#it used to be you could just post your stream schedule to twitter and that was enough

[quarklynx]

God, if Tumblr goes down for real I don't even know where I'll go. Twitter is an active dumpster fire, Instagram and TikTok are algorithm-riddled nightmares, and it's just plain depressing trying to pick one of the hundreds of alternative sites that are vying for the userbases of these massive social media platforms that have been hyper-monetized into their death throes

[txrully]

WATASHI NO AIDORU SAMA!

summary: IN WHICH BLLK BOYS DATE AN IDOL!

characters: isagi yoichi, bachira meguru, itoshi rin, nagi seishiro, mikage reo, chigiri hyoma, hiori yo, shidou ryusei, itoshi sae, michael kaiser, alexis ness.

warning: fem! reader implied

isagi yoichi

isagi is in awe of you. your determination, charm, and the way you captivate an audience—he’s lowkey your #1 fan. he’s also the boyfriend who overthinks everything. is he doing enough? are you eating properly? is his goodnight text too basic? but when you’re overwhelmed by the pressures of being an idol, he’s the one who brings you back down to earth with his soft smiles and reassuring words.

when he attends your concerts, he tries to keep a low profile, but the way he beams when you glance at him gives him away every time.

"yoichi, they caught you smiling like a lovesick puppy in the crowd."

"but you looked so cool up there! how could I not?!"

"next time, at least wear sunglasses."

"then how will you see me cheering for you?"

bachira meguru

bachira lives for the drama of dating you. the glitz and glam? he loves it. sneaking into your dressing room mid-rehearsal? absolutely. he thrives on making you laugh, especially when the idol world feels too suffocating. he even suggests the most ridiculous disguises when you want to go out, like matching frog hats or dressing up as old people.

he’s also not shy about flaunting your relationship, sending chaotic selfies to your fan club and saying, “aren’t we cute?” yeah, he’s banned from your socials now.

"bachira, stop posting pictures of us!"

"what? they love me. look, 10k likes already!"

"i will revoke your access to my phone."

"awwww :("

itoshi rin

rin doesn’t care about fame, but oh boy, he cares about you. the media knows him as the stoic, no-nonsense soccer prodigy, but behind closed doors, he’s your biggest supporter. he secretly streams your performances and even sets your songs as his alarm (though he’ll deny it if you ever find out). when you’re busy with schedules, rin shows his love in quiet ways—making sure you eat, sending random texts like, “don’t overwork yourself. i mean it.”

but paparazzi catching him sneaking into your concerts? yeah, that’s not part of his plan.

"you know they saw you, right?"

"tch. who cares?"

"rin, they’re calling you my biggest fanboy on twitter."

"...well, they’re not wrong."

nagi seishiro

nagi finds your idol schedule exhausting just hearing about it. but he loves you, so he makes the effort. he’s the type to show up to your rehearsals half-asleep, holding your favorite snacks. when you’re performing, though, he’s laser-focused, recording every moment because “you look cool up there.”

he also doesn’t get jealous often, but when a fanboy gets too enthusiastic, he’ll casually sling an arm around your shoulder and deadpan, “she’s taken.”

"sei, were you napping backstage?"

"mm. comfy couch."

"you’re unbelievable."

"but i got your favorite chips."

"...okay, forgiven."

mikage reo

reo is the ultimate boyfriend-slash-manager. need help with your contract? done. overwhelmed with schedules? he’s already booked a spa day for you. he’s your rock in the chaotic idol world, always reminding you that it’s okay to take a break.

he also spoils you shamelessly—designer dresses for red carpets, private dinners after concerts, and the fanciest bouquets delivered to your dressing room.

"reo, you didn’t have to buy out the whole bakery just because i said i liked their croissants."

"but you deserve the best."

"...i’m keeping the chocolate ones."

"all yours, my love."

chigiri hyoma

chigiri gets it. as someone constantly in the spotlight himself, he knows how draining it can be. he’s always there to hype you up, whether it’s helping you perfect a dance move or rehearsing lines for interviews. when you feel insecure, he’s the first to remind you of how talented and beautiful you are.

his favorite moments are when it’s just the two of you—no cameras, no fans, just quiet walks or lazy afternoons.

"hyo, do you think i’m doing okay?"

"you’re doing amazing. and even if the whole world doesn’t see it, i do."

"you’re too sweet."

"only for you."

hiori yo

hiori loves your passion for performing, but he worries about how much it takes out of you. he’s the type to leave little notes in your bag—"you’ve got this!" or "don’t forget to eat!"—and surprise you with coffee during long rehearsals.

he doesn’t love the spotlight, but for you? he’ll put up with it, even if it means sitting front-row at your concerts surrounded by screaming fans.

"yo, are you okay? you looked uncomfortable out there."

"yeah, i’m fine. just not used to being around so many people."

"next time, i’ll get you noise-canceling headphones."

"i’ll wear them if they have your voice recorded on loop."

shidou ryusei

shidou lives for the chaos of your idol life. paparazzi? fans? scandals? bring it on. he thrives on being the center of attention, especially when it involves you. he’s the boyfriend who gets caught sneaking onto stage mid-performance just to blow you a kiss.

he’s also fiercely protective, ready to throw hands with anyone who disrespects you. but when it’s just the two of you, he’s surprisingly soft, reminding you why you fell for him in the first place.

"ryu, you can’t just interrupt my concerts!"

"what? they loved it. besides, i missed you."

"you saw me five minutes ago!"

"five minutes too long."

itoshi sae

sae isn’t the best at expressing his feelings, but his actions speak volumes. he doesn’t show up to your events often, but when he does, it’s with flowers in hand and a rare smile just for you. he admires your dedication but worries you’re pushing yourself too hard.

he’s also your harshest yet most supportive critic, always giving honest feedback because he wants you to be your best.

"sae, was my performance okay?"

"it was good. but you can do better."

"...you could’ve just said you’re proud of me."

"i am. but you already knew that."

michael kaiser

kaiser adores the spotlight, and dating you? it only adds to his charm. he loves flaunting your relationship, whether it’s through matching outfits or casually mentioning you in interviews. he’s cocky, but his support is unwavering, always hyping you up like your personal cheerleader.

he’s also lowkey competitive, challenging you to see who can trend on social media first after a big event. spoiler: you always win.

"kaiser, stop refreshing twitter."

"i need to know if we’re trending."

"you’re ridiculous."

"ridiculously in love with you."

alexis ness

ness is the sweetest, most wholesome boyfriend. he’s constantly in awe of your talent and works hard to make you feel appreciated, from writing you letters to learning your favorite songs on the piano. he’s also your biggest fan, always gushing about you to anyone who’ll listen.

he gets flustered when fans recognize him as “your boyfriend” but secretly loves it.

"ness, are you blushing?"

"n-no! i just—your fans are so nice."

"you’re adorable."

"not as adorable as you."

© txrully :: 2024

do not copy, translate or plagiarize my works.

[celestiaras]

‧₊˚✧ ❛[ zali-senpai!! ]❜

ft. vezalius bandage x f! reader — krisis, nijisanji en

╰₊✧ zali is finally a senpai & gets particularly attached to a certain kouhai┊0.9k words

note: i’m not writing for the real streamer, this is a universe where they are streamers along with whatever occupation their lore follows contains: a little smut at the end!! dom zali & sub reader┊reader is part of ttt & a princess who wears a dress, innocence kink, and implied virginity loss

➤ author's note: so i came up with this idea when ttt debuted and wrote it all in one day… yeah it’s been a while. reader is a princess because… zali calling you princess and him being your prince charming… 

senpai! vezalius bandage who’s the most excited out of krisis to finally have kouhai after being considered the babies of the group for six months, now being the predecessor of the ninth wave that contained a cleric, a swordsmaster, a kunoichi, and a princess. he’s just so thrilled, already having his card in hand to buy the available welcome merch to support the newest wave and spamming his twitter with comments about how cool you all were during your introductions to the viewers.

senpai! vezalius bandage who absolutely loves it when you refer to him as such, making his heart skip a beat and the butterflies in his stomach go ballistic. sure, he feels happy when the others call him that too, but the way you say it makes him feel an emotion that’s indescribable (it’s actually a mix of horny and puppy crush, but he doesn’t know that yet). it makes heat rush to his face and dust his handsome face with a pale rose which he just blames for not being used to the honorific, causing him to get teased by his own genmates when they catch on.

senpai! vezalius bandage who always gives great advice, willing to tell you all of the embarrassing moments he had just so that you could learn from his mistakes and breaks down everything complicated so that it’s more simple to understand. he’s always there to remind you to drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest because he knows how hectic the first month of debut is. if it ever gets too much, feel free to call him whenever and he’ll help you sort it out! 

senpai! vezalius bandage who thinks you are so cute when you follow him around like a baby duckling and watch as he shows you the ropes of streaming with wide sparkling eyes, he has to stop himself from giggling at how you seem so fascinated by simple things he does daily. he’s even cooler to you because of his job as a hero who heals those in need, something that you wish you could do as a princess for the people of your kingdom. he inspires you so much to donate both time and money to charity, helping out those in need in the best way you can. 

senpai! vezalius bandage who you did your very first collab with outside of your genmates, spending the better half of the game talking about how amazing he was helping you out and how the other three were jokingly jealous at how much attention he was giving you. anyone with working eyes and ears could sense the immaculate chemistry, a ship name was created the same day and was flooded with artwork the next. you would never admit it, but you check the tag almost every single day while lying in bed and kick your feet blushing with each new post. 

senpai! vezalius bandage who knows that you have little free time between the busy debut month schedule and your normal royal duties, so he makes an effort to sneak you away for some freedom because what kind of awful person would he be if he didn’t look after the well-being of his kouhai? being a hero gives him lots of experience when it comes to sneaking around, so getting past the guards and to your bedroom window is a piece of cake!

senpai! vezalius bandage who will play the guitar and serenade you in the garden, singing love songs to get you all flustered under the moonlight. he would have never thought a gorgeous princess like you was so inexperienced in romantic situations like this, but he’s more than pleased to teach you all about the wonderful world of love your strict life has never allowed you to know. 

senpai! vezalius bandage who adores how big your eyes get and how flustered you become when he steals away your first real kiss, not the half-assed peck you received from some prince when you were little under pressure, a kiss which made your heart flutter and made you feel desired. he can’t but giggle at the way you looked like a deer in headlights and radiated warmth from how flustered you were.  

senpai! vezalius bandage who plays the gentleman and leaves it there for the moment, not wanting to rush into anything too quickly even though he could already tell you were subconsciously rubbing your thighs together to relieve the little ache the simple kiss gave you— god, you were so cute he could just eat you up. not yet though, he would leave you hanging just for tonight and take care of himself when he gets home.

senpai! vezalius bandage who can’t keep up the act for very long, not when you’re an angel descended from heaven and so close to him at all times. it takes about a week at the very least before you find yourself pinned down by him, his hands trailing up your frilly dress and his tongue shoved into your mouth exploring while he relishes your pitched little moans.

senpai! vezalius bandage who thinks you’re even cuter when stuttering out a weak “zali senpai~” while he presses you into the wall and fucks you from behind at an erratic pace, his gloved hands maintaining a strong grip on your hips to help you stay upright since your legs were on the verge of giving out under you— not stopping until you’re seeing stars and your legs are shaking so that he can carry you around afterward <3

[project-sekai-facts]

Fes gacha updates

Before I say anything else I'm just gonna say the vast majority of the fes updates are incredibly disappointing, especially if you're F2P. Like seriously if you're F2P don't expect to come out of this post entirely happy. I can be mean to clpl because I'm F2P and this is total bullshit. Anyway.

