#(there's some other things to pay attention to too .... also I want to re compare Outer Science to like. everything again)

[earthtokhal]

At this point, either confirm it or stfu. This constant merry go around is annoying.

Daniel has not yet reached Yuki in points, but he has been picking up his performances and becoming more consistent.

People who want him gone fail to understand that everyone besides Marko is calling it a sister team, NOT a junior team. Marko himself has called it a sister team before. The whole rebrand was to make sure the team was able to stand on its own and get results, and now suddenly, the same shareholders want it to be a junior team?

To me, it sounds like a not so subtle way to remind the shareholders that Christian brought Daniel back as a potential replacement for Sergio and now that it didn't happen, Marko should have his say again but at this point it just looks silly, they've already told us why they re-signed him.

In addition to that, we've had countless confirmation that Daniel has been driving the technical side. He is the one giving feedback. Yes, the last upgrade didn't work as well in terms of results, but it was a whole new car, and we were able to overtake AND not completely botch the start. Both of which were difficult to do previously. And Yuki felt comfortable enough during quali that he said "that was a good lap" only to be told that he didn't make it. I genuinely feel like they will figure it out soon regarding the new upgrade. People don't want Daniel, but they still want the car he helped improve.

As for Joe, let's not forget that according to him, Daniel was supposed to be replaced in Miami, Alonso was supposed to have signed with Red Bull and a big announcement was supposed to be released last week. All this on top of his whole Logan/Kimi thing. He gets things right, but they are few and far between.

Whether he heard about the tyre test that Liam is doing in July and decided to put two and two together after Markos article and get 5 instead of 4, is beyond me .

Liam's result last year came after dnf's, but at the same time, he was able to keep it clean and drive a faultless race. His results look so great because, in reality, there was nothing to compare it to, Yuki suffered from some dismal luck.

Daniel isn't taking up Liam's seat. That seat was always Daniel's. Liam didn't "replace" him last year, Liam stood in for him. We must remember that on three occasions, they had the opportunity to put Liam in that seat, instead they chose Nyck, Daniel and then Daniel again.

Liam deserves a seat. As do Jack, Theo, Ollie... but expecting that seat to be made free by Daniel is unfair. There are multiple drivers there with fewer points than him and yes, one can argue that Daniel is almost half down in points than his team mate but then anyone who actually pays attention to Daniel's weekends can tell you how much of those results were not Daniel's fault.

On a weekend, when things align, even with a penalty for something that wasn't his fault and even with narrowly dodging the flying Williams and Ferrari, he will get points. In his short time there, he has already earned their highest quali and results twice.

It is also not surprising that Marko ran to the media a day after the news about Liam and Audi made its way around. Yuki's announcement was half assed too, less than an hour before quali just after news got out that other teams were interested.

On many occasions, we've been told that the management would look at driver options in the summer break.

It is also wise to note that Daniel is currently in a visa ad that will probably run for a while, I don't think it would be wise to replace the driver who brought in visa and is currently in the ad campaign by end of July.

Also, "sacking" Daniel for performance while, at the same time, rewarding someone who prior to the Spanish gp earned the same points as him in a superior car is laughable.

At the end of the day, Daniel and the team aren't only saying they're working together. We can see it. I'm annoyed that this is the weekend he is going to get all these annoying questions, but he has handled it well before.

Whatever happens, he won't go down easily.

Not without a fight.

[aparticularbandit]

Glass Onion Meta

because i have too many thoughts and also i want to compare it with knives out but only very vaguely because it’s been a while since i’ve seen the first movie but some of the commentary/analysis i want to make involves comparing the two.

so!

...below the cut because this might get long (and also apologies if this is rambly because it’s just me having thoughts and wanting to get them all out...or at least some of them out).

oh, obviously this includes major spoilers for glass onion and also includes maybe minor spoilers for knives out.

EDITED TO CORRECT AN ERROR RE: WHO STEPS UP FIRST AT THE END.

i think it’s important to start with the themes/point of glass onion being very different from those in knives out.  rian got asked in an interview about making movies about rich people who do horrible things, and i think the difference between the two is this: knives out is about rich people who do horrible things, but glass onion is about rich person who does horrible things.  this is why the big heart moment in knives out is revealing that marta didn’t kill harlan because she is a good nurse, but what should be the big heart moment in glass onion is not telling someone drowning in guilt that they are, actually, good but the people who were once good now have the strength to turn against their abuser.

in essence, glass onion is the exact opposite of knives out - where the first movie is about saving a singular person done wrong by multiple rich people, the second movie is about saving multiple people being done wrong by a singular rich person.

now - past that general etc. i don’t really want to delve into knives out much, other than to point out that the majority of the cast are rich entitled people who were born into rich and have grown up rich and have their entitlement as the result of that.  the only character like that in glass onion is miles, and it’s his corrupting influence - and abuse - that is the heart of my argument, really.

SO.

We need to start with the rest of the family - and yes, I will refer to the core six (Andi, Claire, Lionel, Birdie, Miles, and Duke) as a family because I feel like they are.  I think that’s best set up in the first scene in seeing how Lionel, Claire, Birdie, and Duke play off of each other; how Birdie and Lionel have Claire’s speech on the news playing where they’re intended to be paying attention to it (Birdie’s Birdie, so she’s distracted, and Lionel appears to have intended to host a group of people sitting and seeing Claire’s discussion on tv except that he got pulled into a meeting with who I think were probably the other Alpha scientists?); and how Lionel and Claire, as soon as they get the box from Miles, are immediately on the phone with each other, expect Birdie and Duke to show up, and then all four of them are just ribbing on each other good-naturedly the entire time.  They are a family.  They are a family.  And you see that at its best with those four (and particularly, I think, with Lionel, Claire, and Birdie).  These six people know each other, and as far as they know, they all love each other (at least prior to everything with Andi and Miles’ dispute re: Alpha, but we’ll get into that).  Even more to that point, every year they basically go on a big family vacation that Miles funds, and when they go, they don’t take the rest of their family (Birdie brings Peg because Peg is all of her brain cells and Duke brings Whiskey because Whiskey can get to Miles, but Claire doesn’t bring her husband (or assumed kids) and Duke doesn’t bring his mom, even though he still lives in her basement).  This is for them.  Their family.  Not everyone else.

Anyway.

We need to start with the rest of the family, and more importantly, we need to start with Andi.  The movie itself tells us that Andi found the other four first because she saw their potential - a substitute teacher, a washed up model, a YouTuber who couldn’t get off the ground, and Claire who is apparently in her thirties and still running for student council president, maybe I heard that wrong and she was trying for school board head or something, there’s something off there (EDIT: correction re: Nonnie heard clearer than me!) a failed attempt at city council president but they’re all trying to do something with their lives and failing and Andi looks at them and says, hey, there’s something here, something good, and all of us together can get to that something good.

And to Andi’s point, she’s right.

Lionel is more than a substitute teacher; he’s a scientific mind who probably keeps Alpha afloat (after Andi leaves - which means scientifically speaking, he’s probably the closest to her level, but he’s a science guy, not a business guy, which is where Andi probably excels more).

Birdie is more than a washed up model - which sounds like a bit of a stretch until you realize that, yeah, she did create a fashion line and then created an entire sweatpants line.  (Like Lionel, she is not business savvy.  Birdie gets the raw end of the stick here because she has no brain cells, but she’s not entirely dumb.  She knows fashion.  She just doesn’t keep track of much else.)

Duke is able to influence millions of people once he finds the right crowd (Twitch and YouTube run differently; what does well on Twitch does not always do well on YouTube and vice-versa; this is one of those things that I’ve heard some of the YouTubers I follow talk about in terms of their attempts on Twitch, not something I know from experience, but Twitch is run differently.  It uses a different skill set).

Claire is actually a very skilled and capable politician provided she has the right connections and backing.

They are all very good at what they want to do; they are just missing the connections to do it.

Which is where Miles comes in.

Miles has no skills.  The movie calls him an idiot.  He steals outright from people.  But what Miles has are connections and money, which is what the fam needs.  They need a sponsor.  Miles becomes their sponsor.

And it’s worth noting that other than Andi, none of them like Miles until he sponsors them.  Miles literally buys his way into the fam.  (And I think it’s worth noting that Miles does have a certain charisma to him.  He’s full of shit.  We know he’s full of shit.  But he’s so good at redirecting and talking around and using words that are close but not quite the right word that we don’t notice he’s full of shit.  That’s how he gets through to Andi, and once he gets through to Andi, that’s how he gets through to the rest of the fam.)

Even Andi depends on Miles’s connections and money to get Alpha off the ground.  They’re partners.

And, to an extent, I’d argue they’re the fam parents.  Andi brought them all together, she created the fam, she’s their mom.  Miles gives them presents and money and introduces them to the rest of the business world; he’s their dad.

Roughly speaking.

And I think in the decade that the fam is together, they probably do think of themselves as a family.  Sometimes maybe Miles asks them to do stuff they don’t like, but he also always gets them out of trouble when they fall into something.  When Duke makes a bad call and gets banned from Twitch, Miles gets him right back up again.  When Birdie makes a bad call and decides to start her sweatpants line, Miles supports her doing it.  He helps them out, and he expects them to help him out.

I think while Miles and Andi were together, it’s quite likely that she reined him in.  They were partners.  They did things together.  (She probably would not have supported the sweatshops in Bangladesh, but she was gone by then.  She also would not have thrown Birdie under the bus for that because that was on Miles and also she would have known that Birdie wouldn’t know what that means.)

Like - the fam aren’t rich entitled jerks.  They’re normal people.  People with the potential to do good - great - things.  People who, yes, take advantage of Miles’s sponsorship to do those good things.  And build their lives around being able to do those things with the sponsorship of their admittedly very rich friend - but it’s not taking advantage because he’s always there to help them and provide for them and offer these things for them.  Initially with no strings attached.  And then maybe with some strings, but they’re very small strings, and they aren’t really bad things, it’s fine, and Andi’s okay with it, so that’s not really a string, that’s just family helping family.

And then Andi tells Miles no.

Andi, the strongest, the brightest, the best of them, the one who brought them all together, tells Miles no, and he cuts her out of the company founded on her ideas.

Andi is absolutely ruined, and they see Andi get absolutely ruined, and they come to the realization that their friend who has been nothing but a friend is actually not a friend and not only can cut them off but will completely ruin them if they get in his way.

Andi tries to go up against Miles, but by then he’s gotten to them and proven to each of them that he will absolutely destroy them if they try to side with Andi.

At this point, I think for most of them it’s not about the money.

