#for a host of reasons including but not limited to

[exeggcute]

the great reddit API meltdown of '23, or: this was always bound to happen

there's a lot of press about what's going on with reddit right now (app shutdowns, subreddit blackouts, the CEO continually putting his foot in his mouth), but I haven't seen as much stuff talking about how reddit got into this situation to begin with. so as a certified non-expert and Context Enjoyer I thought it might be helpful to lay things out as I understand them—a high-level view, surveying the whole landscape—in the wonderful world of startups, IPOs, and extremely angry users.

disclaimer that I am not a founder or VC (lmao), have yet to work at a company with a successful IPO, and am not a reddit employee or third-party reddit developer or even a subreddit moderator. I do work at a startup, know my way around an API or two, and have spent twelve regrettable years on reddit itself. which is to say that I make no promises of infallibility, but I hope you'll at least find all this interesting.

profit now or profit later

before you can really get into reddit as reddit, it helps to know a bit about startups (of which reddit is one). and before I launch into that, let me share my Three Types Of Websites framework, which is basically just a mental model about financial incentives that's helped me contextualize some of this stuff.

(1) website/software that does not exist to make money: relatively rare, for a variety of reasons, among them that it costs money to build and maintain a website in the first place. wikipedia is the evergreen example, although even wikipedia's been subject to criticism for how the wikimedia foundation pays out its employees and all that fun nonprofit stuff. what's important here is that even when making money is not the goal, money itself is still a factor, whether it's solicited via donations or it's just one guy paying out of pocket to host a hobby site. but websites in this category do, generally, offer free, no-strings-attached experiences to their users.

(I do want push back against the retrospective nostalgia of "everything on the internet used to be this way" because I don't think that was ever really true—look at AOL, the dotcom boom, the rise of banner ads. I distinctly remember that neopets had multiple corporate sponsors, including a cookie crisp-themed flash game. yahoo bought geocities for $3.6 billion; money's always been trading hands, obvious or not. it's indisputable that the internet is simply different now than it was ten or twenty years ago, and that monetization models themselves have largely changed as well (I have thoughts about this as it relates to web 1.0 vs web 2.0 and their associated costs/scale/etc.), but I think the only time people weren't trying to squeeze the internet for all the dimes it can offer was when the internet was first conceived as a tool for national defense.)

(2) website/software that exists to make money now: the type that requires the least explanation. mostly non-startup apps and services, including any random ecommerce storefront, mobile apps that cost three bucks to download, an MMO with a recurring subscription, or even a news website that runs banner ads and/or offers paid subscriptions. in most (but not all) cases, the "make money now" part is obvious, so these things don't feel free to us as users, even to the extent that they might have watered-down free versions or limited access free trials. no one's shocked when WoW offers another paid expansion packs because WoW's been around for two decades and has explicitly been trying to make money that whole time.

(3) website/software that exists to make money later: this is the fun one, and more common than you'd think. "make money later" is more or less the entire startup business model—I'll get into that in the next section—and is deployed with the expectation that you will make money at some point, but not always by means as obvious as "selling WoW expansions for forty bucks a pop."

companies in this category tend to have two closely entwined characteristics: they prioritize growth above all else, regardless of whether this growth is profitable in any way (now, or sometimes, ever), and they do this by offering users really cool and awesome shit at little to no cost (or, if not for free, then at least at a significant loss to the company).

so from a user perspective, these things either seem free or far cheaper than their competitors. but of course websites and software and apps and [blank]-as-a-service tools cost money to build and maintain, and that money has to come from somewhere, and the people supplying that money, generally, expect to get it back...

just not immediately.

startups, VCs, IPOs, and you

here's the extremely condensed "did NOT go to harvard business school" version of how a startup works:

(1) you have a cool idea.

(2) you convince some venture capitalists (also known as VCs) that your idea is cool. if they see the potential in what you're pitching, they'll give you money in exchange for partial ownership of your company—which means that if/when the company starts trading its stock publicly, these investors will own X numbers of shares that they can sell at any time. in other words, you get free money now (and you'll likely seek multiple "rounds" of investors over the years to sustain your company), but with the explicit expectations that these investors will get their payoff later, assuming you don't crash and burn before that happens.

during this phase, you want to do anything in your power to make your company appealing to investors so you can attract more of them and raise funds as needed. because you are definitely not bringing in the necessary revenue to offset operating costs by yourself.

it's also worth nothing that this is less about projecting the long-term profitability of your company than it's about its perceived profitability—i.e., VCs want to put their money behind a company that other people will also have confidence in, because that's what makes stock valuable, and VCs are in it for stock prices.

(3) there are two non-exclusive win conditions for your startup: you can get acquired, and you can have an IPO (also referred to as "going public"). these are often called "exit scenarios" and they benefit VCs and founders, as well as some employees. it's also possible for a company to get acquired, possibly even more than once, and then later go public.

acquisition: sell the whole damn thing to someone else. there are a million ways this can happen, some better than others, but in many cases this means anyone with ownership of the company (which includes both investors and employees who hold stock options) get their stock bought out by the acquiring company and end up with cash in hand. in varying amounts, of course. sometimes the founders walk away, sometimes the employees get laid off, but not always.

IPO: short for "initial public offering," this is when the company starts trading its stocks publicly, which means anyone who wants to can start buying that company's stock, which really means that VCs (and employees with stock options) can turn that hypothetical money into real money by selling their company stock to interested buyers.

drawing from that, companies don't go for an IPO until they think their stock will actually be worth something (or else what's the point?)—specifically, worth more than the amount of money that investors poured into it. The Powers That Be will speculate about a company's IPO potential way ahead of time, which is where you'll hear stuff about companies who have an estimated IPO evaluation of (to pull a completely random example) $10B. actually I lied, that was not a random example, that was reddit's valuation back in 2021 lol. but a valuation is basically just "how much will people be interested in our stock?"

as such, in the time leading up to an IPO, it's really really important to do everything you can to make your company seem like a good investment (which is how you get stock prices up), usually by making the company's numbers look good. but! if you plan on cashing out, the long-term effects of your decisions aren't top of mind here. remember, the industry lingo is "exit scenario."

if all of this seems like a good short-term strategy for companies and their VCs, but an unsustainable model for anyone who's buying those stocks during the IPO, that's because it often is.

also worth noting that it's possible for a company to be technically unprofitable as a business (meaning their costs outstrip their revenue) and still trade enormously well on the stock market; uber is the perennial example of this. to the people who make money solely off of buying and selling stock, it literally does not matter that the actual rideshare model isn't netting any income—people think the stock is valuable, so it's valuable.

this is also why, for example, elon musk is richer than god: if he were only the CEO of tesla, the money he'd make from selling mediocre cars would be (comparatively, lol) minimal. but he's also one of tesla's angel investors, which means he holds a shitload of tesla stock, and tesla's stock has performed well since their IPO a decade ago (despite recent dips)—even if tesla itself has never been a huge moneymaker, public faith in the company's eventual success has kept them trading at high levels. granted, this also means most of musk's wealth is hypothetical and not liquid; if TSLA dropped to nothing, so would the value of all the stock he holds (and his net work with it).

what's an API, anyway?

to move in an entirely different direction: we can't get into reddit's API debacle without understanding what an API itself is.

an API (short for "application programming interface," not that it really matters) is a series of code instructions that independent developers can use to plug their shit into someone else's shit. like a series of tin cans on strings between two kids' treehouses, but for sending and receiving data.

APIs work by yoinking data directly from a company's servers instead of displaying anything visually to users. so I could use reddit's API to build my own app that takes the day's top r/AITA post and transcribes it into pig latin: my app is a bunch of lines of code, and some of those lines of code fetch data from reddit (and then transcribe that data into pig latin), and then my app displays the content to anyone who wants to see it, not reddit itself. as far as reddit is concerned, no additional human beings laid eyeballs on that r/AITA post, and reddit never had a chance to serve ads alongside the pig-latinized content in my app. (put a pin in this part—it'll be relevant later.)

but at its core, an API is really a type of protocol, which encompasses a broad category of formats and business models and so on. some APIs are completely free to use, like how anyone can build a discord bot (but you still have to host it yourself). some companies offer free APIs to third-party developers can build their own plugins, and then the company and the third-party dev split the profit on those plugins. some APIs have a free tier for hobbyists and a paid tier for big professional projects (like every weather API ever, lol). some APIs are strictly paid services because the API itself is the company's core offering.

reddit's financial foundations

okay thanks for sticking with me. I promise we're almost ready to be almost ready to talk about the current backlash.

reddit has always been a startup's startup from day one: its founders created the site after attending a startup incubator (which is basically a summer camp run by VCs) with the successful goal of creating a financially successful site. backed by that delicious y combinator money, reddit got acquired by conde nast only a year or two after its creation, which netted its founders a couple million each. this was back in like, 2006 by the way. in the time since that acquisition, reddit's gone through a bunch of additional funding rounds, including from big-name investors like a16z, peter thiel (yes, that guy), sam altman (yes, also that guy), sequoia, fidelity, and tencent. crunchbase says that they've raised a total of $1.3B in investor backing.

in all this time, reddit has never been a public company, or, strictly speaking, profitable.

APIs and third-party apps

reddit has offered free API access for basically as long as it's had a public API—remember, as a "make money later" company, their primary goal is growth, which means attracting as many users as possible to the platform. so letting anyone build an app or widget is (or really, was) in line with that goal.

as such, third-party reddit apps have been around forever. by third-party apps, I mean apps that use the reddit API to display actual reddit content in an unofficial wrapper. iirc reddit didn't even have an official mobile app until semi-recently, so many of these third-party mobile apps in particular just sprung up to meet an unmet need, and they've kept a small but dedicated userbase ever since. some people also prefer the user experience of the unofficial apps, especially since they offer extra settings to customize what you're seeing and few to no ads (and any ads these apps do display are to the benefit of the third-party developers, not reddit itself.)