Starting from the fes gacha on this sunday, Colorful Festival will now be known as Bloom Festival! It also has a newly designed logo as seen in the picture above, complete with flowers in all the unit colors, including Virtual Singer, which pretty much confirms that all 26 characters will be getting 2nd fes cards. The good thing about this confirmation is that unless they fuck with the schedule again and put 3 characters on one banner a few times, this means the story will continue past 6th anniversary, something there'd previously been concerns about. There's only 9 fes banners before 6th anniversary (10 if you include 6th anniversary), but you need 13 banners to cover everyone. So that's really nice news!

More information that we were told on stream, as well as story and gacha lineup predictions can be found below the cut!

Unfortunately we have not yet been told what exactly the differences between colofes and bloomfes are in terms of story. Based on the whole journey to bloom/world bloom (internal name for WLEs) thing, I reckon it could be something like the characters' Fragment SEKAI expanding, like what happened with the Tree SEKAI in Let Your Song Resonate. It would also tie into the plot of WLEs, so it would make a lot of sense. Some other speculation I've seen since March is that they might have entirely new Fragment SEKAI, which I think is entirely plausible due to character development and changes in their personal conflicts, and another was that these could be like bandori's kirafes cards, which focus on relationships. While I think this would be interesting, and makes some sense since prsk does take influence from bandori in some ways due to sharing a parent company (craftegg), I feel like they would've mentioned that.

We do know a lot about the differences between bloomfes and colofes on a meta and gameplay level, and unfortunately this is the not f2p-friendly part.

The main gimmick of bloom festival that differentiates them from colofes is that bloomfes cards will have 2 skills! One skill will apply for the untrained card, and one for the trained card. You can switch them at any time, presumably by flipping the illustration when it's on your deck. There's a catch though. The catch is that to train bloomfes cards, you will need 3 Wish Drops (the items used to level up area items past lvl10) on top of all the regular 4* training materials. All players will be given 3 wish drops for free, but aside from that these are incredibly hard to earn for casual players due to being the most expensive item in the event shop at 50000 tokens per wish drop. Basically the game is forcing you to sacrifice other shop rewards, tier, or spend money. Not that colopale needs it when the game earns millions a month.

(translated graphic from @/pjsekai_eng on Twitter)

The skills are also not the most fairly balanced. That's an understatement actually. You have to be a massive whale to get the max skill on these cards, it is literally impossible for casual players.

The untrained card skills vary between virtual singers and human characters. For vsingers, at max level, they give a 90% score boost, but gain +30% boost for every different unit type on your team (though it only applies to two types max, giving you a total of 150% bonus). This is pretty easy to achieve, so that's good for scoring purposes!

For human characters, you get an 80% base score boost at max skill level. By selecting one other card in your team, you get an additional boost of half of that card's skill increase (eg: if the card selected has a score boost of 100%, the bloomfes score boost will get 50% added to its base 80%, for 130% total). I'm not sure if this card is selected manually or automatically. But nonetheless this is a pretty good skill too!

The issue lies with the trained skill. At max level, it gives a base score boost of 110%, which is pretty good, but the additional boost is scaled by your Character Rank, with +1% score boost per 2 ranks (eg: a player with a CR40 Miku will get a bonus 20% score boost) on top of the 110, for 130% boost total). The issue here is that the absolute max boost you can get require CR100, which is ridiculously hard to get without spending money, and is near impossible to do for multiple characters. In other words, this skill is for your oshi, and you have to be willing to spend a lot or grind a lot for said oshi. And also be lucky enough to even pull your oshi from the gacha. It's incredibly geared towards P2P players and is totally unfair for F2P players. There's also the issue of the fact you need 3 wish drops to even unlock this skill, another thing that is against F2P players.

Anyway, let's move on to something a bit more fun! Who is gonna be fes? Here's an overview of how it's looking right now:

There's three possible ways that the fes cards could be paired up: using the same pairs as colofes, using different but still same-unit pairs, or using mixed unit pairs.

I think the second or third option is more likely. If you wanted to do the first option, it would have to be Honami/Shiho, Haruka/Airi or An/Toya, but there's still chance that An could be on Kohane5, Haruka only very recently had a card (though this has not stopped other characters, and Shiho is quite likely to be on the event.

In terms of alternate same-unit pairs, I think Kanade/Ena and Airi/Shizuku are the most likely. Kanade and Ena are both reward cards on the current Mafuyu event, so it could be a sign that they'll be fes, plus Kanade hasn't had a 4* since February. However, both of them have a lot of 4*s right now, with Niigo having the most in the game overall. Alternatively there's Shizuku and Airi. Airi is the second-most due for a lim out of all the characters, with her last one being released at the end of October last year. Shizuku only very recently got a card, but again this has not been much of an issue in the past, with Minori, Tsukasa, and Emu all getting fes cards very soon after an event where they got 4*s (or an event where they got unit-gacha lims for Tsukasa and Emu).

However if you wanted to go for mixed unit pairings, the most likely options are probably Ichika/Kanade, Honami/Kanade, or Airi/Ena. However if the june event isn't 2-B lims, the Hinomori sisters and Saki/Airi are also options. Ichika hasn't had a 4* since white day, neither has Kanade, and Honami hasn't had one since Rise as One. However, we know they will be getting cards soon, and under the assumption that 2-B lims happen, it seems a bit unfair to give 3/4 of Leoneed lims just before WLE. I don't have an argument against Airi/Ena, it's definitely the most likely out of these options.

However, just for consistency I'm willing to bet that they'll stick with same-unit pairs. In that case, I think either Kanade/Ena or Airi/Shizuku is very likely. Maybe I'm leaning a bit more towards Airi, but only because she's more in need of a lim.

But just to throw one last thing out there: the next update will implement an increased, 25% event bonus for default virtual singers, a bonus that pretty much exclusively applies to fes cards since players are far less likely to use the default vsinger 1*s and 2* on their team. So there's a chance, albeit slim, that they could throw us under the bus with Len/KAITO fes. I still think Kanade/Ena or Airi/Shizuku is more likely.

Anyway, that's all for now. Some of these updates are a bit disappointing but I'm interested to see the cards and read their stories! I'll update this post if we learn any more information.

[treasurechestsubs]

Mo Dao Zu Shi Audio Drama S1 Extra - Lotus Seed Pod English Subbed

Hello everyone~ :)

Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) Audio Drama S1 Extra - Lotus Seed Pod is now available~!

This episode can be accessed via our discord server. To request an invite to the server, please fill up this >> request form<<

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Many a times, it happens that our email to you having the invite link goes to your spam folder in your mailbox. So please do check once check there once and if you still haven’t received an invite, contact us on tumblr. Please note, due to my hectic workload, I might not be able to answer all questions regarding “when will I get an invite?” Since I manually check your responses to the form and send out the invites, it does take time as well.

Also, please do double-check the email address you put down because one reason for you not receiving any invite could also be that you put down a wrong email address and so the mail bounced back. If this has happened, simply reply to the email you had received in your spam. I’ll send out a new invite link.

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Happy watching~! ^o^

[destinationtoast]

*waves shyly* Hello!! First off, I absolutely adore all of your stats and get excited when you post new ones -- thank you so much for all that you do!

Secondly, a friend and I have been discussing fandom longevity lately, and I wondered if you have thoughts? Subjectively, it seems to us that new fandoms tend to have more quick bursts of fandom activity when a new season/movie/book/etc comes out that fades quickly with time, whereas older established fandoms have more staying power. I'm curious if you have any insight about whether this is objectively true in most cases or not, and as to whether or not the type of canon source material matters (eg show-based fandoms vs book-based fandoms). I hope you're having a great day <3

Hi there, and thanks! :D This is a great question, and one I have been having a bunch of conversations about lately.

I share this subjective experience -- it sure seems like the attention span of fans and lifespan of fandoms is shorter than it used to be, when I think of how quickly people stop talking about a bunch of newer movies and TV shows these days. And then I see some of the older fandoms like Harry Potter still producing a ton of new fanworks, and I think, "Wow, maybe new fandoms just don't have the staying power of older ones." At the same time, I also question how objectively true/simple that story is for a few reasons, including:

Memory bias: When we look back on the past, the fandoms we remember most are usually the ones that lasted a long time. So our estimates of past fandom longevity may be overly generous.

Changes to fandom size: Maybe any changes to fandom lifespan are mostly due to some other change, like fandom size... Attention is more splintered these days than it used to be across more streaming services/etc, and I think there are more, smaller fandoms than there used to be. Maybe if a fandom doesn't get really huge, it's just not likely to last that long.

For TV fandoms -- changes to canon release schedule: most TV shows used to have seasons that lasted most of the year, so they had a lot more reason to stay in the public mind longer. Now many seasons are shorter and sometimes drop all at once. Perhaps if we compared popular TV procedurals with 22 episodes/season from now vs. ~a decade ago, we'd see similar patterns of fandom activity?

I've been thinking about ways to try to gather quantitative data about the changes, and testing out a few methods. A few ideas I've had:

Look at the Tumblr official lists of top fandoms and see whether the top fandoms tend to leave the top 20 rankings faster now than they used to. (The Tumblr rankings go all the way back to 2013 on a yearly basis, at least -- I'm not sure how long they've been releasing the weekly lists; those may have started later.)