It’s about seeing everything they have done, everything they have tried to do, all of the good they are trying to put into the world - Claire is a governor, she is trying to do so much good for her state, and she wants to do so much more good for her country; Lionel is a scientist, and maybe some of Miles’s ideas are crap, but some of them are genuinely good, and he is the one person who Miles actually sometimes listens to (except on Klear, when he wouldn’t even listen to Andi, why would he ever listen to Lionel?  especially when he put all of their money into funding it, it has to work and Miles has always been about finding ideas that work and bringing them into his fold so that he can control them); Birdie doesn’t have any brain cells, so for her this is less about putting good into the world and more about sticking with her fam (we see this at the end, she goes where Lionel and Claire go; Birdie trusts her family so much that she wouldn’t question doing what Miles asks, which is how she ends up in the sweatshop problem (I think Andi is the one who hired Peg because Peg is actually capable at what she does, and I think Miles is the one who suggested Birdie have a secret phone just for communicating with him behind Peg’s back)); and Duke...by this point is mostly a lost cause, but he’s still a mama’s boy (honestly, I think Duke took after Miles, he looked to Miles first and foremost, and he’s the most likely to actually have the influence and money to get out from under Miles if he had enough sponsorship to get there, but Miles is never going to give him that because Miles needs Duke dependent on him) - it’s about seeing all of that completely ripped to shreds and destroyed, not about the money.

They’re not entitled rich people; they are normal people who needed money and connections, who gained money and connections through one singular person, and then realized that one singular person who they thought was their friend really, really was NOT their friend.

And realizing that there was no way out from under his control without losing everything.

And then being stuck.

I think it’s quite possible that if Andi had found the napkin earlier, Lionel and Claire would have sided with her maybe because she would have had actual hard evidence she could stand on, and if Lionel and Claire sided with Andi, Birdie would have followed.  Not sure about Duke.  Duke’s murky.  But without actual physical evidence and proof, it becomes he said; she said, and when dealing with Andi who has already been devastated vs. Miles who even without Alpha has all of that money and connections and influence and could probably still destroy them if they turn on him--

Dad might be an abusive asshole, but if we pretend to like him, if we are his good little children, then maybe he won’t hurt us the way he hurt Mom.

It’s an abusive family relationship.

And once Mom is out of the way, Dad can be worse.  Especially because Miles knows that he has the control over them that he wants, especially because that control has been tested and he’s been proven the winner, especially because he has people in place now to do whatever he wants whenever he wants it, all he has to do is threaten them.

Except that Andi finds proof.

Lionel may have been giving Miles a general heads up because Andi didn’t send that email to Miles, she sent it to her family.  The people she found.  The people she still loved.  The people who might come back and join her now that she has actual proof.  But Lionel is still under Miles’s employ, and he’s still the person who is supposed to be keeping Miles in check (and failing), and without Andi, he and Claire become the new...not parents, but they’re the oldest children here, they’re the ones closest to what Miles is doing, and they depend on each other to keep each other going.

Helen asks if they’re interested in how Andi’s doing or if they’re interested in the envelope, but the thing of it is that yeah, they’re interested in the envelope because if that holds what they think it does, that gets them out.  It isn’t about let’s destroy the envelope to save Miles, it’s let’s talk about this so we can see where to go from here.

Because the additional problem here is that they are all now perjurers because they lied on the witness stand, so if they walk back their testimony, then they are now felons, and I don’t know about you, but I feel like that would at least wreck Claire’s chances at senate (or staying on as governor if she’s not in senate).  Like - that seems like it was a fairly public trial, and having to go back and redo things would be an even more public trial, and turning back now would also ruin their reputations, even if it doesn’t ruin them financially or etc.  Which is just another thing Miles now has over them.

So of course it’s a we need to talk about this, not because they don’t care about Andi, but because it affects all of them and they need to get this right if they’re going to try and go against Miles with all of his money and connections and influence.  Because yeah, Andi could use that and win, but what would be the cost?  They need to talk about it.

And all of that weight is there when Helen asks them to side with her, but now also they know that Miles has killed two of them.

Which means if there is another extended trial they also have to worry about whether or not he will try to kill them, too.

And like - now it’s not just reputation, it’s not just the life they have built for themselves, it’s their actual lives - and Duke’s already dead, so he doesn’t have to worry about his mom, but Claire’s got an entire family who Miles could go after and threaten if he wants - and, like, even if they were okay with risking reputation, you are asking them in front of a literal murderer to put their lives on the line to fight him, knowing that he has already murdered the best of them to get his way.

Helen has not dealt with Miles.  She’s doing this for Andi.  It’s like an outsider telling you how to deal with getting out of an abusive situation and there’s no safe way to do it, you can’t find a safe way to do it, and you certainly don’t agree to it in front of the fucking abuser where he will hear you.

Which is why the heart of the ending has to be when they agree to fight him.

When Claire says I saw the gun.

When Birdie says I saw the napkin.

When they all agree that enough is enough (in this case, enough happens to be turning all of the houses in America into mini Hindenburgs like they just lived through).

When Lionel says I saw Miles driving away after Andi was killed.

The movie starts with these three (and then Duke) and their reactions to getting something from Miles - and it’s most telling in Claire’s, how even though she’s zooming into a news station to talk about her campaign for senate, she’s still looking off to where the package from Miles might be, but it’s telling even in Lionel’s because he’s already trying to cover for Miles, and then there’s that present, and even with Helen, when we think she’s Andi, seeing her just destroy it - the movie starts with the power Miles has over all of them, and it has to end with them trying to break out of that power.

The catharsis isn’t just Miles gets what’s coming to him; it’s these people have finally had enough of the abuse and have decided to try and get out.

And I hope they stick with that, I hope they get out, I hope they reconvene with Helen and fight because Miles is in enough of a vulnerable spot that they can get out, finally.  I hope that they are honest about what happened on that island.

...and I hope they are able to rebuild what little family they have left and that they pull Helen into it, if they can.

[denv2]

Okay. I'll just ramble on by myself again today. There are so many things to say, but I'm bad at English, so I can only talk to myself and use a translator to post it.... (Why doesn't Tumblr have an official translator function. I don't want to compare, but twt(x) has Google Translate, but can't Tumblr have that too. Please play my wish. If it's a global app, let's have a translator) Anyway, I want to see more of Felix's story...

As always, I'm embarrassed to talk about headcanons alone, so I'll continue below. (99% IM!felix chat)(It's long)(chapter 172~ spoiler)

I've been mentioning something consistently... I keep thinking about Felix's backstory, which I'm rereading these days... Last time I read and drew a picture of chapter 181, but... Oh my God, I should've started at 172, but I realized I started in the middle.

In 172, Felix uses a gag to defeat the enemy. I love the description of his ability to use a gag, but what's even more thrilling is his reaction afterward. He spontaneously bursts out laughing in triumph after defeating the enemy through a gag. Then he immediately frowns.

'Too close. It was too close.' < This sentence actually made me pull my hair out...

It really shows how Felix is determined to never go back to being zany again. I love the way he checks himself because he's afraid he's going to turn into a zany person after one gag. I really like that... When I first read the novel, I didn't decide on a favorite and just enjoyed the story itself, but now that I'm reading the details again for the first time in a long time while knowing the whole story, I think there are so many things I forgot. And about the relationship between Felix and zany... There were more mentions than I thought, but I didn't notice this... Yes, in fact, the labyrinth part was so long that I was a little tired when I read that part before, but I didn't remember that a lot of Felix's backstory was solved from Felix's side during the labyrinth part...

I keep getting a little obsessed with Felix's past, Felix and his zany days, but there's a reason. I did fanart until March of this year, then I got a little busy for a while, so I was binge-watching chapters of the novel, and then I read chapters 349 and 350, and I loved them so much that I really fell in love with them, so I came back to drawing Felix after a long time? Chapter 349 is the adoption meeting between Canola and Felix, and I really love this chapter. The reason Boris's adoption was rejected was because Felix was zany (+ other unreliable behaviors), and I actually sympathized with Canola. Felix is a trustworthy protector, sure, but he's not perfect, and I like him more for that... As a side note, I do like Canola (I like her as a 2D character, she's like Noelle's mom from Deltarune lol) Anyway, it was Felix's mention of his inner zany that really opened my eyes to Felix and zany. After that, I thought I should re-read about Felix's past connections from his visions in the labyrinth, and then I grabbed chapter 181 and read it and loved it so much that I started drawing Alex and Kitty... But I should have read it from 172!!! 172 also had some really important Felix and ZANY, GAG references...

And chapter 174... Awww. I'm going to paint a picture of Professor Wilson and Felix's past college relationship... As for Professor Wilson's characterization, I've been paying attention to it because of the cult references, but I've been rethinking that characterization as Felix's benefactor lately, so I'm appreciating that part anew, and it's great. I think I remember there was a side story about Felix and Professor Wilson in college in Inky Extra, but I need to read it again.

And chapter 179!! No why didn't I read chapter 179 again?! I thought I would find Felix's past part in the labyrinth part and read it again, so I clicked on the early and middle chapters of the labyrinth to find Felix and read it, but it was 181. There was 179 before 181, but I should have read it from here 😂.

But actually, it's probably a good thing I read chapter 179 now, because it's based on the Twisted Tales Felix animation. If I had read 179 when I reread chapter 181, I don't think I would have gotten as much detail as I did now, because I hadn't seen Twisted Felix yet! So I guess I found this at the right time... Anyway, I have a lot to say about chapter 179.

After realizing that Felix's former hometown is based on Twisted Tales... I can kind of imagine how he lived in the past, and I like that.

To digress for a second, I recently posted a picture of Felix as a showmanship-esque star in a tailcoat suit, and while I was drawing it, I was thinking that Felix, who is a real-life zany top-tier star, would never wear a suit like that, lol. But! I think he would have worn it at least once, but the normal show would have been a comedy show with gags, witty stand-up comedy and physical comedy, right? But I wanted to draw Felix the star in a suit, with a glow in his eyes... That zany, crazy presence! I tried to capture that in my own expression. And since Star Felix is Felix from the past, I wanted him to be a little younger than he is now... The hairstyle is also a little different from the current Felix I'm drawing now! The current Adventurer Felix has more wild hair and is a little unkempt, whereas the Star Felix I drew this time is very well-groomed for showmanship and has a slicked back hairdo.

Let's go back to 179 again. The first line that stood out to me was when Felix's friend asks, "You're not homeless again, are you?

Later on, Felix and Bendy meet up and Felix is telling Bendy about his past, and I think it's mentioned that after Alex, Felix's show fortunes started to change, and he was living an unstable life where he was doing well, and then all of a sudden he was homeless, and then he was doing well again, and then he was going back and forth like that. I think that's the fun part of the subtext, because you read the subtext first, you can see what the earlier reference is actually for.

Then there's Sheba... Actually, what I've been thinking about Sheba and what I drew with Alex and Kitty last time and what I drew after watching Twisted Tales... The character interpretations are mixed now. I drew Sheba last time, but I think I need to change the character design...! I want her to have more of a Twisted Tales feel to her. I feel like I need to do more characterization for Sheba, especially after seeing the scene where Felix's friends don't understand that he doesn't want to be zany, except for Sheba... I need to get her in line... I love Felix and Sheba's friendship in the original comic, but I need to re-read the parts where it's mentioned about their friendship in IM.