(let me add this preemptively: one solution I've seen proposed to the paid API backlash is that reddit should have third-party developers display reddit's ads in those third-party apps, but this isn't really possible or advisable due to boring adtech reasons I won't inflict on you here. source: just trust me bro)

in addition to mobile apps, there are also third-party tools that don’t replace the Official Reddit Viewing Experience but do offer auxiliary features like being able to mass-delete your post history, tools that make the site more accessible to people who use screen readers, and tools that help moderators of subreddits moderate more easily. not to mention a small army of reddit bots like u/AutoWikibot or u/RemindMebot (and then the bots that tally the number of people who reply to bot comments with “good bot” or “bad bot).

the number of people who use third-party apps is relatively small, but they arguably comprise some of reddit’s most dedicated users, which means that third-party apps are important to the people who keep reddit running and the people who supply reddit with high-quality content.

unpaid moderators and user-generated content

so reddit is sort of two things: reddit is a platform, but it’s also a community.

the platform is all the unsexy (or, if you like python, sexy) stuff under the hood that actually makes the damn thing work. this is what the company spends money building and maintaining and "owns." the community is all the stuff that happens on the platform: posts, people, petty squabbles. so the platform is where the content lives, but ultimately the content is the reason people use reddit—no one’s like “yeah, I spend time on here because the backend framework really impressed me."

and all of this content is supplied by users, which is not unique among social media platforms, but the content is also managed by users, which is. paid employees do not govern subreddits; unpaid volunteers do. and moderation is the only thing that keeps reddit even remotely tolerable—without someone to remove spam, ban annoying users, and (god willing) enforce rules against abuse and hate speech, a subreddit loses its appeal and therefore its users. not dissimilar to the situation we’re seeing play out at twitter, except at twitter it was the loss of paid moderators;  reddit is arguably in a more precarious position because they could lose this unpaid labor at any moment, and as an already-unprofitable company they absolutely cannot afford to implement paid labor as a substitute.

oh yeah? spell "IPO" backwards

so here we are, June 2023, and reddit is licking its lips in anticipation of a long-fabled IPO. which means it’s time to start fluffing themselves up for investors by cutting costs (yay, layoffs!) and seeking new avenues of profit, however small.

this brings us to the current controversy: reddit announced a new API pricing plan that more or less prevents anyone from using it for free.

from reddit's perspective, the ostensible benefits of charging for API access are twofold: first, there's direct profit to be made off of the developers who (may or may not) pay several thousand dollars a month to use it, and second, cutting off unsanctioned third-party mobile apps (possibly) funnels those apps' users back into the official reddit mobile app. and since users on third-party apps reap the benefit of reddit's site architecture (and hosting, and development, and all the other expenses the site itself incurs) without “earning” money for reddit by generating ad impressions, there’s a financial incentive at work here: even if only a small percentage of people use third-party apps, getting them to use the official app instead translates to increased ad revenue, however marginal.

(also worth mentioning that chatGPT and other LLMs were trained via tools that used reddit's API to scrape post and content data, and now that openAI is reaping the profits of that training without giving reddit any kickbacks, reddit probably wants to prevent repeats of this from happening in the future. if you want to train the next LLM, it's gonna cost you.)

of course, these changes only benefit reddit if they actually increase the company’s revenue and perceived value/growth—which is hard to do when your users (who are also the people who supply the content for other users to engage with, who are also the people who moderate your communities and make them fun to participate in) get really fucking pissed and threaten to walk.

pricing shenanigans

under the new API pricing plan, third-party developers are suddenly facing steep costs to maintain the apps and tools they’ve built.

most paid APIs are priced by volume: basically, the more data you send and receive, the more money it costs. so if your third-party app has a lot of users, you’ll have to make more API requests to fetch content for those users, and your app becomes more expensive to maintain. (this isn’t an issue if the tool you’re building also turns a profit, but most third-party reddit apps make little, if any, money.)

which is why, even though third-party apps capture a relatively small portion of reddit’s users, the developer of a popular third-party app called apollo recently learned that it would cost them about $20 million a year to keep the app running. and apollo actually offers some paid features (for extra in-app features independent of what reddit offers), but nowhere near enough to break even on those API costs.

so apollo, any many apps like it, were suddenly unable to keep their doors open under the new API pricing model and announced that they'd be forced to shut down.

backlash, blackout

plenty has been said already about the current subreddit blackouts—in like, official news outlets and everything—so this might be the least interesting section of my whole post lol. the short version is that enough redditors got pissed enough that they collectively decided to take subreddits “offline” in protest, either by making them read-only or making them completely inaccessible. their goal was to send a message, and that message was "if you piss us off and we bail, here's what reddit's gonna be like: a ghost town."

but, you may ask, if third-party apps only captured a small number of users in the first place, how was the backlash strong enough to result in a near-sitewide blackout? well, two reasons:

first and foremost, since moderators in particular are fond of third-party tools, and since moderators wield outsized power (as both the people who keep your site more or less civil, and as the people who can take a subreddit offline if they feel like it), it’s in your best interests to keep them happy. especially since they don’t get paid to do this job in the first place, won’t keep doing it if it gets too hard, and essentially have nothing to lose by stepping down.

then, to a lesser extent, the non-moderator users on third-party apps tend to be Power Users who’ve been on reddit since its inception, and as such likely supply a disproportionate amount of the high-quality content for other users to see (and for ads to be served alongside). if you drive away those users, you’re effectively kneecapping your overall site traffic (which is bad for Growth) and reducing the number/value of any ad impressions you can serve (which is bad for revenue).

also a secret third reason, which is that even people who use the official apps have no stake in a potential IPO, can smell the general unfairness of this whole situation, and would enjoy the schadenfreude of investors getting fucked over. not to mention that reddit’s current CEO has made a complete ass of himself and now everyone hates him and wants to see him suffer personally.

(granted, it seems like reddit may acquiesce slightly and grant free API access to a select set of moderation/accessibility tools, but at this point it comes across as an empty gesture.)

"later" is now "now"

TL;DR: this whole thing is a combination of many factors, specifically reddit being intensely user-driven and self-governed, but also a high-traffic site that costs a lot of money to run (why they willingly decided to start hosting video a few years back is beyond me...), while also being angled as a public stock market offering in the very near future. to some extent I understand why reddit’s CEO doubled down on the changes—he wants to look strong for investors—but he’s also made a fool of himself and cast a shadow of uncertainty onto reddit’s future, not to mention the PR nightmare surrounding all of this. and since arguably the most important thing in an IPO is how much faith people have in your company, I honestly think reddit would’ve fared better if they hadn’t gone nuclear with the API changes in the first place.

that said, I also think it’s a mistake to assume that reddit care (or needs to care) about its users in any meaningful way, or at least not as more than means to an end. if reddit shuts down in three years, but all of the people sitting on stock options right now cashed out at $120/share and escaped unscathed... that’s a success story! you got your money! VCs want to recoup their investment—they don’t care about longevity (at least not after they’re gone), user experience, or even sustained profit. those were never the forces driving them, because these were never the ultimate metrics of their success.

and to be clear: this isn’t unique to reddit. this is how pretty much all startups operate.

I talked about the difference between “make money now” companies and “make money later” companies, and what we’re experiencing is the painful transition from “later” to “now.” as users, this change is almost invisible until it’s already happened—it’s like a rug we didn’t even know existed gets pulled out from under us.

the pre-IPO honeymoon phase is awesome as a user, because companies have no expectation of profit, only growth. if you can rely on VC money to stay afloat, your only concern is building a user base, not squeezing a profit out of them. and to do that, you offer cool shit at a loss: everything’s chocolate and flowers and quarterly reports about the number of signups you’re getting!

...until you reach a critical mass of users, VCs want to cash in, and to prepare for that IPO leadership starts thinking of ways to make the website (appear) profitable and implements a bunch of shit that makes users go “wait, what?”

I also touched on this earlier, but I want to reiterate a bit here: I think the myth of the benign non-monetized internet of yore is exactly that—a myth. what has changed are the specific market factors behind these websites, and their scale, and the means by which they attempt to monetize their services and/or make their services look attractive to investors, and so from a user perspective things feel worse because the specific ways we’re getting squeezed have evolved. maybe they are even worse, at least in the ways that matter. but I’m also increasingly less surprised when this occurs, because making money is and has always been the goal for all of these ventures, regardless of how they try to do so.

[shaytheantagonist]

My Roman Empire is how the life series writes itself. Here are some coincidences that I think about frequently:

1. Every person who has ever won a life series (Real Life included) was paired with another winner in Double Life (Grian & Scar, Scott & Pearl, Martyn & Cleo)

2. Several members had patterns in their deaths in Secret Life (All of Grian’s deaths happened while a large portion of the remaining server members were present, all of Scott’s deaths were arranged & he let whoever killed him kill him, all of Etho’s deaths were from Scar killing him, all of Jimmy’s deaths were from mobs of increasing strength (drowned, dragon & warden), all of Mumbo’s deaths were because of poor walking (walked off a ledge, walked into lava, walked into his own fence posts) & all of Martyn’s deaths happened in different dimensions)

3. Jimmy being out first 4 times in a row

4. Grian winning 3rd Life & then being dead last in the VR recreation of 3rd Life

5. Mumbo always having his final death moments after Jimmy’s final death

6. Pearl & Scar winning their seasons after being the underdog the entire season & having it the hardest

7. The first interaction Etho & Joel had in the entire life series was while they were in boats

8. Every time Scott is in the final two, whoever loses dies to a mob they didn’t know was behind them (Ren in Last Life, Scott in Real Life)

9. Jimmy always cursing at least one of his allies to do horribly each season (3rd Life was Scott’s lowest placement ever, 10th. Last Life: both Mumbo & Impulse were in the bottom 4. Double Life: Tango played poorly and was responsible for 2/3 of their deaths. Limited Life, Joel was out third & The Bad Boys died A LOT. Secret Life: Martyn was the first yellow AND the first red despite literally winning the previous season. EVEN REAL LIFE, Jimmy teamed with Grian, Joel, Scar & Impulse, who were the first 4 to be eliminated.)

10. Since Double Life, Pearl has wanted her allies to win the current seasons, she has outlived all of her main allies every season since then (Big B in Limited Life & Mumbo, BDubs & Joel in Secret Life)

11. Joel literally & metaphorically being the reason Lizzie was the first one out instead of Jimmy in Secret Life (Lizzie only died because she was trying to kill Scott to help out with Joel’s assassin task, by the time she tried to kill him & died in the process, Joel had already failed his task & just hadn’t told her yet, so if he had told her that he had failed, she wouldn’t have taken Scott to the end & fallen into the void & Jimmy probably would’ve first out again. Also when they were hosting an early funeral for Jimmy, Joel opened the grave & told Jimmy to “Rise”, I think this was Joel unknowingly breaking the curse.)

12. The fact that Gem’s final death is always her coming 3rd & dying in a 2v1 situation.

13. Joel’s first death in Last Life was fall damage, his first death in Secret Life was also fall damage. The reason Joel ended up on red life in Last Life was because of the Boogeyman curse (both times), in Secret Life, he because red because of being killed by a Boogeyman. In Last Life Joel’s final death was at the hands of Scott, causing him to place 5th, in Secret Life, Joel’s final death was being killed by Scott, causing him to place 5th. I’m leaving out one of Joel’s Last Life deaths, specifically when he died to Mumbo in self defence, but that’s mostly cuz there are more deaths in Last Life than Secret Life

This isn’t even all of them, there are so many more!

#seriously this shit is writing itself #I think about this all the time how is it not scripted #trafficblr #traffic smp #life series #grian #smallishbeans #goodtimeswithscar #solidaritygaming #dangthatsalongname #rendog #inthelittlewood #skizzleman #bigbst4tz2 #zombiecleo #bdoubleo100 #impulsesv #ethoslab #tangotek #pearlescentmoon #mumbo jumbo #ldshadowlady #geminitay #3rd life #last life #double life #limited life #secret life #real life

[sonic-fankid-showdown]

Welcome to the Sonic Fankid Showdown!!!

Where we make babies beat each other up with sticks!!!

This is the tournament we fanchild enjoyers have been waiting for! Sonic fankids put against each other to see who can beat the rest and get the victory!! All for FUN!!! Meaning that the only ones that will be fighting are the fictional characters that participate in the tournament (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

Hosted by yours truly, @head---ache

RULES:

One character per person. This means that if you have twins, sadly you'll have to separate them 😔 The ONLY exception allowed to this rule is if your character has any pet, chao, wisp, etc. If that's the case then you can submit them as one.

