good question. While the fact that it’s about the gubernatorial election specifically isn’t directly mentioned in the video, it was pretty obvious given the timing, as it’s set to occur on July 7. I am not the most knowledgeable about Japanese politics as a whole, but this year’s race for governor is apparently particularly competitive, with over 50 candidates running. Here’s a short article giving a rundown of the race so far. The top issue is unsurprisingly the low birthrate, which has been causing panic over the fate of Japan’s economy for a considerably long time now. That’s why the government is very concerned that the voter disparity is incredibly polarizing, with young people voting much less than the elderly.

Well, what better way to fix low youth vote turnout than with anime? After all, the Zillenials want nothing more than to obsess over fictional characters while the world crumbles around them into inevitable disrepair I’m not projecting at all. The irony here is that, when the anime was originally in its prime at least, Keroro’s target audience was elementary schoolers. Indeed, the short definitely has the aura of a PSA they’d show to children, but obviously children are not voting. There’s even a point in the video where Tamama says going to the polling place is an opportunity to visit your childhood school, which is a statement more relatable to young adults. I guess at this point the main audience for Keroro really is considered to be the people who grew up with it in their child/teen years—unless the actual new anime gets a primetime kids’ TV slot, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Considering this is the most viewed PSA about the election on their YouTube channel by far, I guess it worked to an extent? It’s currently hovering just under 20k views, which isn’t really too much in the grand scheme. But now that it’s been officially shared on social media, perhaps that’ll give it a boost. Will most of these viewers actually go out to vote is the question…

Production staff peculiarities

As with any animated Keroro content following the end of the Flash anime—which until the new show airs has basically just been this, the new project announcement trailer, and some anti-piracy ad they were doing in movie theaters that they ironically scrubbed from the internet—BN Pictures is credited as the animation studio (though the studio Sugarless Factory assisted; they pretty much exclusively do production assistance for various projects). This is interesting because it looks completely unlike anything they’ve ever done. Unless I’m missing something, none of the anime they’ve produced before have been done in a similar Flash-like style.

Now, as we Internet addicts all know, Flash has been officially dead for a few years now. However, it might still be used very rarely in lowkey web animations like this, although a friend who knows more about anime production than I do told me even those are more commonly made using Live2D now. The credits for this short are very…short, but the director and a couple of other animators worked on a particular Flash-animated series called Oshiri Kajiri Mushi (“Bottom Biting Bug”) that first aired on the TV channel NHK in 2012. I’m guessing these staff are freelance, as that show was produced by the studio Kinema Citrus (a team founded by ex-members of Production I.G and Bones), and were possibly brought on to this short because they had experience with the software. If it is animated using something like Live2D, the experience still applies, as it’s apparently more similar to Flash than something more commonly used in anime like Clip Studio Paint. The director also has 3D CG credits and there is a credit here for “motion” that includes his name, so maybe a little of that was used as well. (Wouldn’t be able to tell myself—most experience I have with 3D animation is a one semester Maya course I took in high school lol).

Curiously, despite the potentially similar animation software and very similar artstyle + color palette, none of the animation staff, as far as I can tell, worked on the 2014 Flash anime. That is, except for…Mine Yoshizaki.

On all animated Keroro media, Yoshizaki’s primary official credit is “original creator,” of course. As the series creator, he would of course participate to a degree in most things related to the 2004 series, doing stuff like sitting in on some writing and recording sessions, contributing ideas/concept art here and there, and so on. There’s actually a Newtype article from around the announcement of the first movie I dug up that was officially translated into English, in which Yoshizaki talks about the pressure of being in that role. Most mangaka interviews I’ve seen about their involvement in their works’ anime adaptations are pretty overwhelmingly positive, but he was definitely more mixed. This might be a post for another day, since I have some speculations about his relationship to the anime as a whole. Damn, I need to stop coming up with essay ideas that are probably too big for my pea brain.

Anyway, Yoshizaki was quite a bit more involved in the 2014 series. He served as one of two people responsible for series composition (scriptwriting), though that could be because the Flash anime was a much more direct adaptation of the manga than the original anime, which might as well have been an entirely different series. IIRC, some episodes of Flash were literally 1:1 with the manga’s script…so I guess that counts as writing the anime too lol. He also storyboarded a few episodes and wrote the opening theme song’s lyrics. The next Keroro animation after that was the anti-piracy theater ad in 2021, which he storyboarded for. But you’ll notice with all the credits we’ve discussed so far that he was never involved with the animation proper past the storyboarding stage…until now!

Not only was Yoshizaki credited as original creator as usual, he also did directorial supervision, storyboarding, and was a key animator—the only key animator, in fact! I know it’s just a five-minute short, but the Flash series’s episodes were even shorter than that and had multiple key animators per episode, so this is kind of a big deal. It also might explain why the character designs look just a little bit more on-model to the manga designs than Flash’s did, even though they look almost identical at a cursory glance. It’s easiest to tell by looking at the less-rounded head shapes, plus a few minor details like Tamama’s eye highlights and the bridge of Kururu’s glasses. I am very normal, how could you tell?

So yeah, this makes this short the most Yoshizaki has ever been involved with the actual animation process. I can’t say it gives him the most additional credits, as it’s tied with the Flash series for three extra, but it’s something!

Closing out the staff section, some notes about the cast. As you might expect, the usual actors reprise their roles. Most notably, Mamiko Noto is back to play Mois for what I believe (unless I’m missing a random collab or something) is her first time in the role in ten years, and she pretty much didn’t miss a beat! In addition to Fuyuki and Natsumi’s VAs playing them recently at the Keroro expo, that’s three additional voices besides the Keroro Platoon’s that presumably are still going to be able to return for the new anime.

Otherwise, the platoon sounds pretty much like they did in the anniversary trailer and various other small projects like the anti-piracy ad and Tales of the Rays collab from last year (they each had multiple spoken lines there). Keroro sounds a tad deeper; Tamama has some of the Jibanyan nasal now; Giroro didn’t really talk much but sounds mostly the same; Dororo is also a bit deeper and sounds kinda awkward but I think that’s less the voice direction and more Yoshizaki possibly wrote the dialogue and he speaks more assertively in the manga lol; Kururu sounds literally the exact same because Koyasu is a magic man.

Made in [Insert Year]?? (Ft. A lesson in trademarking)

I mentioned this at the beginning of this post, but for a solid few days, I really thought this video was just an ancient (2014 feels ancient now anyway) reupload. After all, the copyright string says 2014, and only media produced during the Flash series era has that copyright year, so I brushed it off. Here, let me show you all the anime copyright strings per the current anime portal:

There’s no 2004 date on the TV series’s copyright, probably because it covers the entire series from 2004–2011, plus now 2024 onward (and possibly the anti-piracy ad from 2021 as well), and also most anime-branded merch and things. But when the show was airing proper, it was attributed to 2004 (you can see this in the opening credits of any season). The 2006–2010 dates are for each individual movie. And there’s the 2014 copyright that’s the exact same as the video’s, though here it is for the Flash anime, as there’s pictures of it on the anime portal site. As an aside, before 2015, Sunrise was listed instead of BNP. At some point all anime rights got retroactively transferred from Sunrise Inc. to BNP—not sure how or when exactly that occurred. For the movies, there were slight shakeups in the production committee as well (you can see my new project trailer analysis for more on that kind of stuff).

As you can see, copyright strings for the series are attributed to the year each individual “product” came out in, for the most part. But now we know that this ad is brand new. So…does this mean this political ad is counted as part of the Flash anime? They obviously didn’t plan to include this specific video ten years ago (unless Kadokawa bought out an oracle or something, wouldn’t surprise me). Maybe they left the door open to more episodes of the Flash anime proper, but that isn’t what this was advertised as.

Well, I have a theory. A theory that might be totally wrong, but a theory nonetheless. Let’s go on a massive tangent about the Japanese trademark system! (Disclaimer: I have no formal training in the legal field. I just have really weird research hobbies.)

I’m going to focus on two basic principles here. First, once trademarks in Japan are officially registered, they are active for ten years before the copyright applicant must reapply to renew ownership of the trademark for another ten years. Second, trademarks have to be filed under certain classifications that basically tell the JPO (Japan Patent Office) what goods and/or services the applicant plans to use the trademark for. This means that sometimes the same trademark will be filed multiple times for different use classes. The classifications are each given a two digit class number, which is further subdivided into five-character group code(s).

You can actually search through all public patents yourself on J-PlatPat, and the site is machine translated into English (though you still have to type the copyright you’re looking for in Japanese). Let’s take a look at the three different filings for ケロロ軍曹 (just the name of the series itself, not the logo).

I’m on my phone so I couldn’t fit the entire window, but the important information is here. Kadokawa Corporation is the filer for all of these, though Yoshizaki’s name is probably also on whatever application documents they sent, which aren’t viewable. The three versions of the trademark were filed on different dates about a year apart. You’ll see that class 16 is there twice. For the first filing, it was class 16 and multiple group codes designating different kinds of goods (class 28 also contains goods-related things); the second filing covers a single group code protecting “printed matter” (presumably this was to cover any physical distributions of the manga).

I’m going to take a closer look at the third filing, which was officially registered in 2004. Class 09 covers a shitload of different goods and services, like way too many to list. What I’m thinking is that the first set of goods trademarks filed in 2001 was just to cover the kind of stuff they’d attach to issues of Shonen Ace and volume releases as giveaways—paper goods, board game-type items, and toys/dolls are all covered under it. Then in 2003, in preparation for the inevitable merchandise and collaboration dump the anime would lead to, they opened the floodgates to literally any Material Thing they could think to cover. Like, I’m pretty sure we never got any Keroro-branded egg candlers, fire alarms, or “cigar lighters for automobiles”, but might as well cover all your bases. Wouldn’t want the local fire department handing out emergency gear with your cartoon frog on it without permission, you know.

Included among these materials are some items that might be a bit more relevant to our case here. There’s a number of clauses related to physical and digital film, photography, and other media: “CD-ROM and DVD and other recording media, electronic publications, downloadable music, downloadable image[s]”. Now, while this doesn’t cover “animation” specifically, it can possibly be stretched to fit that definition. This is especially because, in Japanese, the term the MTL output as “images” is actually eizou, which can refer to both images and video.