And about Candy, I'm actually really interested in Felix's past relationships with girls... Seriously, why is Felix so popular? lol I love it... I love that his past is so colorful... Candy, Nastassia... and Kitty (oh my god. I have so much to say about Kitty).

Okay, let's move on to 181. If I have something else to say about 179 later, I'll say it then. I'm going to say 181 again because it's Kitty...

One of Alex's lines to Felix is this: "Kitty was the last steady girl you had, right?" < Alex's provocation level is... Crazy... (in a positive way). I can't stop thinking about this. About Felix's stable attachment to a relationship.... He's been living alone ever since he left town... I don't think he was even interested in a relationship, because it ended so tragically.... Then one day he meets a rabbit...(Oh my god, but this isn't about Osix, so maybe later...)

I'm so curious about the end of Felix and Kitty's tragic past relationship... What the hell did Alex do? I've imagined some really horrible things, and I honestly don't think it's that bad, but what the hell made Kitty apologize to Felix and Felix turn away and avoid her? What the hell happened?"....

Awww... Felix and Kitty... I'm sure they were a great match before the tragedy... But... But now that they've been torn apart... I love this tragedy... I'm sorry Felix, but I really like ex relationships... because they're ex...

By the way, about Kitty's appearance, last time I drew her with ring earrings, I realized I should change the design to round earrings. I've got two pairs of Felix and Kitty and Oswald and Ortensia scheduled... so it's one of the things I'll definitely do. I'll probably change the earrings to be round then.

Now about Alex. There is so, so much to say about him...... I really love this dislike between Felix and Alex because it feels so good that the people they hate so much are cousins, blood relatives.

Cousins... I think this is more of a fear for Felix. If it were anyone else, he could just end the relationship cleanly. But I think the fact that they are family is more frightening... That's what I like so much. Felix hates and loathes Alex with all his heart. But Alex's attitude in the labyrinth is a little different from Felix's, isn't it? Felix is really hating him, but Alex is provoking him by raising him up... That's also very nice.

I love every single one of Alex's lines, it's so flavorful. I like villainous characters like Alex, but the reason why Alex is especially good is because it's a personalized antagonistic relationship with Felix that completely provokes Felix. He's so good at provoking...

I love the way Alex calls Kitty: 'beaut', 'kit', 'honey doll'... It's so sweet. It's so poisonous... And the things he says to Felix, it's so disturbing. He's so crazy.

'Long time no see, Feels', 'C'mon Feels, nothing to say to me? I've missed you!'(heck, this is soooo crazy.......), 'Still mad?', 'That's cute, Feels.'(noooooooo this is so insane....... alex..... love his poisoned words...), 'dear cousin?', 'cousin'

I love the way Alex says this... He's really provoking Felix with every line... I love how felix refers to alex as just 'Alex' but alex emphasizes the word 'cousin'. See why I said they have a better relationship because they're cousins? By referring to him as a cousin, he's subtly telling Felix that you're not really gone when you leave, that you're not really gone as long as you have the same blood in your veins. I think 'cousin' encompasses both mocking and taunting him for running away, but also letting him know that he's not really gone when he runs away.

But here's my question. When Alex mentions Felix's magic bag, he says it's supposed to be mine. Huh... I'm really curious about the past...

And then there's Alex's Felix costume... Seriously, I love this gimmick, it's a tradition, right? Alex mentions that it's the first time he's done it in a long time, and I wonder if there was an incident in the past where this costume caused a huge rift between Felix and the people around him. And... About Kitty... I can't get this thought out of my head. I'm sure it's because of Alex's appearance in the original Felix classic comics.... Yeah, right....... Oh, I'm thinking the worst again. I'm done here....

I find Felix's past parts so interesting and funny and I think about them a lot, but that's probably more because I like IM Felix.

I also realize that this whole past part isn't really real, it's just Labyrinth's hallucination. I think the real Alex and the real Kitty might react differently, but I honestly think Alex would be the same as Labyrinth lol. Considering the way Alex talks in the other books, yes. He really does have a mouth full of venom (which I love).

That was a really long rant... It's all running around in my head and I have nowhere to put it... I wanted to rant like this in my own personal space. I hope if anyone reads this far, they enjoyed it... Please someone talk to me about Felix🥺

[thedeafprophet]

RE: the "curtains are never just blue" post,,,what Are the reasons your characters dress the way they do? 👀

Are you prepared for a rant? this is how you get a rant

So when it comes to characters and outfits, this is something I put a lot of thought into.You can learn so so much about characters from what they wear, from personality, to class, to day to day practicality.

What someone chooses to wear makes a huge insight into who they are as character.

Lets start by looking at Alex

Alex dresses really simply. His colour palette is limited, sticking mostly to browns, white, and black. These colours and how he wears then give you some insight into his personality - he's not some who gravitates towards colour, and most importantly he's not someone who wants to stand out.

Combined with the thief cloak he wears, you can pretty easyily get the sense that he's some who hides, and a shadowy character. pretty easy to pick up on what exactly his career is.

From a class standpoint too, Alex has really basic outfits of the time period, something that indicates his connection to the lower class. His outfit also doesn't change much, which implies further into his disinterest in even pretending to be someone who pays attention to class expectations.

Also a tidbit - Alex keeps the top button of his shirts undone because the stiff button on the top gives him sensory hell lol. His outfits are picked for comfort and practicality, not for showing off

Now lets compare that to how Jamie dresses

From that start, you see the palpable difference here.

Jamie wears all the layers of the time period, from suits to vest and shirt. But we also see them in lesser attire - Jamie frequently goes around in just their vest, indicating their great inclination towards scandal and a laissez faire

Most imporantly, we can tell they are someone who cares. About what they wear, they care about what people look at and see of them. They want to show off and make an impact. They are also clearly someone who has money, at least now, with a variety of outfits and a variety of colour and fabric. They're someone who wants that to be known.

And then we get into the colour - Jamie's primary colour scheme is red, white, and black, somethin which could imply their conflicting lean of moral alignment within the games lore.....

Most prominently though, its the white and black are shades that allow the red to stand out. Red as a colour can imply many things, first of all the ambition that they were made for lol, but also the colour of blood, of wine, and scandal. Red is also a colour that is bold, heat, and can very promintently imply danger - with that being Jamie's main colour, it stands out and stands to question of why

And - it perhaps give some insights of other characters they may be connected to when it comes to that colour....

I could rant further......a comparison of Josehine and Aurora;Josephine's need with societal pressure to perform femininity vs Rory's complete rejection of those expectations. Josie keeps to minimal colours except on special events, and you can tell she is most herself when she is within her labcoat and lab space. Rory beginning her arc covered by her coat until later on when she's come into herself wearing a suit and standing talll...

I could say so much but ah. this post has gotten long hasnt it 😅

[this-is-mycrisis]

Lockwood Pays Attention

Summary: Some of Lockwood's observations on Lucy after seeing her with a migraine. Starring George still being an icon and Lockwood being an oblivious lovesick fool...

Word count: 753

Trigger warnings: migraine mention, symptoms of migraine/migraine triggers, brief food mention. Let me know if I missed anything

Let me know how you like it, likes and re-blogs apppreciated!

In the weeks following Lucy’s migraine, Lockwood was extra observant and attentive. He thought he was being subtle. And while Lucy didn’t notice, George certainly did. If there was one thing Anthony Lockwood didn’t do well it was subtlety, which meant that Lucy was just as oblivious to the mutual feelings between the two. It wasn’t that Lockwood was hovering over her, but he checked in on her more often than usual, he always made sure to ask if she’d had enough during meal times, if she seemed spacey he asked if she needed to take a break. George wouldn’t deny being more affectionate with her either, in his own way, but it was nothing compared to Lockwood. 

Good god George just wanted them to kiss and be done with it already. Mostly so Lockwood would stop hovering over his shoulder whenever he cooked. 

“Would you knock it off? There is nothing wrong with my food!” George had spent the last few days batting the taller boy away from whatever pot was simmering on the stove and he was getting very tired of it. “Its my nan’s recipe and if you ruin it I won’t cook for you ever again-” “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it, I’m just curious if the amount of salt might give Luce a headache.”

George let his head flop back dramatically. That’s what this is all about. “Well, for your information, Lucy happened to tell me that salt actually helps.” At that Lockwood whipped around, looking mildly offended, which didn’t make Geroge want to laugh at all. Nope, not one bit. “What? Why did she tell you and not me?” 

“Because I asked if there was anything I could do to help or that I needed to change, since I’m the one who does the cooking. She said she likes salt and that it helps a headache before it’s a migraine and she asked if there was any cleaning agents that weren’t as smelly, because sometimes that alone is enough to give her one. And you are itching to write this down aren’t you?” 

At least Lockwood had the decency to look taken aback by the accusation, but in reality yes, he did want to write it down. He had a little list going in a small notebook he kept on him of things he had noticed about Lucy’s headaches since the big one he and George had helped her through. He spent so much time looking at the list that he could visualize it without having to try hard; so far the list went a little something like this:

Sound- earplugs??

-sudden noises

-highpitched noises; screaming visitors are the worst

Too much sleep- lucy is nocturnal, survives on naps Cold- get a heater for her room; the cold makes her tense up

Peppermint? Potential allergy

And soon he would be adding a new page with things that could help Lucy, like tea and other hot drinks, salt apparently, and caffeine. The girl drank so much caffeine that it was almost cause for concern. Instead of telling all of this to George, who would undoubtedly poke fun and tell him that he was in love with Lucy, which he wasn’t- 

Not that there was anything wrong with someone being in love with Lucy, she was very lovable. And he did love her in the you’re my family and I would die for you unquestioningly kind of way; which now that he thought about it could be misconstrued in a romantic sense, but he would also die for George without a second thought if it came down to it. Though he did put extra effort into making sure Lucy knew that he, and George, loved her. He wasn’t sure what happened before she came to London, but he knew enough to piece together that it wasn’t good and that she didn’t ever want to go back. And she seemed so starved for love, so sue him if he wanted to make sure she never felt that way when he had anything to say about it. Oh god. He did love Lucy. And he had been quiet for far too long and George was looking at him funny. So he scoffed. “No. I don’t want too write it down. I’m just concerned because one of my agents is suffering and I want to make sure that I am adequately prepared to help when necessary.” George cocked an eyebrow at that. “Mmmhmm sure, you keep telling yourself that.”

[aerkame]

How do you get so good at writing? I mean, how do you write and not reuse the same words over and over again?

Sorry I really felt like doodling a dragon.

But to answer your question, lots of studying.

It may not be what you want to hear, but studying how others write and learning the structures of paragraphs can become helpful when you write stories on your own or just writing in general. Another good piece of advice that I can give is to always practice writing whenever you can and make sure you check your grammar. Grammar is VERY important in your writing and having poor or inconsistent grammar can become distracting to some readers.