Fankids derived from PRO-SHIPS are NOT be allowed to participate (this includes incest, inappropiate age gaps, etc). I'll be deciding what's appropiate or not (with the help of some people I trust), so what's already decided will NOT be discussed any longer.

Ship discourse is NOT allowed.

The last rule also means that the ONLY propaganda allowed is about the CHARACTER, and not the pairing they're inspired by. I do NOT want to see ANYONE fighting about ships.

Oc x Canon kids are allowed!! Go crazy with it people!!!

Any hate towards the characters and/or creators will NOT be allowed. If I see ANYONE sending hate I will block them! And if it's someone participating then their character will be disqualified. I want this to be a safe space, so be nice, everyone!!

I will be accepting submissions until May 18th.

The limit of submissions is 60, however the number of participants will depend on the number of submissions I actually get (it HAS to be an even number, so I'm sorry if anyone gets left out for that reason).

TO ENTER:

Name of the character.

Ship they come from (if oc x canon then put '[canon character] x oc').

Short introduction to your kid.

Photo (transparent PNG is prefered).

Creator's URL (for proper crediting).

Now that you've read everything above and you think your kid has what's needed to win (or you just want to join for the funsies, that's also valid) here's the form you need to fill to participate!!! (We already reached the limit!!)

Good luck and have fun everyone!!!

#sonic the hedgehog #sth #sonic oc #sonic original character #sonic fankid #sonic fanchild #sonic fancharacter #Sonic Fankid Showdown

[qqueenofhades]

Hi! I know Charles is terrible for a number of reasons, but if it’s not too much trouble can I get like, a top 10 list or something lol, that I may be able to pull out over the following months when people are like “well he’s not thaaaat bad.” I wouldn’t even know where to start looking, not to mention what might be buried or hard to find.

Oh boy, this is my time. (Well, again.)

Aside from how awfully Charles treated Diana while they were married, let's start with the massive ongoing cash-for-honors scandal and the investigation into his private charity for basically selling personal access to him (the future British monarch) in exchange for, sometimes, literal duffel bags of black cash. (Don't worry, they promised with all seriousness that next time, they would absolutely stop taking those!) This was also happening at the same time as the police probe into his younger brother Andrew for, y'know, being a statutory rapist and sex trafficker who hosted Kevin Spacey and Ghislaine Maxwell as his personal guests at Buckingham Palace. Yet again, the Palace bureaucracy tried to insist that Charles Didn't Know About This Personally!!!, because the "good prince" is exempt from the dealings of his treacherous and corrupt advisors. Mmmmhmmm.

In another case of being the most oblivious person ever, at best, Charles's charity also happily took a donation of one million pounds from the bin Laden family (yes, THAT bin Laden family). Of course when it came out, they insisted that it had been properly vetted and it was from the respectable Saudi business bin Laden! Not, y'know, the terrorist ones! I guess money from anywhere for any reason is just fine, at least until you get caught and have to do some fast talking. Possibly this is because Charles and Camilla's fancy-health-food Waitrose brand, "Duchy Originals," got busted for fraud and advocating dangerous and ineffective homeopathic remedies (which Charles has also used his public platform to advocate for, including his batshit belief that coffee enemas can cure cancer). He also likewise used his platform to interfere in civic and architectural plans that he didn't like, and is generally known for being much more outspoken and politically visible than his mother. I mean sure, his parents sucked and were physically and emotionally distant, so that can't really help growing up in such a fucked-up environment, but still.

In his (very limited) defense, I will say that he has, for quite a while, advocated for sustainability programs and action on climate change, but considering all the efforts that he himself would have to make to truly support those actions on more than just a vocal or interest-based level, that is not something that we can hang on him as a laurel. Besides, he's still the inheritor of the entire British monarchy and its whole fucked-up system, and unless he plans to change literally all of that, yeah.

#rosi3333 #ask

[glitterjay]

— staring contest

⠀⭒ paring heeseung x afab!reader. friends to lovers(?, makeout, pet names, drabble, mention of alcohol(?, short, semi suggestive content under the cut (minors DNI)

parties like this were often in this side of town. big houses, loud music, it was what you and your friends called the rich kids neighborhood as kids. and here you were now, walking into one of those big houses for a party you were invited.

you had met jake in one of your classes and you had both hit it off instantly. it would be too fast to call him your best friend, but he was definitely making his way up to that title.

you heard about this big party invitation going around, to which jake gladly filled you in. it was lee heeseung's party. ironically, he and jake were really good friends, which made the latter earn a plus one to the invitation he had received.

jake had told you before that heeseung limits a lot who he hangs out with, which just makes him even more popular for his "mysterious" reputation. you weren't going to lie, he was handsome, but you wouldn't try to get to know him if he didn't want to.

once you both made it into the house, jake grabbed your hand to lead you to his group of friends (which included the host of such party) who seemed to already be playing around with each other. "damn jake, i didn't know you had a girlfriend" one of the boys teased.

"she's not my girlfriend, jay. but at least i have a pretty girl to accompany me." the comments made you blush furiously, coughing as if that would make the redness leave your face. "we'll see about that" a voice called. it was the only face you could put a name to besides jake. it was heeseung.

"you're just in time, yun. we were just about to play some games."

-

it had been 3 hours since you arrived at the party. cans of beers flooded the table where you guys had originally started playing beer pong. "i know! why don't we have a staring contest?" the one who you had learned was named sunghoon suggested.

"i think thats a great idea!" jay exclaimed. "jake can hardly look at anything without giggling anymore, this should be easy." as the other two kept pestering jake for his clumsy and drunk behavior, you had felt someone else starting the staring contest.

heeseung's eyes were locked on you. it was as if a lion had just seen the perfect pray. he looked hot. you turned around nervously, trying to find the one who brought you here in the first place.

"jake is long gone. probably playing around with hoon and jay." he said.

your body tensed a little after hearing his voice. it was much deeper and heavier for some reason. "yeah, i guess you're right." you could see heeseung eyeing you up and down, licking his lips. it made you feel insecure for a moment, until you realized how close he had gotten. "i could kiss you right now."

"so do it." you said, feeling bold. heeseung didnt think twice, rapdily grabbing your face and slamming his lips into yours. it was quick at first, but then it turned more romantic. your hands rested on his broad shoulders while his held your face steady.

"your pretty dress kept calling me all night. it wants me to take it off."

i feel like this is sooo bad... | © glitterjay | tumblr

#— ✿ c's work! #kpop #hard hours #enhypen #enhypen smut #kpop smut #enhypen hard hours #engene #enhypen heeseung #enhypen heeseung smut #enhypen heeseung hard hours #lee heeseung

[btsfests]

Daddy's Home Fest

You voted on it - now it's here! Daddy's Home Fest is now open to all BTS fanfic writers on Tumblr! Daddy's Home fest will be hosted by BTS Fests on Tumblr and is open to writers who are 18 years of age and older. 

PROMPT: Write a fanfic featuring BTS as a dad/DILF. 

INFORMATION:

♡ Masterlist will be hosted on btsfests.tumblr.com. ♡ This is an open fest, anyone can apply to join as long as they are a BTS writer on Tumblr and are of age. ♡ All pairings are accepted (mem x reader, mem x mem, mem x oc, solo mem)♡ ♡ You may write for any member of your choosing.

RULES: 

♡ One or more BTS members must be featured​​. ♡ No word count limit or minimum. ♡ May include smut or not if you don’t wish, but must be rated appropriately when you post ♡ Must contain dad BTS ♡ Writers must not engage in any form of plagiarism, which includes copying and pasting content without proper attribution, presenting someone else's work as their own, using Artificial Intelligence, or using any material without permission. ♡ This fest does not allow minors. If you’re discovered to have lied on your application and you’re a minor, you will be immediately be removed. We ask that all writers have their age range displayed somewhere on their Tumblr for the duration of this fest. ♡ Bullying, belittling, or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. No warnings will be issued for evident and explicit bullying, discrimination, or harassment of writers either in the fest server or outside the server on Tumblr/other servers. Suspicion of bullying, discrimination and harassment will be investigated before any dismal action. ♡ A Discord account is required by writers for all communication after the initial invitation. A moderator will DM you your invitation on Tumblr, which means your DMs (not your asks) must be open. 

♡ DROPOUT POLICY: You may drop out of this fest at any time, for any reason. Please let one of the moderators know to remove you from the masterlist!

♡ CONTENT POLICY: Dead Dove submissions are allowed, however, you must appropriately tag your fic and let a moderator know to mark your fic as Dead Dove on the main fest masterlist. 

SCHEDULE:

♡ Application Period: January 19 - February 1 ♡ Masterlist Posted: February 29 ♡ Writing Period: January 19* - April 30 ♡ Promo/Hype Event: April 2 ♡ Posting Period: February 29 - April 30

*Writing period reflects the first day applications open for rolling acceptances.

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED.

#btsfests #bts fic #bts collab #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts writing #daddys home fest

[acesw]

UTTU Part 1: The Magazine

Welcome back to A.D. doing mega lore posting because good god this will never get old. But anyways, this post will be about UTTU and not only about their magazine, but also about their Flash Gathering. (This also counts as my birthday gift for Sonetto since she likes being info-dumped, probably. Happy Birthday Sonetto!)

“Standing in the shadow, we tell all the stories which were once unknown, like a weaver in silence, or a moth light trap in the dark night.” - Pandora Wilson, UTTU Journalist

First, who even is UTTU?

UTTU Magazine is an arcanist magazine organization that releases stories about notable arcanists. According to Blonney, they are "the greatest fashion and arcanist information magazine." They operate globally as well as privately, going so far as to hide the physical identities of their reporters and their main headquarters.

There’s not a lot of things known about how UTTU works, but what we do have is information about their magazine and their Flash Gathering event, which we can start off from there. But first, what does the name mean?

The name ‘Uttu’ comes from the Mesopotamian goddess of the same name, one of Sumerian origin. She was associated with weaving (and spiders but the claim of Uttu being envisioned as a spider is limited).

They sell their magazines in the form of seasonal subscriptions, advising to only purchase the subscription and not much else. From there, they create the articles and send out monthly updates.

UTTU also hosts “Flash Gatherings” for the game’s events as a reading club, where the arcanists are invited to see the UTTU market situated in the area of where the in-game event takes place; they can read the Flash Journal and FLASH:FAME, obtain FAME cards from retails, and get rewards. I’ll get into this in Part 2.

First, we'll explore the magazine since there's so much questions surrounding them.

UTTU Magazine

Of course, the magazine is the main brand of the organization. The magazine has properties in which only arcanists are able to read it (speculation), and it has a scheduled self-update to release new articles/artworks.

The reason why we are able to see such a large amount of information is because from what can be told, Vertin is an avid collector of this media, even being titled “Top Collector” in the introduction of the Green Lake Flash Gathering.

Anyway, the magazine has a very interesting way of how it works, and they even have their own reading guide, including instructions of how to manage the magazine and activate the self-update.

Reader’s Guide and Self-Updating system

Welcome to UTTU. This is a magazine.