Look at AO3 fandom activity after new canon infusions - how quickly does activity drop off after a new movie/book/video game release, or after a TV season ends? How has the rate of activity dropoff changed over the years? (And how much of that seems to be explained by other factors, like fandom size?)

See how quickly AO3 authors/creators tend to migrate to new fandoms, and how that's changed over time - many authors tend to be active in multiple fandoms, so we'd have to define what it means to migrate to a new fandom, but I think we could do so in a way that would allow us to look for changes.

Look at Tumblr, Twitter/X, and/or Reddit activlty after new canon infusions - same as AO3, but on a platform where people are posting shorter content and there's more of a discussion. (This data would be harder to collect, though.)

I'd love to also hear other ideas. I think I'm going to need some volunteers to help gather data if I do any of the above, though... Readers, if you'd be interested in helping to gather data for an hour or more to help investigate this question, please reply/DM and let me know! And/or join the new fandom-data-projects community.

Also if any readers know of anyone else who has looked into this/similar questions, I'd love to hear about it!

[triflesandparsnips]

(eta 10/10/23: Having just realized that this is now a very easy to google explainer, please also see the full end-of-game roundup here: "when something is definitely not a game, but most definitely a gift" or my related #definitely not a game tag. We now return you to your regularly scheduled nonsense, currently in progress.)

So... so.

So this just dropped.

And listen. LISTEN. For people who haven't been following this Our Flag Means Death-related alternate-reality-shenanigan fest, the following will make no sense to you-- or, wait, fuck it--

A Brief History of the Javid Denkins Alternate-Reality Game

(I didn't intend "overly long essays about in-depth fandom-related shenanigans" to be my brand, but by god I'm here now and I will make us all suffer through it.)

Reality (As We Know It)

Established and verified gay pirate showrunner David Jenkins is a regular shenanigineer on twitter: retweets fanart, retweets cosplays, calls fans sluts (endearment), has ongoing fight with medieval cats.

Back in 2022, David Jenkins implied heavily that he had joined tumblr, but did not cough up his account name.

This is the sum total of real and actual events and identities.

Through the Looking Glass

Fans started looking for David Jenkins's tumblr. What fans found is the tumblr of one Javid Denkins, who appeared to be new, had a variant of Jenkins's twitter icon, and seemed to be cheekily maintaining an incognito by steadfastly asserting that he is definitely not David Jenkins.

Fans got weird about it, because that is the nature of fandom. I said something about it here, because I have Feelings about the Rules of Incognito and also about Not Being Weird About People Who Make the Content We Like. I put it as a reblog to the post, as per regular tumblring, no response requested/required because babes, if I'm going to be perceived, I want it to be organic. (ahem... FOOTNOTE 1)

I kept a cursory eye on things, because it can be Really Lonely to be a famous person who just wants to have a regular online experience, and if that's what whoever was on the other end wanted, then that's what they should get to have imo. Unlike a regular tumblr that I might reply to directly or engage with on a same-level kinda way, I let them set the rules of engagement because unless/until they came clean, they would always be Schrodinger's Showrunner to me, and therefore subject to my internal Don't Be Creepy ruleset.

My second Javid reblog was pretty much what I would do to any other newbie tumblr person (as they professed to be): adding on to a gag by referencing the "color of the sky" meme and also a seagull, for OFMD-related reasons (which fit within the ruleset, because Javid was actively connecting himself with OFMD type things). And Javid reblogged it, so hey, I was winning at tumblr interactions, a thing that is normal to want and possible to achieve.

Time passed. Javid dropped (what will be revealed to be the first of many) photo manipulations. (FOOTNOTE 2)

On the same day, Javid posted what looked like an accidental smashkey. I reblogged with a seagull, because again, established rules of engagement and me winning at tumblr interactions. He reblogged himself, though, with what looked like another smashkey, but was actually a goddamn Caesar cipher-- and started using the tag #definitely not a game.

From there, Javid started up a stream of fairly fun puzzles. I didn't keep up with it fully, but since it looked like Javid wanted people to interact, I interacted (while trying to ensure that other people could keep having fun too). He also started subtly changing his icon, his tumblr header, etc., expanding the bounds of the puzzle space, as it were. (And if you want a complete rundown of the puzzle history and the associated answers, this twitter thread is enormous and thorough, thank you @eefaevie.)

The seagull made an appearance every once in a while; I threw together various season 2 bingo cards in response to these potential spoilers; I spent my time largely keeping back so I could eat popcorn and Not Be Creepy. But... but.

The thing was, Javid's method of posting (in a "heeeere fishy fishy fishy" manner) seemed, to me, to be the actions of someone trying to play with the audience and/or provide enrichment for the enclosure. So after some thought and, again, remembering the loneliness of being a Creative Person but trying to be mindful that this person was still incognito and could be the actual dude, I started using the seagull to reblog extra content, links, whathaveyou, with the tag #enrichment can go in BOTH enclosures-- with the idea that, if Javid wanted to look, he had the option to do so-- and if he did, he'd be rewarded with, again, no demands on him or his attention, but just: some content. Some enrichment. Some fun. A "picking up what you're putting down" kind of vibe from one person to another, both of whom are, at the very least, interested in communicating with an audience.

To be clear: For me, at the end of the day, it had to be a choice. I needed to provide room for Javid to choose to enter the magic circle of my additional game play-- but I also wasn't going to hold my breath about it. This was Javid's space, with intentions and purposes I had no way of knowing (nor should I)-- I was just, metaphorically, bringing another set of dice and maybe some graph paper with an extra room drawn on it that he could easily enter if he wanted, to play in a space intended to complement his. He was putting in a shitton of labor for what was essentially just a gift; I wanted to show appreciation for that labor, while putting in some of my own to gift back.

So when the first round of puzzles ended, and a new one began, I linked the answers to one of his anagram puzzles inside some seagull gifs-- but I figured, why not add something extra? I used his pigpen cipher to dare him to use a book code next. To even see the dare he'd have to want to decode the gifs-- and if he ultimately didn't want to engage, no skin off my nose. (That's why there's a border around the magic circle with clear entrances and exits.) Either way, I was having a nice time.

The next puzzle type was a stereogram. (Neat.) The puzzle after that, though? I get tagged and informed that Javid has, in fact, posted a motherfucking book code. (FOOTNOTE 3)

Enter the Thunder Parasocial Dome

This is the point where I first have to be pulled down from the curtains by rational people who have only my best interests at heart.

(Having a whole Thesis Statement about why I was engaging with Schrodinger's Showrunner is one thing. Having possible evidence that my engagement was, like, actually engaged with is quite another.)

By sweet and loving friends and family I was reminded that:

Other people are, in fact, allowed to be clever about things too.

That all sorts of pre-planning may have gone into all this, and that therefore the timing was a coincidence.

That there are a limited number of easily accessible ciphers out there, so the code type could also be a coincidence.

And that either way I still have my important Don't Be Creepy code of ethics.

So. I took a deep breath. Cool. I was totally and absolutely cool about this.

...And in a totally normal manner I proceeded to lay an elaborate trap.

AHAHAHA JUST JOKING what I mean is: I replied to the tagged post, acknowledging that the sphere of potential puzzling had now expanded beyond tumblr. I used Javid's own fake-link trick to link to a seagull laugh. And in the tags I threw in a lot of potential internet-related alternate reality stuff.

But also, crucially... some more ideas for Javid to use. (FOOTNOTE 4) If he wanted them. If he was actually looking.

Since I was now playing In Earnest, I spent some time putting together a youtube channel, an alternate tumblr, a neocities account -- a whole new field of play, if Javid wanted to engage there. I pulled out the dusty memories of a Yuletide fic I wrote several years ago that used similar shenanigans to tell an interactive fiction story about Monty Python. (Hilariously enough, my first RPF.) I continued to play with all these new and fascinating toys.

A Strange Ship on the Horizon

What with one thing and another three years pass, a Javid puzzle eventually lead to an AO3 account-- which to me definitively opened Schrodinger's box: maybe this was a member of the production playing with fire, more likely it was a clever fan whose brain is fucking fascinating, but it most definitely was not David Jenkins.

But. Javid was still in incognito. And I still don't know if I had been perceived.

I read the fic the Javid account is writing (which is still a work in progress and pretty great ngl)-- it's a fandom AU, where Ed and Stede are fans of a gay pirate romcom called Blow the Man Down, featuring Sam Bellamy and Olivier Levasseur. The showrunner is named Javid, who doesn't have social media but gets cornered into agreeing to join twitter (rather than our universe's tumblr). And Ed decides, on a lark, to start a fake twitter account, tag it #definitelynotjaviddenkins... and then freak out because a large contingent of fandom shows up on his metaphorical doorstep saying HELLO, JAVID.

As if this weren't enough: beyond the fic itself, suddenly a whole multimedia alternate universe suddenly appeared, with multiple twitter and AO3 accounts beyond just Stede and Ed, forming an entire fucking fandom, Goncharov-style, around Blow the Man Down. It was and continues to be fucking wild. It's also amazing. And the porn is surprisingly approachable. (BUT SEE AGAIN FOOTNOTE 1)

Grappling Hooks Breaching the Parasocial Divide

The thing is, though. The thing. That is.

I have officially reached Level 2 Curtain Clawing.

As I read the fic and the accompanying universe, I started to. Notice things.

References to soap (but... but surely that's normal. Many people talk about soap, not just amateur history enthusiasts like myself).

References to obscure scents (LABDANUM. Someone referenced labda-motherfucking-num. But surely. Surely it is not an entirely unheard of thing; I am not the first person to discover it or the fact that it gets combed from goats jesus christ the goat thing I forgot about that--)

References to the drilled coin from the wreck of Sam Bellamy's ship, which appeared as a random bit of possible future lore for Javid in this bit of enrichment (but I put in lots of possible lore! I had a whole thing going about figureheads! Bad luck to kill a seabird! I had a whole thing for a while where I thought maybe the digraph code Javid was hinting at was actually a Playfair cipher! I have been wrong many times before and added lots of random possible narratives. SO SURELY THE COIN IS A COINCIDENCE).

References to... okay not really references, and I've never articulated it quite like this (though this is definitely my vibe), but references to the idea of these puzzles and enrichment being a conversation in and of themselves, held at a remove and existing entirely in call (Javid) and response (the audience).