Pacing how you write things is also important when it comes to writing in general or just writing for fanfictions. Try to imagine yourself speaking what you wrote down. Does it sound like something a person would say or does it sound too forced and odd? Practice conversations in your own head or out loud (whichever works best) and pay attention to your own wording. Just make sure no one is around when you do that, you might look a bit off having full conversations with no one in sight.

Another important thing you must keep in mind is who is your audience when writing and what are you writing for. For example, I write for Transformers Animated/Prime and Welcome Home currently. I need to keep in mind what each and every character is like to try and make sure they all stay in character through interactions and point of views. This applies to shipping as well (the romance of two characters).

If you got the previous advice down, then that's great! But if you wish for advice on writing styles then I suggest saving and studying the fanfictions of others. This is something that I myself do when I find a fanfiction that has themes I wish to get better at. I copy and paste each chapter into a Google Drive to re-read later and take notes on specific sentences I'm looking for. Good writing to look out for are fanfictions that depict grammar well, the writing is able to give you a good visual on what the character is seeing, or other examples of sensory being used. You could also look into saving bits of a writing that show character interactions and study how they write actions.

Aside from all of that, make sure to take care of yourself and take breaks between writing to avoid writing fatigue. No, seriously, being physically healthy helps a lot more than you think it does. Sometimes if I'm tired from having stayed up late I will notice my writing becomes sloppy compared to what I normally write. The same can be said for when I'm sick, have headaches, or just overall being unwell. A healthy body is a healthy mind.

[01turnkill]

2024 Media Post Time - Master

15. Class of '09

Class of '09 So for reasons I think should be too obvious I kinda thought Kylar was hot as fuuuck. Yeah it's probably because he's a rapey white racist homophobic fratboy type who I would want to get shafted but you know how it is with me... If he's too nice I need him gone, if he's too horrible I need him gone. Fuck him up. Good thing he gets his legs ruined twice (the roof and the meds mixing) and or dies, and you know how I feel about guys I like dying. Not a big deal but persistent thought in the back of my head the whole time...

So a couple of friends talked about this game and I was hand sewing gloves and doing whatever so I had some time to watch it and also since it's fully voiced I could put it on in the background and pay attention entirely. I would have considered playing it but my computer is still broke and I hate my phone.

It's about Nicole, after a messed up upbringing moving to a new school, gets immersed in drug addiction, needing to never be sober, teen life and interacting with some of the worst people in the vicinity. It's described as an anti-dating sim since Nicole brings her negative manipulative energy into every relationship she's in. Like the unappetising flavour of a cantaloupe...

Teenage girls walking a tightrope over a pool of hungry pedophile sharks and white boys. Amazing voice performance from all the characters. The men sound stupid, the girls talk like junkies in a teen drama show and very realistic too, and the teachers and half of the guys talk like anime or South Park characters.

Another story to me where the women are very humanised and the men are like objects from top to bottom. I was even surprised there were so many different male tropes to choose from.

The story with Emily is very beautiful and makes a lot more sense than some of the others. Emily gets attached to Nicole, goes off her meds and her unregulated self proves to be more dangerous than Nicole wants to take seriously. I think this route is a situation where Nicole is less of the aggressor. Emily gets unhealthy attached to Nicole to the point where she's violent at every chance and at the end thinks they only have one choice left and it's dying together.

Another favourite was Nicole seducing Hunter to get revenge on Megan and I guess I like that one because it was kinda hot in ways 'steal your man' story. She gets Hunter to write stuff on his body and send photos of his dick and whatever. But he's also a Christian and I guess has no sense of mind about this kind of stuff. Proves Nicole quite the schemer and then she sends everyone his nudes and Megan finds out and it ruins her life and her relationships with men for the future.

The art style makes me laugh. It's so anime that it feels satirical and I guess it's meant to? I used to love these satirical VNs years ago, Kusoge and a few others. Never got enough of them so I have some nostalgia for this presentation. Women with the dewdrop eyes and wrists thinner than a piece of paper and then there's all the geezers.

There's the original game, simply Class of '09 and then Class of '09: The Re-Up and I watched both. Original is her first year in this new school and Re-Up is the second but they're quite different. The first seems really edgy for sure. School shooter, lots of suicide, racist cult, Mein Kampf mentioned etc. Re-Up gets edgy with Nicole being shot by a cop, her mom dying after they abuse her last pill, and burning down a gay girl's house. I guess it's pretty comparable but a lot of the endings felt more artful and made more sense. Less outlandish than the first game. . Nicole is also a little less cruel in the original. In Re-Up she really comes into her own, is a lot more divisive and shit stirring like I think a lot of her drama and predicaments are self made as opposed to being something she walked into. I think her voice performance is also more fierce and impressive in Re-Up.

These days the edgy stuff doesn't matter to me but I thought some of it was funny like all of the pedo teacher's dialogue and line delivery. Also laughed so hard at Kylar being hospitalised and the EMT looking for his big gulp jug and the dialogue in general is funny I was always laughing. The situational comedy is a little less frequent in impressing me but in Re-Up I think it's a lot better. Karen skeeting scene, at the sex addict rehab, all of that.

I think it's pretty good and really well written but I dare not call it peak or life changing or anything like that but it has given me some stuff to think about especially for writing a more realistically based story (even though it's clearly exaggerated) there are some truths to be seen. I guess you can tell the writer clearly loves South Park.

[for-the-love-of-javert]

Time for me to do some catching up with a few things I said I'd share my thought's on. Firstly the above blog post which I disagree with, especially the songs mentioned in it.

Here is why:

Javert - Stars

While I agree with Aaron Netsky that the song is haunting and beautiful (And just happens to be my favourite song in Les Mis especially when sung by Philip Quast) I do not see it as a lullaby. To me it's more of a prayer similar to what Bring Him home is for Valjean. It's a song about Javert stong beliefs in the law and justice and also his quiet determination to apprehend and re-imprison the one criminal that got away.

It is not out of character for Javert nor is it him showing softness. He's stoic and serious much as he is in the book he's not a monster and if I were going to compare him to any other creature on earth certainlt in the first act of the show Javert is very much like a lion who hunts and stalks his prey (Valjean) and when his prey shows him kindnes and mercy it breaks him, mentally, emotionally and it causes him to question his identity as a man of the law and of justice. Stars is Javert saying that in no uncertain terms Valjean must be caught, that he is determined to carry out this task.

From what I've read in other places (and until I read the book for myself I can't be 100% certain) Javert is not really a religious man however, certainly in the musical and in this particular song he is praying to the stars to guide him to Valjean so that he can finally be apprehended. This song is him sane, strong and solitary moment reflection on his task and his duty not just as a man of the law but as a human being, before everything goes tits up for him.

Eponine - On My Own

Eponine the once spoiled and now neglected mistreaded and destitute daughter of criminals (and dare I say it complete assholes even though they are funny in the musical), who feels alone in the world, is obsessively in love with a total wimp who barely pays any attention to her and doesn't realise she has romantic feelings for him (if he does realise he clearly isn't man enough to tell he he's not interested), lonely, in love, yearning to be loved by someone else and sad, this song is basically her 'get to know me song' what she really wants and who she is despite her outward appearance and maybe a lack of social skills too. She is just a girl, a young woman, a dreamer, who wants love and isn't receiving it, not even from her so-called parents who are more interested in money and anything they can steal.

Neither Stars not On My Own should be removed from the musical. These songs are important to the characters and who they are and where they hope to be in the future even though sadly in the it doesn't end up well for either Javert or Eponine.

[mental-jhinstability]

JhinThresh, and sharing horses

Encouraged by @jellyjames4444​ and the JhinThresh discord. I didn't mean for this to get so long but here we are! It's a little spicy in some spots, nothing explicit, but I do break it up and warn when it happens, so this is probably fine to read in public. Probably.

This concept can go two ways. Both of which are probably only yummy to me, but here we are?

First way:

Thresh on Jhin's horse. Considering the height difference he's kinda forced to go behind Jhin so Jhin can actually see where he's riding. Western saddles are not too massive as you know, so they are very close. Jhin is practically on Thresh's legs, if not just pressed hard against the horn of the saddle, but it's cuter with the latter turning in to the former. (Jhin being uncomfortable and moving backwards until he's pretty much behind help up by Thresh... jashfasgjga??) I like to headcanon Jhin would ride w neck rein, so one hand on the reins and the other kinda off to the side, either holding something or just resting on his leg. But since Jhin's practically on Thresh's lap, his hand probably ends up on Thresh's leg/thigh. Definitely intentional he would just never admit it or excuse it as a "habit" which is, as you know, a very convincing excuse.

On the topic of Thresh's hands? Please imagine one of Thresh's hands resting on Jhin's free hand. They are holding hands. And they will not say a WORD about this. Thresh's other hand would probably go around Jhin's waist but sometimes I like to imagine him holding Jhin's head up when he gets distracted by 'the scenery' (it's not the scenery that's distracting him ;]). Or other homoerotic posture corrections, whether it be arms or back. Take your pick. Also consider that Thresh would be like, right in Jhin's ear/above his head, so said posture corrections are delivered with a husky whisper in his ear and sorry I'm getting too self indulgent now but CONSIDER.

Might be a little NSFW, you can re-start reading at the next paragraph if you don't wanna see this but. Jhin being too distracted to pay attention to staying seated so when the horse trots he ends up bouncing/rubbing against Thresh unintentionally. They probably BOTH get really worked up/tense for however long they ride, and when they get off... this turns out however you want to imagine it.

Second way:

Jhin on Thresh's horse. Thresh does not ride with a saddle, only a neck rope. In this case however, Jhin can be on either side of Thresh. Being in front of him would go much the same except he'd have to hold on to Thresh's hands/the neckrope for dear life. Thresh using one hand to keep Jhin flush against him? Yes. Jhin not receiving this help and just having to put an INSANE amount of trust in Thresh to not let him fall off if it comes to that? Also yes.

Horny again, resume at next paragraph to skip this, but Thresh probably gets very very worked up regardless of if he helps or not because Jhin cannot stay seated bareback for the life of him, and as in the previous sidenote scenario this involves a lot of rubbing. The reason why I only mention Thresh is because Jhin is too busy trying to not fall off and crack open his skull like an egg to get horny.

Since Jhin usually rides with a saddle and riding bareback requires a ton MORE muscle than using a saddle, his legs probably hurt like hell after the whole thing so: consider Thresh having to carry Jhin around because he can barely walk after all that. Especially if this scenario takes place after Jhin gets off and pretends his legs aren't on fire and he's wobbling all over the place and Thresh has to forcibly pick him up. Augh. (Side note that Thresh would probably have to pick up Jhin to get him on the horse in the first place since I like to think Thresh would ride a draft horse and they're very tall compared to Jhin).