So, the version of the trademark registered for the brand in 2004 likely covers certain media-related things. There are other classes that include the word “animation” specifically, but it’s possible that those classes weren’t classified the same way back then as they are now, and maybe anything film-related could’ve been interpreted by the law to include animation. Nowadays, though there are specific classifications for animation, specifically “animation available for download.” This subgroup actually happens to fall under class 09, though other classes contain similar items as well, such as class 41. You can search classes by number or keyword if you’re curious about this.

As I pointed out before I presented this data, all of these particular filings are for specifically ケロロ軍曹, not ケロロ. If ケロロ is to be used in isolation, it would have to be specified as such in the registration data, because what’s actually stopping someone else from coming along and trademarking just ケロロ? Now, remember the name of the Flash anime? That’s right—ケロロ. Just “Keroro”, not “Keroro Gunso.” Incidentally, this video is actually not formally titled under ケロロ軍曹 (despite what the thumbnail says). The only name in the title of the actual video is ケロロ.

So here is my theory. Maybe it’s a hypothetical, but I’m going to treat it like it’s concrete for argument’s sake. In 2014, to prepare for the Flash anime and related branding, Kadokawa filed for the trademark ケロロ—individually, without 軍曹. Because it was the 2010s at that point, it’s possible that downloadable animation was more specifically defined in the group codes filed for, even though the Flash anime did air on TV (again, the strategy to this is about covering as many potential use cases as possible for maximum copyright protection). Maybe it was under class 09, maybe it was another class, or even more than one. For whatever reason, the trademark is not publicly available. But because of what kind of animation/video/whatever that specific trademark covers, this little election video is covered under that 2014 trademark.

You might recall how I said trademarks have to be renewed every ten years. Incidentally, it just so happens that 2014 was ten years ago. Most likely, the (secret?) trademark was recently renewed so that stuff like this would be allowed to be made and can continue to be made in the future, independently from “Keroro Gunso” as defined by the 2004-verse and the manga proper. And because 2014 is the original filing year of that trademark, that is the year that is displayed with this project, even if the trademark was renewed in 2024, or some other recent year. By the way, all the ケロロ軍曹 trademarks I covered were also renewed this decade, so Kadokawa can keep on doing whatever exactly they were doing with those. There’s probably even more hidden-from-public-view trademarks, who knows, there’s a thousand potential asterisks here but you get the picture.

Fascinating, isn’t it? As I said, it’s possible that I’m just talking out of my ass and all of this is either way more simple or way more complicated than I’m making it out to be, in which case I just wasted multiple paragraphs of your time. But hey, at least it was a fun lesson, right? I’m not the only one interested in this, right? RIGHT?!?!?!

Okay, I’m just about done here, but I’m going to tell you something plot twisty. Do you know what actually first clued me in to the fact that this was not made in 2014 before it was confirmed to be the case? Not the upload date. Not the fact that nobody ever talked about it prior to a week ago. Not even all the probably useless copyright shit I just spent a whole other post’s worth of words on.

It was this part of the video:

See, in this screenshot, if you look really closely, you’ll notice that Kururu is using an iPhone parody with three cameras. The first iPhones with three cameras were released in 2019. Therefore, this could not have been made in 2014. This stupid detail is what it took to get me to think about this video for more than thirty seconds.

Thank you, Kururu’s crippling iPhone addiction.

So yeah, go out and vote or whatever, wherever you guys are. Otherwise you’ll have to look Mois in the eyes and tell her no, and that will make her very sad, and she might blow up the planet as consequence. Not that the planet isn’t already being destroyed. Any of my fellow Americans want to join me for a screaming session following the last few days of federal fuckery? I’ll bring chocolate-covered pretzels to snack on and we’ll write the names of corporate lobbyists on them, it’ll be fun.

[mo-jo-jo]

To Many Thoughts About This Manga

Hey, it's been way to long since i've done anything remotely productive. I've been pretty busy with life, and recently got Cyberpunk 2077 so have also been busy running around that like an idiot. I actually played Cyberpunk on my sisters PS4 back in 2020, and people aren't kidding when they say how different the game is, it's kinda crazy.

Anyways, all that aside, I posted a poll on the community tab of YouTube like 2 weeks ago with a few different series I wanted to talk about. The winner of the poll was "The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All" by Sumiko Arai. I was planning on getting this book eventually, but one of my sisters also wanted to check it out so it's a win-win when I can lend someone else a book too. Alright full spoilers ahead and let's get into it.

"The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All" follows high school students Aya Oosawa and Mitsuki Koga. Aya has a love for western and rock music, and while perusing music at a local record shop she begins crushing on on the boy who works there. The two develop a bond over their love of music. In actuality the male store clerk is her female classmate Mitsuki Koga, who literally sits next to her in class. Mitsuki has a Bruce Wayne - Batman dichotomy going on, sort of hiding as a nobody during school hours and taking on a more confident, cooler persona at the shop.

The first volume in particular feels like a series of vignettes taking place over a vague amount of time, rather than a streamlined story progression. It's kind of like snapshots of the girls lives. I would assume this is because the manga started as a webseries on Sumiko Arai's twitter. It definitely shifts into a more linear story as the manga progresses. The first volume follows the girls as they are introduced to one another and begin to bond over music. Aya is immediately smitten and talks with her friends about the boy she likes in class. Mitsuki overhears this and makes the totally rational decision to hide her identity from Aya. Even going as far as calling her when Aya gives Mitsuki her number.

This dynamic doesn't stem from a malicious intent, but Mitsuki does make a choice not to clear up the confusion, hoping they can bond over music so the aspects of loneliness in both the girls lives can be somewhat alleviated. In Aya's case she has no one to share her passion of music with, feeling isolated in her interests. She is even openly teased by her friends about her choice in music. While Mitsuki is an outcast in a broader sense, avoiding ostracization by purposely secluding herself.

We are also introduced to Mitsuki's uncle Joe, who owns the record store. He is ex-rocker who walked away from the potential spotlight to raise his niece. Joe tries to have a heart to heart with Mitsuki right from the get-go and is shown to be unconditionally supportive of his niece.

The story goes on like this for a while, with Mitsuki walking a thin line between flirting/befriending Aya and trying not to blow her cover. There are quite a few hints that could give her away, and we even see flashes of recognition from Aya where she notices the similarities - even directly mentioning her classmate to the record store guy.

Towards the middle of volume 1 we're introduced to Megumu Narita who easily see's through Mitsuki's disguise as the guy in the record store. Nariita is a preppy, easygoing classmate and is pretty confident in his capabilities to win people over. He starts to hang around the record shop too - interested in learning to mimic Mitsuki's cool demeanor and also just kind of rooting for the two girls relationship. He does a lot to try to push the two of them together, and even forms a friendly rivalry with Aya about who is the bigger fan of Mitsuki's as the story goes on.

Volume 1 picks up speed as the girls and Narita join forces on the executive committee planning the culture festival for their class, and Aya recognizes a playlist she'd made for her record store guy on Mitsuki's phone. Finally able to put all the pieces together Aya has a breakdown thinking that this was a prolonged, purposeful trick. It's doesn't feel like Aya is upset that Mitsuki is a girl, but rather because Mitsuki is a classmate and someone Aya directly got to know on a personal level over the course of the story.

The girls falling out is quiet and really comes down to them simply avoiding each other. Their break up culminates in both almost quitting the committee. With Narita and her uncle Joe's help though, Mitsuki manages to get Aya to attend the festival's closing party where Mitsuki preforms a song to try winning Aya's friendship back.

This gesture is enough to win Aya back. The remainder of the book sees the girls being more open about their friendship at school and Aya makes an effort to blend Mitsuki in with her friend group. This goes about as well as you would expect, with Aya's friends not really getting what's going on with the girls and feeling like Aya is leaving them behind. The main story of the volume concludes with Mitsuki giving Aya's friend Chizuru a ticket for a concert she was going to see with Aya. This is another attempt for Mitsuki to step back, afraid that she is dismantling Aya's relationship with her friends and trying to engage Chizuru with Aya's interests. I don't want to dive to much further into that though, since it is continued in volume 2, and I'm just focusing on volume 1.

Some thoughts on Characters

I think Sumiko Arai makes it pretty clear, at least to me, that the cooler persona is Mitsuki's true self, but she'd rather blend in under the radar than deal with the consequences of standing out. This is a nice contrast against Aya's more open and spirited personality. Aloof and a bit informal, Mitsuki flip flops often from being true to herself and being numb to her own emotions or intentions.

After the main story of volume 1, there is one more section of the book. in flashback, we see that one of Mitsuki's childhood friendships was ruined by her dislike of wearing skits. Her friend was bullied after defending Mitsuki on a day when the other girls of the class had decided to wear skirts, while Mitsuki herself didn't own any. That moment effected Mitsuki, giving context on why she is determined to keep her facade up at school - maintaining a subdued reputation even with the buzz of the mysterious musician who preformed in all black at the closing party.

Aya is shown to be outspoken and friendly, but feels insecure about her interest in western and older rock music. The spectrum they listen to is actually pretty broad in scope, ranging from Nirvana and Beck to more modern rock like Willow. However, none of Aya's friends share her passion in music.

It's also worth mentioning that Aya is a gyaru or a gal. This is a subculture in Japan that is pretty varied and I am not someone who can really delve into it, but they're are some great video essays on the subculture on YouTube. Aya - at least in my opinion - falls into the Kogal, or school girl, subcategory of Gyaru. I'll link to some videos about Gyaru (like this one or this one). I do think it's worth noting Gyaru itself is form of counterculture in Japan and so works well with Aya's love of alternative music and western media.

Joe is a character that we learn a lot more about in volume 2. He has a lot of love for his niece and is determined to help Mitsuki and her friends to the best of his abilities. He is also voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda in the Drama CD which I found so many people mentioning online in regards to this series.

Overall Thoughts on Volume 1

In all honesty, I liked The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All less than I thought I would, which might be a hot take. I think this is an entirely personal preference though, and can totally see why so many people are interested in it. An anime for the series was announced in February and I might have to check that out whenever it premieres. Overall though, the manga was just ok for me. There were quite a few times the humor didn't really land for me, and I found myself sort of skimming and then needing to go back and reread sections. At no point did I give up reading the book though, and the moments that hit really hit.

The manga is well written and the art is so fun. The heavy use of that like brat summer, nickelodeon green really gives the book a distinct look and sense of energy. I also really enjoyed the emphasis on music. Coming from a western perspective and as a un-musically inclined person I loved looking up some of the music mentioned just to see what exactly the girls were listening to. Like, I don't listen to Willow, but they bring her up enough that I check out the album and it was pretty good. I should mentioned that I read both volume 1 and volume 2 and did enjoy volume 2 more so it could also be the structing of the story, since volume 2 is a bit more linear and doesn't have quite so many ups and down in timing and tone.