Finally... I started to notice that Stede decodes/interprets Ed-as-Javid's puzzles in a long twitter thread (like... like the one linked above) but also... sends back puzzles. Like, well, me.

"But STILL," I screech from the top of the curtain rail. "This could ALL BE COINCIDENCE," I yowl as friends and family try to bat me down with a broom. Even, by god, today's drop... which uses a password-protected url shortener. The exact same one I used in an earlier enrichment. But! It's not like there are a lot of those! Maybe this was just the first one that cropped up for Javid, just as it was the first that cropped up for me! (BUT THEN AGAIN, MAY I REFER YOU BACK TO FOOTNOTE 4)

The fic is at chapter 14. There are, if AO3 is to be believed, 7 more chapters to go, plus who knows how much additional extra-universe material. There is so. much. here.

...And so many more opportunities to climb all the curtains.

“It's a great huge game of chess that's being played—all over the world—if this is the world at all, you know.”

So at this point... what, in fact, is happening?

I'm inside a Schrodinger's box whose sides are entirely composed of parasocial uncertainty.

Maybe Javid is here. (HELLO, JAVID.)

Maybe he isn't! (HELLO, THE MIRROR IN MY ENCLOSURE.)

Maybe I'm not actually being referenced at all, but the writer of that twitter thead, @eefaevie, is (HI EEFAEVIE WHAT'S UP HOW'S THE PARASOCIAL AIR IN YOUR ENCLOSURE DOIN')

I don't know. I can't know. Unless someone opens the box.

and my god, what if they never do?

tl;dr. This is the most enriching fun I've had in months, and if the magic circle is going to widen to include me, then friend, I intend to BRING MY A-GAME.

---

FOOTNOTES

1. During the course of that mini-essay, I say the following:

"If it's someone who is not the dude but just a tumblrite who managed to catch on really quick? Well goddamn, good for them, and also A+ Wink-Nudge acrobatics. Real dude can have a peaceful time reading critical analyses of Goncharov, Javid here can quietly start introducing strange lore and running gags and other fun-with-plausible-deniability shenanigans".

One day later Javid starts answering questions about characters with enigmatic season 2 spoilery things; a little less than ten days later, we get the first fake link (which, imo, is the real start of the game).

2. This is now only 24 days after my "strange lore and fun with plausible deniability" post.

3. My dare: January 26. Javid's book code: February 4.

4. My tags on the post wherein I acknowledge that the dare has, possibly, been taken up, read: #you know what's cool? besides how #enrichment can go in BOTH enclosures #is how much you can do with html #like sure sure we've all seen the embedded links #but I remember the days of hidden source code messages #websites with delayed redirects #passwords hidden on one site to open the locked contents of another #you know #~normal things~ #I'm certain none of this will become relevant #because this is #definitely not a game

[mimikoolover]

The "Feeling free" convo was my favourite part of the trailer. Honestly so far it looks like the show is exactly what I expected. Them bringing cameras, and som staff ofc, on semi spontaneous trips where they could just enjoy fun activities and each other's company before enlistment. A little escape in between their busy schedules. And they look so happy😭 That's the best part. All we could ever ask for is to see them this happy <3 Of course it's not a private trip, because they did choose to share this with us and make it into a show, it's two birds one stone. But anyone calling it just a work trip is so far off. You can tell how much this meant to them personally, and how excited they are about sharing footage with army. I might be going into delulu territory here but... I also kinda think them being so excited to gift this to us is partly because they feel very loved and validated when fans are supportive and excited over seeing them together and appreciating their special bond. I'm sure no matter how they define their relationship is it's nice to see. I don't know how much they see of fans reactions to stuff, especially not now while serving, but in the past too, it honestly seems like they love their jikook loving fans a lot. I hope they see all the love and as little negativity as possible.

also solos and shippers bending over backwards to pit them against each other, claim they're being forced into things, they're not actually close, all that bullshit, would honestly be hilarious if it wasn't so sad. like.... stay pressed stay miserable while they're out here sharing their happy vibes with those who get it like the unbothered kings they are byeee

gonna take your ask as a chance to kinda go into what I didn't end up saying in a long post if you don't mind lol

I agree with everything you said but I wanna take it a step further...it was a 'work' trip in that they knew this was going to be streamed on one of the biggest entertainment streaming platforms owned by one of the biggest companies on earth (disney). but their work is not the same as an office job or a retail job, they are artists and sharing their life, emotions, experiences through their art in multiple mediums is what they do. for example GCF in Tokyo was technically 'work' because jk ended up posting the video on a 'work' platform but clearly they were not doing what anyone considers as work in Japan. I think their trips for are you sure are similar in nature, just with the added factor of them knowing that it will go on disney+.

what I think we don't talk about enough is the context around these trips and 2023. jikook were not seeing each other as much as they're used to, that much is for sure. prior to 2023 they not only worked together but spent loads of time together outside of work which was their choice. then chapter 2 begun and jimin was working on his solo album(s) which meant that jikook were not spending the same amount of time together. take romance out of the equation and even then not seeing your best friend you're using to seeing everyday for 10 years must have been hard, especially as they don't exactly have a 'normal' life so I would argue as friends they are closer than usually friends are. we also have to take into account that while working on their solo material, they were working with many people, many new people as well, and jungkook was basically surrounded by people who were not korean and that must have been tough. like if you go spend a day in another country where you have to interact with people in another language for a whole day that's exhaustingggg af. that's why I'm glad they could do their trips between actual work. it must have been a big relief that they can spend time together again and do fun stuff which they wanted to before enlisting anyway.

I think they appreciate their bond being appreciated by us for sure. I have a (semi) delulu theory that when jimin used to post jungkook photos on twitter all the time it was because it bothered him when people would say that they're not close. when jungkook talked about doing something that we will really look forward to which we now know was their travel show, I think he meant it 100%. he only considers fans to be people who enjoy seeing jikook together and who support the content they make together.

2023 to me was very much about bts doing what they themselves want to do more than what the company wants them to do and I think it has to do with them signing new contracts, getting more say in what goes on within the company etc. in the soop friendcation is a good example. from a business point of view, was that a good move? I would argue not. tae filming with his friends who have nothing to do with bts is arguably not the greatest money-generator idea (I assume the wooga squad got paid too). it was clearly something tae wanted to do himself that the company agreed to. and that's what's funny because he could've done it with jk if he wanted (same as taekook could've enlisted together if they wanted to) and the company would've been all over that idea because of $$$ in their eyes. I always said it makes no sense that the company doesn't capitalise on jikook's chemistry and how they can work together so well and they love to do it as well. I still don't know why they didn't but it's probably to do with the aversion towards subunits within bts that comes from somewhere ??? but in 2023, when they were all doing what they wanted, we got jungkook going on lives being more himself than ever before, asking for jimin, reacting to jimin content, mentioning jimin and chatting with him when jimin was in chat, all of that, and then we got jikook travelling to 3 different places to film basically their holidays together. and yes taekook hung out too but that's not a big shock to anyone honestly. I think the private discussion is funny because it's so naive of people to think that jikook never saw each other in 2023. they most likely did but that was in private😂so obviously we don't know about it😭

when certain fandom actors call are you sure a work trip they do it because they want the underlying assumption that work means not genuine to come across and it's funny cause they want to act like because it was being filmed it wasn't something jikook did because they wanted to, when it was. they were having fun ffs not sitting in the same office writing emails all day long. they genuinely wanted to spend time together and they did.

the problem for these people is that the travel show is not a taekook show, let's be really bloody honest here. any shippers, not just taekook, would DIE to have a show like this from their ship, just like how they'd die to have their ship enlist together. jikook do stuff I've not seen any other 'ship' do and that's why people are so mad. as usual they want for their ship what jikook have together.

I'm not saying are you sure is going to be making some kinda statement because I doubt that but just the fact that they wanted to do this together says a lot. btw I'm half expecting for them to start on the 'they wouldn't have done this travel show and let their holidays be filmed if they were dating' agenda just like how they're now saying that couples don't enlist together even though they were wishing for years that taekook will enlist together lol

[myobsessionsspace]

Oh how we missed you!

Being apart of an artist/group fandom is so interesting. It’s different from being a casual fan of something, being apart of a fandom. You can say you like an artists’ music, buy a couple of albums, go to a concert and buy some tour merch etc. You may even keep up with news here and there about said artists or group.

Being part of a fandom however is different. Not only do you keep up with their discography, but you try to consume every piece of content you can on your favs, you also try to seek out like minded individuals and communities, where they also are a fan of your favs, to the degree you are. In fandoms you tend to seek more than the readily accessible content the ‘general public’ can easily attain, you find out all the obscure facts on your favs etc

When you’re part of a fandom you do create a sort of ‘parasocial’ relationship with your favs. You are happy for them when they are happy, you’re sad when they are sad, you get to know they likes & dislikes and you miss them when you don’t get new interactions from them.

JIMIN-SSI 🗣️🗣️🗣️

You spoiled us!!!

Jimin has through the years been consistent with his interactions with ARMY.

The member who probably tweeted the most in the first few years on their twitter account.

The member who probably did the most V Lives/Weverse lives.

We used him as our weatherman (even though millions of us don’t live in Seoul).

We relied on his care for our health and to ward off the common cold causing germs.

Even though he never got the hang of being on other social network platforms as much, we could always rely on him for a check in via Weverse.

The man was in hospital after having his appendix out AND STILL updated us, letting us know he was doing well!

So yes, being a BTS fan and having the ‘relationship’ all 7 have created with us, we can say they have all spoilt us. Over the years they have tremendously spoilt us, treating us like their 8th member, their friends, their partners on their journey.

Park Jimin, Mr Dior, Mr Tiffany, Mr 1st Korean Soloist to reach Number 1 on Billboard Hot 100!

Let’s keep our stable king going

You Jiminie, have spoilt us to the point where we feel ‘entitled’ to complain (oh Jungkookie this 2023, Chapter 2, you too have also spoilt us, so so much, thank you!).

But instead of complaining, I’m writing this out of gratitude.

Thank you for treating us triply just recently!

Our Jungkookie, the birthday boy, even though very busy with schedules for his upcoming mini album…

Stream Seven for the birthday boy

Not only did you give an internet breaking post on Instagram for his birthday

Which may have been a birthday post…but it was a present for US, so I say thank you!

