You Will Run Out Of Time If You Procrastinate

something quite romantic about crisp early mornings in winter when no one else is around and it’s just you and the fog

Explaining the gyaru age groups!

I do this because I know that this can get confusing for a lot of people and some gals say ‘my fav substyle is kogal!’ When kogal is not a substyle!

Chibigyaru

The term chibigyaru applies for gals who are 12 and under! Chibigals are usually influenced and seen with their gyaru mamas! Chibigals usually have little to no makeup and dress casual.

Magogyaru

Magogals are gyarus who are aged 13 to 15! They are not yet in high school but are teenagers!

Kogyaru

Aka kogal, kogal is a term for gals who are 15- 18! To be specific, gals in high school. Japanese gals sometimes pair their uniforms with their gyaru makeup and look, which is why kogyaru is easily mistakes as a substyle. It is not a substyle though, it is an age group!

Obaagyaru

Obaagals are usually older gals, typically grandmas!

シール遊びしてると時間が過ぎるのあっという間だね

Acceptance.

Some of my journal pages from Tokyo! You can see all of them here.

The friend group's getting bigger 💕

I was reading this post over on the Ao3 subreddit this evening and I think it brings up a lot of good points about how fandom, as a community, has been shifting in its treatment towards fanfic writers.

Fanfic is more popular than ever, which means there are more works "competing" for the readers' attention, who take on a passive approach that treats fanworks not as a means to talk to people with similar interests, but as content, as products. [...] Gift cultures thrive not on monetary exchanges, but on the expectation that the gifts freely given will be returned in an unspecified future through emotional and relational means. This used to set fandom apart, but it's slowly being absorbed into the mainstream way capitalism operates. Where does that leave us?

And it's demotivating to see the responses authors get when expressing their grievances with this state of affairs, or how they feel underappreciated. Being called entitled, told to write for themselves, or to promote their work as if writing and posting isn't enough. I write for myself, I post for the community. There are things I want to say about the source material and characters, and I do through storytelling. And I'm grateful about each of the comments I got, no matter how short. It's just that it doesn't feel like there's a community out there when no one talks back. Writers aren't just expected to write, but to do it for the "right reasons", and to also be as pleasant about it as possible, lest they'll be criticized by more people than the amount that's offering them support.

I've seen posts going around on tumblr that have approached this topic as well--that fanworks (particularly fanfic) should be created from the perspective of a perfect vessel that can pour, pour, pour out and never needs to be poured into. You should do it for the "right reasons" and not complain because "no one owes you interaction". But what is fandom if not interaction?

Writing fanfic is one of the most time-consuming labors of love that makes up a fandom. (That's not to say other fanworks aren't labors, time-consuming, or made with love. We're talking about fanfic). Your 300k+ enemies to lovers slowburn porn-with-plot fic that has reshaped the entire way you approach a specific pairing or media has been made with time, effort, for free, with the intention to be shared with you.

And in the state of current fandom, it has been made with the expectation to receive nothing back. Is that fair? Maybe. Silent readers exist and a kudos on Ao3 is at least an acknowledgment that some people read and enjoyed. But does it hurt to leave a comment? Even a heart emoji or an "I loved this, thank you for sharing!" is enough to at least start a dialogue, a conversation, form a connection.

That's not even to mention the isolation of fandom interactions to private Discords; time after time I've heard from fanfic authors who found out that there have been discord servers or twitter groupchats where their fanfic has been discussed, loved, and lauded at length--but never once was the author told this! Ao3 has comments for a reason. Many authors link their tumblr profiles or emails in their bio for people to reach out to them.

It's just a sorry state to see it go.

nobody tears through library books quite as fast as a 12 yr old girl with no friends

SIGH