Now for Jhin behind Thresh, the leg pain thing is similar but probably a little better since he can hold on to Thresh but. He has to be flush against Thresh here too. And he has to hug on to him for dear life. Thresh being, well, Thresh, probably brings a hand back to rest on Jhin's hands which are around his abdomen--probably unconsciously because he wanted to be (somehow) closer to Jhin--and he can't explain himself. Jhin, on the other hand, has a whole CRISIS. Suddenly realises just how strong Thresh is, to be able to control his horse with no saddle and with only one hand. He becomes hyper aware of it. Can feel Thresh's muscles from the minimal amount of contact he has with his legs and back, probably also realises how massive Thresh is compared to him... guy is going through a whole awakening back there. Probably so glad he's got that little bandanna on because his face is a whole strawberry. This makes Thresh having to pick him up afterward so much worse because Jhin is going through his "oh no he's HOT" moment. Either he freaks out and tries to fight Thresh on it more than usual or is quieter than usual because he just wants it over with (and in the latter, if you want an almost OOC-soft Thresh, him checking Jhin for a fever because he's usually never that quiet and Jhin having to deal with Thresh touching his face after all this.)

This was going to be involved in the fic I'm writing but. Jhin and Thresh being absolutely soft for their horses and the other getting to see them being all vulnerable and soft and wishing it was them being loved on and cared for with such gentle touches and words and them having to come to terms with those feelings? Please consider that. That is all.

[talimlbcnart]

Fiquei muito feliz em conhecer seu trabalho e saber que temos outros brasileiros (já que a maioria que encontrei que falavam português eram de Portugal), eu amei muito sua arte e forma de construir a narrativa, mal posso esperar para o próximo capítulo de Miraculous Bnha.

Mas eu queria te perguntar, como você cria as comics, pois eu tenho planejamento de uma, mas é minha primeira vez, e bem... é melhor pedir dicas para quem está mais acostumado com isso. Pode responder em inglês se preferir.

Aww, thank you <3. (Eu vou responder em Inglês já que a maioria dos meus seguidores não falam Português).

To be fair, I don't know if you meant to ask like how I come up with ideas or how I draw the panels for the comics and such. So I'll try to answer both.

Coming up with Ideas:

Usually when I start a comic I think about it for some time, I come up with some scenes I'm my head first (and the basic "lore" for it if its an AU) and just have fun imagining different scenarios. Most of the time I take inspiration from other people's ideas or even my everyday experiences.

When its a long comic tho (SuAU, RoommatesAU, etc.) I prefer to write it on my phone. The dialog, describe the scene. It's not always that I can sit down and draw it, so I prefer to write it so I don't forget my ideas.

Drawing:

This is the most fun but also difficult part. My best advice is: have fun with it.

Try diferent angles, use as much reference as you want, take inspiration from other artists's comics and styles.

You don't have to make it perfect on the first try, that's why we make sketches. Sometimes I sketch 6 pages in a row and keep all of it, sometimes I change 70% of it. I love sketching, its a fun and quick way to put your ideas in the paper without having to worry if looks good or not.

When doing panels, pay close attention to what yours caracthers are doing. If they are waving in a panels the next one they should be in the middle putting their hand down. This helps the reader to not get lost on what is happening.

That's why I don't like to re-use panels, I feel like it takes the reader out of the story and make them remember "oh yeah, this is just a drawing."

Immersive Scene:

Another thing I love to do is incorporate simple day to day behaviors in the caracthers. I like to imagine my comics as just a bunch of screenshots. The action is happening and you're trying to take pictures of it. Think about how you and the people around you would act if put in the scenarios the caracther's you're drawing are.

Exemple: Two caracthers are having a conversation and one isn't paying attention. How do I show that to the reader? Maybe they have their head resting on their hand, looking away from the caracther who's speaking. Maybe they are playing with something or checking their phone.

Another thing I try to pay attention to is the background. Are the surroundings important to the story?

If yes, try to draw some background so the readers know where the caracthers are. Is it night or day? Are they inside or outside?

First Exemple: my roommates au comic, I wanted to introduce the audience to their apartment, so I'm made sure the FIRST panel was focused more on the background. Then some simpler panels after and the last one was to show their kitchen (that was covered in the first panel).

Second Exemple: My valentines day comic, I wanted to show that it was cold and they were outside but I didn't want to disctract people from Deku's face expressions and the fact that Shouto's jacket was too big for him. So I'm put light blue and white on the background and a bunch of snowflakes on top of everything else. It showed they were outside, it's was cold, and Deku's was tiny compared to his friend. I didn't have to draw an entire street for that, heck I didn't even draw panels on that one.

Painting:

Colors can add so much to your story. And it doesn't have to be lots of it either. Sometimes sticking with just one pallet can work to your advantage. It saves time and helps to convey the feeling you're going for.

It's a sad scene? Desaturated colors, mostly blues and purples.

A happy scene? Light yellows, greens and whites.

A warm, cozy scene? Light reds, yellows and oranges.

Watching some videos on color theory might help too, especially when doing shadows and stuff.

Anyway this is all I can think of. I hope it helped. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, I'd love to answer them.

[yuna-writes]

Normalcy in socialization

I'm not sure what's considered "normal" when it comes to socializing with other people. If there was one thing I noticed was normal to me but abnormal to other people is my ability to be alone for a very long time. It sort of goes into being an introvert, but when I was a teen I didn't realize the behaviors I found normal is considered unusual to other teens around my age.

When I was in college, I made a friend with another girl one time. We got along great and I thought we had a good chemistry in terms of being friends. So apparently I have the tendency to spend a long time alone, do my own thing where I like to spend more 'me time' so I would watch shows, read books, and draw independently for about weeks or even over a month being alone. When I tried to re-connect with the friend, she grew visibly upset and stopped talking to me. At that time, I was very confused why she was so dissatisfied with our friendship, but then I realize she probably went through various stages of emotions and wanted the presence and comfort of a friend...and well, I wasn't really present. It's really interesting too because I thought I did everything right in the relationship by being myself. Maybe I did nothing wrong technically, because some people can understand my need to be left alone. It doesn't mean I don't like them, but I have independent hobbies and interest I want to do on the side.

As an adult, I have to remind myself that normal people experience various moods such as being happy, sad, angry etc in a short span of time. My mood doesn't vary much so I like to be alone and chill. It does give the impression to other people that I seem disinterested but I am still interested in the friendship or relationship. I guess among the women I encountered, they would initiate small talk a lot and express or share their emotions on daily basis but I don't really do this because again, my mood doesn't vary much. Also, I'm pretty bad at small talk. The positive is that most people find me very chill and calming, the downside is I can't really relate to a lot of other people's experiences.

I heard among men, they can go for about weeks or months not talking to each other and then meet again as friends but still be in good terms. I studied this and their friendship is a bit different compared to girls and women where they focus more on activities and action based interest but don't really care so much expressing emotions. It's sort of like they would play a sport together, then forget about each other for several weeks or months, and then just show up and be best buds again and play the sport together. Meanwhile, among women, they focus a lot on emotional connection and paying attention to each other's ability to express empathy and being very present in their social circles. I guess socially, how I approach female friendships seems to lean toward how men form friendships. And well...it doesn't work out practically. I only met two female friends who can understand this, but mostly it's because they lead busy and independent lives and don't really need the attention. I wonder if it's true that female friendships largely have the tendency to focus on emotional connection, attentiveness to each other's feelings, and being compassionate to each other. It's just a theory for now.

Sometimes I wonder what I think is normal is based on how I was raised as well. And I wasn't really raised in a warm hearted and empathetic household. When you lived in a certain household and your parents treated you a certain way for many years, you start to normalize this in your brain and think those behaviors are normal. On other hand, other people might view it as neglect or disinterest. I still have the same qualities where I like to be left alone and pursue my interest on the side. But someone mentioned to me that maintaining friends requires a lot of work. I think I can say I can make friends easily, but maintaining them is nearly impossible. It's a lot of small talk, being emotional with each other, and helping each other through highs and lows. I get emotionally burnt out, but I'm unsure why either. It could be my introverted personality.

[sparklingpax]

random anon here with a masterforce hc, buster being a older sibling figure to wilder or something

as i mean when i first watched the show their similar hair styles made me think they were siblings-

AWAAAAAA YES DEFINITELYYY‼️

SO LIKE I HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS 👀 In fact, that one deception-related Masterforce fic I'm working on atm touched on this exact thing 🙏

I ADORE the idea that the Decepticon HM Jrs have like a special relationship with the Godmasters who are, in some ways, on a closer level to them than the other members of the team. At first maybe the brothers didn't much care to give the kids the time of day, maybe didn't think to?? But over time......that shifts.

I feel like Cancer probably gravitated to Hydra somewhat (and ironically maybe??). Something like, Hydra at first wanted nothing to do with what he thought would be an "annoying kid", however talented...Cancer kinda kept approaching him or ending up in situations around the base near him. Hydra comes around slowly, realizing, hey...Cancer's a pretty thoughtful and bright kid. And they have this little brotherly bond going that Hydra doesn't quite have with the others. Perhaps in some ways, he is reminded of when Buster was little, and it feels like he's looking after his kid brother again. And that...he doesn't mind either.

Also I feel like Bullhorn is actually a pretty amicable guy, he just acts aggressive and mean because he has to; so he has his own type of connection with either of the Godmaster bros.

Then adding to that, and as you've said, Buster probably ended up becoming a kinda "older sibling" vibe towards Wilder. Buster understands the innate wounded pride Wilder has, the will to accomplish something. I get the sense Buster might struggle a lot with self-esteem and seeing that he has in fact, accomplished a lot and is a strong person. Wilder actually does see that, but also sees Buster as a stronger figure....someone to be feared, someone to learn from. He's not sure if he can even tell Buster that, so he quietly looks up to him. He and the other two kids probably have a degree of respectful fear towards the Godmaster brothers, but he fears less and more respects Buster compared to Hydra, and takes to heart the pieces of advice Buster sometimes gives without even knowing that he's giving advice. They're pretty close in age too, I'd wager (note: I'm not paying attention whatever 'canon' ages there are atm because some of the ages given to Masterforce characters make so little sense to me tbh....Ranger is NOT 17 for example like. No fucking way man. Oh my god 😭) and something tells me they'd have a lot of similar interests. You mentioned style, and that is included in those "similar interests" for sure 😹✨ I also get the sense that Buster is more friendly/less closed-off/guarded than Hydra, so he's more easy to befriend generally. I'm guessing he probably has a good relationship with all three kids :]

Like, I have a clear image of Buster tagging along with the kids for lunch and then insisting on handling the bill when the kids come up a couple dollars short, or all of them like, exchanging songs they all like to listen to. They also probably group train/practice sparring together from time to time of course.

Ofc, no bond is stronger than the ones between Hydra and Buster as brothers, and then separately, the one between the trio of kids.