Jungkook doesn’t have IG anymore, Jimin has kept us waiting whilst he ‘searched’ for his password and both he and JK live in weverse, so he posted it on Twitter FOR ALL OF US, I’m taking it, thank you very much.

He also fulfilled his ambassadorship role royally and blessed our eyes with his beauty, charm and grace.

To end it all he not only came on live to end his evening with us, he broke down some of his protective walls to show us some of what is inside HIS physical four walls.

We may have mixed feelings about it, ultimately he knows what he’s comfortable with. He knows what he wants to show us, when he wants to show it to us and how he wants to show it to us.

Jimin, we missed you, you are an individual who is entitled to your privacy, your free time, your space and your boundaries. Whenever you do post we love it.

We’re excited for what has been keeping you busy, if it’s anywhere close to our musings based on your tiny hints and what you’ve already shown us artistically, we know it’ll be worth the wait.

💜

[firetrucks-fastcars]

What do you think danny would do/say about max being a menace in the twitch chat? 👀🤭

Not gonna lie, this one got away from me. I set this in the quartet verse because that's where I talk about this dynamic the most so apologies if that doesn't fit your vibe

Feel free to send me more of these little blurb prompts, I really enjoy them

Cross posted on ao3 here (just in case reading long posts on tumblr annoys you)

______________________________________________________________

When Daniel returned home from running errands, the door to Max’s office was shut. That wasn’t an unusual sight, he usually liked to clock out the noise of the cats while he was sim racing or keep the other three boys out of sight when he was streaming with Redline. Daniel was almost positive he didn’t have a stream scheduled today, but he still knocked lightly, the secret code they’d established upon all of them transitioning to living together in Max and Daniel’s apartment.

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door before Daniel heard Max call, “Come in.”

Max was sitting at his sim setup, the title screen for one of his racing games pulled up on the monitor in front of him but no game running. Instead he was on his phone, grinning at what looked like a twitch stream. 

“Hey Maxy,” Daniel stood behind him, squeezing his shoulders lightly and dropping a kiss to his head. “Whatcha doing?”

“I just wanted to drop into the boys stream for a minute,” Max explained, closing the app and locking his phone, placing it face down on the desk to turn in his chair and give Daniel his attention.

“Didn’t feel like streaming with them?”

“Not today. Lando and Charles will be home tomorrow, so I wanted to spend some time with just us tonight.”

“That sounds perfect baby,” Daniel pressed another kiss to his head and ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling where his headset had pushed it flat against his head. “I’m gonna go get started on dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Daniel padded into the kitchen and started pulling out the pre-portioned ingredients for their meal. He wasn’t much of a chef but he could follow the instructions written on the lid of the container. Max made his way into the main room while Daniel was sauteeing the vegetables and took a seat at the island. He immediately started up his stream of consciousness chatter, filling Daniel in on all that he had missed from Max’s day while he was out. Daniel always found it amusing that Max was usually so reserved but almost never shut up when it was just the two of them. He wasn’t even this talkative with Charles and Lando, though Daniel thought that had a bit to do with Lando having no filter and barely even shutting his mouth when he was asleep (Daniel loved him more than anything but he wondered how his jaw didn’t constantly hurt from moving so much).

Max was half-way through a story about Jimmy terrorizing Sassy, which was almost a daily occurrence, when his phone pinged with a message. When he saw that it was from Lando, he turned down the heat on the stove top and picked his phone up, still half listening to Max.

Muppet: look at what Max has been up to today (link)

Danny: realnamegucci?

Daniel furrowed his brows in confusion as he scrolled through the twitter (yes he refused to accept the rebrand) post Lando had sent him. It was a series of screenshots of increasingly unhinged comments in the chat of today’s Redline stream.

Muppet: crane accidentally on purpose exposed Max’s burner account

Danny: oh shit

Muppet: i think Maxy needs a spanking

Danny: is it your place to decide what Max needs

Muppet: no sir

Danny: good boy. now go to sleep it’s way too fucking late where you are

Muppet: yes danny

Muppet: but if you spank him at least video it for us

Danny: lando

Muppet: sorry

“Everything okay?”

Daniel looked up to see Max staring at him with his head tilted to the side like a confused puppy. He realized that he’d become completely absorbed in his conversation with Lando and stopped listening to what Max was saying to him.

“Sorry baby I got distracted. Just Lando being a menace.”

“So a normal Tuesday then?”

“Pretty much.”

“Anything important?”

“Nah, just a link to some twitter post he wanted me to see.”

“You know it is “X” now don’t you Daniel?”

“Fuck you, you know I don’t accept that shit.”

Max chuckled, then yelped as Daniel threw a wadded up paper towel at him, nearly falling off his stool in his attempt to dodge it. 

Daniel plated their meals and sat Max’s in front of him, then joined him at the bar. MAx waited until Daniel had taken the first bite before digging into his own food.

“Good boy,” Daniel praised, reaching over to squeeze Max’s knee gently.

He hadn’t asked Max to be submissive tonight, but he loved the way his boy fell back into their old dynamic when it was just the two of them. He loved Charles and Lando and their relationship wouldn’t be complete without the two of them, but he missed Max’s submissive side sometimes and found it to be a crime that they didn’t have nearly enough time during the season for Max to sub like he used to. 

They ate in comfortable silence, Max occasionally leaning in to bump his shoulder against Daniel’s. There was no pressure, since they hadn’t planned a scene, but he could tell Max was slipping slightly and seeking the contact for comfort. When their plates were cleared, Max stood up without being asked, taking both of their dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. He started the cycle, then pulled the cleaning spray from under the sink and gave the counters a quick wipe-down. He also filled both of their water bottles with fresh ice and water before standing in front of Daniel, waiting for further instructions.

“You’re being a good boy for me tonight Max. Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

At some point, Daniel had caught on to what Max was doing. He was owning up to the comments in the twitch chat without even knowing if Daniel knew about them. 

“I may have done something today,” Max said quietly. “Something I probably shouldn’t have.”

“Alright,” Daniel kept his voice even. “Let’s go sit on the couch and talk about it then.”

Max nodded and Daniel took his hand gently, leading him to the living room. Daniel sat on the end of the chaise part of their sectional sofa and dropped a decorative pillow to the floor at his feet. Max didn’t need to be instructed to kneel, he did so of his own accord. He flipped open the straw to his water bottle and pressed it gently to Max’s lips.

“Drink.”

Max took a few small sips then pulled away. Daniel sat the bottle by their feet and looked down at Max.

“Tell me what you need to tell me, Maxy. The floor is yours, I’m here to listen.”

“While you were gone I was watching the Redline stream. But I watched it on my other account because I didn’t want anyone to know I was there and then start overwhelming the chat trying to talk to me. And Crane and the guys were making jokes so I joined in. Then Crane sort of told everyone it was me. I’m sorry Danny.”

“What did you make jokes about Max?”

“Kinks and stuff,” Max mumbled, dropping his chin.

Daniel didn’t allow it, pressed his fingers under Max’s jaw to make him raise his head.

“Why tell me Max? I didn’t watch the stream, I never would have known.”

“Because those things are private. They’re for us and I know that everyone is taking it as a joke because that’s all it was really. But I don’t want you to think that I think this is a joke.”

He couldn’t help but smile at Max’s earnesty.

“I know you don’t think this is a joke Max. Thank you for being honest with me, I’m very proud of you. Now I’m going to be honest with you. Lando sent me a post that showed all of your comments. I’m not angry, I thought it was funny, just like everyone else. But I’ll ask you this since you felt the need to come clean. Do you think you deserve a punishment?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” “Because I disobeyed a rule. Technically, one of the rules is to be careful what I say so that none of us gets caught and no one gets suspicious.”

“That is true. So what do you think I should do about it?”

“Spanking?”

“You know, that was also Lando’s suggestion.”

That made Max smile a little bit.

“Tell me your words baby, then I’ll talk you through my plan.”

“Green is everything is good, yellow is slow down and talk it through, red is stop immediately.”

“Very good boy. Now, I’m thinking twenty spanks with my hand. Standard and easy.”

“Green,” Max said dutifully when Daniel took a pause.

“I also want to video it. Lando asked and I think it would be fun to use a recording of you being spanked on him when he’s being a brat.”

“Green.”

“Very good boy. Wait here.”

Daniel stood from the couch and maneuvered to set his phone up on the tv stand to record the scene. Once he’d artfully fashioned one of their lamps into a tripod, he pressed record and made his way to sit back down in front of Max. He brushed the younger’s shoulder once as a single that the scene had started, then made himself comfortable.

“Over my lap Max.”

Max positioned himself so that his hips were over Daniel’s thighs and his chest was propped on the sofa. Daniel tugged his sweats and underwear down just enough that his ass and the tops of his thighs were exposed.

“Twenty spanks. Count them for me.”

Max counted right on cue as Daniel littered his skin with sharp hits. It wasn’t the intensity that he would have chosen for a harsher punishment, he didn’t feel that a few dumb jokes on a livestream were deserving of something too painful, but it was definitely enough to sting and he could feel Max’s pale skin growing warm under his palm. When twenty hits were up, he gave Max a moment to breathe before righting his pants and pulling him to sit. 

“Let me go turn off the camera baby,” he said, tucking Max into the corner of the couch with his water bottle and a soft blanket draped over his lap. 

The punishment wasn’t intense enough that he felt Max was in danger of sub-drop, but aftercare was still an important part of their routine. When he returned, Max had drained half of his water and was sitting comfortably waiting for him.

“Feel better now,” Daniel asked, joining him under the blanket and pulling his head to rest on his shoulder.

“Yes. Though now I’m angry at Lando for ratting me out. I should spank him when he gets home tomorrow.”

“Unfortunately it’s not a punishment when they enjoy it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Come on, let’s go lay down. It’s our last night with as much room as we want.”

“As much as I like being able to breathe without getting hair in my nose, I really do miss Charles and Lando.”

“Yeah, me too.”

*****

“Honey, I’m home!”

Lando announced his presence upon arrival to the apartment.

“Bedroom!” Max called back, sushing Charles quietly when he stirred at the noise. As soon as he’d gotten home, Charles had dragged them to bed, not pausing to hear any protests. He’d sworn he was going to stay awake to wait for Lando, but that had gone out the window about five minutes after his head hit the pillow. So Max and Daniel had spent the better part of the morning snuggling Charles and waiting for their fourth partner to join them. 