Still, at the end of the day the manga was just ok for me, but that's ok. I'm excited to hear what my sister thinks, and would love to see what other people have to say about it. With that in mind, have you read The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All? What did you think of it? Please let me know.

--

[ Hello - this is basically a script for a youtube video so i haven't recorded yet. I often just type as I would speak, so sorry if it is structured oddly. - Thanks! ]

[hermits9underrated]

‘Underratedness’ does involve both how much you like something and how little popularity that thing has, though. If people think something is just that good, even if it’s very popular they could still consider it underrated. I think bagels are underrated.

Plus, while 5.5k might look like a lot compared to 2.2k and 1.9k, bear in mind that Grian and Scar’s tumblr tags have 139k and 122k followers respectively. Joe is very much in the ‘underrated’ category by that metric.

You mentioned the sexyman contest, but Joe campaigned a ridiculous amount to win by 0.2% against Scar, who didn’t even know about the contest until after it happened. That definitely doesn’t put them on the same popularity level, and while it likely boosted Joe’s popularity a bit— again, 5.5k followers as opposed to 122k.

I think underratedness was always going to be difficult to measure. You’re asking people to vote for a combination of popularity (best measured quantitatively) and quality (best measured qualitatively). Besides that, most ways of measuring quality based on votes are just indirectly measuring popularity. If you don’t know much about something, you aren’t gonna have a very good idea of how good it is. A more effective way would have been measuring popularity based on subscribers, then doing a quality poll, with an “I am not familiar enough with this youtuber to make a meaningful decision” option. Then do something mathsy with the combined results. I doubt it would’ve been very reliable though. Alternatively, you could’ve included a clarification like, ‘Please vote for the hermit who you think most deserves more appreciation than they currently get, not just who you like most.’ and accepted that a certain (large) percentage of people are just gonna vote for their favourite anyways. Remember, this is a tumblr poll, a medium famous for its reliability and voter integrity (sarcasm).

Overall, if you’re gonna run a bracket like this I think it would have been best to accept up front that you might not like who people end up voting for, and it’s probably not gonna end up being all that accurate or representative of the whole population’s opinions.

(Saying all this as a False fan by the way, just so you know that it’s not that I just want Joe to win.)

(Also sorry about the long anon ask. I’m not trying to upset you or cause any offence.)

I understand your point anon.

And it’s very good, I don’t have a good way to respond to this, but I still do so people can see this.

If Joe ends up winning, I of course won’t be mad at the people who voted for him, I might redo the entire thing with the explanation of the general contest in better detail. I’ll still keep my promise of making something for the winner, thus I can not get mad at Joe winning, since I’m a man of my word.

Like each poll saying specifically “Vote for who you think is more underrated and not your favorite” so strangers who might’ve just seen reposts without understanding the general context still gets an understanding of it.

I also might re do this with Joel and Skizz, just to add more onto the contest (yes this takes weeks but still).

[sonofthesaiyans]

Hitch Wins! On to the Next Poll...

Before any more time passes, let's get things rolling for the next round, guys.

First things first.......the results of the last poll.

First let me just say I was rather disappointed at the lack of votes, guys. A mere 61 this time around. 😞

I expected a better turnout. Especially since it was a poll honoring AOT's forgotten girls, one of the main points of my page. And I heavily suspect it was because I had to repost my original poll that it came up weak.

In my experience, when something is reposted, it generates less views on the second go around. I have seen it on YouTube and elsewhere. And I would appreciate if such a trend didn't repeat itself here. I feel like the vote turnout would have been better if I didn't have to go back and do that due to an error, and I do know the original results played out differently as a consequence.

I just hope for better from now on. And for those who do vote, PLEASE REBLOG as you do. It would help tremendously.

Anyway, as I was saying.....our top three winners. The first with 26% of the vote....

HITCH DREYSE! Not too surprising, she always seemed to be a favorite with most. One of the few members of the Military Police to actually develop a likable personality. And one of the few people to establish any real connection to Annie Leonhart which counts for something. She definitely could have benefitted from a larger role in the story. Seeing how she represents a badly underdeveloped faction within the Walls.

And at second place with just over 21% of the vote....

NANABA! The masculine beauty of Squad Miche. This is a character who continues to grow on me. And as one of the few supporting scouts with any substantial amount of screentime, she is a fascinating character. Cool under pressure, headstrong, and a natural leader. I think we can all agree she deserved better in the long run. Justice for Squad Miche.

And in third with just shy of 20% of the vote...

ISABEL MAGNOLIA! Levi's long lost friend and companion. The third of the main ladies to have an intimate and lasting impact on Levi Ackerman's life. Would have been fascinating to explore more of that unique friendship, seeing the connections he already has with Petra and Hange. She was the initial frontrunner before I had to repost the poll. Wonder how she would have fared otherwise. But she is truly the dark horse here, even in third place. I may have to do an Isabel Deserves Better post one of these days. Who doesn't love an energetic redhead?

Meanwhile.....

Poor Anka is dead last here. Didn't even crack 2% in this poll. 😔 Scoring less than Hannah Diamant And Rico Brzenska. Such a shame, I always thought she was cute and we deserved to see her in action. Please show her some love people. Because she got dealt a raw deal by Isayama. More on THAT one later....... 🔍🤔

To everyone who did vote and reblog, thank you! Let's hope for a stronger turnout this next go around.

Now, this week's poll......

In order to be fair, I am NOT including Levi as he is already plenty powerful. I also will NOT include Erwin Smith, as the controversial choice of giving Armin the serum over him I think speaks for itself. It's enough to assume that yes, there exists a vested interest in him coming back as a Titan Shifter already.

And yes I added Mikasa to the list. Let's pretend there was nothing that prohibited her from becoming a Titan, because frankly the so called Ackerpower is not well explained anyway. Also screw the canon, Isayama's rules don't apply here. Let's use a little imagination I say.

Well that is that. Please have at it people and please, REBLOG!

Let's see who comes out on top. 👍

[tenderlyspidermomma]

AGGHH lately I’ve been so stressed with my computer, I’ve been trying to work on my lil sims series for months and I’ve finally written out what I wanted to do with the story and the characters laid out but storage was a problem because I couldn’t run my game. So my lovely amazing partner bought me a 2t external hard drive, and once I figured out how to get it to work and get my game to download through there… my EA account asks me to verify an old email I don’t have access to anymore. Which was a very glass breaking moment because of all the memories and saved file and all of the extra stuff I bought basically went down the toilet teehee and reaching out to costumer support didn’t do anything. So I decided to open a new account and bought half the expansions/dlc/ game packs I used to have. At that point I was pretty much over it cause I couldn’t do much more about that, so I went and filled the void with mods/cc but after I tried to open my game none of it show up! Wow so awesome!🙃🥳

So after that I kinda gave up on even playing the game until I solved that issue. To be honest I’m not an expert on solving anything but I will try to solve my computer problems on my own with the help of YouTube so I spent weeks trying to solve the mod problem and when I finally figured out how to make my mods run through my hard drive a demon lord fucks with me again. So that night while I was sleeping, my laptop charger melted and burned while I fell asleep!😚no wonder I smelt burnt plastic, but I really thought it was my dream and that it was just so vivid, my senses were awakened.. Anyways, while I save money to buy a new charger I’m just gonna keep working on the story and taking my sweet time with it, or maybe do something else if that’s what the universe wants me to do. Sorry for the long rant, but I just had to get it out my brain. I might do character polls and introduction to characters and might ask you guys to vote for adventures the party will go through to make it a lil bit interactive.

[theinvisibledoodlewizard]

Quest Poll✨

Re-roll!

Ok, since the last poll was badly worded? And I was writing it with derp brain… and it ended in a weird tie.

Imma do it again. This time? Better worded. Hopefully… still got derp brain.

I’ll try not to do this that often, since it’s really cheating. And takes up lot of time.

Ok, and since I’m still being derpy brained? I’ll explain the options where I don’t have a text limit. Cause that + derp = I crash and burn XD

Call for help: You haven’t tried to make sounds yet. So far Sweeps has been a silent protagonist, and you aren’t even sure anyone is around. So this option has a lot of risk, but possibly a high reward? But will the person who helps be good? And will the lamb last long enough?

Scoop the lamp up and continue on your way: Pick up the small sheep, and keep walking down the path. Maybe you’ll find a river and a town? Or maybe you’ll get ambushed? Who knows really. But you can’t stay there.

Go back to the cabin to check for supplies: thiiiis one is a trap. Yeah sorry. I’m evil. This means you leave the lamb in the meadow, and walk back. But Sweeps took a few hours to get to where they are even now. So it’d be double that getting here and back. Meanwhile the lamb is defenseless, and injured. Sweeps might come back to find it not even there, taken by another predator. This world isn’t a nice one, unfortunately.

Go back to the cabin, but bring the lamb: this one is the nicer version of the one above? But I’ll rat on myself. There’s nothing in the cabin. It’s been busted for years. If y’all wanna look around in there, I can make other opportunities to do that! But right now, if y’all wanna lil sheep friend you’re gonna have to focus on that. It’s more the option to bring the sheep on a different path with you. But idk if the others will have the supplies you need. (Ok I do but I already tattled enough. Lol)

Walk away and try not to think about this: “Look at what I made! … I gave it depression!” Cause I like that joke. Yeah Sweeps will be devastating over harming the sheep, and not be able to cope with anything. Then run down the path. Well, as much as a big robot whose all rusted and overgrown can. But yeah, probably don’t wanna pick this one. I do tend to throw in joke options or “LOL! I gave it depression” options as a “let the author pick” kinda route. That’s what this is.

Ok that’s all of them. Sorry about the exposition dump. Derp brain is a killer, man. I’ll only do these when I get ties, and usually just between the two tied options. But since this is the first I figured I’d do them all. To give y’all an insight behind the curtain.

And again, I’m gonna do this as little as possible. Cause it’s definitely cheating on my part. This story is me learning how to write, just get things out there. Cause I can’t edit polls? It adds a level of finality to it. And I know I’m not the best, but hopefully I’m alright at least.