I will always love the established family-like bond between the members of the team of cons in masterforce!!! And, I feel like that might have been a reason everyone (minus King Poseidon and the Decepticon Pretenders) eventually realized the missions they have to carry out on Devil Z's orders conflict with values they hold in their hearts. Now, even though ultimately Hydra and Buster chose the "other path" and gave themselves to Devil Z, I also hold that there was some sort of hesitation there, something that doesn't feel like it was what they really wanted, but what they (especially Hydra) thought they really wanted/needed.

But that's a tangent kinda!!! Sorry....i went off rambling.....idk if like half of what I've written here makes any sense but aaaaaaA....i have So many thoughts abt this........anyways yea, This is all to say....slay idea anon, I 100% agree 🙏😊✨

Thanks for dropping in!! (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

-Kuni ✨

[astaldis]

Hi @valandhirwriter, thank you for the detailed answer! Probably it was not clear from my post, l'm sorry. I really know all that. I also have no problems with it. When I like a series and don't remember who's who, I look it up or read the books or re-watch it again, which I do anyway if I really liked it. I also assume the time that probably has passed by from the little hints we get, no problem at all, and if I'm not sure, I look it up somewhere if I want to know exactly. I don't mind the politics either if there is still enough happening (which I found sorely lacking in HotD S2 in contrast to The Witcher). I wouldn't have minded more complex politics in the Witcher either, I agree, it could have even improved things. But many are already complaining loudly about that it has far too much politics (I guess mostly the game fans who seem to primarily want Geralt fighting monsters although that hardly happens in the main saga). I also know that the makers of GoT invented the fire resistance of the Targaryans. It's just a bit irritating that they did not stick to that change of lore but changed it back to book lore without any explanation. It's simply that people have heavily criticised The Witcher for all that because they apparently had lots of trouble to use their brains and pay attention or look up things on the internet although Netflix provides a big map with timelines, character profiles and lots of other additional material, and there's also a great witcher wiki, so it would be really simple to look things up that might be confusing at first. The funniest criticism I read was under a short clip of the fight between Vilgefortz and Geralt where Vilgefortz explains loud and clear that the hardest thing for him was to hold back all the time. Somebody honesty said something like: What shit show is that, Cahir managed to beat Vilgefortz and now V beats Geralt? While in many posts (on reddit for example) HotD is always praised as doing things so much better. I honestly did not see where, other maybe than in the costume/make-up department. And on rotten tomatoes, the viewer score for HotD S2, which I found rather disappointing (but mostly because of the lack of things happening and its repetitiveness, not the many characters etc.), is 75% and for The Witcher S3 it's 19%. Which I find highly unfair. Probably there are also lots of critical videos out there about HotD, but I haven't seen anything like the hate The Witcher gets under every single one of its social media posts. Of course, taste and how people watch and enjoy films is very different and comparing films is always difficult. I was just really surprised that HotD gets so much hype and praise online (judging from what I have seen) while The Witcher gets all the shit, partly for things that HotD does similarly or even worse imo. And yes, HotD has a very serious plot and the book it is based on seems to be rather dry history from what I've heard while the Witcher books have a lot of humour in them, still, GoT had a very serious plot too, but somehow they managed to infuse some humour/wit into the show anyway, probably that's what I was missing a bit in HotD. I agree, the Witcher S3 definitely has some cringe moments (like Geralt passing by the golden opportunity to kill Rience at the beginning for no reason although it would have been so laughably easy to make that scene more convincing) and it could easily have been better, however, all in all, I personally found it much more engaging and entertaining than HotD S2. (It might be different for HotD S3 which will probably have a lot more actual things happening, we'll see in two years, I guess.)

Oh, I forgot the kiss, that it was spontaneous I did not know, thank you for the info, then it makes sense that it seems not to be mentioned anywhere further down the line! Still, I'm pretty sure if that had happened in the Witcher, like Tissaia and Yennefer spontaneously kissing because Anya and Myanna felt like it, there would have been a host of people protesting that it's not in the books and it's "woke shit" catering to the LGBTQ community.

Why is House of the Dragon allegedly so much better than The Witcher?

Just watched House of the Dragon S2 and I must say - I found it pretty boring in many parts?

Sorry, but the whole thing mostly and disappointingly feels like a very long and repetitive prologue to what might come in S3. And they do many things that are loudly criticised in The Witcher, some even a lot worse, but with HotD people seem to not mind? Honestly, this really puzzles me. Yes, the costumes and make-up might be better, but:

It's all over the place on the whole continent of Westeros and even outside of Westeros with people traveling from place to place in no time at all. OK, on dragon back, you can do that, but they also do it on foot and by boat. I remember some of the geography of the continent because I was very much into Game of Thrones some years back when it aired and also read all the Song of Ice and Fire books that were available (not the ones HotD is based on though), but the constant jumps from one place to the next are really confusing imo and you'd need to have a map by your side all the time to remember where is what. When the Witcher does that, it is criticised heavily.

Same with people, there are so many main and minor characters, some even with similar or the same names, how the fuck are you supposed to remember who's who and who is related to who and how, who belongs to which house, and who's allied to who and who's feuding who without looking it up again all the time somewhere on the internet? With all the incest and extramarital activities resulting in a host of illegitimate progeny, I found this extremely confusing, a lot more so than in The Witcher.

And does anybody have a shimmer of an idea of how much time has passed since the old king's death? Must be at least months but you hardly ever get any hints about it. And this poor girl, how long is she wandering around the desolate highlands alone trying to find the wild dragon? Must have been weeks judging by the other things that happened in the meantime ...

Maybe it's just me, but I did not find any of the characters really compelling. Not that they are not well acted, the acting is good enough, but emotionally they did not really leave any impression on me. Maybe the only character I find a bit interesting is Queen Helaena and this very young Lord Tully who shows unexpected spine and stands up to Daemon in front of the Riverlords. There are so many seemingly random new side characters popping up all over the place, too, miraculously gaining importance that one is supposed to keep track of, but also none of them that was in any way inspiring it me. And the poor cute Bracken knight only drew his sword and was already dead in the mud on a battlefield with hundreds of men hardly a second later ...

Rhaenyra suddenly and out of the blue kisses this lowborn woman (was her name even mentioned? I cannot for the life of me remember it). I don't have anything against women kissing, not at all, but why? There is no mention of anything going on between those two at all afterwards. Are they in a secret relationship now or not? I haven't read the book and don't know if it's in there, but how is that kiss, as it seems to have no relevance to the plot at all, not 'woke' catering to the LGBTQ community? But everything the Witcher does is?

Then there are the dragons you have to keep track of in addition to the many people and places. How many dragons are there? And who rides which one? And why the heck would a dragon in its right mind choose this dubious Ulf character who accidentally stumbles into its cave as a rider???

And the plot? Honestly, was there, beside the one fight between the three dragons, anything that was really exciting? I remember nothing, no battles, no good sword fights, nothing but TALK. At lest 90% of the plot is repetitive talking about politics and plotting and scheming. I have nothing against a nice political intrigue and of course that's what happens at courts and it can be interesting too. It was in Game of Thrones where you had really interesting characters, too. But here I found it mostly boring and uninspired. And The Witcher is criticised for having too much politics and too many side characters although it has a LOT less so than this season of HotD.

They also seem to have conveniently forgotten that in GoT they established that Targaryans would not burn from fire. In the books this happens only once because some kind of blood magic was performed, but in the show it happened several times, so it seemed to be the rule, not the exception. HotD thus kind of refutes their own made-up lore, which I found confusing and had to look it up online. (They could easily have made Aegon suffer from bad injuries due to the fall instead.)

The music was rather uninspiring, too, imo, except for the intro which is the well-known one taken from GoT and the music at the end of E8 which was partly based on the Rains of Castamere, otherwise there was not a single piece of the soundtack that would make me want to buy and listen to it. The Witcher has quite a few that I listen to again and again (including, of course, Jaskier's songs, but many more).

What I also like a lot better about The Witcher: It does not take itself that seriously and there is quite a bit of humour in it. In HofD S2, the imo funniest piece of dialogue was: "I want you to fuck my wives." - "How many wives do you have?" (that was between this pirate commander, don't remember his/her? name, and Lord Tyland, was that his name?) . And maybe the truest sentence in the show by this random braggart in the tavern who miraculously turns into a dragon rider Ulf: "A sense of humour would do you all good."

All in all, the only thing that I have found to be really good and outstanding about HotD S2 are the dragons. Without them, it would be less than mediocre. I don't think I would want to rewatch it and feel no desire to look up any of the characters and their relationships etc to find out more about them. I cannot say in how far it is or isn't faithful to the source material as I have not read the book(s?) HotD is based on, but even if it's more faithful to the source material, this has failed to make it a great watch like GoT (minus the ending, that was worse than the poorest fanfic could have thought it up). With the dragons it is alright to watch once, hoping for a more exciting S3, but there is absolutely no way it deserves higher critic/audience scores/ratings than The Witcher S3, the contrary.

Update: To clarify, I don't really mind many things that I mentioned about HotD, I can totally live with an unclear timeline and many characters, even if it's not easy to remember every name, relationship etc. If I really like a show or character, I simply look it up, no problem. But these are all things I have seen people criticise The Witcher for on social media, and then they say HotD is so much better. That's what really puzzles me. What I definitely liked about HotD is the diverse cast and that there are many female characters with a lot of screen time and importance. It's not a bad show, only I like The Witcher much better despite its flaws. This is not meant as an anti HotD post but a pro Witcher post.

[twstedtales]

𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑, 𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋.

❝hold your ground; stand up for yourself with grit and grace.❞ - Unknown.

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 | when he heard you broke from your timid and soft-spoken self just so you could defend him.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | riddle rosehearts, leona kingscholar, azul ashengrotto, kalim al asim, vil schoenheit, idia shroud, malleus draconia × female reader.

𝐭𝐰 | none!

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 | of course, <3 anon chan 😘 nice to meet you and have a good day too 😆 by the way, freaking gosh, this becomes soooo long 2,241 words if you wanna know bdjejwjeeh 😭😂💦 HELP-

𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 | reposting and queued this in time for my classes because i am determined to put it in tags lfmaooo and I also added few more because I noticed some of Leona’s part was missing and typographical errors are fixed shsbjd

Riddle was always grateful that you were a lot tamer than your chaotic friends that give him constant headaches. He also appreciates your quiet and soft nature because it helps him calm down a lot during his near outbursts when he was about to behead some of his rebellious dorm mates.

So, one random day, Riddle overheard you talking to some students; he presumed they were your classmates? He trusts you a lot, and was about to leave because he didn't want to disrespect your conversation when he heard his name, including the loud series of continuous insults directed to him, repeatedly calling him a ruthless tyrant and such, that had made his elegant brows raise to his hairline. 

A lady such as yourself shouldn't be hearing such crass words from those uneducated fools. His eyes twitched in seething anger, a vein bulging in his forehead and he was about to step in to teach them a lesson they won't forget when Riddle had heard your voice snapping.