Don’t skip this page. Unlike those useless prefaces filled with boring platitudes, this one is important.

1. Don't doubt the truth of UTTU. We only tell true stories that happened to real arcanists.

2. You only need one copy of UTTU. After you make the seasonal subscription, the copy will update itself on 15th every month.

3. Whenever the copy updates itself, please place it below a cupboard or the firewood in a fireplace, but do not leave any fire or light. Then step back to 8.8 feet away and wait for 10-15 minutes. It is normal to hear the sounds of sewing and crawling during the update.

4. Don't be confused about the interviews of the artworks. Please note that anything can be an artwork: they can be alive, or dead. Whoever has a story to tell can be deemed an artwork.

5. You might smell a fine aroma from the pages while reading an interview. This is normal.

6. Do not be shocked by live photographs, and do not let any of them come in contact with dark coffee or matches.

8. Keep UTTU away from fire. This is an arcanum magazine and is definitely not fireproof.

9. Although it's not fireproof, UTTU is waterproof, but please do not soak it in water for too long. If you do so by mistake, please prepare enough insect repellent.

10. Don't ask where article 7 is. (lmao)

11. If you see any ads about nightmare recycle on the attached pages, do not call the number on it or make any attempt to catch those monsters. If your children report strange goings-on to you, comfort them with one extra milk candy before bedtime.

12. Try to enjoy reading UTTU.

The way one could get the magazine is buying a seasonal subscription, and upon receiving it you’d have to take care of it regularly since it is delicate. When updating, you put it in a place where you’d most commonly find spiders. That way, these arcane weavers can multiply and add to the tapestry. Additionally, this magazine seems to be a live and interactive type of media, which does explain the “live photographs” and the spiders.

Magazine Contents

Now, what are the contents of the UTTU Magazine?

First, we look at our Role Atlas. Yes, the Role Atlas is involved in this too.

There are categories of our roster that classify them by what they are: Beyond, awakened, arcanist, mixed, and infected. Now, what are each of these?

Beyond: an Arcanist with unexplainable origins not found within Arcanum (Ex: Voyager and aliEn T are aliens born of supernatural causes rather than arcanum. Jessica is a hybrid species of a deer woman (a spirit in Native American myth) and a changeling (a supernatural creature in European folklore) )

Awakened: an Arcanist who was once an object and has been given sentience one way or another (Ex: Sputnik was a regular space probe as the real Sputnik 1 who gained sentience when entering orbit).

Arcanist: A general term for those who are born with a different physiology that makes them able to sense and use arcanum, this is not limited only to human arcanists. (Ex: Door was born of arcanum on Earth and was always sentient thus is not a Beyond nor Awakened arcanist)

Mixed: People who both have the genetics or blood of a Human and an Arcanist. (Ex: Pavia and Satsuki were implied to be born of a human and an arcanist)

Infected: Currently unknown, no arcanists within this category.

They also have a “Bound Volume”, which serves as a gallery collection of arcanists that Vertin has and has not met. Those she (and we) haven't met will be obscured.

The “Artwork”

Artworks in this game are basically the arcanists that UTTU chooses to write about. As long as there is one to tell, they will conduct an interview and report on it. For each artwork they contain: Exhibition details, Item Collection, and Story/Interview.

First, the cover. Made by my friend and fellow lore chat dweller Rabies En., this is what can be made out of what each part of the exhibition details mean:

And of course, the “Completion” date is their birthday.

When it comes to describing their inspiration, it tends to be left on a vague note and left for speculation. While concluding that the first half is the title of the arcanist’s afflatus, the second half has left most people confused. My speculation is that this latter half is something that is related to their job, hobby, skill, or interest.

For example, Balloon Party’s inspiration is quite straightforward: “Remains of a Rock Formation [Mineral] Bones Balloon.” It directly showcases her afflatus and what she is inspired by, which also goes hand in hand as to what her arcane skill is. Meanwhile, Sonetto’s is more vague and unique: “Trained Loyal Dogs [Mineral] Foreign Affairs.” These reflect her upbringing and main interest respectively. With this theory, I concluded that the afflatus and inspiration boost one’s arcanist’s medium, which in turn helps fuel their arcane skill.

Second, the items. All arcanists have a section that lists personal items that closely pertain to their character, usually, these things would be visible on their person. The author analyzes them and relates them to their story and character. And depending on the item, they are priced by clear drops.

Additionally, if a character has a garment that isn't their I2 (e.g. event garments), they will have a special section for a new set of items. (Ex. Sonetto's Parade Anthem garment isn't exactly her I2 outfit, thus she has another set of items that relate to the uniform.)

Lastly, the Story and Interview; Each and every arcanist is interviewed by Pandora Wilson, another fellow arcanist and one whose face is obscured to the world other than a pair of lips.

The first story is a retelling of their background and upbringing, the second is a story about their daily life or lifestyle, and the third is a transcripted segment of their interview. The interview segments usually starts with Pandora greeting and/or asking a few questions towards the interviewee, but occasionally they also include the end of these interviews.

They highlight parts that make the interviewee unique; It exhibits their distinction, their personality, and most importantly, their overall character and the life they lead. These help us learn about the arcanists in a more deeper level the more we bond with them, as well as learning about the world they live in considering how all of them come from different times.

Now, our magazine analysis ends here. Feel free to ask questions and Part 2 is linked below!

Part 2: The Flash Gathering

#reverse 1999 #uttu #lore analysis #say thank you to rabies en for the exhibition guide #heavy sonetto mentioning cause we love her

[v-a-l]

Inarticulate rage rant of the day as I battle my migraine and refuse to sleep out of an obstinate desire to enjoy my non working hours:

No one in the Order of the Phoenix (including but not limited to Molly and Hermione) had any right to cast aspersions on Sirius’ motives and desires.

It’s fucking absurd to me that a lot of OOTP is people just going “Oh Sirius is like this” “oh Sirius wants that.” “Oh Sirius stop being sad” “oh Sirius can you not get angry” “oh Sirius is very happy that’s nice now just maintain that consistently can’t you see how happy it makes everyone?”

Jfc he never tells anyone about anything he wants. He never bothers anyone about any of his problems. He literally retreats and only “burdens” Buckbeak. Hell he escaped from Azkaban and went after Peter to avenge the Potters and protect Harry. He barely cared about establishing his own innocence. He lets people into his house no questions asked and let’s them walk all over him because he genuinely cares so much about the cause they’re fighting for and wants to keep Harry safe.

He has no reason, absolutely zero to let Molly Weasley teach him how to raise his own godson while he’s hosting her and her entire family in his home. He has no reason to listen to 15 year old Hermione acting like an expert in trauma and PTSD.

Literally all the poor dude wanted was to not be alone all the time after spending 12 years in solitary confinement with only dementors for company.

Some empathy won’t kill you lot. Find something else to do.

#Sirius Black

[empressgeekt]

batfam meets the justice league fic idea, where Nightwing convinces the JL that the batfam is the last of the race Gotham bat demons...

made on moble so sorry in advance.

Okay so it starts with Batwoman and Nightwing hanging around the watchtower. Eventually someone (most likely either hal or barry) asks how they are related to batman. Batwoman claims to be his sister, and Nightwing obviously says he's his son. When the question of who Nightwing's mom comes up (along with some of the league thinking that Nightwing was an accident, cause they can't see bats settling down), Batwoman simply says, "he doesn't have one."

The convo sudden shifts to the topic of the 'history' and 'biology' of the bat demon race. How they were nearly eradicated by a war with the Amazon's, and Atlantis, only a few really surviving and finding refuge in the caves below Gotham. Hwo they used ancient forgotten magic to remove all memories of this 'war' to keep themselves save. And finally how they reproduce asexually, by reviving the souls of children who were wrongfully killed. Taking the weak dead spirit and carrying them in their own soul until it could put itself back together.

When asked if this was how Nightwing was born, they confirm it.

BW: oh yeah. Actually 'wing was kind of a surprise you could say.

Hal: surprise?

N: YEP! You see I was kinda of dad's first so he really didn't know what he was doing...

BW: and it ended with bossy big brother screaming his head off in an emergence of a batling that he didn't know he was carrying.

Barry: screaming his head off?

N: oh...well the process of soul splitting, emergence, rebirth, whatever you want to call it, includes the host's soul breaking down enough to allow the younger newly revived soul to detach. It's very painful, So I've heard.

BW; so you've heard? Kid please I know you've heard your father when it came to your siblings rebirth.

Needless to say everyone (especially hal and barry), look at Batman the same way for the next few days.

when Bruce confronts his son and cousin, he honestly can't say he hates the idea. UT would throw off any suspicions sound hus true identity. Not mention give him a new way to mess with hal.

The rest of the batfam (let's say standard webcomic cast, with Terry and Matty McGinnis [time traveled/dimensionhopped], along with flashpoint!batman, because they deserve to be in the safe place rhay is the batfam too, for funies), also find this cover story hilarious, and spend all of dinner adding to the bat-demon mythos.

Thomas would've been the last surviving member of the demon army, who retreated and sought refuge in Gotham, along with his human turned immortal companion of Alfred. Bruce, Kate, and Luke (batwing) would his 'children'.

The normal children would all still be Bruce's. Inculding spoiler, as why she claims she isn't Bruce's daughter, she isn't passing up the chance to mess with the JL.

Eventually the idea gets suggested that they should trick the JL into believing that Batman is pregnant with a new batling. The prank idea slowly snowballs from there and Bruce is unable to stop it. So he agrees to join in, ans rhe prank planninf begins. Matty immediately volunteers to be the new batling, because he technically the youngest and doesn't have a vigilante alter ego yet.

The prank starts out slow. Batwoman and Nightwing increase their visits to the watchtower? Specially when batman is there and they are usually in the same room as him.

Bruce pretends to be more tired often, even pretending to take a nap, where the JL can find him. He also fakes head aches.

Eventually Clark asks him if he's alright. And Nightwing responds with

N: of course he's not. He's working too hard.

B: Nightwing...

N: there's a reason me and aunt BW following you, and it's so you don't over do it!

B: nightwing...

N: even grandfather is worried.

B: Nightwing. I have been through this 8 times already. I think I know my limits. Besides your grandfather has always been worried over the thought of a new spawn in the house.

Clark: !!!!

Once more things around batman grow awkward for the next few weeks.

The end of the fic would be the JL visiting the "bat domain" to meet Matty dressed up in a mask and brightly colored suit. And finding out about the literal small army that batman's been building. Not to mention cameo of Thomas in his bat suit scaring the living crap out if the justice league, and having the time of his life.

Edit: Alright its official, this is going to be my holiday special for this year. So, around Christmas time I'll post a link so yall can read this.

Edit 2: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51963331/chapters/131402920

Happy holidays! hears and early present!

#justice league #batfamily #humor #crack fic #Justice league meets batfamily #batfam #batdad #batkids #I don't know why my brain came up with this #thomas wayne #terry mcginnis #matt mcginnis #flashpoint batman #Let these guys be a happy family that enjoys screwing with their dads coworkers

[queengiuliettafirstlady]

Love Booth Challenge

Love Booth for underrated characters.

Ikemen version

Hello and welcome to my first challenge. I am proud to present to you the Love Booth challenge, a month long exploration of love for the underrated characters of the Ikemen games.