Anyway, if y’all wanna vote in a real thing? Check out my YouTube channel’s community page! I’m doing the same thing over there. It’s a few days behind though cause I can’t keep it as close to daily as on here. So far we’ve names the Bot Sweeps again. Which makes me think y’all already know about it lol. But if you wanna take a different path? I’m up for writing two stories at once! Let’s see what happens!

[blu-joons]

The Fan Meet ~ Lee Minhyuk

He could never quite put his finger on what it was that set off his heart as soon as he saw you walk into the venue for the fan meet. Perhaps it was how oblivious you were to his attention whilst you queued, patiently waiting your turn to meet the individual members.

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Hyunsik smiled, the first of the members to greet you as you were invited onto the stage. “What’s your name?” He asked, taking your photocard and signing his signature.

“It’s Y/N,” you whispered back to him, watching his hand carefully as he wrote each individual character of your name with plenty of care. “Thank you for hosting an event like this for your fans today, it really does mean a lot.”

“It’s thanks to all of your support that we can do these things.”

Your head nodded, “I’ll always be cheering for you guys with everything.”

As the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile, and his eyes narrowed until they were barely visible, you couldn’t help but feel your cheeks begin to brighten. You quickly took the card before Hyunsik noticed and moved onto the next member.

Peniel was the next to write over your card, signing just underneath his face on the image. “I’m running a poll with the fans today, so I want to know what your favourite song is?”

“Any song that has your rap in it.”

His eyes widened with a loud chuckle, extending his hand out for you to high five in response to your answer. You cautiously reached out, knowing just how clammy your hands were with nerves, thankful that Peniel had been so kind to ignore that about you.

“Maybe you could have a word with the company to get them to feature my raps more often.”

“All of you guys deserve to feature equally,” you replied, aware that the next member was also listening into your conversation. “But no one will be able to rap like you can, don’t worry.”

“That was a good answer,” he acknowledged, sliding your photo card along the table, “although, for my own ego, can we just agree that I’m your favourite member of BTOB?”

Your head nodded, rolling your eyes as he leant closer towards you. “Don’t worry, at least for whilst I’m speaking to you, you’re my favourite member of BTOB.”

“Don’t worry, I know you’ll just end up saying the same to all the other members anyway.”

As both of you let go of loud echoes of laughter, Minhyuk’s attention was caught at the end of the table. He tried to ignore the wide smile on your face, although by the grip he had on the pen that he held, it was clear that his frustrations had gotten the better of him having watched you for so long without anyone else around you.

You soon moved onto the next member, instantly feeling your cheeks blush as Eunkwang looked back at you. He signed your card, keeping his eyes on you invitingly, capturing your attention like he did with anyone in his company.

“Thank you for being such an incredible leader,” you smiled, breaking the silence.

“Thank you for being such a dedicated fan and taking the time to come and see us today.”

It didn’t take long before you found yourselves in heavy conversation, as ever, Eunkwang couldn’t have cared less for the time restrictions that they were put under. He had you in stitches of laughter in no time, seemingly funnier in person than you could have ever imagined.

“My turn,” a voice soon called out, ushering you along to come face to face with Changsub, with Sungjae quickly leaning across too, both signing your photocard at the same time.

Your head could only shake at how chaotic the two of them were, with several questions being fired at you, you barely had time to think. The only thing you could feel for sure was both sets of their eyes staring back at you.

“I have no idea what either of you just said,” you admitted, anxiously glancing between them both, “I feel like every YouTube compilation I’ve watched has just come true.”

Both of them chuckled at your response, relieved to see you’d taken their chaos with such humour. “We’re trying to break the stereotype of us, but I think we’re just making it worse.”

You quickly assured them it was adorable how close they were, glancing down to see that your card had been moved on once again, coming to the final member in the line-up.

Before you even looked up at Minhyuk, he had a wide smile on his face, pulling himself further into the table so that he was within closer earshot of you, letting go of a chuckle.

“How’s your day been Y/N?” Unable to stop his laughter as your eyebrows knitted together in confusion, perplexed by his sudden question.

Your head shook, trying to wake yourself up, “have I introduced myself or just had some sort of existential crisis that I’m unaware of?” You asked, only to see his finger tap where Hyunsik had signed the card earlier.

“Don’t worry, everything is very much normal right now,” he quickly assured you, finishing off signing over his figure. “So, tell me, how long have you been a melody for? A while?”

You were very quickly taken aback by how intently Minhyuk listened to you, holding onto your every word. Even if he’d spoken to hundreds of fans before you, he still managed to make you feel as if you were the first fan that he’d greeted all day.

As your story began to conclude, his attention was still very much on you. “I’ve been trying for a couple of years to get tickets to an event like this, but I never managed to find the money in time, until now at least.”

“I for one am glad that you found the money,” he sincerely responded, “I keep trying to get the company to reduce the prices of these things, but they never seem to listen.”

“Well, it was definitely worth the wait after so long. You guys are all so lovely, you must be exhausted, and yet you’re still wearing a massive smile,” you complimented.

With that, Minhyuk’s smile only widened further, enjoying the kindness that you sent his way. Even though he’d heard it from most of the fans that he’d met, hearing it from you somehow just felt different for him.

The two of you had been talking for so long, a slight queue ended up building behind you, although Changsub and Sungjae did a good job of keeping them entertained. Before long, a member of staff crept over to Minhyuk, giving him a bit of a nudge.

Just as you were about to go, he pulled your photocard back towards himself, turning it over onto the blank side. “Would you consider this ruined if I wrote something else on it?” He quizzed, relived when your head shook back at him, shielding it from you and scribbling something down.

“Thank you,” you smiled, taking it back after a few moments as he slid it back across to you. “I hope the rest of the meet goes well for you too.”

“Hopefully, it won’t be too long until we see each other again,” he smiled, admiring your innocence as you walked down the steps.

Once you were outside of the building and away from any fans, you turned the photocard back around, noticing the small note that Minhyuk had written in the bottom left coroner of the card. A gasp escaped from you as you read over the black ink, unable to comprehend that what you were reading really was true.

“Y/N, my number is written at the bottom of this note. I really enjoyed meeting you today and would love to get to you more. Give me a text when you’re free sometime, Minhyuk x

---

Masterlist

[dukeofonions]

Alright I might be whacking the bee's nest here but whatever here we go. Patreon mini rant time!

So back in the YouTube membership days whenever a new Sides video was posted it was typically followed by a live stream discussing said video. Insight to how it was made, scrapped ideas, etc. Just a fun little peek into the process.

And I was pretty sure that the same would happen for WTIT because that has been the norm and there was so much that went into that episode how could they not talk about it?

So skip ahead to some time after WTIT came out and a poll is posted onto the patreon to decide what this month's stream would be about. And the options were either a stream discussing the video (a talk back) or a stream where a video for the second channel would be filmed.

And to add on to my ever growing confusion, they added on to the second option saying that even if the talk back was voted for, the second option would happen during a future stream. So regardless of which one received the most votes, the second channel vid was guaranteed.

On the other hand, there was no reassurance that we'd get anything in regards to bts content for WTIT if the talk back wasn't chosen.

So this just left me wondering, why are we voting at all? Why not just, ya know, do the talk back for a video that was long in the making that we still don't have a lot of bts content for anyway (what y'all have seen on Twitter is all there is so far, unless stuff has been posted to the tiers above the 25$ one) and is still pretty fresh in everyone's minds?

Then since you already plan to do the other option anyway, why not just save it for next month's stream?

Anyways, I voted for the talk back because why would I vote for something we'd get anyway? And I always enjoyed the follow up streams for videos back in the membership days, and even enjoyed the one we got for FWSA.

But right off the bat the second option (which I'm not going to say what it is) was getting more votes and oh boy did shiz hit the fan in the comments.

Like, it definitely wasn't everyone, but a lot of people were going crazy over the poll. Just a mix of people wanting both options, some just choosing the second one because it sounds fun, and others trying to encourage people to vote for the talk back because we'd be getting the second regardless.

Things got to the point where other patrons were stepping in to try and calm things down but it was still pretty hectic considering the votes were tied up for awhile, eventually though the second option won which I was kinda expecting.

And I can't say I'm not a tiny bit disappointed, but seeing as I'll end up being out of town for the stream I'm also kinda glad the other option got picked because I wasn't too interested anyway, but seeing all the chaos go down and not having it acknowledged at all by anyone running the patreon, I dunno I got a little annoyed with the whole thing.

Like, I dunno. I feel like things would have been better if they'd just did the talk back stream (this will be the first video since the membership days that apparently won't be getting its own follow up stream and no I don't count return of the jam even though it did technically get a follow up stream) or at least had some kind of bts content prepared for the patreons regarding this episode because, like I said before, all we've gotten are the things that have been posted on Twitter.

And ya know, one of the main things the patreon promises is bts content, and there's hardly any.

I dunno, maybe I'm just being petty or asking for too much, but it just rubs me the wrong way that they saw all this going down (and I know someone had to seeing as this ain't the first time things got heated in the patreon comments and some moderator stepped in) and never acknowledged it or try to come up with a solution to the problem.

And for all I know maybe they are throwing something together for this episode, but I have yet to hear anything about that and as it stands I'm not holding my breath. Like I said I'll be out of town during this month's stream so I probably won't be able to catch it at all, so I'll have no idea if Thomas will acknowledge the poll, but I dunno the situation will most likely quietly vanish and no one will speak of it again.

Of course this just reminds me of another problem I have with the patreon and how the streams aren't left up afterwards but that's a whole other rant post and I've gone on long enough.

So to sum it up: I don't understand why there was a poll to begin with, and I think it would have saved everyone a lot of strife if they just did a follow up stream if there's no plans to get any bts content out in the near future and they're planning on doing the other option regardless that way it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

[layniapetrovnaaa]

Golden Dandelions: Preview

Listen to Golden Dandelions by Barns Courtney on spotify or youtube, while you read!

He wasn't planning on watching any of the girls on stage. In fact, the only reason he was there was because it was the closest place to him with alcohol. The younger version of himself wouldn't hesitate to watch the show, maybe pay for a private one and end up taking that woman to bed with him, but that version of himself had passed away with the rest of the x-men on that god-forsaken day. This version of the wolverine was sick and dying. He was cold and tired, and surviving only on alcohol, coffee, and cigars.

He didn't even want to temp himself by looking over at the almost naked women, figuring that he would become distracted far too easily because of his past year of abstinence. When he was unable to prevent his eyes from wandering, they landed on the dazzler in the middle row of polls. Her hands sliding up and down her body as she danced provocatively around the pole. 

