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Thank Yous, End of Year Admin, Spoilers, and Merch

Hi there. This is Active Faults, and welcome to the last issue of the year.

What a year it’s been. As always, thank you for reading and keeping me company from all over the world. I certainly couldn’t have foreseen, when I started writing in 2022, that people from 55 countries would want to hear what I have to say about Chinese entertainment and fandom. I can only hope you’ve enjoyed the issues, and they have made your life a little bit better, as much as writing them has enriched mine.

There’s a heap to reflect on. This publication is now a waddling toddler, and I feel compelled to apologise for how much I struggled to keep its case of Terrible Twos at bay. Fixation on certain topics gave me tunnel vision, and there were entertainment materials I should have paid attention to but let slip. Perhaps this was and always will be inevitable.

There were delays in delivering content to my paid subscribers, and I still have outstanding releases to put out. I didn’t anticipate exactly what a rapid turnover would entail for my life as I juggle multiple commitments, but there should be no excuses. I am pausing all paid subscriptions from today until 31/03/2025, while I catch up with every deadline I’ve missed, pay off my debt and wipe my ledger. Anything outstanding will be published once paid subscriptions resume.

A promise I made at the beginning of this Substack was agility. Chinese entertainment and fandom are perpetually in flux, and its commentators should always be adaptive. Instead of bi-monthly pieces that are shorter in length, I believe it is now time to put out one extended issue on a topic each month to ensure scope and depth. Sightseeing of neiyu feels like it should draw to a close after two years. Explanations, definitions, and introductions to concepts that require a faster pace of releases are almost completed. My gut tells me we should look towards quaint case studies, investigations of the nooks and crannies of this outlandish landscape.

I reached this decision partly because I’ve noticed a lull in action. There’s simply not enough going on. Fan wars on petty matters or new and viral makeup looks are not what Active Faults sets out to cover. This is also why in 2025, No Beta, the currently paywalled bi-weekly digest of entertainment and media trends will migrate to Notes, where the format will hopefully be more suitable for its length. It will also make it more accessible and communicative with wider discussions of China on the platform.

Alternate Universe, the currently paywalled monthly review segment, will become obsolete, and its content will be integrated into the free issues in the future. After a year of experimenting, I realised that I’m not comfortable with Active Faults wearing too many hats. Cultural critique, as well as news bulletins and headline breakdowns, are digressions from its core mission. It crowds out the star of the show, which is the thematic deep dives. I’m not afraid to admit that I too am following the natural flow of this publication as I go, growing and changing alongside it.

That way I will have more time to sharpen Canon Compliant, feature pieces of fan interviews, which will continue to be available to paying subscribers. I truly believe in its uniqueness and political significance. Currently in the pipeline is an interview with a fan of AOA the K-Pop girl group, and how that experience shapes her sexuality as well as her identity. That’s what I started this project to explore: how does fandom translate into individual realities?

Paid subscribers will also have access to more pieces in Slowburn, a sub-section of Active Faults, where I will cover other noteworthy cultural and societal phenomena in China outside of the entertainment sphere. Some topics I have brewing in my drafts and dying to be finished include the racial hierarchies in Chinese international schools. This would be put out on a quarterly basis at the very least.

Here’s an example of what a Slowburn piece could look like.

Of course, this means that the paid content of Active Faults will change in nature and decrease in quantity compared to 2024. My promise is that it won’t depreciate its quality. I would also completely understand if you choose to stop your paid subscription. I thank you for your support so far regardless

As a token of my appreciation, I’ve designed and made—— in true fandom fashion——the first ever official Active Faults merch item, as a gift to all those who paid to read me this year. I ordered a couple of spares, gave them to my friends, and received promising reviews in return.

Sometime in 2025, I will send an email to your inboxes for you to reply with a postal address, if you’d like to receive this little memento. The rest of the subscription revenue will be donated to charities.

A personal truth I’ve learnt this year is that writing must not feel like a chore for me. The moment I find myself scrambling to string sentences together for the sake of publishing, my productivity and creativity plummet. There’s resistance, then guilt, and then guilt-induced inertia. Then lethargy. The changes I’m introducing to Active Faults are ultimately to keep myself engaged and motivated as I steer the craft towards where I’d like it to head. I must write because I’ve got something to say. I must write from the heart. I will strive to do so in 2025 and beyond.

That’s all for now, and I’ll see you very soon in the new year.

Best,

Em

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