General Rules

Works and art of all forms are welcome! Fanarts, fanfics, headcanons, moodboards, playlists and everything you can manage to think of is included. 

Limited to Ikemen fandoms and to certain suitors, due to popularity of some characters more than others I have decided to host a challenge exclusively for the less appreciated.

I had this idea since forever what took me so long to post it was the creations of the prompts I created in association with my lovely friend MO @xxsycamore.

I did my best to include most of the less loved characters from the Ikemen games exclusively with an English version.

That said if you think about other less popular characters, belonging to one of these games or to other Ikemen games that are not out in English yet, You are allowed to use these prompts as inspiration.

The main focus is to show love to characters not so loved by the fandom/game all year around without limit for this reason I won't make a masterlist.

When posting your works, use the tag #love booth challenge - you can as well tag me @queengiuliettafirstlady in your posts! It will help find other creations for those interested to check them out.

Posting to other sites is allowed - as long as you mention the challenge and its creators.

Reblogs are appreciated!

Content Rules

This challenge features a list of prompts, and dialogue prompts which you can match to your liking, if you want to. You can create more than one work for the same prompt, too!

Under the cut, you will find the prompts linked to the characters included in the challenge, that can be mixed up with prompts from other challenges happening around the fandom in the same month.

Any additional rules are up to the artists. You are free to choose the rating (make sure to mark your NSFW works accordingly, and if you’re minor, make sure not to interact with such!), and also the genre (the challenge’s main focus is romantic love, but it is not obligatory for your work to be of such genre), all characters and ships included are up to you (OCs, character x MC, character x character, etc.)

You’re free to take requests from your audience using these prompt lists, again please make sure to mention the challenge and its creator.

You’re absolutely free to post your works for this challenge whenever you feel like.

The final and most important rule is to have fun and not pressure yourself about full completion of the challenge. Do only as many works as you wish! :)

Here is a free-to-use banner/header for the challenge!

If you have any additional questions, I’ll be happy to help. There is no such thing as a stupid question, so don’t hesitate to get in contact with us! I wish you happy creating!

THE LISTS

Ikemen Vampire

Dazai - Storyteller - A walk under the cherry trees.

Jean - Monster - "I am not worthy of love."

Mozart - Music - "You are my muse."

Sebastian - Secrets - "My composure is an act."

Shakespeare - Bard - A poem for my lover

Faust - Alchemy - "Behave for me."

Charles - Obsession - "I wish we could stay like this forever."

Isaac - Scholar - "I don't understand people at all ... yet I found myself quite curious to know everything about you."

Ikemen Prince

Keith - Duality - "Trust me."

Luke - Bear - "I will protect you."

Jin - Sweets - "All I need is our love."

Rio - Pet - "I will love you always and forever."

Sariel - Discipline - "It will do good to remember I am quite a strict tutor."

Nokto - Facade - "Were the truth lies ?"

Licht - Scar - "No matter what I do this scars will not heal, but your presence made me forget about them."

Yves - Fashion - "Would you like to get ready together ?"

Ikemen Revolution

Zero - Identity - "I am human because of you."

Harr - Magic - "I only want to keep you safe."

Loki - Abandonment - Seeking comfort on a rainy night.

Blanc - Gentleman - "Do you remember what I warned you about when you came in Cradle?"

Mousse - Dreams - "You are the subject of my dreams. I want to know even more about you."

Dean - Strict - Stern gaze softening upon an endearing sight.

Dalim - Flirt - "You shouldn't have trusted me."

Oliver - Creativity - "The best part about my creations is seeing you smile."

Ikemen Sengoku

Kennyo - Revenge - "You make me feel complete with your love."

Ranmaru - Loyalty - "I will always be there for you."

Sasuke - Companion - Fanning over the fanboy.

Mitsunari - Knowledge - "Let me take care of you."

Yoshimoto - Beauty - Admiring art together.

Kanetsugu - Strategy - "I found quite difficult to keep my composure when you are around."

Hideyoshi - Devotion - "You're my number one priority."

Ieyasu - Teacher - Collecting herbs together.

Once again Have fun and Happy Creating! I can't wait to see all your creations. 🧡💟💌🤗

#love booth challenge #ikemen vampire #ikevamp #ikemen prince #ikepri #ikemen revolution #ikerev #ikemen sengoku #ikesen

[squealing-santa]

Welcome, one and all, to the 8th Annual Tickle Fandom Bloggers Squealing Santa Extravaganza!

This year’s humble host for 2023 on her second year is @hypahticklish - I'm ecstatic to continue stoking the fires of our wonderful tradition! We were so lucky last year to have not only our community artists join the fun, but to break our previous record of participants. I cannot wait to see all the magic our corner of tumblr is able to create 🥰 But enough of my shmoozing - let’s get on to the main event! 

Here are the general rules of engagement:

In order to get a peice of tickle fiction or art, you must be willing to create a new peice of tickle fiction or art for someone else.

Your work must be based on the fandoms and prompts provided by your giftee during registration. Examples of what those loose prompts may look like can be found here.

All creations must be posted during the month of December.

All creations must have a title and @ both their giftee and the event blog when posting.

All participants will have their DMs and Asks available for communication with the event Host.

For Our Writers

Fics must be at least 500 words, but there is no limit if you’d like to write more!

All authors must also include the total word count of their piece and a short summary.

Fics must be legibly formatted, i.e. not a block of text for the entire piece.

For Our Artists

Traditional art must be completed on an unlined surface with minimal remaining sketch lines. Color or grayscale is optional. Scanning is preferable when uploading your piece but at the very least needs to be clear and well-lit photo.

Digital art must minimally be in contrasted color or grayscale, and have finished line work. 

Comics must have a minimum of two medium-large panels OR two small panels and one medium-large panel, with minimal remaining sketch lines. Color or grayscale is optional.

All artists must include their own accessibility image IDs.

There is no limit if you'd like to create more or explore stylization!

Once sign-ups end, we’ll send out assignments and you’ll have until December 31st to finish your piece and send it to the person you’re creating for. In turn, your writer or artist will post a piece for you also by the end of December! No one will know who is working on whose prompts until the works are published, because surprises are fun!

Use this link right here to complete your registration to this year’s exchange!

Please note that the registration is conducted via Google Forms. While we have turned all email requirements off, there’s still a chance it will autofill that information if you’re logged in. We’d definitely recommend filling out the survey using incognito mode just in case for that reason. Should any emails be submitted accidentally, they will not be utilized or released.

IF YOU ARE ANON: you still must include a tumblr url that we can contact you at. We promise we won’t give it out to anyone; we just will need a way to contact you over the course of the exchange!

We will send you a confirmation DM once your registration has been submitted, so if you don’t receive that, contact us! We want to make sure no one gets left out due to the survey eating submissions or something similarly dumb.

Registration closes at midnight PST on November 5th, so be sure to share with your knismobuddies!

The Fandom Registration will be sent out November 6th to be completed by midnight PST on November 12th. 

Assignments will go out by approximately November 16th!

We hope you can join the event this year and have a blast! Until then, we’ll be waiting for you all to sign up!

#squealing santa #ss2k23 #tickle fic #tickle art #tickle community #tfb community #gift exchange #squealing santa 2k23 #2k23 bulletin board

[roo-bastmoon]

IMPORTANT INFO: issues around Jimin’s album

I have an ARMY friend (who shall remain safely anonymous) who works in film production for the music and entertainment industry here in the US. They offered me some valuable insights today into production limitations and possible issues related to Jimin’s solo album.

Below the cut is a transcript of their messages to me. I share this in the hopes it better informs our discussions around fair treatment of BTS members’ releases. It is by no means a definitive account of Jimin’s situation—simply an insider’s ideas on what likely happened around a few things.

I understand there are very big feelings about this topic, especially with the apparent differences around JK’s single, and I appreciate everyone’s viewpoints. However, if you choose to interact with this post, you will be respectful to others (including members) or you will be blocked. You are always welcome to DM me privately if you need to vent—we are all human and we all need a bit of grace, so you’ll always have that with me.

Sending you guys so much love, Roo

Anonymous Insider

Some “light reading” while you’re resting up and recovering, lol. This is all just based on what I’ve been watching and seen. Of course, I don’t have access to their production budget sheet and Korea works very differently than the US when it comes to production, but this what I’ve been seeing when it comes to their videos and particularly the promotions for FACE.

(I’m sending in sections, lol)

Alrighty - I’m still like deep in edit-land (still am two days later 😭) but I started typing this on the train between meetings, ha ha. (And am still on the train doing this, lol.) Also this rambles a bit I’m sorry! So the first thing I did was go back to the interview where Jimin talked about the music videos — it was a Japanese TV show and he’s talking with a host in Korean.

He’s talking about “wanting to do it all,” laughs and says, “I wanted all the music videos” and that “they” (the company assuming) said “무리다” which has its roots in the word 무리 which means a herd, a party, a group — basically “it’s too much,” “it’s unreasonable,” and “it’s impossible” are decent translations as it refers to something or an idea being “too much” — then the host and Jimin burst out laughing and the host goes “서리와 무리다” which I read as “sorry (in konglish) but we can’t” and they continue to laugh. So based on that —it sounds very understandable.

We can imagine Jimin sitting down with his team and planning out SMFP2 and LC videos, with the 30 dancers and all the party scene extras, and then Jimin saying he wants to do the music shows with 6 different sets in rented locations so they could have total control. And if Jimin in that process went “what if we made official music videos for all of them?” the team would understandably go “that’s just not reasonable!” 1) because it would give Jimin a budget no other member had gotten and 2) there aren’t that many production houses in Korea. It’s a very small scene — it may just logistically not been possible. There aren’t enough DPs and crew and editors. Sometimes, as a producer, you have to tell your creative talent “I’m sorry, but no.” — I say it every week!

So what about the music videos? Well, here’s what I know from meticulously watching all the behind the scenes for BTS videos over the years. They work with a small team. They likely own a good deal of the gear — they shoot mainly on RED cameras and heavy expensive Cooke lenses (which you can’t get this stuff easily in Korea. I lost a lens cap for a Canon CINÉ Lens in Seoul and it was like this whole big deal because getting gear there is an import challenge but anyways) they use MOVI and Ronin gimbal stabilizers and Jimmy Rigs a lot.

Recently they’ve been using technocranes but I wonder how many technocranes there are in Seoul. As I said, they likely own a lot of this gear which can help with costs. But we’ve also been told — and I’ve heard through my industry friends — that Hybe PAYS. And in Korea there’s no unions in the entertainment world, and often the rates are shit (hence Netflix investing so much there - blerg) their standard work week is also already 12 hours longer than the US. It’s a whole thing. and they spend so much money on sets. It’s incredible.

They rent these huge spaces outside Seoul and BUILD — I mean the build out for SMFP2 was astounding. They easily dropped 1million on that video. The rigging, the build-out, the custom set and the custom camera rigs to achieve the 360 shots - the drone shots. They’re astounding videos. No US label is spending that money on videos these day. Absolutely none of them are — my friend recently produced a video for John Legend. They were trying to pull the whole thing off for $100K which is ridiculous. It’s really almost impossible.  