His lips wrapped around the cigar as he took a long inhale, the nearly empty glass of whiskey fascinating him more than the colorful lights and sexual music. As he exhaled, the smoke clouded his vision, and he downed the rest of the venom in the glass. 

Despite their location being right by the Mexican border, the Texas weather was still fairly cold on march nights, but as the old man recalled, they were not nearly as cold as march in NY, or Canada for that matter. He stumbled out of the flashy building, taking a minute before going to his car to finish his cigar. Despite his gruff and slightly western look, he did not like the south-west. He hated the dry air and hot climate, and he hated how dusty it was. He preferred the cold– or at least cooler temperatures. 

Once he is finished, he taps and rubs the fiery end on the side of the building, dropping it on the ground once it was put out. The old him would have been appalled at his execution, but now he was too tired to care.  

He would have ignored it, he should have ignored it, but the version of him that he thought had died along with the rest of his friends never truly did. It, being the sounds of a tussle between a man and woman in the alley next to him. He grumbled knowing he was still there where it counted. He still had that thirst for justice and need to help. 

Even though all his aching limbs voted against it,he started towards the slender man in the alleyway, the one who had a tight grip on the petite and scantily dressed woman. Logan figured that she worked at the building that he had just exited, given her intoxicating aroma, oiled up body, and...other factors. 

She ripped her wrist from out of the weasely man’s grasp. Logan stopped, seeing her reel the same hand back into the air, ready to attack. It was as if time moved in slow-motion as he watched her shiny fingertips melt down to glove the rest of her hand in cool metal. He would have taken more time to admire the femme fatale’s mutation, as it gleamed in the blue moonlight and pink neon sign that hung above their heads, had it not been for the situation at hand. 

He wasn't as alone as he thought.

He came back to reality just in time to see the clammy looking guy fall back into the brick wall behind him, quickly scurrying away, but not before spitting “Freak bitch!” at the damsel. 

Her hand shifts back into flesh as she dusts them off, letting out a deep breath. 

Logan continued to stand in the small and dirty alleyway. He observed the young female mutant as she bent down to pick up her coat and bag from off of the cracked pavement. The knee length black coat she wore disguised her appearance, but the makeup she still had on was quick to make you suspicious. As she slings the bag over her shoulder, her eyes flick up to meet Logan’s, and in that moment he was able to get a good look at her.

His eyes raked down her body. Had her figure been less than greek, the coat would have completely muted her. But with the way that it cinched at the waist, exposed some of her shiny and supple cleavage, and showed off her killer legs, you had no choice but to succumb to her obvious goddess-like aura. Her hair cocooned her in sensuality and etherealness. Logan felt stuck where he stood as he watched her brush past him and out onto the busy street.  His feet were quick to follow her, feeling completely encapsulated by her beauty. 

“Hey! Um-’ she turns and glares at him slightly, thinking she was going to have another run in with a sleazy man. 

“Do y’need a ride?” 

*** 

The wolverine observed her in his peripheral vision every few minutes, and he noted that her gaze never moved from the window in the five minutes that they had been driving for. He had barely even talked with her, only a “yes” and a “thank you” had passed through her sensual lips, but the nearly 200 year old man was already hooked. He never took himself as the type. Maybe he was just desperate, after all it had been a year since he had any physical or romantic contact with anyone. And the insatiable animal that still resided inside of his adamantium bones was begging for her.

She looked young, too young. But then again, he thought to himself, everyone was to young for him. But this girl looked hardly legal, despite her job and tired eyes. 

“So,” he clears his throat, looking over at the nymph-like woman

“You're a mutant.”

She couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a statement or a question. She knew that he had been in the alley with them, but she didn’t know when he had appeared and tried intervene, maybe she could play it off. She knew how mutants were treated around here.

“I don’t know what you're talking about.” she mutters, her body tensing, but her stare was unwavering from the lit streets. 

“In the alley, your hand turned into metal.”

He watched her body shift to face forward, still not looking at the chauffeur. She reached into her bag and pulled out a cigarette, only looking up at him to ask if he minded.

“No, but you gotta put the window down.” 

She obliges and lights up the cancer stick.

Logan was never one for cigarettes, but the way she looked with it hanging out of her mouth, the way her fingers and lips wrapped around it, or how the smoke twisted around her, made him rethink his convictions. 

“I don’t know what you think you saw, but I’m no mutant.”

“I can tell when people are lying to me, sweetheart.” 

She stays silent and takes another drag. 

“Why do you care, anyways?” she finally speaks up.

“Because, there aren’t many of us left.” 

She nods, and Logan can feel her stare rake over him, but only when he was focused on the road ahead. 

“What’s your name, kid?”

“[Y/N]. What’s yours?” she says, taking in a breath of smoke. Her tone sounds impassive, yet there is a slightly cocky and curious ring to it, and the male mutant wasn't sure as to why. Maybe she knew that the lone wolf was already wrapped around her finger. 

“It’s Logan.”

“Well, Logan, this is my stop right up here.” she says in a sultry tone, and at this point he realizes that there must be no on or off switch for her titillating presence.  

He pulls up next to a quaint diner, decorated in blue and white paint that was starting to chip off the side. He decides not to ask about why she would be going to a random diner at 1 o’clock in the morning, as his eyes scan her once more.

“Well it was nice meeting you [Y/N], nice to know I’m not as alone as I thought.”

She nods.

“I know what it's like to be alone.” she looks at her feet then back up, the cigarette still clasped between her fingers. 

Her eyes squint slightly as she looks at the old man, a small prurient smirk playing on her plump lips, and he gulps. 

“Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee, Logan?” 

His eyes flicked to the center of the dashboard where the digital clock shined. The left side of his brain telling him not to go, and that he should get a few hours of sleep; the right, saying: Fuck it. When are you ever gunna get a chance to be with a girl like this again?

Let me know what you think! I’m planning on writing a series and this is part of the first chapter. 

[purplesurveys]

1278

Social Media Survey

[joybucket]

What is your favorite social media site?  Either Twitter or YouTube, though I never use YouTube as a social media site per se so I guess this round goes to Twitter.

Do you use...

facebook? myspace? twitter? snapchat? instagram? youtube? pinterest? bzoink? another site with message boards? tumblr? deviantart? xanga?

Facebook

Do you get on Facebook every day?  Yeah pretty much all throughout the day. I used to never use it, like never ever; but back in college all announcements were coursed through Facebook so I was technically required to be on it regularly, and it was from there that I began to see memes and start to be more active. I’m a shitposter more than anything though and I rarely ever post stuff of my own. How many FB friends do you have?  I have 679 at the moment but I want to get rid of like 500 of them; it’s just such a long list to go through so I never get to proceed with my unfriending spree lol.

Have you ever been on a deleting spree?  HAHA I just mentioned that. I’ve always wanted to, but like I said 679 is already such an exhaustive list for me, and that’s considering I only started touching my Facebook in like 2019. I can’t imagine people who started Facebook in like 2009 and have 4000 friends aka most people I know.

Have you blocked a lot of haters?  I don’t have haters; at least I’m not aware of any that I have. Not that it’s something I care about at this point.

Do you get bullied online a lot?  No, but that’s also because I don’t really open the channels for people to send in hate. I don’t have Q&A handles like Curious Cat and I never pick out that option in Instagram where people can send in questions.

What's your favorite Facebook app?  Oh I never use Facebook for their apps. Are those still even a thing...? Anyway, I mainly go there to be on the hunt for stupid memes I can reshare or to watch videos that are either funny or informative.

Are you a fan of selfies?  I don’t mind if other people do it, but I think I’m honestly bad at selfies so I almost never take them. I’ve never figured out my angles or what filters look ok on me.

Has anyone ever called the police on you because they didn't like your status?  No but I have had my posts reported because they were deemed ‘offensive.’ Which is weird because my posts that have been taken down are those that speak out against disgusting men, which says a lot about Facebook runs their shit more than anything else.

Are you in any facebook groups?  I’m in nearly a hundred groups, both private i.e. for school purposes, and public.

Are you the admin of any groups?  Nah. Too much time and effort needed out of me.

Do you report abuse to group admins whenever you see it?  Yes. I report the post then leave the group.

What could make Facebook better?  They could put more effort into detecting and banning troll farms.

What year did you start using Facebook?  I made an account in 2012 because of a high school class that required us to upload this specific video-format homework onto Facebook (which in hindsight is such an insensitive homework considering that was nearly a decade ago when the Philippines was still severely behind in internet connection speeds?? Ugh). But I didn’t start actively using my account until around two years ago.

What is your current profile picture of?  Myself, posing in front of the sunflowers in school during the recent graduation season.

Did you like the old Myspace better than Facebook?  I was never a regular user of Myspace, so...

Pinterest

What are some of your favorite boards?  I’ve never had a clue what the purpose of Pinterest was. I mean I have an account...but I’ve also never gotten the hang of it?? so I never touch it hahaha.

Have you ever done a craft you saw on Pinterest?  Well no, because I’m terrible at arts and crafts anyway.

Do you have a Dream Wedding board? If so, what's on it?  No.

If you have a Dream House board, what does your dream house look like?  Ok fine this one I did start hahahah but I don’t even remember what I added on there anymore. I’m sure it was filled with modern-style houses with minimalist interior design.

Do you wish they'd bring the "like" button back?  I’m not even aware of this option.

Do you have a Bucket List board?  Not aware of this either.

Which do you like better: Just Girly Things or And That's Who I Am? The second one sounds less childish. < Same, and it sounds like it covers more.

Do you have a board for tattoos you like? If so, what are some of your faves?  No. The only one I ever made was the house one, then Pinterest quickly became boring from there when I realized there wasn’t much else I could do besides making mood boards.

Do you have a "Random" or "Miscellaneous" board?  No.

Have you ever reached the maximum number of boards?  No.

Do you have any secret boards?  No.

Have you ever had a Pin deleted because of copyright laws?  No.

Do you have a Color board? No.

Do you have an About Me board? If so, what's on it? No.

YouTube

Do you have a YouTube channel? If so, what is it?  Technically I do but I only have it so I can tailor video suggestions to my interests and so that I can like videos and subscribe to channels I like.

What kind of things do you post on YouTube?  I’ve never posted any video on there, not even private ones. I’m also not the type to comment.