Lando had already stripped himself of his outer layers by the time he reached them and stopped only to shimmy out of his sweats before joining them in only his underwear and a t-shirt. He wedged himself between Daniel and Max, laying mostly on top of the latter so he could prop his chin on his chest.

“Hi,” he smiled, flashing the gap between his teeth.

“Hello to you too,” Max greeted, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

Lando turned to kiss Daniel, then manipulated his body into the strangest shape Max had ever seen to kiss the top of Charles’s head before settling again. 

“So,” he grinned up at Max mischievously. “How was your spanking?”

“Lando,” Daniel, swatted his ass playfully. “Leave him alone.”

“Did you film it at least? We never get to see Max get put in his place,” he pouted. “You always pick on us.”

“That’s because you’re a brat,” Max said, pinching him lightly.

“Hey!”

“Both of you hush,” Daniel said. “You’re going to wake Charles.”

That put both of them to rest, knowing there would be hell to pay if Charles was woken before he was ready. It was silent for a few moments when Max leaned in to whisper in Lando’s ear.

“Don’t worry baby boy, Daniel recorded it. We’re just saving it for something special.”

Daniel groaned and tugged Lando back into his chest to put some separation between the two of them.

“Menaces, all of you.”

[airadam]

Episode 173 : ...after all this rain.

"...kick rocks or kick rhymes..."

- Jean Grae

The seasons are most definitely changing on this side, and the heavens have been pretty open the last couple of weeks while I've been putting the show together. Unfortunately during that time, we lost a couple of respected DJs and producers, DJ Mark the 45 King and Groove Damoast, both of whom are included in this month's mix. May they rest well.  The selections for this month span a time period of almost fifty years, from a 1975 funk classic to a brand new release from one of Manchester's finest, making stops in the 80s and the independent Hip-Hop wax era of the 90s - something for all the heads!

Don't forget - you can always get an up-to-date list of my next few upcoming streams and gigs @ events.airadam.com!

Twitter : @airadam13

Twitch : @airadam13

Mastodon (because Twitter is basically on fire) : https://mastodon.me.uk/@airadam

Playlist/Notes

DJ Muggs, Roc Marciano, Meyhem Lauren, and Rome Streetz : 67 Keys

Two MCs I've seen live recently with another (Rome Streetz) I would have seen if it wasn't for work's on-call schedule, talking pure drug business over some thriller film-type production courtesy of DJ Muggs, who has constructed an amazing second act post the Cypress Hill classics that everyone knows him for. Everyone gets busy on the mic on this new single, with Meyhem killing that last verse.

David Cutter Music : Upstart

UK beat action here with this London beatmaker cooking up a quintessential boom-bap type of beat with a little of that DJ Premier flavour and heaviness - I might need to blend this with some M.O.P! Get this on the recently-released "Follow Dreams" LP.

MF DOOM : Lickupon

I went back to the "Viktor Vaughn Vaudeville Villain" LP after being gifted an amazing alternate cover for display recently, and this was a standout on my first listen in a while. The producers (Heat Sensor) work the same sample as Biggie's "Warning" but with all sorts of other stuff going on, and DOOM just goes nuts from beginning to end. Bars upon bars with no hook, purely the sounds of someone who loved to flip words every which way.

Doo Wop ft. Raekwon : Castle To Castle

You've got to be brave to hop on a track with the crime-rhyming slang master Raekwon if MCing isn't your full-time gig, but Doo Wop (one of Biggie's favourite DJs) gives a good account of himself here as well as holding down the production! A classic jazz sample is the basis for this track from "The State vs Doo Wop" which is also available on a 12" if you need the clean version and instrumental.

Little Brother ft. Rhymefest and Supastition : Do It To Death

A personal headphone favourite I could have sworn I'd already played on the podcast, but which somehow missed the selection for the last fourteen-plus years! All four MCs kill it, but my favourite is absolutely Phonte on the opening verse, with his "American Pie" reference never failing to make me smile! Focus... is on production and those drums are absolutely smacking here, making this track a highlight of "...And Justus For All".

Marley Marl : Hip-Hop History #4

Short and sweet, with a chunky and bouncing beat from the godfather of sampling as we know it today, and no rhymes - just a few words about his own history in Hip-Hop. Find this one on the 2000 "Hip Hop Dictionary" release, which I thought might be a big hard to find but is actually available digitally.

Kev Brown & Dre King : Black Champions

Tough, tough instrumental that I've had on repeat this month, taken from the seven-track "King Kev" project from these two musical masters. Dre King is, amongst other things, a sample pack producer who provides top-shelf instrumental pieces for producers to sample, and his work is used to great effect once Kev Brown gets it into his MPC. No hi-hits on this, just the kick and snare smashing through the whole beat, giving you little spaces where just the bass and keys play before the drums kick you in the head again!

Pharoahe Monch ft. Jean Grae and Royce Da 5' 9" : Assassins

An appropriately named track from the "W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)" album, with all three MCs fitting perfectly into the roles of Hip-Hop assassins (check the full version to get the intro), since none of them have ever encountered a beat they couldn't kill. M-Phazes is on the beat, and it's appropriately loud and dramatic - not something that blends into a mix naturally, because so many things don't sound quite like this.

[DJ Premier] Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, and Benny The Butcher : Headlines (Instrumental)

I was surprised to find I hadn't played the vocal version of this Griselda track before, but DJ Premier's instrumental provides a nice bridge here between a track with no outro and one with too little drum intro - coming in hard with the aggressive stabs before transitioning into string-led production.

Redman : Bricks Standup

A short freestyle-ish expedition from Redman's "Ill At Will Mixtape Vol.1", which sees one of the all-time greats killing it over the instrumental for Jay-Z's "What More Can I Say?". That instrumental was produced by Brooklyn duo The Buchanans, who somehow cooked this up as one of their first creations and got it placed on "The Black Album" - talk about coming in hot!

Peanut Butter Wolf ft. Rasco and DJ Q-Bert : Run The Line

Taking it back to some late 90s underground Hip-Hop that brings back memories of the tail end of my time at university in Manchester, and especially the time when turntablism was starting to break out of the preserve of only the absolutely most in-the-know to the wider Hip-Hop world and beyond. Q-Bert obliterates it on the scratch as he does literally every single time, with all kinds of flaring action that might as well have come from outer space to many of us! Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf is on production of course on this track from his debut solo LP release "My Vinyl Weighs A Ton", and the all-California lineup is completed by Rasco on the mic. Cleveland-born, but as one of the Cali Agents...he counts.

Tyler Daley : These Cards

One half of Children of Zeus and a certified triple threat, Tyler shows off his singing, rhyming (in case you forgot), and production skills on this bumping new single. And he's 100% correct...he's done alright, to say the least.

The 45 King : Meganizm

While The 45 King is best known for his 80s productions, he was also the producer of tracks like Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life" and "Stan" for Eminem as well as a number of far more underground collections of beats, like 2006's "Grooves For A Quiet Storm" from which this track is drawn. A chilled head-nodder with a straightforward and clean drum track on top of some summery keys and bass, this fits just as well at a BBQ as on a mixtape!

SoulChef, Steph Pockets, and DJ Groove Damoast : When It Comes To This

RIP Groove Damoast, who passed away this month. I didn't know the full extent  of his work, only knowing his name as a DJ on Twitch, but he was a well-regarded DJ and producer out of Philadelphia who is deeply missed by many. Having heard this 2021 single on one of the many tribute shows, I decided I wanted to share it here. New Zealand's SoulChef is on production, Groove Damoast is the man on the turntables cutting it up with precision, and his Philadelphia compatriot Steph Pockets controls the mic from start to end. Quality Hip-Hop.

Dynamic Syncopation ft. Mass Influence : 2 Tha Left

Early 2000s pick here that I encountered on the Ninja Tune "Xen Cuts" compilation, but was also on the 2002 "In The Red" LP by the combo of producers Loop Professor and Jonny Cuba. As much as this breezy, acoustic guitar-laced track could have been a great instrumental, they stepped it up by drafting in Mass Influence, an underground crew of MCs out of Atlanta who sound very different to what would come to most people's mind when they think of Atlanta Hip-Hop! Apparently some people know this from an advert for Adult Swim segment of Cartoon Network, so it's interesting to know that stuff like Ninja Tune had that kind of reach within the generation who are not making the decisions :) 

Fred & The New JB's : (It's Not The Express) It's the J.B.'s Monaurail, Pt. 1

(Not my apostrophe placement, by the way!) I had a bit of a play with the cue points feature on Serato to extend this live-drummed intro a little bit, just because those hi-hats are so fire. A classic funk workout from Fred Wesley and the rest of James Brown's famous band of that era (from the "James Brown's Funky People" LP), and one that has been sampled on at least three tracks I can think of - I don't know if the sample was cleared on my favourite usage, so I won't mention it here even though you might have heard me play it in the past...

EPMD : Let The Funk Flow

I'll be real - this is far from my favourite of the tracks on EPMD's classic debut "Strictly Business", but I couldn't pass up the chance to blend into it off the back of the original sample! Listening to the cuts on this makes me smile, performed by the group's original DJ K La Boss (who is still working today under the name Dj4our5ive) in his early years.

[Rashad Smith and Sean "Puffy" Combs] The Notorious B.I.G. : One More Chance (Hip-Hop Instrumental)

In a then-contemporary example of the new school calling back to their Hip-Hop inspirations, Rashad Smith and Puffy essentially lifted the monster Marley Marl beat for Craig G's "Droppin' Science (Remix)" for this drastic remix of a track that was already a remix...ok, stay with me on this. The original "One More Chance" was on "Ready To Die" and was pretty raw on the X-rated rhymes, and was then essentially re-recorded with Faith Evans on the hook with a bit of a bow tie on the production, sampling DeBarge's "Stay With Me" for radio appeal. However, the winner for many of us was taking the lyrics from this version and putting them alongside the undeniable break that Marley used seven years before!

Latee : This Cut's Got Flavor

Closing with a DJ Mark the 45 King production, a real classic for heads of a certain age that you don't hear often enough nowadays! This 1987 single has an absolutely monster drum track highlighted by those heavy kicks, and the slowed-down guitar riff is a perfect era-appropriate backing. Latee only had a few releases under his own banner, along with a decent number of guest appearances, but these to me will always be the rhymes that come to mind whenever this Flavor Unit MC is mentioned. This track just makes me want to put on a Dapper Dan suit and drive an AMG Benz somewhere. To my desk job, I suppose 😁

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Yesterday Kim and I were looking at homes on acreage. We’re hoping to find our final home and have enough land our kids could build on it if they want to. It’ll also be the perfect place to setup for the coming zombie apocalypse! 🧟‍♂️

Hope you enjoy the links.