But on the Big videos they spend a lot of money, but they also produce a lot of other stuff too (and these are often looked at as Performance Videos vs all-caps MUSIC VIDEOS) -— like RM’s video shoot at DIA Beacon… that was a much smaller, fairly single camera shoot — all shot on drones or a MOVI handheld rig. No set, they also didn’t like pay for the set because DIA: Beacon is an art museum — and similar a little bit to Letter for Jimin, which was much smaller set and easy in-house gear.

(And it was also released on Bangtan TV channel vs Hybe Labels Channel, which is a good indicator of how they categorize these shoots.) But the big videos, they go for broke. I mean they spend so much money and again they may own a lot of the equipment but there’s still so much people-power and labor involved. Take the dancers’ rehearsals. You have to pay people for all that — you have to pay them for the weeks of rehearsal, you have to pay them to be in a video. It is so expensive — like, I would not be able to budget that video for under 1 million, that’s how much it costs.  

So then Jimin wanted to do music shows —- and so because he’s Jimin and it’s BTS, Hybe rented larger venues and locations for all of the shoots. None of them use the actual Broadcast spaces or were provided by the broadcast studios. The smaller companies do though — remember when BTS first started out they went to SBS to film on the day? — but they don’t do that anymore. They rent huge facilities so that they could be a mini concerts for ARMYs to visit with Jimin and see him.

They also have to do this kind of outside of the city and they built huge sets because they’re going to want to show off if they’re gonna be on TV but that is so expensive. (I don’t think you were an ARMY then, but when ON was released, at the time it was the “biggest broadcast performance ever” and they keep upping that ante for sure!) It’s possible the broadcast companies spend some money but what BTS is doing is so outside the usual budget and given the tension with the broadcasters and HYBE — they (Hybe) wants control of their products, and so I think they pay for that control.

I can’t imagine they got out of any of those days for under $500K; I mean, there were two different sets, all the crew; they’re paying for all of it. We add it up and they probably spent close to $3-5 million between Jimin’s music videos and his music show performances, and I would be understandably like: “That’s it!” Like, that’s the budget for an EP, you know.

I don’t think Jimin could have it all because that wasn’t the case for the other members. RM got to lead videos and J Hope had pyrotechnics, which definitely costs money and safety and insurance. You know he had visual effects his first video (a lotta visual effects) and again a lot of challenging technocrane work, but I haven’t really seen them build something on the scale of what they built for SMFP2 in a very long time (or ever?).

We heard from the Art Dept that Jimin did not want to shoot on blue screen, so they built the set for him. This cannot be the same label that is shafting him — that allows him to spend that amount of money just because the artist said “I want to shoot in a real space!” because I’m gonna be completely honest— he could’ve done that on a blue screen — I’m glad they built a real world because BTS almost always shoots on Blue/Green Screen. They build him a huge set like that. It’s absolutely incredible.

I was also reminded this morning that people are talking about radio for Like Crazy and not supporting the song — and I just keep thinking that they did exact rollout for Butter, Dynamite, and Permission to Dance. They released Like Crazy. It had both a Korean version and English version. (Obviously that wasn’t the case for the English BTS songs.) They released two additional remixes. Then they kept releasing, like, alternate cover versions — alternate covers of the main remix, alternate cover the other remix. They were trying to maximize the direct-to-consumer store and exact same way they had tried to maximize it with Dynamite and Butter and Permission to Dance.

The way you were buying Like Crazy was the same process I took on Dynamite. They did the exact same playbook. So the fact that they were unable to get the kind of radio play they wanted or maybe they weren’t prioritizing radio because they knew that they were gonna have a better chance at direct to consumer sales... Maybe they didn’t want to fight radio. Maybe Geffen was like “We don’t have the right ‘Ins’ yet!” — I’m not sure, but the fact that they got completely screwed over by Billboard doesn’t mean that they weren’t actually rolling it out in that way, because as soon as they started doing the whole alternate cover thing, I was like: “Well, they clearly want us to try to go for number one!” You know, “They clearly think that they are going to be able to get number one on the hot 100 and we’re gonna use these sales to do that!” And clearly that’s all changed now.

They keep changing the rules on us, so — with JK, they’re obviously trying to, you know, use whatever tools they have available to them at this point.

Finally, when it comes to restocking the digital single CD. There are still albums available in the store. So why would they manufacture and ship more (likely thrown away) plastic that’s just for one song, when those CD singles only serve to raise sales for the charts? All of the other member’s CD singles are out of stock except The Astronaut, which they treated more like a proper album a bit (kinda like the Butter CD releases). Because they still have both versions of his full albums in stock, so if I were Hybe, I’d be like “No,you need to buy the album, we still have albums, we’re not going to sell you a single song when you can buy the album!” That makes more sense to me. The albums cost more.

TL:DR, haha — so I feel like this narrative around Jimin’s release has been ramped up because, from my professional opinion, he’s had the most expensive release so far (by far) and if we want to compare him to, say, Beyoncé — well she owns her own production company (Parkwood Entertainment), so she can funnel her own money into a Visual Album, I don’t know if Jimin has considered that at this point in his career, but in the future, he might!

((Not including costs for Suga’s tour because that’s a whole other thing, and the tour probably made money I would expect to balance out the cost of the tour itself))

Anonymous Insider

This isn’t to say that the other things, the part where he didn’t get the cake celebration, or the posts, the issues with the linking and this general feeling that Jimin was short-changed in these things isn’t valid and understandable. I think Hybe relied too much on D2C sales and I don’t think they leveraged their might as much as could have for JM. They could have risked more for him.

{This is an end of Anonymous Insider’s messages to me. They noted that they are an intermediate non-native Korean speaker so please excuse any translation errors. They translated things themselves using Naver tools that aligned with the video subtitles.}

So, listen, I still don’t think Like Crazy was sent/promoted to radio (which was a mistake and still is a mistake) and I am furious at the shady articles and lack of celebration for Jimin…

But after reading the way the members approach their work in the Beyond the Story book and now hearing from someone who produces these works for a living, I have to wonder if the company was doing everything they knew how to do for Jimin, but the second it didn’t work out because of the western music industry culling streams and sales, they pulled back all their resources and pivoted for Yoongi and JK. (I also wonder if leadership shut up about it all due to liability issues, or not to cause bad blood with the music industry for future releases.)

Again, I’ll never forgive the lack of celebration and the split streams (not without a great explanation), but at least now I think there’s a good chance no one was actively trying to sabotage Jimin on purpose. They seemed to have wanted that #1 and then it all went to shit because Billboard and radio want to get paid. Maybe leadership decided not to put any more resources into Face but instead pivot for all the future music coming out (including PJM2.)

Perhaps I'm a cockeyed optimist. I’m just hoping like hell they never engage in payola. I want all our boys to win, but I want us to win fairly. And even if everyone cannot have the same investment every time on every project, I hope when they come back together in 2025 that everyone feels good about their solo works and each other. This is my prayer. Love, Roo

#jimin #jungkook #jikook #bts #face by jimin #set me free pt 2 #like crazy by jimin

[sgiandubh]

OMG! I can practically see her pulling at her pearls in indignation and fury! I wonder how many wet dreams he rejected her to result in this anger 🙃🙄😜 https://www.tumblr.com/maximumwobblerbanditdonut/747779411400671232/public-intoxication-sh-was-invited-to-the-landcon?source=share

Dear Pearl Clutching Anon,

This woman is the worst mythomaniac and the most pathetic know-it-all of the entire fandom. Mark me: probably a sock account of one of the Mordor sopranos, who'd like to play it cool otherwise. She is an impostor, pretending to be a Scot. But her grammar and spelling recurrent mistakes point to anything else but an English native speaker.

Prized and praised as she is by the dim-witted, she is living proof of the fact that you cannot reasonably and endlessly pretend to be an expert in hair implants, cocktails/bartending, audiovisual production, copyright, alcohol sales and pretty much everything in between. To me, she is at her most pathetic when she pretends to analyze the legal intricacies of the French regulations applicable to public alcohol tasting events.

What happened, in fact, at the Landcon 6 whisky tasting?

Ok. So, this was announced by the French organizers on March 5th and presented as a limited audience event, priced at 350 euros.

This idiot's comment is absolutely priceless:

She would be surprised to find out that, unlike the US, there has never been any Prohibition decreed in France (Hell would have frozen). Even more interestingly, the only venues where French law specifically prohibits alcohol tastings and sales are enumerated very clearly in regulations far above her intellectual abilities:

The main idea is that you cannot sell/organize alcohol tastings in public health venues (hospitals, clinics, etc), rehabilitation clinics (d'oh!) - both for alcohol and drug addictions -, schools, youth summer camps, sports arenas, swimming pools or any other public or private sports venues.

(Source: French Public Health Code, https://www.dalloz.fr/documentation/Document?id=CODE_CSPU_ARTI_D3335-1&scrll=CSPU022225&FromId=CODES_SECS_CSPU_TALPHA)

To these limitations, the French national professional organizations add, as best practice, the following: churches, cemeteries, prisons, military barracks, railway/public transport facilities (including depots).

(Source: Vin & Société's Guide juridique de la dégustation/Tasting Legal Guide - https://www.syndicat-cotesdurhone.com/upload/article/file/202103guidejuridiquedeladegustation-60658bb9468b4.pdf)

To my knowledge, Landcon's venue was neither a cemetery, nor a church (the latter could be, however discussed: wee & lame joke, btw). And for that poor woman's information, you would not need an exemption, but a permit, or licence. In current French law, there are four such sale permits, ranked from I (soft drinks, such as Orangina) to IV (all drinks, including spirits). The fabled Licence IV (also the name of a beloved 90s French kitschy music group, LOL) is now impossible to obtain and if you want to have one, you have to buy the venue (cafe, nightclub, bar, bistro, restaurant or buvette) that had it issued first, many moons ago.

That problem solved, we would have to further analyze the type of event hosted by the Landcon. Was it a tasting or a sale, according to French regulations?

If it was a tasting, no licence is needed. If it was a sale, you might need a temporary licence, granted by the Mayor, provided you have notified them at least 3 months before the event. These are also famously hard to get and very sparingly granted, too.

Because tastings are an exception, they are strictly defined by French regulations as 'free alcohol consumption' and their regulations are excruciatingly detailed. Procedures and limitations vary according to the type of event: sports, tourism promotion, markets and fairs, public gatherings or cultural events (which is the one that seemed the closest to our situation). But a cultural event-cum-tasting would have to be completely free of charge (no paying access tickets), in order to be exempt from any legal obligation. This was not the case, as we know there was a rather steep, 350 euros fee, to be able to attend it:

(Source: Vin & Société's Guide juridique de la dégustation/Tasting Legal Guide - https://www.syndicat-cotesdurhone.com/upload/article/file/202103guidejuridiquedeladegustation-60658bb9468b4.pdf)

That new activity was certainly not a tasting, as defined by French law. An amateur could then conclude, that S's event was, in fact, a disguised sale and that he is either a sinister fool or a filthy conman.