What do you like to watch on YouTube?  These days YouTube serves as a stress reliever for me, which is to say I would typically go for humorous BTS-related compilations because there are sooooo many hilarious channels that make these great videos haha. Occasionally I’d go back to channels or series that I used to frequent, like Good Mythical Morning, Buzzfeed’s Worth It and Unsolved, Try Guys, Watcher, etc. 

Are you subscribed to any channels?  To so many.

Do you watch any vlogs? If so, what ones are your favorite?  Hm probably Jiwoo’s, though her channel is called Mejiwoo. I find her content calming and conversational and basically fun to binge-watch when I’m not looking for anything super super particular to watch.

If you have a channel, how many subscribers do you have?  0. I’m just a lurker.

Will you subscribe to my channel? (msg me if you want a link!)  Only if it’s really fit to my interests, I guess.

Do you watch music videos?  Rarely; not a fan of MVs in particular. I only really ever put an exception for BTS.

Have you ever watched a TV show on youtube?  Well no since their copyright team works hard and works fast lol. I do watch entire video game walkthroughs from time to time.

Have you ever worked out to exercise videos on youtube?  No, I can’t care less about working out tbh.

Have you watched Amanda Todd's famous video?  No. I’m scared that it might be too upsetting or triggering for me.

Have you ever looked up how to do something on YouTube?  Not really, I prefer looking up articles that can teach me step by step in words.

Do you get a lot of hate comments on youtube?  No, I’ve never posted anything on there.

How long have you been a youtuber?  Never been.

Instagram

Do you post on Instagram a lot?  I do 1-3 Instagram stories in a week, I would say. As for posts, I only have 4 in total and I don’t really feel the pressure to add more. I just post when I feel the want to.

Have you ever posted a poll on instagram?  Nah, I’m not too sure if anyone would participate so I’ve never tried. If you don't have an iPhone, do you wish you could use Instagram?  I’m pretty sure other operating systems can also use Instagram...

Do you have any followers?  Around 50, I think.

Do you like Instagram filters? I’ll use them sometimes to make my stories appear prettier.

Twitter

Do you think twitter is stupid? Hehe show me at least one person who doesn’t think so. < Coming from someone who regularly uses Twitter, agree. It is crazy stupid but stupid is what I’m there for. Which is honestly not always such a bad thing to me - I like that people are more themselves, more stripped-down, vulnerable on Twitter. People always seem to want to show off their best selves on Facebook and Instagram, so I’m actually kind of grateful that there is at least one social media out there where people can just be their clumsy, goofy selves.

How often do you tweet?  Probably a maximum of five a day. Nowadays I’m on there mostly to just scroll through my timelines.

Do you get on twitter every day?  Yes, both on my personal and fan account.

Bzoink

Do you make a lot of surveys?  I never make them but I try to take them as often as I can.

Do you take a lot of surveys?  Haha sorry, was one step ahead of you. Yeah, I do.

Do you post in the message boards?  Nah. I dunno if I’m even permitted to check the message boards on Bzoink considering I don’t have an account.

What types of surveys are your favorite?  Categorized surveys like this one or countdown ones can be fun, but at the end of the day I like sticking to the classic random survey.

Do you have friends on here?  Not on Bzoink, but here on Tumblr yes! There’s a number of people here I like keeping up with :)

Do you post all your secrets on here?  Again, not on Bzoink; but yep I share pretty much everything here.

What type of survey do you think I should make next?  Anything but basic/about me-themed ones that will ask for my name and eye color and weight.

Do you read peoples' answers to your surveys?  I’ve never made a survey.

Do you think you are good at making surveys? 

Do you try to make unique surveys?

What type of surveys do you want to see more of?

Random

This or That

Scattergories

Have You Ever

Are you like me?

About You

Personal, Deep Questions

Girly

Music shuffle

Would You Rather

Do you have this in your bedroom?

Long

Short

All About Your Crush

Fashion

Make-up

School

Music

Your health

Your friends

Confessions

Girl Confessions - how different is this from just confessions? Hahaha

R-Rated

Controversial topics

Myspace

Did you have a myspace when you were in high school?  I started an account in like 4th grade when Myspace was ~big, but I didn’t find it fun and everyone my age was on Friendster anyway, so I was largely inactive.

Do you use myspace now?  No. Is it still even around? I have no clue.

Do you miss bulletins? I didn’t get to join in on the fun so there’s nothing to miss.

Did you like customizing your profile with the old myspace?  Not attributed to Myspace but I did have a lot of fun customizing my Multiply and Tumblr accounts back in the day. That was a period where I really got to learn and play around with HTML :)

Did you have music on your profile?  Not on Myspace again but I did on Multiply! I had a cute little playlist that played the songs immediately as soon as you landed on my page hahaha.

Did you learn HTML when you used Myspace?  Tumblr, yeah. I believe the skills are still there but I’ll definitely be a bit rusty.

Did you have a customized cursor?  Oh, no. Wasn’t a fan of those as I found them a bit tacky.

Did you use glitter graphics?  Also found those tacky haha no, I never used those.

Do you remember posting glitter graphics on friends' pages?  Nope.

Did you make "dolls"?  I don’t recall ever making those.

Did you use photo captions?  Not sure what this is referring to so let’s just say no.

Did you have a photo slideshow on your profile?  Hmmm nope, I don’t think so.

Xanga

Did you have a Xanga account back in the day?  No. It wasn’t big here so I had never heard of it until I started taking surveys on here and heard people mentioning Xanga, actually.

Do you have a xanga account now?  No.

Did you post photos and quotes on your xanga page?  I never had any.

Snapchat

Do you use snapchat?  I did; I was superrrrr active on there for a time. It kind of just got old at one point, though, and my feed got more and more dead until I too just left my account dormant altogether.

What is your favorite filter?  There were a lot of cute ones on there that helped me be more confident with taking selfies but my favorites have to be the dog and flower crown ones.

Tumblr

Do you understand Tumblr?  I had a better handle of it when I ran a fan account that required me to be more active; but now that I really just go on here to take surveys I just use the basic functions and nothing more. But yeah, I understand just enough to get by.

Do you use Tumblr?  Yeah. Even on the days I don’t post surveys, I regularly go on here to keep up with friends I like keeping up with like Elisabeth, Lane, Steph, Lina, Julie :)

Other

What forum sites did you use to love that aren't around anymore?  There was one message board I frequented for this girly/tween magazine I used to collect, but I won’t share the name.

Are there any other great social media sites that you recommend?  I think this survey was able to cover all the main ones I use.

Do you use a photo editing site? If so, what?  I use apps instead of sites to edit my photos.

Do you ever use BeFunky.com?  Nope.

Do you use a video editing site? If so, what?  Nah, I rarely have to edit videos in a super intricate, detailed way. Apple’s video editing features suffice for me.

Have you ever downloaded fonts?  Very occasionally since it’s never necessary.

Have you ever used photobucket to upload an image?  No but I remember going on there back in the day to look for images. I never uploaded any, though.

Do you use iTunes?  Not anymore. I have an account on Spotify now.

Do you listen to music on Pandora?  No, never used it.

[euphoricdumpsterfire]

To the Moon and Back (Peter Parker x Stark OC) Chapter 2

Master list

Warnings: Mild Profanity

A/N: Hey guys sorry if I kinda updated late, and for the next few days I’ll be extremely busy being a student poll worker for the elections so Chapter 3 might come out hopefully by next Friday, but do watch out for a link to a playlist that I specifically made for this fanfic! Anyways, have a great day <3

Word Count: 2216

Summary: Nixie meets Peter Parker and makes friends with him. Moonflower goes on a patrol around Queens and finally meets Spiderman in person.

Nixie had stayed up all night researching whatever she could find about Spiderman and the only things that she saw were videos of him on Youtube just swinging around the city and saving lives. There wasn’t anything else particularly interesting about him besides the fact that he can shoot webs, Nixie thought, although she was still curious as to why she’s been seeing visions of this specific hero. 

Nixie stared at her screen intently watching the same video of Spiderman over and over again, analyzing every single detail of the video. Then her door creaked, it was Natasha. “Rise and shine early-” Nixie turned her head to look at Natasha, “And you’re already awake!” She exclaimed as she entered the room.

“Actually, I’ve been up all night.” Nixie answered,

“Well that explains the dark circles…” Natasha replied as she looked at the computer monitor, “Have you been watching Spiderman this whole time?” She asked and Nixie nodded.

“Seems like you already have a thing for him.” A smirk formed on Natasha’s face 

“What? NO!” Nixie retorted, “I was just simply researching… I was  hoping I could find some more info on him, but all I could find are these youtube videos.” She added.

“Well, you’ll find more info if you start getting ready. It’s a long trip from here to Queens.” Natasha said as she walked towards the door and waited for Nixie to get up.

“Ugh, I better be an Avenger by the end of this…” Nixie muttered as she got up and started to get ready for the day.

Once she was all dressed up, she headed straight to the kitchen and prepared her coffee in her travel mug. “Morning Moonie.” Tony would only refer to his daughter Moonie when he’s terribly concerned, “I heard you stayed up all night…” Nixie looked up at her father with a tired stare.

“I did.” She answered,

“Look, when I said I wanted you to find out who Spiderman is, I didn’t mean that you go out of your way and stay up all night looking him up.” He replied,

She wanted to tell him about the visions but something inside of her is telling that it wasn’t the right time, “I know, but... It’s just that... I don’t know. I can’t really think, the lack of sleep is getting to me.” Nixie yawned as she poured a bit of milk into her coffee. 

Tony looked at his daughter with deep concern as her face was pale, making her dark circles even more prominent. “God, you look like you came out of a Tim Burton movie.” Nixie rolled her eyes at her dad’s snarky statement.

***

Meanwhile in an apartment somewhere in Queens, a young Peter Parker had just finished getting ready for school. He tied his shoelaces, grabbed his backpack, and made his way to the door, “Hey hey, wait!” his aunt May scurried to the door and handed him his lunch bag,

“Thanks May.” Peter said with a smile,

“Remember, after band practice, go straight home got it?” May said with one eyebrow raised, Peter nodded and waved goodbye.

He walked to the subway station which was extremely packed. He stood next to a guy whose armpit hair reeked of rotten vinegar which Peter had to endure for the rest of his trip. Once he got to his stop, he breathed heavily before he could start walking to the campus.

