Announcement: I'm Joining Beneath the Tangles!

Hey there, folks!

Next month, I'm going to start writing regularly for Beneath the Tangles. I am really excited about this. Seriously, you should have seen me walking around during the last couple days. Between agreeing to write for Beneath the Tangles and thinking about Kuroko's Basketball, I have been doing a lot of smiling... and giggling... and talking to any friend or family member who will listen.

I've written guests posts for Beneath the Tangles before, and in September, I even participated in their podcast. But this time, I'm signing on as a staff writer. I'll have a column (possibly biweekly, but I'm planning on weekly), and I'll be able to write at other times throughout the week as I have the time and inspiration. 

What does this mean for Annalyn's Thoughts? 

I'm going to shift my focus from this blog to Beneath the Tangles. My posts there will take priority. I will not abandon this blog entirely, but my regular Rewind/Swamped posts won't be as regular anymore. Eventually, they might trickle to a stop. It's not reasonable to expect myself to keep a schedule on two blogs... not if I want to maintain my GPA and sanity.  

What, exactly, will you write there?

I'm not bringing "Rewind" and "Swamped" over there, but other than that, it will be similar to what I write here. I'll write about anime and be myself while I do so... Though I'll probably take a little more time to edit, and I'll actually plan ahead. The change of scene will affect my topics a bit, but overall? I'm me, and anime is anime. 

When do the changes begin? 

Our plan is for me to start my column at Beneath the Tangles by the last week of February. That means there's still almost a month before things really start to change. I'll remind you, both here and on social media, when the time comes. In the meantime, I will continue my Friday(ish) posts here.

Why are you so excited about this?

First, because Beneath the Tangles, and TWWK/Charles in particular, encouraged and influenced me when I started aniblogging. Second, I admire the way TWWK and the rest engage online anime fans, both Christians and non-Christians, in conversation. I have been on the receiving end of that ministry. It's long been my prayer that, somehow, God could use my writings to minister to others to even a fraction of the extent that Beneath the Tangles has. So, obviously, I'm beyond excited and honored to step onto this blogging platform and write alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ.

A longer answer: 

I can't imagine aniblogging without knowing about Beneath the Tangles. When I tell offline folk about what I do online, and why it's important to me, Beneath the Tangles inevitably comes up. It shows up in my essays, too—even one for Literary Criticism, since I practiced critiquing (analyzing and interacting with) anime long before I thought about critiquing written literature. 

When I was seventeen, just beginning to explore the community of online anime fans, I started to write reviews and blog posts on Anime-Planet. I used what other people wrote on Anime-Planet as reference, and I learned a lot. But other A-P reviews didn't encourage me to bring my faith into how I thought about anime. I was starting to connect anime and my faith in my journalling time, but I was ready to for more. That's when I met TWWK in the A-P forums and started following Beneath the Tangles. 

TWWK was the first person I found to model a Christian approach to anime and the online community. My pastors never brought up anime, forums, or blogs when they reached the application part of their sermons. My parents, who were (and still are) two of my most important models for the Christian walk, weren't online in the same way I was. I had to apply Biblical concepts to my new hobbies on my own. It wasn't entirely impossible, but it wasn't ideal, either. We are meant to work out our faith in community, to support each other, and to teach each other through both action and word. As a teen and a new aniblogger, I needed encouragement and examples. TWWK and Beneath the Tangles provided that. Plus, I discovered other Christian-based aniblogs through Beneath the Tangles. 

Over the past four years, I've watched Beneath the Tangles grow. The site gained more bloggers, each bringing their own valuable insight to the table. The ministry extended across other media, too, such as Tumblr. Last August, Japesland, one of BtT's bloggers, started hosting "The Tangles" podcast once a month. Throughout all the changes, the folks at Beneath the Tangles continue to speak truth and love. I know I'm not the only one who has been both encouraged and challenged by what they have to say.

So yeah, that's why I'm so excited to join Beneath the Tangles. 

Readers, thank you for sticking around. I know some of you just started reading my blog in the last couple months. The fact that you spend time reading my posts means a lot to me. I appreciate every one of you, and I've enjoyed connecting with each of you as you've commented or otherwise reached out to me. I'll keep posting something here at Annalyn's Thoughts, and I hope you'll stick with me through this transition. If you haven't already checked out Beneath the Tangles, then don't wait for my first post! You'll find a lot of great posts and resources over there, and I encourage you to check them out.