The trouble is, French legislation tolerates one single, overruling exception to everything I wrote above: sale by the producer of said alcohol. It is to be found (or rather interpreted - and it has been so by myself AND the French professional organizations), in the Code Général des Impôts/ French Tax Code:

To avoid a tedious legal translation, the idea is that if you do not sell your own produced booze, you are automatically considered as a stockist/trader and as such, subject to alcohol sales' regulations. If the Landcon organizers would have sold/promoted Laphroaig, for example, they would have needed the permit. But hosting a paying tasting event organized by SRH, promoting SRH's whisky and which profits entirely belonged to SRH is a sale by the producer, as defined by French law, not needing a permit:

(Source: Vin & Société's Guide juridique de la vente/Sales Legal Guide - https://fgvb.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Vin-et-Societe-Guide-juridique-de-la-vente-19042021.pdf)

So: even if the tasting event was, in fact, a sale, French law allows a producer to sell his own alcohol, for promotion purposes as a side event, with no further need to obtain a permit. And this is exactly what their legal team rightfully advised them to do and completely what I would advised them to do, too.

That woman is so often and in so many ways completely wrong, that she is absolutely ridiculous. She (and also her other Big Friend) should perhaps stop pretending to be whatever they are not. Infantilizing, bullying and snarling at people does not help with their credibility.

Such women are genuine Frauds and absolutely despicable. People spend years fucking their eyesight in law school and we do not joke about interpreting and reading legalese. Ever. But to see idiots pretending to know just because they fucking used Google for ten minutes is just infuriating: it took me two hours to find the exception and another two to write this comment.

I hope this long, tedious answer was helpful, Anon.

#anon #fandom #shitshow

[rendy-a]

I’m so excited! I loved your last event can’t wait to see all the ones for this one!

Could you do asking for a dance, self-aware, with Jade? I hope you have a great day!

I’m glad you have enjoyed my events!  Here is your request.  As a reminder, the Self-Aware AU is a yandere AU.

You had never pictured going to a school dance at NRC.  For one, it didn’t really seem like the sort of event they’d hold.  You’d seen the sort of thing NRC did instead; hunting each other down with bean blasters or hosting events with the townspeople like Halloween.  So, this dance had caught you completely off-guard.  So much so that your first instinct was to panic about who you’d ask to the dance as though it were a normal school dance in your world.

You’d turned to Deuce after hearing the news from your homeroom teacher Prof Crewel and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh!  Who should I ask to go with me?”  That one innocent remark had a profound impact on your class.  Deuce’s eyes got wide as saucers, and you heard a gasp from the seat behind you.  You looked around to realize that the entire class’s focus was on you.  That’s right, you were like a bizarrely famous celebrity here.  “I mean…I think I’ll go alone.  Just…hang out with everyone equally.  You know?” you finish lamely. 

From the sighs and laments you heard your declaration prompt; you knew you’d made the right call.  It really would have been a big thing if you asked someone to the dance.  And that was just with the students of NRC who were used to you!  You weren’t sure what to expect of the students of the other schools; would they know you as well or is this phenomenon limited to NRC? 

On the night of the dance, you’d dressed in the formal wear you’d purchased from town with your friends.  Then you tied a special bow around Grim’s neck and declared yourself ready to depart.  Grim in tow, you headed to the main campus down Main Street.  When you passed the first group of students from Royal Sword and Fair Maiden Academies, you saw some poking and hushed whispers.  Then the stares started.  Yes, it appeared you were just as famous across all of Twisted Wonderland for whatever mysterious reason.

No worries, you thought, as you met up with the First-Year crew at the entrance to the lunchroom-turned reception area.  You had found that your reputation kept people away as much as it made them stare, so let them stare so long as they kept their distance.  You stayed in your group as you sampled the treats you had worked on with the Second-Year class to prepare, smiling at how it had all turned out.  When the First-Year group started to break up a bit to mingle with friends from their dorms and clubs, you held back; choosing to be a wallflower instead. 

You smiled from the back of the room, just enjoying some people-watching until you jumped from feeling a tap on your elbow.  You turned to find Prof Crewel had garnered your attention by tapping you with the riding crop he carried in place of a pointer.  “Pup, I see you understand the situation you are in,” he replied calmly, “However, I hope you realize everyone will expect you to lead the first dance later.”  Your expression must have confirmed the Professor’s suspicions as to your ignorance.  Crewel cracks his crop on his hand for emphasis and goes on, “it has always been custom for royalty and other dignitaries to be the highlight of the first dance at a ball.  And you…” he trails off then, no one being quite willing to discuss your unique situation.  The implication was clear though; the Player would hold a place equal to royalty in TWST and that included leading the dance.  You were going to need a partner after all.

You immediately ruled out those that you thought might already be invited to join in the tradition; Leona, Malleus, Vil; all the seniors who’d helped you learn to dance were famous in their own right.  Then there were your friends who were just a little too casual for such a thing; you needed to make sure you upheld the dignity of your school to your rivals!  Who did you think could dance but also have that air of dignity?  Riddle?  You saw him speaking to Ace across the room.  He certainly could dance and was the most proper person you knew but… Even now, you can see his face turning red as he yelled at Ace.  No, maybe not Riddle.  Your gaze traveled further and landed on Jamil.  He could dance.  Then, as though feeling your gaze, Jamil turned to meet your eye and a very knowing expression crossed his face.  Sometimes, Jamil just sort of creeps you out with that scheming look.  Perhaps not him…

A clack of a cane echoes around the hall.  “Attention please!  Attention!” a voice calls from the dais, “We would like to welcome all our distinguished guests to NRC!  I hope you have enjoyed this fine food and symbol of my generosity!  Now, please, head out to the courtyard where we will start the dance!”  The attention Crowely had commanded at the speech slowly drifted from him and towards you.  No one moved to head to the courtyard.  Everyone was watching and waiting; waiting for the main character to lead the way.  And somehow, that was you.

Panic.  You look around rapidly for anyone nearby you know who could possibly do this with you.  Forget standards, you need someone now!  That is when your eyes alight on Jade standing just a few steps away.  Proper and professional Jade who always seemed to effortlessly complete any task.  Plus, he could easily be convinced to help a poor soul like yourself for the trade of a favor.  When you meet his eye, he places a hand to his chest and offers you a shallow bow.  You smile at the gesture and hurry to his side.

“Jade,” you begin breathlessly, “I realize this is rather abrupt, but won’t you please be my partner for the first dance?”  He smiles at you gently.  Then, as though he cannot contain his excitement, his smile grows until it displays an alarming number of sharp teeth.  You hesitate and the action seems to spur him to reign in his enthusiasm.  He resumes a mask of calculated politeness and bows again, “Apologies, Prefect, I appear to have gotten a tad exuberant over the thought of sharing such a moving custom with you.  Please do allow me to escort you in this traditional dance.”  You might have backed down if Crowley, at that very moment, hadn’t cleared his throat as though to say, ‘Let’s get a move on, Prefect!’  So, you returned Jade’s feigned smile and placed your hand in his own.  “Shall we?” you asked.

He was an ambush hunter by nature.  Being in the right place to create opportunities for yourself was just a part of living as an eel.  Rarely though, did he hunt as rare a query as you, the Player themselves.  When he followed silently behind you, he had merely hoped for the opportunity to hear your voice and perhaps learn something new about you.  For this to happen, it was a success far beyond what he had hoped.  So much so that he’d nearly forgotten himself and frightened his prey away.  That wouldn’t do at all.  He’d need to be more prepared in the future for when he’d certainly catch your attention again. 

For now, he’d have to satisfy himself with this small moment of your regard.  When he brought your hand to his lips and pressed a chaste kiss on the back of the hand, your eyes raised to his own.  For that brief moment, he had every last drop of your attention focused entirely on him.  It was enough to make his heart beat quicker and the only price he required of you.  For now.  Someday though, he’d bind you tightly enough that he possessed you mind, body and soul.  “Let’s begin with this dance, Prefect,” Jade says.  Both a plan and a dance beginning with a single step.

#500 follower event #yandere jade x reader #yandere jade leech #yandere jade leech x reader #yandere twst #tw yandere #twisted wonderland #twst #twst wonderland

[azurecrystalz]

A Guide to Reading Crazy:B Stories!!

A quick note: I won't be linking any stories for the sake of the fact that this is meant to be a guide not a directory. However, if there is something on this list you can't find anywhere and want translated, please don't hesitate to drop an ask and I'll consider it !! Last Updated: Launch Day (1-24-2023)

I'll be making edits to this frequently if any suggestions + new stories come up !! I also invite other unit producers to make their own story guides and I can maybe host a guide masterlist so that anyone can reference it!!

Things to Know Before Reading This Guide

This is going to be an ongoing post that will be updated frequently, so if there's any errors, questions, suggestions, concerns, etc drop an ask/dm on here/twitter !! For the time being, I'll leave Double Face sort of out of this until I compile information about them. Please do not repost this guide anywhere. You can link it in whatever you'd like and share it with your friends but don't repost it please and thanks.

Getting to Know Crazy:B

The Importance of the Main Story: A majority of Crazy:B’s content lies in the main story. I highly recommend, before reading any Crazy:B story, to read the main story first. The main story not only gives you an idea of who each character is, but it also gives you insight on how existing characters think of them and hints at multiple things that still need to be elaborated on in future events. Plus, most Crazy:B stories go back and reference “MDM”, which is like it’s own arc in the main story that has a huge impact on the characterization of Crazy:B (both individually and as a whole). It’s available on the English Enstars server, please try to read it if you get the chance. It’s not like a requirement to read it, but you’d be missing out on references and characterization if you don’t.

Rinne Idol Story 3: If for any reason you can’t read the main story, this is a good story to start. It’s a very basic, one-chapter story that includes all four members of Crazy:B and it introduces them and their dynamics on a semi-basic level. Nothing is explained here but the story brings up enough unexplained points that make you curious enough to learn more.

Reading the First Idol Story of Each Member: If you can't read the Rinne Idol Story since you haven't unlocked it or something, read the basic introduction idol stories. Every idol in the game has one and it gives you a feel for their personalities on a basic level. Crazy:B has the advantage of having theirs voiced too. So, if all else is no good, start there.

Specific Pair Dynamics:

The following explains what stories to read when looking for development between two specific characters:

Bold indicates major development, italics indicates semi-major development, and no edit indicates very brief but still important development

Rinne + Niki: Hot Limit, Sweets Hunter, A Cup's Worth By Yourself, Niki Idol Story 2

Rinne + HiMERU: Nightclub, The "Runrun" Calamity, Prerequisites for a Win

Rinne + Kohaku: Sudden Death, Honeybee

HiMERU + Niki: Ariadne, Lucky SCRAMBLE

HiMERU + Kohaku: Honeybee, Romantic? Date, HiMERU Idol Story 2

Stories that hint at Kaname: Obbligato, Past, Present, And..., Ariadne, Roaring Sea Marina, A Pursuit in Plain Sight, HiMERU Idol Story 2

Niki + Kohaku: Spider, Secret Service, Kohaku Idol Story 2

Rinne + Crazy:B as a whole: The Bee's Knees, A New Game making the Rounds

HiMERU + Crazy:B as a whole: Ariadne, Romantic? Date, Lucky SCRAMBLE

Kohaku + Crazy:B as a whole: Spider, Honeybee, A Spring Evening's Respite, Sakura Sakura

Niki + Crazy:B as a whole: Hot Limit

Specific Members:

The following explains what stories to read when looking for development of a specific character:

Bold indicates major development, italics indicates semi-major development, non-edited indicates very brief but still important development. It is not recommended to read the ones marked with ** immediately.