The campus was surrounded by huge trees and a few bushes here and there. Peter walked through the courtyard as he listened to music, he kept walking and didn’t even realize that he was about to bump into someone. Once it had already happened, he finally snapped out of reality. He bumped into a girl who was holding a few books and a travel mug, the coffee spilled everywhere and mostly on the tree that she was standing next to.

“Oh no, are you okay?” Peter thought the girl was talking directly to him but his eyes were fixed on the fallen textbooks and did not notice that she was actually talking to the tree.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” Peter asked as he picked up her books and the girl turned around to look at him.

“Uh... Right, uhm yeah I’m good...” She awkwardly answered,

“It was my bad I wasn’t looking...” Once Peter got up, he finally got a good look at the girl, he tilted his head realizing that he had never seen her before. 

“Well, I didn’t get a stain on my clothes so it’s all fine.” She answered,

“I don’t think I’ve met you before...” Peter said as he handed the girl’s textbooks.

“That’s cuz I’m new,” the girl chuckled, “I’m Nixie.” the name sounded so familiar but Peter could not point his finger at it until after a minute of registering it. His jaw dropped in astonishment. 

“You’re-” Before he could even actually say a full sentence, Nixie nodded.

“Yup. I’m Stark’s kid.” She replied.

“But I thought you went to Knox?” Peter asked,

“Wait, people knew which school I go to?!” Nixie exclaimed,

“Well yeah... You’re dad’s famous, that makes you famous.” Peter replied and just when Nixie was about to open her mouth, the school bell rang. 

“What class do you have?” Peter asked and Nixie showed a piece of paper showing her class schedule. 

“We both have the same classes together, I’ll just walk with you to show you around if that’s fine with you.” Peter said and Nixie smiled,

“Great, thanks!” She replied.

Eventually, they were joined by Peter’s friend Ned who was a bit more outspoken and had expressed his love for computer games. All three of them had the same classes and Nixie was lucky enough to sit next to them in almost all of their classes except for Art, where she sat next to a girl named MJ and Liz.

Because of her world famous father, everyone couldn’t help but look at her and start whispering which made her feel uncomfortable and awkward, but thanks to Peter and Ned she the discomfort and awkwardness faded away as she felt welcomed and appreciated by her two new friends.

When it was lunch time, Peter, Ned, and Nixie sat down and ate their lunch. Nixie couldn’t help but notice that MJ was sitting one table away from them. “Shouldn’t we... Like invite her over here?” Nixie asked the two guys who sat across from her.

“Nah, she always sits there by herself.” Ned answered,

“Yeah but-” 

“I’m just a table away, I can hear you guys loud and clear.” MJ said, she then turned her eyes to Nixie, “And I’m fine sitting here, thanks.” MJ went back to reading her book again.

“See?!” Ned whispered loudly

“So Nixie, how does it feel like being around the Avengers?” Peter asked,

“Well... Steve’s like an old grandpa but you can definitely count on him for some good old timey music, Natasha’s like an aunt to me and she’s extremely cool, then there’s the new people, Wanda and Vision. I haven’t really talked to them but that’s mostly because Vision creeps me out.” Nixie answered,

“Whoa... It must be chaotic when they have missions...” Ned said

“Trust me, it is...” Nixie replied, and then it was time to finally ask the million dollar question, “So, what do you guys know about the spiderman dude?” she noticed that Peter dropped his fork and froze right after the question, but Ned shrugged.

“No one really knows his identity, but I do know he’s pretty cool.” Ned continued, “Why’d you ask?”

“Nothing… I just thought he’s really cool, Moonflower’s better though.” Nixie said as her eyes were fixated on Peter’s reactions to the discussion of Spiderman, he remained frozen, as if he was guilty of something.

“Oh yeah, I’ve seen some of her videos on youtube too. She’s pretty cool.” Peter finally spoke.

“Is she part of the Avengers? I can’t remember…” Ned replied,

“Nah, she’s just roaming around Manhattan, basically like Spiderman.” Nixie answered.

“How’d you know that? Have you seen her before?” Peter raised an eyebrow at Nixie,but she couldn’t answer. Thankfully, she was saved by the bell and they all went to their classes. 

A week has passed and Nixie still doesn’t have information on Spiderman, but she suspects that her friend Peter might know who he is. So one day after school she runs after Peter. “Hey Pete!” Peter was startled by Nixie that he was ready to throw a punch, “Whoa there… If I were you I’d think twice about that.” Nixie said while her hands were raised as if she was ready to block him.

“Sorry, I thought you were a thief…” Peter replied as he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. 

“It’s all good, I was just wondering if you could help me with my literature assignment. I’ve been struggling with some parts and I could really use that brain of yours.” Nixie asked expecting he would say something like, 

“You know what… I would if I could, but I-I have plans…” Peter stuttered,

“Oh, so where you off to?” Nixie asked,

“Just some part-time job at a… Deli! Yeah, I just got a part-time job at a dei.” Nixie immediately knew that Peter was lying but she went along with it.

“Oh that’s totally fine, I’ll probably just ask MJ. I’ll see you around!” Nixie waved goodbye, 

“Yeah, see ya!” Peter waved back. Once Nixie turned and left, he let out a sigh of relief immediately ran to the subway station to finally start his evening patrol.

***

“Are you sure about this?” Happy looked at Nixie wearing her usual suit who planned to go around Queens as Moonflower in hopes of finding Spiderman and hoping that whoever she’s suspecting is indeed the masked hero. 

“How else am I gonna get information on him? And besides, it’s good publicity!” Nixie teased and Happy rolled his eyes.

“Fine, and if you don’t come back to the car by 10 pm, I WILL LEAVE.” Happy emphasized the last three words and Nixie just nodded as she put on her mask. 

“Alright, see ya later.” Nixie winked and stretched her arms out, thick vines grew on the brick wall that she was facing and climbed onto it to get to the top. She walked around hoping to get a sight of Spiderman but there was nothing. She moved from building to building, until she saw a woman who stood closely next to a man with a ski mask. The man had a gun pointing at the woman’s head waiting for her to open up her bag, and all of a sudden, a string of web sprouted out of nowhere leaving the man unarmed. It was Nixie’s chance, she immediately used her vine and slid down to the bottom of the building and hid in the shadows. 

“Who’s there?” The man yelled as he pulled out a back-up knife and pointed it towards the woman’s neck. “Give me back my gun or she dies!” The man yelled. Then, the person that Nixie’s been waiting for stepped out, Spiderman shot out another web taking the knife from the man and threw a punch at him. The man laid unconscious on the ground and Spiderman stood in front of him with his hands on his hips.

“Not so scary now are ya?” Spiderman scoffed. It was Nixie’s first time hearing his voice and it sounded really familiar to her, but figuring out who he was wasn’t the priority right now as she saw a group of men whom she assumed was with the other guy were cracking up their knuckles and were ready to ambush Spiderman who was completely clueless.

It was finally her moment, Nixie touched the ground and vines with sharp thorns started growing out and wrapped around the legs of the men, one was close enough to throw a punch but before they could even do it, Nixie yelled, “YO SPIDERMAN WATCH OUT!” Spiderman immediately swerved making the other man fall to the ground. It wasn’t long until the other men got rid of the vines so Nixie threw small grenades that would release a pungent odor similar to the corpse flower once thrown at the target and would immediately make them lose consciousness. It released green smoke and once the scent hit their noses, the men dropped to the ground like dead flies. 

Spiderman was already busy making sure the woman went home safely as Nixie tied all of them together with her vine rope. “So… Moonflower eh?” She turned around to see Spiderman.

“Glad we could finally meet, Spiderman.” She replied.

“I must say, those stink bombs are pretty impressive.” Spiderman said as he crossed his arms against his chest.

“I know right?! They’re pretty sick!”,  “The cops are on their way to pick these losers up.” She had a huge smile that seemed familiar to Spiderman. “But I must say Peter, those web shooters are far more impressive than my stink bombs.” She added.

“Well, I mean they did take much work but I don’t think…” Spiderman paused and looked at Moonflower who had a smirk on her face. “Did you just call me…”

“That’s right, Peter Parker.”

[lunarrwolf]

black butterflies [colby brock]

fandom: sam and colby/traphouse

pairing: colby x self

word count: 1,963

part(s): one

summary: after a prank gone wrong, colby and his friends meet another youtuber during her meet and greet in hopes it will cheer her up

A/N: this is a self-insert because it’s a fic that was started for my own personal pleasure. it was supposed to be shared last year on my fan account after a poll was done but never was bc i ended up not feeling ready to do so. i figured since i‘m ready to share it now, it would be best to do it here since it’s pretty detailed

ONE

“What’s up guys?! It’s your girl Kirsy here, and today we’re going to be entering Freetown State Forest. Otherwise known as The Cursed Forest of Massachusetts.” The girl looked into her camera brightly, the excitement of finally being able to explore her home state’s most bizarre places setting in as she recorded.

“Wait - cursed? You didn’t say anything about that.” Her best friend and roommate exclaimed, red locks shaking as quickly as her head was. Casey had been interrupted during a well credited movie of theirs when her friend decided she wanted to go out and take advantage of the fact that neither of them had any plans for the weekend. And as usual in their two bedroom home, no morning schedules meant the freedom to explore the best-worst possible places and capture it all on film for both social network and personal use.

“Didn’t I?” Kirsy chimed, turning the camera toward her roommate who only glanced into the object before shooting her friend the middle finger. She laughed and followed the retreating figure toward the path that would eventually lead them into the actual forest. It was a widened road of dirt and rocks, causing the two of them to nearly trip every so often. The sun was just beginning to set, so the scenery on the other side of the camera was something the green haired girl was glad she was able to capture as she filmed. They continued to walk down the barren path for about forty-five minutes - trees starting to surround them after a half hour - and by then the sun had set quickly without notice and the night began. She could hear Casey muttering about how the place was significantly creepier, and an idea popped into her head. She turned the camera to herself and glanced up to make sure no attention was being brought to her before looking into the lens. “So we’ve been walking for nearly an hour. Casey is already kind of freaked out because of how dark it is, so as her best friend I thought it would be fun to do a little prank on her.”

“What are you doing?” She looked up to meet the narrowed eyes of the redhead that caught her speaking lowly to the camera.