Aisha Nyandoro, Ph.D. • Forbes

You come into a lot of money suddenly, and it’s like you’ve won the lottery. I had to think a lot about, “what is the purpose of money?” Why do we have money, and how much money is enough? The more I looked at it, the more I thought the money should be actually out there working to make the world better in some form. I didn’t see the purpose of holding on to a bunch of wealth if it’s not doing anything.

There are some extremely wealthy people who are empathetic to the human condition and want to help. See, not all of them are building dick shaped rockets or trying to take over the United States. 👍🏼

Ben McCarthy

For a long while, I’ve felt that the design of iOS is too top heavy. While our phones seem to grow larger every year, our hands do not and so interface elements are pulled ever further out of reach.

Reading tealeaves is not my thing any longer, but this is a really great take on what the next version of iOS may hold for us. 👩‍🎨

Ruben Cagnie • Toast Technology

At Toast, we believe that GraphQL is the right technology to build efficient web and mobile applications.

I know a lot of shops really love GraphQL for its flexibility, but I’ve never had the pleasure of working with it. It is my understanding Twitter was using GraphQL for the updated Twitter API that Space Karen scrapped.

Sujita Sinha

In a groundbreaking step for the future of construction, the first-ever 3D-printed Starbucks is taking shape in Brownsville, Texas.

How cool is that? I wish I could’ve seen the machine during the process. You can see the layers in the pictures and see a very visible seam or rib where it came together. Overall it’s extremely cool and it’s supposed to be less expensive than traditional construction. I hope these become options for young folks getting their first home.

Volt, Paper, Scissors

This magical DIY Book Lamp teaches kids about creativity and electronics. It combines paper crafting and paper circuits using conductive tape. The materials used are simple, but the result is truly fascinating.

This could be a really fun project for me and my grandchildren.

L. Jeffrey Zeldman

DESIGN WAS so much easier before I had clients. I assigned myself projects with no requirements, no schedule, no budget, no constraints. By most definitions, what I did wasn’t even design—except that it ended up creating new things, some of which still exist on the web.

This is how I’d imagine most indie software developers feel. I know when I work on Stream or RxCalc or Arrgly or [top sekret project] I find the most joy there because I don’t have to worry about someone looking over my shoulder to make sure I’m coding thing the proper way. I’m just coding, crafting an application the way I see it. I don’t have to use all these different latest creates frameworks or new patterns. I can be my curmudgeonly self and use tried and true methods of old because I’m the only one who needs to worry about it. 😃

Skip Rhudy • Texas Observer

I’ve got a post-graduate certificate in artificial intelligence (AI). I’m also an author, and I believe writers and publishers should not use AI in publishing. So that’s why I was disturbed when a reviewer asked if I had used AI in writing my recent coming-of-age novel, Under the Gulf Coast Sun.

I won’t go as far to say you should never use AI, even though I won’t on my personal projects, but you need to understand your craft so you can make an educated decision about the quality of any code you use from a third party. You do this with third party code you get from whatever packages you use, right? Why should AI be any different. In fact AI generated code should get more scrutiny than human written code. Don’t vibe your way to poor quality. 🌹

Tom Warren • The Verge

Nvidia’s GPU drivers have been a disaster over the past four months. It all started when Nvidia released its drivers for the RTX 50-series cards in January, and introduced black screen issues, game crashes, and general stability problems for new and existing graphics cards.

When I hear about something like this my brain always asks “I wonder if they rewrote the driver code.” That could definitely be a huge mistake. I don’t know if that’s what they did or if it was just rushed to get it to market but it’s not good to break something so many folks rely on. Software development is just plain difficult. All the best fixing your drivers, Nvidia!

Addy Osmani

Yes, AI-assisted development is transforming how we build software, but it’s not a free pass to abandon rigor, review, or craftsmanship. “Vibe coding” is not an excuse for low-quality work.

Ah, I mentioned this above. Check those outputs for accuracy and fix problems so you don’t get bit. ‘Nuff said.

Mark Andrews • WIRED

The Sakura might be Japan’s best-selling EV (indeed, strong demand led to Nissan having to pause sales in late 2022 because it had too many orders), but it has the potential to be far more than that. It is the EV that many city EV drivers have been crying out for.

This is a really cute little car that would be perfect for city dwellers. Heck, I drive one these to work and back daily if I could convince my wife I needed it. 🤣 As it is I work from home and need a truck for towing our camping trailer and hauling dirt and rock. (You’d be surprised how often we used to do that!)

Finally got a bunch of tattoos on my laptop. I ordered a case for it so I could keep my stickers and make it easier to cleanup the laptop when I have to turn it in. 😃

[music-industry-updates]

How Deliver My Tune Helps Artists Reach New Audiences

The journey of a musician doesn’t end with just producing and distributing music. In today’s highly competitive music industry, getting your music into the right hands (or ears) is crucial for long-term success. Whether you’re an independent artist or part of a music label, promoting your music effectively after distribution plays a pivotal role in reaching wider audiences. This is where platforms like Deliver My Tune come into the picture. Besides helping artists distribute their music to various global platforms, Deliver My Tune offers a suite of marketing tools tailored to boost an artist’s reach and visibility.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can use Deliver My Tune’s marketing tools to promote your music effectively after distribution and why this is critical for your success as an artist.

Why Post-Distribution Promotion is Important:

After your music is distributed across platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music, it’s easy to think that the hard work is over. However, distributing your music is just the first step. Without proper promotion, your music could easily get lost in the overwhelming sea of content available on these platforms. It’s essential to ensure that your tracks get noticed, heard, and shared.

Post-distribution promotion helps you:

Reach new audiences who may not have discovered your music organically.

Keep your fan base engaged with fresh content.

Create opportunities for playlist features, radio airplay, and media coverage.

Increase your streams, downloads, and sales, which can boost your revenue.

Build long-term visibility in the highly competitive music industry.

This is why Deliver My Tune has equipped its users with marketing tools that provide targeted solutions for promoting music effectively.

Overview of Deliver My Tune’s Marketing Tools:

Deliver My Tune provides artists with several marketing tools designed to maximize the impact of their music post-distribution. These tools are particularly helpful for independent artists who may not have the resources for large-scale marketing campaigns. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most effective tools they offer:

Social Media Integration: Deliver My Tune makes it easy for artists to connect their social media platforms with their distribution process. By integrating your social media profiles, you can share updates about your new releases directly on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This not only keeps your audience informed but also gives your followers the ability to engage with your music instantly.

Playlist Pitching: Getting your song on popular playlists can significantly boost your streams. Deliver My Tune offers artists the opportunity to pitch their tracks to curated playlists on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Playlist inclusion is one of the most effective ways to reach new listeners, as playlists are often the go-to resource for music discovery.

Content Scheduling and Updates: With Deliver My Tune’s tools, you can schedule posts and updates to promote your music release well in advance. Consistent communication with your audience is crucial, especially leading up to and after the release of new music. The platform’s content scheduling feature allows you to plan promotional posts, making sure your audience stays engaged without the stress of managing everything in real time.

Advertising and Campaigns: Deliver My Tune provides artists with access to tools that help create and manage digital advertising campaigns. From Facebook and Instagram ads to Google Ads, artists can promote their music to targeted audiences, based on location, demographics, and musical preferences. This enables independent artists to launch affordable and focused ad campaigns that yield significant results.

Data Analytics and Insights: One of the most powerful marketing tools Deliver My Tune offers is access to in-depth data analytics. You can track where your streams are coming from, which platforms are performing the best, and which promotional efforts are yielding the most results. Understanding these insights allows artists to optimize their marketing strategy by focusing on high-performing channels and tweaking underperforming ones.

Strategies for Using Deliver My Tune’s Marketing Tools Effectively:

To maximize the benefits of Deliver My Tune’s marketing tools, it’s important to approach your promotion with a clear strategy. Here are a few steps you can take:

Leverage Your Fanbase Early: Before you release a new track, start creating buzz on your social media platforms. Use Deliver My Tune’s social media integration tool to announce your upcoming release, share teaser videos, and encourage fans to pre-save your track. Engaging your fanbase early ensures that there is already excitement and anticipation for your release.

Pitch to Playlists: Submit your tracks to playlist curators as soon as your distribution is complete. Deliver My Tune’s playlist pitching tool increases your chances of being featured on popular playlists, which can significantly boost your streams. Remember, playlist placement can often lead to organic discovery as listeners who enjoy your song may add it to their personal playlists.

Create Targeted Ads: Use Deliver My Tune’s advertising tools to run targeted ads on social media and search engines. Ensure your ads are tailored to your audience — highlight your genre, upcoming performances, or even exclusive behind-the-scenes content to grab attention. Start with a small budget and experiment with different types of ads to see what resonates best with your audience.

Engage Consistently: Post regularly on your social media platforms about your music. Share updates, behind-the-scenes content, and live videos to keep your fans engaged. Deliver My Tune’s content scheduling tool makes this easy to manage. Consistent posting ensures that your audience stays connected and interested in your music.

Analyze and Adjust: Once your marketing efforts are underway, use the analytics provided by Deliver My Tune to see which strategies are working best. Monitor your engagement rates, streams, and interactions. By reviewing this data, you can refine your promotional tactics to focus on what’s delivering the best results.

Conclusion:

In the music industry, getting your music distributed is just the beginning. The real work lies in ensuring that your music reaches the right audience. Deliver My Tune offers a comprehensive suite of marketing tools that empower artists to take control of their promotion and boost their visibility. By effectively utilizing these tools, independent artists can compete in a crowded market, expand their fanbase, and grow their careers. With a little strategic planning and the right promotional tools, your music can achieve the success it deserves.

[marketingdonerightau]

Master Your Social Media Strategy with Experts – Marketing Done Right

In today's digitally-driven world, having a strong online presence is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Whether you're a small startup or a large corporation, a well-crafted Social Media Strategy can be the key to unlocking growth and staying competitive. With billions of people using social media platforms daily, these channels have become vital touchpoints for businesses looking to connect with their target audience, build brand awareness, and drive sales.

