🍊my Monthly Journal Spread For This November

I first got into journaling through youtube. I stumbled across one of those "journal with me" videos and suddenly, for a few days, all I could watch were people decorating their journals. And I'd thought "I wish I could do that, but my life is not interesting like that", you know? Most days I just stay home and do some chores and play with the cats, and that's not worth documenting, is it?

But still I couldn't get the idea off my mind. So I made a notebook from scratch, and decided it was gonna be my journal. I didn't have anything to write on it, but I could decorate the pages anyway. And then I discovered art journal and junk journal, and for a while I did that and I was happy.

After a while, I found a pretty notebook and bought it without realizing it had lined paper. Now I had to write on it, right? So I did. Instead of writing about my day, I write about the animes I watch, the music I listen, the things that make me happy... I don't write every day, but I write about things I love and that I think are gonna be worth to remember in the future.

So, if someone out there reads this, and is thinking about journaling but doesn't know what to write, well, write about what makes you happy. It's the best advice I could give you.

TUMBLR 101: a helpful guide for tiktok refugees

are YOU a former tiktok user trying to learn how to use tumblr to fill the void the american tiktok ban is leaving in your soul? here are some things you should know, from someone who’s going on their eighth year on this hellsite:

1. you can say anything on here. gone are the days of having to use words like “unalive” and “seggs.” murder! kill! sex! fuck! speak your mind!

2. there is a community for you on here. regardless of what you’re into or however small the fandom is, you have a place here. at least one other person will have heard of your weird obscure interest. strike up a conversation!

3. followers don’t matter. tumblr is one of the last remaining social media sites in which your number of followers means absolute jack shit. this can be disorienting at first, but once you lean into the fact that everyone on this website is equal, it’s very freeing. clout means nothing here.

4. similarly, you can post at any time. while tiktok has an algorithm that favors certain times, tumblr has no such algorithm. post whatever you want, whenever you want. every post has virtually the same chance at getting notes, regardless of when it is posted.

5. tags can have spaces between the words! this one is very exciting. tags can be a whole sentence. you can also use the tags to comment on someone’s post without actually adding onto the physical post itself (which is sometimes frowned upon and called “derailing” if you use this feature to bring up a completely different point other than the one that’s being made on the original post).

TL;DR: speak your mind, find your place, followers don’t matter, post anytime, have fun with tags!! tumblr is a wonderful site used to share things you’re excited about. be patient with yourself as you’re learning and have fun!

English Vocabulary Journal

I was watching ParkerNotes’ latest video on YT about the best way to expand your vocabulary and it pushed me to set up a vocabulary notebook at 3 am in the morning lmao. I liked the method he explained in the video, and despite having failed attempts at keeping a physical and digital word bank, I think I could make this work for me.

I simplified the method of adding a word into my vocabulary notebook. First, I write the word, specify what type of word it is (noun, verb, etc.) and then I jot down its definitions from the Merriam-Webster website. I don’t include the word’s etymology as to not make things complicated.

To increase the chances of me not dipping out on this journal, I decided to use a precious notebook of mine which is the A6 Muji Open-Flat Notebook in Black.

I had a good experience writing in this notebook so far which alleviates the urge in me to write stuff sloppily in it and just overall treating it as if it were disposable (do any of you do this with notebook you don’t like?).

That’s all I have to say for now. I look forward to writing more notebook-related entries in this blog. Thank you for reading and have a nice day :-))

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.

I AM ONCE AGAIN PREPARED TO MURDER FOR KOUPENCHAN.

I aspire to have this collection of journals when i’m older

About 200 journals/ sketchbooks from 1999-2016.

˗ˏˋ like or reblog ; if you save/use ♡

A Day in the Life of the Average First Grader in Beika, Tokyo

Out of all the stickers packs I bought on Shopee, these Rilakkuma stickers have the best print quality so far.

They are perfect for journaling 🎀