Casey’s eyes didn’t falter from their current state as she continued to glare at the other girl. “Kirsy, I swear if you’re planning something-”

Kirsy scoffed, “What would I be planning out here? Your murder? No thanks - too much work.” She finished off, laughing lightly at the expression she received before the girl with reddish brown locks turned back to survey their surroundings. Kirsy did the same thing for the following ten minutes of their walk. The only sounds they heard so far were forest animals and the wind rustling through the loose leaves of the trees. There was the occasional crunch or branch snapping, which unnerved both of the girls until they would see some small critter scattering to another bush or inside a hole somewhere. She really wanted to pull a practical joke on her friend after not being able to do one on her the whole month she’d been gone on a trip prior to this night. It seemed to be quiet enough to where she wouldn’t really suspect a thing. As long as comments were made from behind her, Casey wouldn’t notice.

She took the opportunity when they were nearing a fork in the pathway and jokingly said something about the atmosphere of the place that would make her friend give her a knowing look. And that was just what happened. However, when Casey turned around, the main star of the channel the video would be posted on was nowhere to be seen. She turned in a full circle slowly, being even more aware and extremely careful where she stepped so she wouldn’t disrupt the sudden silence of the area. “Kirsy.. Kirsy.” She hissed out, moving toward the edge of the path. “I swear to god if this is one of your pranks-” A twig snapped from directly beside her once she got to the natural line that separated a way back to civilization from unpredictable darkness. Her heart was pounding, and tears were springing in her eyes. It had been too long of a time since her last appearance in one of her friend’s scary videos; she forgot how frightening things could get within minutes or hours of arriving somewhere.

There was an obnoxiously loud rustling coming from the same direction, and she approached the bushes to her right cautiously. Reaching a reluctant arm out, she started to move stuff away from her so she could peer behind the plant. As her face got closer, someone jumped out and screamed a scream that was deadly enough to be included in a horror film. “Shit!” Casey jumped back, almost falling to the ground if she hadn’t been able to balance herself.

She glared up at the girl who was trying hard to hold on to the camera as she held her stomach in laughter. “Holy crap, you should’ve seen your face!”

“Dude. What the fuck!” Casey stood back up and snatched the camera away from her friend, marching away as she ignored the calls of the hysterical girl running to catch up.

-

A small group of friends sat on the leather couch in the living room, watching a fellow YouTuber explore a haunted forest with only one other person. It was entertaining to say the least - the amount of times the media influencer messed with her friend was endless, and it only got better when payback would be put into order. One of the darker haired males shook his head, a smile on his face as he shared an amused look with his friends. “I need to marry this girl.”

“Marry who?”

Brennen looked up to see a brunette enter from upstairs, looking at the group of them with curiosity written all over their faces. “Kirsy, dude. Not only is she rocking the new hair, but she obviously knows how to have fun.” Colby didn’t hesitate to join the others on the couch once he heard the name. She was very well known in their industry; a skyrocketing vlogger who stuck to the same several categories of videos and never failed to deliver quality content. She was known to go above and beyond for her fans after having been one herself for years before deciding to dive into the world of explorations. At a recent milestone of 500,000 subscribers, she not only released new merch, she also scheduled a last minute meet and greet that had the sidewalks and almost half of the central park of Boston flooded with local fans of hers. She was someone the members and friends of the trap house admired, as she wasn’t afraid to be herself even when others put her down and criticized the way she behaved on camera.

“Guys, check it out. She added something at the end of this.” Jake brought the guys’ attention back to the computer from their phones. She wasn’t smiling and didn’t hold a bright aura like she usually did when adding bits recorded after her adventures. When she spoke it sounded normal, but after having watched her for the past three years, the boys knew when something was off. They watched the girl give the lens a wry smile before clearing her throat, glancing away as she dove right into the point of the additional bit.

“So this part was recorded a couple of nights after we went into the forest. Casey hasn’t been with me since we got back.” She started off. “I did realize after the fact that she was genuinely mad at me, and I do feel really bad about it. She’d been gone for a month before then. Which meant she didn’t have to deal with abandoned houses, restless spirits, or me and my stupidity - so she wasn’t prepared to be brought back into the swing of things so quickly. I take full responsibility for any actual fear I caused her, and I want to apologize for doing this to her right as she got back from what I know was a good, relaxing trip for her. I did apologize off camera as soon as I caught up with her and she did say she forgave me. However, she uh- she won’t be in videos anymore. And I’m going to be honest with you guys...” She trailed off, and Colby’s heart lurched when he noticed the glossiness in her eyes, “I don’t know where our friendship stands. We know each other’s limits, and while I didn’t go too far, I think she just got tired of me doing all of this. So... yeah.” She gave a dry chuckle, tugging at the end of her sleeves.

“Damn.. she must be crushed right now.” Mike commented, glancing between his friends as they all gave their agreements.

“I can’t even imagine possibly losing you guys.” Sam added.

“And over a prank - Casey’s pretty cold.” Corey brought in, changing his position on the couch and leaning forward when the girl began to speak again.

“Anyway, I’m sure you guys didn’t keep watching just to see me get all emotional. So on to the good news!” The green haired girl continued, clapping her hands together and smiling brightly at the camera as if nothing happened. Still, they could see the look in her eyes, and it was unsettling to see the otherwise outgoing Dominican that way. “I'll be going to Los Angeles in a few days on business, and am happy to announce that I'll also be having a meetup at Santa Monica Pier. I haven't set the exact date in case my schedule goes out of whack, but I will be bringing along someone special. I expect that our family's policy of acceptance will be applied to him.”

“Wait wait wait - my girl's got a man?”

Mike rolled his eyes, smirking at Brennen. “If she was yours, wouldn't she know you exist?”

There was a short amount of silence while the targeted guy looked over with a playfully offended look on his face. “That was cold.” The guys laughed and chuckled, but deep down they still felt bad about what they just heard. The ginger had been by the brunette's side since the start of the channel. Though Casey was mostly the support and a guest in abandoned vlogs and some other types of videos, she would speak out as her friend's defense and help out in any way she could. Some would have figured that a month off would have her ecstatic in going back into working with her best friend. However, it sounded like that time away made her less for the type of content Kirsy had and more against it. The latter of the two must have been devastated at that moment.

“We should go meet her.” Sam announced. “Sounds like it's free - and Brennen could use an ego boost if she does know he exists.”

“You guys gotta give me a little credit here. My channel's pretty big.”

“Yes, but has she acknowledged it?” The dyed brunette questioned, laughing at the glare he received in return. It seemed like it was a unanimous agreement to take a short trip to the pier when she arrived, but everyone was vocal except for Colby. Sam shook his best friend's shoulder, and the young man blinked, switching his gaze over to the former blonde. “You alright?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, glancing back at the screen. “I agree. We should go meet her.”

[channelmono]

ANNOUNCEMENT! HIATUS AND EXCITING NEW PLANS

Greetings from the moon, my friends! If you haven’t already watched my last video, I’ll be going on break again from daily content (this is an important distinction), this time for an unknown length of time. Don’t worry, regular daily content WILL resume at some point, and I already have many plans of stuff I wanna work on ready to go! But I’ve realized: I need a break really badly, for a few reasons.

Let’s start with the logistics: filming has been an increasingly uphill battle. I’ve been doing this for a little over a year now, and in the process, I’ve continuously strived for improvement, both to make things more fun for you, the audience, and also to freshen things up and keep things fun for myself. Better editing, better filmmaking equipment, more costumes, more props, more intricate video ideas, and just generally trying to up my quality in all regards.

Recently, however, I feel like I’ve reached a peak where the quality of my work has started to negatively impact the enjoyment of it to a substantial degree. I can persevere through the hard work because I enjoy it, but something they don’t always tell you is that “hard work” is a constantly-changing standard that you must re-evaluate for yourself on a regular basis. What is a good day’s worth of work to you? Are the standards you put on yourself too much for any given time? Are you TOO hard on yourself?

As of the last few weeks as I was filming this continuous narrative arc, for the first time, I felt myself burning out because I was giving myself increasing workload to a standard of daily releases that was not made for it. I wish I was able to bring myself to gain more actual footage of my conversation with the moon in [Contact], but I couldn’t as I became so drained of creativity that I couldn’t figure out how to visually film that, and was just exhausted by previous filming sessions (it’s been really hot lately, and that kimono outfit is surprisingly really hard to get into, lol).

Speaking of difficulties in visually filming things, I’ve also struggled in resources and budget. As you could imagine, pandemic life has made it significantly slower to get better filmmaking equipment, more costumes, more props, and thus film more intricate videos, and also my ability to afford them has gone down dramatically. Finding work is also a pain, so I don’t exactly have as much financial freedom here.

Here’s a couple hard truths about what I do that I had to take into consideration: 1) filming content regularly in a way that’s fresh, exciting, continuously-improving is a monetarily expensive pursuit. 2) In this year-plus that I’ve been doing this project, it has NEVER been anywhere close to profitable. While I have a Patreon and Redbubble, they are very low-activity and I only make couple dozen bucks per month, which further decreases my options (I also can’t monetize my Youtube uploads, not that they get much viewership there anyway haha). I do this channel out of love and entertainment, but even I have a certain limit within realism that I have to work within.

So, what’s the plan for now?

Well, good news! While I will be holding back on mentally/financially intensive works for now, I will still be pursuing other projects aligned with NO SIGNAL STUDIO, and providing much-needed foundation for Channel Mono when it relaunches!

Within the next week, we plan to at long last have the NSS site up (we got the “nosignal.studio” domain!) to host our work, including Channel Mono. This will not only link our content onto an easily-accessible hub more sophisticated than linktr.ee, it will also also act as a blog/news outlet so we can make long announcement/update posts rather than crammed social media posts like these.

In addition, I’m pushing for more Patreon incentives, including a new set of perks I’m excited to try: CUSTOM MONO VIDS!

Starting from $25, you can send me a script every month for a short, simple video (dialogue skits, personal messages, video threats, etc.), and I’ll record it for you! There will be further tiers for additional complex features (different costumes, increased length, elaborate post-production, etc.), and depending on how it goes, I may pursue this even more!

I’ll also be opening more patron goals. Once I get past a certain budget threshold, I plan on holding monthly polls to decide what new outfits to get. Fun!

As for the future, the general trajectory for daily content will be more of a return to lower maintenance, less narrative-based skits, refreshing my work ethic and hopefully being less strenuous for me. I want to hit the ground running, but I don’t wanna quickly exhaust myself again haha.

This is only a respite for now. Once I recuperate and get my other endeavors finished, I should be returning to daily content soon. Thank you for understanding, my lovely monitors! 🖤🖤🖤