Rinne: Main Story, Nightclub, AOSOBI

HiMERU: Obbligato**, Ariadne, Past, Present, And..., HiMERU Idol Story 3

Niki: Hot Limit

Kohaku: Sudden Death**, Spider, Honeybee

Fun Stories

Not everyone wants to read 42 chapters of a Reminiscence story, or sometimes you’re in the mood for something silly. The following is a list of lighter stories for each member that aren’t too heavy on the feels. These stories can either be from cards belonging to them or stories they appear in.

Rinne: AOSOBI

HiMERU: Lucky SCRAMBLE, The Principles of Sex Appeal

Niki: Sweet Sweet Hunger, Sweets Hunter, Sweets Box

Kohaku: Spider, Fruitful October, Storm Cloud FUMBLE, Lullaby

Lore Heavy Stories

The following explains the stories to read if you want full background closure on a specific member, meaning you want a story that explains a large part of their individual origins. These are more informational (and emotionally heavy) stories that need not only a good grasp on the member themselves to understand, but other characters in relationship to them as well.

Rinne: Select sections of Main Story

HiMERU: Obbligato

Niki: N/A

Kohaku: Sudden Death

Other Story Appearances

This is a list that contains idol stories that Crazy:B members make appearances in. The card and story don't belong to them but they still have dialogue in it.

Return Trip Service (Yuuta 3* Featuring Rinne)

The Principles of Sex Appeal (Jun 3* Featuring HiMERU)

Other Units Interacted With

2wink: Nightclub, A Spring Evening's Respite, Love Letter, FUSION Unit Collection 07 Live Story

Knights: Sudden Death

Most, if not all other units: Main Story

Stories Not Yet Sorted into the Guide

As far as my knowledge goes, the stories I haven't included featuring any of the four members are: Decadence, White Tiger, Nighthead (Shuffle) , Butlers (Shuffle) , A-Z (Shuffle) , Black Snow (Shuffle), Bankara, Chill Yellow, Easter (Shuffle)

Thanks for reading!! If there's anything missing from this that you'd like to suggest, please don't hesitate to ask!!

#enstars #ensemble stars #crazyb #himeru #kohaku oukawa #rinne amagi #niki shiina #aurora guides

[unbidden-yidden]

Since my previous post didn't turn up anything comprehensive like I was hoping for, I'm just going to do an informal writeup of advice on how to approach traditional Jewish observance with limited funds. I am not a rabbi or formal educator or anything official, nor is this in any way exhaustive. This is just based on my experiences as a 30ish year old adult who converted Conservative with no prior familial connections to Judaism and did so on a limited budget. I strive for traditional observance and would describe my practice as leaning more traditional egalitarian or Conservadox rather than what is most common for typical Conservative Jews in the US.

Okay? Okay.

Taking up traditional observance on a limited budget

So you're looking into traditional Jewish observance for the first time, either as a reclaimant, baal teshuva, or convert. One of the the first things you probably realized is that this lifestyle - especially the initial startup costs - is expensive. If, like me, you started reeling from the sticker shock but don't want to let that dissuade you out of stubbornness, commitment to Torah, or both, you're probably wondering where to go from here. Here is a list of things that you will need or want for an observant lifestyle that could cost money (some of this may be different based on your community and/or gender):

Ritual use (and practical use) items:

Mezuzot with a kosher klaf inside for each halachic doorway

Shabbat candles and candlesticks

Kiddush cup

Havdalah set

Challah cover

Tzedekah box

Tallit

Tefillin

Handwashing cup (and basin)

Tzniut clothing (this may be incredibly community specific) that is also practical

Tallit katan

A legitimate and covering rain coat

Walking shoes that you're not embarrassed to wear at shul (no really)

Kippot (and any other relevant head coverings, depending on your community)

**Replacing any kitchen utensils, appliances, and dishes that cannot be kashered if you're starting from scratch in keeping kosher, possibly ×2 or even ×3 depending on whether you intend to have a dual kitchen (or a meat, dairy, and pareve set of kitchen items)

Sukkah/building materials and decorations

Lulav & Etrog (these are plants; they are for ritual use but you will need to buy them each year obviously)

Menorah & Chanukah candles

Pesach dishes and kitchen utensils (noted separately because not everything is likely to be able to be kashered over for Pesach from year round) and any additional cleaning and covering items (so much tin foil lol)

Seforim (religious books)

Siddur

Bentcher(s)

Chumash

Tanakh

Practical halacha/practice guides and other basic reference books

Ongoing expenses:

Tzedekah (including special holiday giving such as mishloach manot and extra tzedekah for Purim or maot chitim for Pesach)

Shul membership fees

Kosher food is often more specialized and therefore more expensive, especially Pesach food

Wine or grape juice for Shabbat

Extra food if you're hosting people for Shabbat or potentially to bring to your host's home if you are invited over frequently

Specialized food for holidays (e.g., special fruit on Rosh Hashana, blintzes on Shavuot, brisket or matzah ball soup on Pesach, etc.)

Mikvah costs if you are married, menstruate (or have a spouse who does) and are shomer taharat mishpachat and/or if your community has a tradition of men using the mikvah before, e.g. Shabbat and holidays. Even if you don't need the mikvah for personal reasons, you will still need to pay a fee to immerse for conversion (if relevant) and to toivel any new kitchen items. You will also need bedika cloths for taharat mishpachat.

Housing in an area that allows you to walk to your shul, ideally within an eruv

Day school/Hebrew school if you have kids, and summer camp during the summers

Fees for certain classes and events; especially if you are a convert, you will likely need to pay for an Intro to Judaism course through your shul or at another local shul.

Other things that are extremely helpful, make observant life much easier and more pleasant, may help you fit into your community better, and/or enable more advanced participation, or are just nice to have:

Timers for electronics on Shabbat and Yom Tovim

Light switch covers for Shabbat

Hot water carafe for Shabbat/Yom Tovim

Plata or other type of warmer for Shabbat lunch and/or seudah shlishit

Specific laundry dealibobs (idk what they're actually called) for keeping your tzitzit in good condition

Shabbosdik watch

Shabbos key (especially if you live outside the eruv, but it's good to have for if the eruv goes down anyways)

Light box and/or thrip cloth for bug-checking produce

Bedikat chametz set

Purim costumes

If, like me, you owned exactly zero white clothes before now, you may want to invest in a white outfit for Yom Kippur &/or a kittel

Shofar (if you plan on contributing to your shul that way)

Etrog container and lulav transport bag

Machzor

Haggadot

Aramaic dictionaries for Talmud study

(Depending on the community) some amount of the Talmud

Commentaries

Tikkun

Talpiot

An extra bookshelf for all your Jewish books (not a joke)

Hebrew language classes and learning materials (which are extremely helpful in getting you integrated and up to speed)

This list doesn't even touch on things you might just want, like attractive judaica (hiddur mitzvah), jewelry, Jewish art and decor, etc.

(I also didn't touch on things that are part of major simchas such as bnei mitzvot or weddings, or travel to Israel, or studying in seminary, or other significant but highly specific expenditures that are unfortunately outside the scope of this one layperson's tumblr post)

Oy, that's a lot! This list (with a few exceptions) was generated by me going through everything I've had to invest in over time and ongoing expenses (or that I've had to find a workaround for), or things that are on my list for later when I have the funds.

I'm sure there's plenty I forgot. Where to even start?

Well, the first thing to note is that what I have took seven and a half years (and counting) to obtain, so don't expect to compile this all at once, and don't worry that you'll have to have all that money/resources marshaled up front. It will take time, and that's okay!

The other good news is that while some of this is nice to have, there's a lot that is not immediately (or ever) necessary for most/all folks to personally own, even if it is common for observant folks to own them.

A reality: Sometimes you're going to feel poor, and there will likely be a lot of people in your community who just, won't get it. Sometimes those people are in leadership. Yes this sucks and is sometimes really painful.

A counterbalance to that reality: A lot of people and communities are extremely generous and kind, even if they don't quite get it. Tzedekah is a huge mitzvah, and it is an added bonus for a lot of folks if that tzedakah goes toward enabling another Jew to observe more mitzvot. Hosting is also a major mitzvah. By accepting other people's help and being a guest at their Shabbos table, you are actually doing them a favor by giving them an opportunity to give tzedakah and host. Drill that into your head now, and early; don't be ashamed to ask for and receive help.

Now that I've laid all that out, some general advice. I will follow up later with specifics for each item from the above lists to the best of my ability in a later post.

Skip the judaica store for anything you can get at a thrift store. Candlesticks? Goodwill. B'samim jar? Find a cute container and throw some spices in there. Kiddush cup? Get a cute cup or wine glass at Target.

Start small, and take on one mitzvah at a time. It can be frustrating to have to wait, but it will help you pace yourself in reshaping your lifestyle, which is actually a very good thing. Also, before you take up a particular new mitzvah, learn deeply about it first so that you understand what is actually required, and what is customary (minhag) or stringency (chumra). You may not need the specialty pre-approved [read: more expensive] version of the thing if you know enough of what you're doing.

See if your shul, another nearby shul, or JCC ever has a community rummage sale. If so, check that out for secondhand menorahs, tallitot, siddurim, etc. (If not, consider suggesting that they do to leadership that organizes events or offer to organize it yourself if you're on that committee.) Also check out thrift stores and secondhand bookstores in particularly Jewish areas.

Talk to your rabbi about your needs. Your rabbi may have good suggestions that are specific to your area/community, may have discretionary funds to help, or may know folks who would be willing to pass on extra judaica they don't need.

Your shul may also have items you can borrow. I was able to, for example, borrow a machzor for the high holidays, and borrow a set of tefillin for nearly two years while I saved up for my own set. (And even then, the rabbi helped cover half of the cost from discretionary funds when I did purchase my own set, and was happy to do so.)

Honestly, just borrow whatever books you can until you can get your own. You can do this from your shul, your shul's library if they have one, or even the public library for reference books and certain commentaries. I would buy them in the following order: the siddur your shul uses, a chumash, a Tanakh, and then whatever else you're interested in. Sefaria.org is an incredible free online resource, but you'll want these for Shabbat and Yom Tovim sooner rather than later.

Talk to your rabbi or shul leadership about reduced membership fees, or join a shul that has a pay-what-you-can fee structure.

Look for classes that are free, have a sliding scale fee structure, or scholarships. If you're dead-set on a particular class and it doesn't advertise reduced fees or scholarships based on need, reach out to the organizers and ask. They might not have advertised it, but would be able to ask if someone would sponsor a student or give you ideas of other funds you could apply for.

Keep a wish list updated, and if friends or family are buying you birthday or holiday gifts, ask for important (and specific) items. I recommend an online registry so that you get the specific thing you need/want.

For specialty kosher food, see if your area has a kosher co-op so you can buy for bulk prices. (This is especially helpful for Pesach.)

These are general suggestions, but there's a lot more. Stay tuned!