Understanding the Basics of Social Media Strategy

A Social Media Strategy is more than just posting updates or responding to comments. It’s a comprehensive plan that outlines how your business will leverage social media platforms to achieve its marketing and communication goals. This involves setting objectives, understanding your audience, selecting the right platforms, creating engaging content, and analyzing results.

To begin with, it’s crucial to define what you want to achieve with your Social Media Strategy. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, drive traffic to your website, or improve customer engagement? Clear goals will guide your actions and help measure success.

Identifying Your Target Audience

The cornerstone of any successful Social Media Strategy is a deep understanding of your target audience. Who are they? What are their interests, needs, and pain points? Which social media platforms do they use? By answering these questions, you can tailor your content to resonate with your audience and increase the likelihood of engagement.

For instance, if your target audience consists of young adults, platforms like Instagram and TikTok might be more effective than LinkedIn. Conversely, if you're targeting professionals, LinkedIn could be the ideal platform to share thought leadership content and network with industry peers.

Choosing the Right Platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equal, and it’s important to choose the ones that align with your business goals and audience preferences. A common mistake businesses make is trying to be everywhere at once. Instead, focus on the platforms where your audience is most active and where you can consistently deliver value.

For example, Facebook is a versatile platform that works well for a variety of content types, including articles, videos, and live streams. Instagram, with its emphasis on visuals, is perfect for brands with a strong aesthetic, such as fashion, food, or travel. Twitter, on the other hand, is ideal for sharing real-time updates and engaging in conversations.

Creating Engaging Content

Content is at the heart of any Social Media Strategy. To stand out in the crowded social media landscape, your content must be engaging, relevant, and valuable to your audience. This includes a mix of different content types, such as blog posts, videos, infographics, and user-generated content.

Storytelling is a powerful tool in your content arsenal. By sharing stories that resonate with your audience, you can create an emotional connection that drives engagement. Whether it’s a behind-the-scenes look at your business, customer testimonials, or a narrative about your brand’s journey, stories can humanize your brand and make it more relatable.

Consistency is also key. Posting regularly and at optimal times ensures that your content reaches your audience when they’re most likely to engage with it. Utilize scheduling tools to plan and automate your posts, freeing up time for more strategic activities.

Measuring and Analyzing Success

No Social Media Strategy is complete without measurement and analysis. Tracking your performance allows you to understand what’s working, what’s not, and where you can improve. Key metrics to monitor include engagement rate, reach, impressions, click-through rate, and conversions.

Social media platforms offer built-in analytics tools that provide insights into how your content is performing. However, for a more comprehensive analysis, consider using third-party tools that offer deeper insights and more advanced features. Regularly reviewing these metrics will help you refine your strategy and ensure that your efforts are aligned with your goals.

The Role of Paid Social Media

While organic reach is important, paid social media should also be part of your Social Media Strategy. With algorithms constantly changing, organic content alone may not be enough to reach your audience. Paid social media, such as Facebook ads or promoted tweets, can help amplify your reach and target specific demographics with precision.

Paid social media campaigns are highly customizable, allowing you to set your budget, choose your audience, and define your objectives. Whether you’re looking to drive traffic to your website, increase brand visibility, or generate leads, paid social media can be an effective way to achieve these goals.

Staying Updated with Trends

The social media landscape is constantly evolving, with new trends, tools, and features emerging regularly. Staying updated with these changes is crucial to ensuring your Social Media Strategy remains effective and relevant. Follow industry blogs, attend webinars, and participate in online communities to stay informed about the latest trends and best practices.

For example, the rise of short-form video content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels has changed the way brands engage with their audience. By embracing these trends and adapting your strategy accordingly, you can stay ahead of the competition and continue to connect with your audience in meaningful ways.

Conclusion

A well-executed Social Media Strategy is a powerful tool that can help your business thrive in the digital age. By understanding your audience, choosing the right platforms, creating engaging content, and continuously analyzing your performance, you can build a strong online presence that drives growth and success. Remember, social media is not just about broadcasting your message—it’s about building relationships, fostering community, and providing value to your audience.

Ready to elevate your brand with a tailored Social Media Strategy? Visit Marketing Done Right today to get started and see how our experts can help you achieve your business goals.

[shobhit18]

Engage Your Audience with Effective Social Media Marketing: A Beginner's Guide

The social media landscape is booming. From Facebook and Instagram to Twitter and TikTok, countless platforms offer a powerful way to connect with a vast audience. But simply having a social media presence isn't enough. To truly thrive, you need to engage your audience with effective social media marketing.

This guide breaks down the essentials for captivating your target audience and building a thriving online community.

Why Engagement Matters

Imagine walking into a bustling party. You could stand awkwardly in the corner, or you could introduce yourself, join conversations, and have a great time. Social media works the same way.

Engagement transforms passive followers into active participants. They like, comment, share, and even become brand advocates. This interaction builds trust, loyalty, and ultimately, drives results.

Here are some key benefits of engaging your audience:

Brand awareness: The more people interact with your content, the more they'll see your brand.

Increased reach: Engagement expands your social media reach by encouraging followers to share your content with their networks.

Valuable insights: Analyze your audience's interactions to learn what resonates with them. Optimize your content strategy based on this feedback.

Stronger community: Engagement fosters a sense of community, making your followers feel valued and connected.

Customer loyalty: Happy and engaged followers are more likely to become loyal customers.

Understanding Your Audience: The Foundation of Engagement

Before crafting engaging content, you need to understand who you're talking to. Here are some key steps:

Identify your target audience: Who are you trying to reach? Define their demographics, interests, and pain points.

Research their social media habits: Which platforms do they use most actively? What types of content do they engage with the most?

Think of it like this: You wouldn't try to sell running shoes to someone who prefers hiking. Similarly, tailor your social media voice and content to resonate with your specific audience.

Content is King (and Queen): Crafting Compelling Posts

So, what kind of content gets an audience buzzing? Let's dive into some winning strategies:

Value first, promotion later: Provide valuable information, entertainment, or inspiration. Don't just bombard your audience with sales pitches.

Variety is key: Mix things up with high-quality images, videos, infographics, live streams, and polls.

Post consistently: Develop a regular posting schedule. This keeps your brand fresh in follower's minds and encourages them to check in.

Storytelling power: Craft stories that connect with your audience on an emotional level. People remember stories, so use this to your advantage.

Behind the scenes: Offer a glimpse into your brand's personality by showcasing your team, culture, and work environment.

Remember: Keep your content concise and easy to digest. People scrolling through social media don't have time for long reads.

The Power of Interaction: Go Beyond Posting

Engage Your Audience with Effective Social Media Marketing goes beyond simply publishing content. Here are some tips to nurture a two-way conversation:

Respond to comments and messages: Acknowledge your audience's feedback promptly and thoughtfully.

Ask questions: Encourage conversation by posing thought-provoking questions related to your industry or brand.

Run contests and giveaways: These are fun ways to boost engagement and incentivize people to participate.

Host live Q&A sessions: This provides a platform for real-time interaction and allows you to interact directly with your audience.

Show appreciation: Thank your followers for their engagement. Mention user-generated content or acknowledge positive feedback.

Think of it this way: Social media is a conversation, not a monologue. By actively participating, you show your audience you value their input.

The Visual Feast: Optimizing Your Posts for Attention

Visuals are crucial in the social media world. Here's how to make them work for you:

High-quality images and videos: Invest in good visuals that capture attention and support your content.

Eye-catching visuals are key: Eye-catching visuals like infographics or stunning photos can drastically increase engagement.

Use relevant visuals: Ensure visuals are aligned with your content and brand message.

Leverage video platforms: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels are ideal for creating short, engaging video content.

Pro-Tip: Utilize eye-tracking tools to understand where people focus on your visuals and optimize them accordingly.

[treasurechestsubs]

Double Release~ Tian Ya Ke Audio Drama S1 Ep 4 English Subbed and The Fantastical Beasts at World's End Novel Chapter 38 English Translated

Hello everyone~

We have a double release today~! :D

Tian Ya Ke (Faraway Wanderers) Audio Drama S1 Ep 4 and The Fantastical Beasts at World's End Novel Chapter 38 are now available~!

The audio drama episode can be accessed via our discord server. To request an invite to the server, please fill up this >> request form<<

Link to novel >> Chapter 38 (viewable and downloadable) <<

(Pending invite links, for people who have already filled up the form, will be sent out in the next 2 or 3 days. Very sorry once again for the delay this time. Hectic schedule has continued and so lacked time to send them sooner.)

Please note: In case you try to open above link or any links from us on your phone and get an error message, please just try opening the link in your phone’s internet browser, go to the address bar and remove the “href.li” part and proceed to open the link.

Please also note: When you put down your responses in the above-linked form, please just put down a link to your social media profile or mention something like abc (twitter). If you only write abc, it does not give us any information about which social media website you are referring to, and so, I won’t be able to process such requests. Also, if you just write some random answer (like OK) for this question, your request will definitely not be considered and no invite will be sent to you.

Many a times, it happens that our email to you having the invite link goes to your spam folder in your mailbox. So please do check once check there once and if you still haven’t received an invite, contact us on tumblr. Please note, due to my hectic workload, I might not be able to answer all questions regarding “when will I get an invite?” Since I manually check your responses to the form and send out the invites, it does take time as well.

Also, please do double-check the email address you put down because one reason for you not receiving any invite could also be that you put down a wrong email address and so the mail bounced back. If this has happened, simply reply to the email you had received in your spam. I’ll send out a new invite link.

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Our ongoing projects: >> Link <<

Our revamped Carrd: >> Link <<

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Notes:

1) Please use >> VLC Player << to play the file. It is available for a large range of operating systems as well as devices.

For advanced users, I’d recommend >> K-lite codec pack + MPC-HC player << Standard version or above. The player is included from the standard version onwards.

2) Please avoid sharing these files on YouTube and other video streaming platforms. If you wish to share our subbed files, please just reblog or link this tumblr post.

3) Copper Coins, Global Examination, Panguan, Qianqiu, Mou Mou, Mo Dao Zu Shi, Kaleidoscope of Death and Tian Ya Ke Audio Dramas are paid dramas. So please consider purchasing these audio drama if possible in order to support the original content creators. Links to the original CN audio only ADs have been linked in the >> projects << page for ease of navigation.

Happy watching~! ^v^