It took him by surprise when he heard your usual soft and timid tone raise an octave, your loud yells reverberated greatly across the empty halls. Riddle felt some sort of pleasant shock; he couldn't imagine you, who was usually soft-spoken, to defend him like that. Though that aside, immediate pride and affection swells inside him. 

Riddle always believes that as a gentleman, he should be the one to protect you from fools, or defend you against malicious people like that. But he supposed the position getting reversed once in a while feels...good as well. Now, if you'll excuse him, he still needs to, ah, re-educate those imbeciles, a lesson they won't ever forget.

Leona doesn't care that you're timid most of the time, in fact, it even brought a slight relief to him because firstly, he won't have you loudly reprimanding and nagging him if he doesn't attend classes like Ruggie does, disturbing his naps. And secondly, he secretly finds you a great wonder, knowing that most women in Afterglow Savana were all "warriors" and they intimidate him. 

Though for your own sake, Leona would drop casual hints about arming yourself in an argument here and there for you to catch. He favoured your soft-spoken persona, yes, but that doesn’t mean he would go around letting you be in danger just because of it.

And just when he thought that you were tamed and a well-behaved little lamb, Leona was slightly bewildered to hear your loud shouts that knocked him out of his sleep. He almost thought that you were in danger and would instantly leap in to tear off the person who dared to attack you limb by limb if not for the obvious anger lacing your voice.

Hou? Leona listens curiously in patient silence as you apparently "defend" his reputation. It would be a lie to say that he didn't care what others say about him, but at this point, he had completely given up on how others perceived him, all their opinions be damned. But he had to admit, you saying that he was more than just being an "indolent bastard" makes his heart do a quick lithe leap. Just a little bit.

However, of course, he can't let you hog in all the fun to yourself. If those fools were brave enough to lash out and dish out their problems about him to you, they must be prepared to face the consequences of his payback. Though perhaps he must thank them as well? For encouraging and pushing his timid herbivore to stand up and hold her ground to what she believes to be most important? Heh.

Azul thought that your soft and timid self is quite a refreshing sight; you're like a breath of fresh air for him. Being surrounded by the chaotic twins all the time drains his energy, no matter how efficient they seem to be for business. So, having you around calms him down, and your soft voice was like enticing him to sleep and relax.

That's why when he heard a loud scream outside of the VIP room, Azul had seriously doubted his ears, blinking his eyes in mild shock and refusing to believe that person who had just raised their voice was you. You, his precious angelfish who spoke so softly and tenderly to him all the time, just shouted? 

Azul snapped out of his trance when he had heard your voice again, this time, it was even louder, and he could clearly hear just what makes you this furious. He quietly left the sanctuary of his office just as the argument kept on getting clearer. He had heard his name, how the students called him a "scammer", "manipulator", "evil schemer", "stupid octopus" and such. 

Under normal circumstances, Azul wouldn't feel any remorse when he had tricked them into a contract for servitude as a small payment for what they boastfully spout about him. He was ready to make them pay a hundred folds...if not for you defending him wholeheartedly. You were readily refuting every falseーor were they really false?ーclaims about him; a bit more menacing, a little more proud, and very much seething in anger. 

Adoration bloomed inside him as he almost felt tears start to prickle in the corner of his eyes. He never had someone who would defend him, who would boast how "hardworking" he was, or be angry...just for him. Azul had to steel his knees from buckling over, blinking back his tears and parading his usual, haughty smile. As much as he wants to rejoice and melt for your brave words, he first needs to get you out of there. He can't have his precious angelfish deal with those pests all by yourself, no?

Kalim was understanding, empathetic enough to know not to push you beyond the limits you could give. He was content to see you interacting and hanging out with him, no matter how quiet and timid you may be! Fret not, it doesn't matter one bit if he's the only one speaking and getting the conversation going, as long as he knew you were there and listening to him, that's all that matters to him.

Though seriously speaking, does anyone even have the heart to say malicious things about this sunshine? Though let's admit it, not all people would see Kalim's open generosity in a positive light and some people would even find it rather irritating (ーlike Jamilー). So, things like "bad-mouthing" him does happen, maybe not as much in NRC but he does hear them back in Scalding Sands.

Due to his position of being the heir to a big clan, Kalim was very much exposed to the harsh criticism and perhaps hatred and envy of others, though he does his very best to ignore them, and understand where they are coming from because he knows that not all are as privileged as him. So hearing people say bad things about him in the NRC is nothing new as well. 

What was something new though...is you raising your voice that made him jump, his heart almost made a quick leap out of his throat. Especially when you declared that he was the kindest, the most understanding and the best person you ever met in your life. Kalim didn't even hear the insults because he was more focused on drilling the image of you, looking so gallant like a honourable warrior defending him. 

Before it escalates into something serious though, Kalim would jump in the conversation and sway the topic into a more light-hearted one. You would notice his smile looked a lot brighter than normal, and that his cheerfulness is so contagious that you forgot the person who badmouthed him as Kalim dragged you to somewhere he could spoil you rotten.

Vil doesn't usually mind your timid self; he finds himself surprisingly adoring it at times. Especially after those stressful and chaotic days that all he needs is to have a peaceful respite that he had found in you. Though there were times that he would...ah, help you to become more open and confident when talking to people. Unlike Leona who would just drop hints, Vil was determined to teach you how to arm yourself with words, if not magic or any other weapon. 

Hence why Vil was very much accustomed to harsh criticism and dare say, downright hate. He was an actor and a model after all. He had long prepared himself to accept those healthy criticisms, and block off all the malicious comments thrown at him. So, hearing his own schoolmates lash out their hate against him is nothing to waste his time about. After all, they weren't even brave enough to say that to his own face. 

Even so, what took him in a pleasant astonishment is when he heard your voice, loud and clear and confident, rebutting their foolish claims about him. He didn't even pay enough attention when those potatoes blatantly compared him to Neigeーwhich was, by the way, will be dealt with laterーbecause all he could hear was your voice.

Vil huffed in amusement; you had incorporated everything he had taught you today and he could say that he was pleased with your development. As much as he wanted to see how far you could go and how good it was that you were defending him, Vil cannot allow you to linger longer around those fools who don't know basic etiquette more than necessary. 

Brimming with confidence as he was, Vil swept between smoothly, the long and loose sleeves of his dorm uniform flaunting behind me like a perfect picturesque as he hide you behind his back. He looked down coldly at those potatoes, ignoring your surprise yelp. Now, Vil can't let the improper things they say pass without a proper punishment, no?

Like everyone does, Idia doesn't care if you're timid or soft spoken either. To be honest, it was even encouraged by him. He could get around everything between you two without speaking, especially since he wasn't used to being around people a lot. After all, your quiet voice when you're talking to him doesn't feel like any otherーit was more relaxing, more soothing…

That's why when he heard you shouting so loudly and angrily one day, Idia fell on his chair in shock. He was surveying the surroundings from the CCTVs around the school for possible routes he could take when he went out to buy snacks for the weekend when he caught sight of you in the hallway with some unfamiliar students. It doesn't look like a one-sided argument, but you were definitely more pissed off than the others.

The longer he listens, the more Idia wants to wither awayーfrom embarrassment, or from self-resentment or from pure adoration, he cannot pinpoint exactly what! You...you were defending him! Him! You were seethingly refuting every claim he heard directed to him. Every single negative thing they pointed out that he himself knew of all people possessed, said it was nothing but baseless untruths. 

How could you say that he was not useless when all he could do now was to watch you from afar as you fight for his reputation? How could you still believe he was not a coward after all those things that people said about him and his failures? How could you still love him after all the things you were hearing right now? 

Idia clenched his fists that his nails dug in his palms. He...wants to be like you as well. He wanted to be the man you could depend on, the one who could defend you like those in his otome games he played. If one day...if only he could build up the courage to be...anyway, for now, Idia mysteriously alerted some of the professors that someone was bullying you. He couldn't be there personally, with how he is right now, but he would make sure to protect you in the way that he himself could surely do this time...

The one who insults and badmouth The Malleus Draconia himself was probably tired of living, having a death wish or something. Almost everyone was scared of facing him, but alas, there surely exists those who are...brave enoughーor was it simply foolishness?ーto insult him in the presence of his own beloved. 

Malleus probably didn't hear your "heroic acts" personally, but due to Sebek's garrulous mouthーand he can't simply keep this a secret to his Waka-sama!ーhe was informed how you defend him in front of many people. 

He would ask every detail, how it started and how it escalated to how it ended. Sebek wouldn't leave a single detail, though he supposed he could make you a little more "gallant and chivalrous" to his Young Master because you were the first one to stand up for him, and you are his lover, not his guard!

After hearing the full details from the extremely proud Sebekーand how he had already taught the impudent students a lesson for insulting himーMalleus had found himself teleporting next to you, that made you jump because it was so sudden. And he would hug you so suddenly and wordlessly. When you ask him why, he would just reply that he feels like you had done something so incredible for him that he wants to repay and spoil you in any way you desire.

Malleus does mind the insults, but he was more focused on you and how you stand up and hold your ground despite your soft-spoken self. He wished he could've seen you break out from your shell once again, but he won't force you to it. After all, there's plenty of time to rectify that and he would wait patiently on the day you showed all your sides to him.

[jjheejz]

About Internet Water Army in the case

This is an ongoing update about the case from start to development. List of all related posts can be found on this blog's pinned post (link provided at bottom of each post as well).

19 August 2021 update: Added the scale of his success for reference, before bonus below

18 August 2021 update: Added timeline of events, orange title in post, found out the official English term for Immoral Media = Internet Water Army)

Major updates since first draft: Added bonus, added disclaimer, certain info details

Originally posted on 16 August 2021

[The purpose of this post is to provide a perspective as to why the Media is raised/blamed regarding the issue. Especially for international fans, as all the encounters happened on Weibo. Also, those who were on weibo, do read through if you will. So although it's lengthy, do try to read all, at least if not the last two parts].

The Media referred by most, is not the common perception of the Entertainment Industry (celebrities, directors, shows, channels, staff etc), but the dark side of the Entertainment industry: Antis, toxic fans, toxic marketing accounts. They are called Internet Water Army💧.

Toxic Marketing Accounts is one of the things they do, these accounts on Weibo has millions of followers, each of their post likes are in the hundred thousands (buyable) to give credibility to passer-bys. Some use similar names to Official accounts, some use similar logos. Their posts are usually subjective or aims to steer view points of a certain celebrity/movie/show. Before the latest update of this post (18.08.21), I just group them all together and term them as Immoral Media*.

*Below is my original post using my original term because at point of first draft, I did not know the official term (so have changed/added the term from Immoral Media to Internet Water Army in content below but retain the content based off first draft).

If you have chased before celebrities, or just simply passed by an article about certain celebrities, recall how some title that caught your attentions were like. Clickbaits is one of the many things they do. If GZ is your first and you do not have Weibo, then this read(link) is good enough.

Just as the term Immoral Media (Internet Water Army), it’s immoral and unethical, but they exists because they are paid to do so. Who pays them? Entertainment Companies, and maybe other Organisations

Normal Media/Marketing vs Immoral Media/Toxic Marketing/Internet Water Army

When a show or movie comes out, the normal Marketing department will generate outreach and buzz so that people know a show is airing soon/know the show exists etc. Official announcements are not enough, because there isn’t much context (limited content to put up as well) so having some other Marketing accounts do the buzz in a planned period to gain awareness through posts, some articles about the casts, the plot summary, the production details etc is normal. This is Marketing, bigger companies will probably have stronger Marketing departments (aka influence) and can hire more Marketing accounts to generate buzz. Celebrities (aka casts) themselves, are also Marketing point.

Then we have the Internet Water Army/Immoral Media, these are what they mainly do:

Create Fanfiction-rumors: Creating rumors about celebrities to shift audience perception of them. [eg. XX was seen with XX leaving a hotel, XX was drunk on Event Y and did ZZZ to AA, XX is dating BB and has been in a relationship for N years etc]

Honing their brain degrading skills: Come up with titled clickbait headings/ trending topics with negative written contents. For articles, exceptionally out of heading content related to the celebrity. [Refer to Baidu, it’s a winner of these, feel free to Google Translate]

Regressing their common sense and understanding skills: Take everything a celebrity does completely out of context in a negative way and create a topic out of it [eg. XX said AA is a ---, “XX raised his finger, a sign of ---?”, XX pushed BB aggressively on Variety Show Y - A competition variety show, XX is in beef with CC because XX was caught giving CC the eye]

Using their fingers to stir shit and bathe each other in it: Escalate all smallest form of possible tension created by fans/themselves into a huge thing by acting as the fandom's fans/lurk in fandom chat groups, and voicing their disguised opinion to spread tension/exaggerate severity of the issue [eg. XX fans mocked AA - in groupchats: tbh I've never liked AA before, AA just gives off a vibe that I dont like and now this? It just disgusts me even more > Yea, i feel this way too. AA has problems / XX Lurkers expressing views on XX about NN, slowly to NNMHFXW - XX did NNMHGT - I cannot accept NNmHfHw, I'm leaving = multiply by 1000++]

Epitome of a self-deteriorate: Creating something out of nothing and react to that something negatively to gain massive attention/reaction [eg. “XX raised his hand on show Y” - dk what XX fans are thinking, are they literally blind? XX fans are tasteless just like XX hahaha / “XX did community service” - they are acting / “XX breathed” - From the start, i thought XX was NN, but I am so ZZZ that XX breathed. Goodbye fandom, i’m leaving. Those who still want to stay I urge you to rethink your life choices] - if I may add, Xiao Zhan’s fanfiction case as well. 

Metaphor - Ability to use bare hands to collect paychecks from the urinal/toilet bowl where their boss/client peed in: Doing all of the above.

Apologies for any term offense, but not apologetic of the term context. This is what they do for a living. Any normal human being who do not like anything, will generally not be interested at anything about it in the first place, so to have some antis/toxic fans knowing certain things and inside jokes/references in their posts questions their goal.

On involved in Internet Water Army/Immoral Media 💧

Fans on weibo during these few months witnessed many of the above on GZ. From rumored girlfriend (spammed with articles) to mean and nasty comments on trending topics, to bouts of insults and fake emotional cryouts by certain fan accounts that GZ's office has to release a number of Lawyer’s letter to them. 

Aside from WOH there were also a few other BL adaptation films that were actually released this year but they did not reach exponential success like WOH. BL adaptations are so highly followed by because this is the key to wealth. Literally. Successful BLs like The Untamed and  Dao Mu Bi Ji saw the amount of wealth fans are willing to spend on the celebrity as compared to say BG or idols (younger fan groups). This is why when WOH shot up exponentially, Immoral Media start to sweat.

Major anticipated adaptations were supposed to air this year eg. Hao Yi Xing(HYX), Sha Po Lang(SPL) etc but was severely held back due to the stricter change in BL adaptations submitting their scripts for approval regulations (WOH manage to submit earlier before the change). Because of this, most final films were rejected and they have to keep re-editing, by then WOH was already months into reaping tonnes of major brand endorsements, shows/movie casting, variety show appearances etc, something that is seen as too successful in the Immoral Media’s eyes, because they have to create buzz for other celebrities, some are specific celebrity oriented and thus circulate rumors about having endorsement opportunities shifted from celebrity X to GZ (think fanfiction-rumors and shit stirrer) causes tension in celebrity fandoms. - A real event just in July:

The Untamed’s cp fandom is called BJYX which had always been in the Top 1 of Cps for 2 years dropped for awhile to Top 2, over taken by LLD. Both of them had a war and hated each fandom, one fandom is somehow not allowed to like the other fandom even casually after everything broke out because it started out with some BJYX toxics photoshopped GZ on of portraits .

Also another case of which he wore the same costume as WYB did in a previous photoshoot and it became a useless comparison of who wore better, who looks better, degrading the other. (Finger stirring shit).

Now apply all of the above things the Internet Water Army do and we have them earning money, while both fandom reacts and hate each other.

In LLD, our own fans started suspecting each other on who is a spy from BJYX and what not.

The first few months of Internet Water Army saw LLDs mostly mocking them because the average age is 30-40s, they know and see through all of their intentions so nothing was big. They were trumpeting and LLDs didn’t even care, what with all the doing tedious stats was not even important to them.

Over time, as the issues they create became more and more serious LLDs did start to care, reporting Toxic Marketing accounts/toxic fans became a daily task, go vote for GZ at certain polls etc, solo fans, and LLD fans also split apart. Solo fans think cp fans use GZ to furnish their fantasies, and cp fans thinks they are the ones furnishing their dreaming-girls fantasy with (aka my boyfriend).

There was also a period where LLD had a habit of continuously mentioning “we are in the 30-40s so we can see through everything about the media, we are all fans for the first time, we are good at spending money (because of purchase power compared to other fandoms)” it was prevalent for so long it felt odd, ‘chasing celebrities the first time’ in particular sounds more vulnerable as a weakness than a strength / sth to be proud of.

Gradually, more secretive/insider confirmed ‘sweets’ were flying around. Fans advised each other to not circulate, and the mindset of “if you know, you know, dont tell.” (This is a problematic mentality, of which fans will still be curious to know and search for it themselves, but this secretive hook is unhealthy. Over the long term, it becomes hard for existing fans to know a lot of things properly to judge for themselves, especially those who knew and publicly reacted, but blasting those who ask and telling those who know to keep quiet, this did not help some to understand why on certain things, even so for international fans, dont know and dont understand, causing misunderstandings. Yes, certain information should not be shared, so why should you react about it publicly in the first place? - Internet Water Army effect)

The last few months (for example the July fan war) created a tonne of seriousness and anger. A period even broke out with a tonne of ‘insider confirmed sweets’ (which is LLD’s daily dose of happiness), it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake. Trending topics became negative and everyone warned each other not to enter because it will give the trends ‘views’ and trend statistics, in reality entering there is to enter an exhibition by the self-deteriorates, collecting the fandom's traffic data (it's a sure lose for fans each time they enter the topic). Everyone even starts thinking that the trend’s popularity was caused by each other (it's true but it can be bought daily and not caused by fans). There was a raise in the number of fans who were getting emotional because they want to protect but Internet Water Army kept coming and got worse, because fans, tbh, not just GZ fans, every other celebrity’s fans are always fighting with an Army, getting played and plotted in that Army's calendar.

Even so, despite all of these, LLD is actually a fandom Internet Water Army may find the hardest to break because they understand GZ so much, they could tell what are fake news regarding GZ, because among everything above, there are still plenty of logical fans to stop many fans from drifting too far and debunking them. Why? 30-40s are grown up adults.

Why 13.8.21 and the Japan issue is plotted?

First of all, in the political climate of China, there are many political dates in a month that is NO-Entertainment news. Because it’s the honoring of certain important political events. It’s like Remembrance Day, thus the sensitivity is higher. On these days, there are usually no news and even the Internet Water Army zip their pants. This year also marks the 100th year of the Chinese Communist Party(link)

Secondly, he had no work schedule on 13 August 2021. A great full day to focus on any other news (because if he had schedules, everyone will turn their attention to his events, what trumpeting outside is just bird chirps). 

Thirdly, when the news broke out, especially about the shrine, the reception was actually quite serious within the fandom so the scale of this might be big but to what extent in reality?

Lastly, 15.8.21 marks the 76th anniversary of the announcement of surrender of Japanese in World War 2(link). Also a day of NO-Entertainment news. 

Timeline of events:

13.8.21 - [His rest day, Eve of Chinese Valentine's Day, Japan News broke out] His rest day, no schedules = increased attention about him online. Lowered guard among fans because they are getting ready for tomorrow's Chinese Valentine's sweets = Caught off guard = Huge break out of fans' reactions

14.8.21 - [Chinese Valentine's Day, Eve of the 75th Anniversary of the announcement of Japanese surrender] Keep a wishful and happy demenaor to not destroy the mood, suppressed thoughts about ZZH's Japan news

15.8.21 - [75th Anniversary of the announcement of Japanese surrender, Official announcement of ZZH's boycott and all China social media account ban] NO-Entertainment news day, Solemn day, not allowed to voice anything so the fandom can only wait for tomorrow to start voicing out/debunking but before they can wait out, the boycott and social media ban happened, every official accounts about him was gone overnight, fans had no time to react

17.8.21 - [All official fandom accounts related to ZZH and JunZhe were locked/removed]

Forced to be silent since the day his matter broke out, over the course of official news release with everything taken down in a day because of the Japan correspondence, his accounts banned overnight across the Chinese media and the overnight cancellation, fans could not speak anything about it. Overnight cancellation like this scale happened for the first time in China, leaving no time to react by the fandom, by the time they can, they are silenced.

When the period of events occured within a set of special dates, it’s not coincidence.

Conclusion

Because he was too successful and had many actually honorable past things, and a hard to influence fandom, Internet Water Army view him as a huge threat enough to want to destroy him, because it’s hard to defeat. With a chance they have, they will hold it till the end, bringing up this issue to the Government during this period also shows a sign of how scared they were of him and perhaps his fandom to plot something like this.

Updated on 19 August: Here's a screenshot of assumed calculation on the scale of GZ success for reference while chatting with a fellow fan, assuming GJ also has 27 brands, and there are 1000 brands. Rationale of numbers used: Only big brands can hire big celebrities.

Bonus

Mentioned in the first post, will mention again in case. After the news broke out within 2 days, there was a drop on his weibo followers from 18.9mil to 18.7mil. 200k+ drops, if the politics was such a big national issue, there should at least be a huge drop, even at least a million right? Because weibo is a China-Chinese majority right? Nope, we get a puny 200k drop.

What's funny? The self-deteroriates:

Translation: "Are his fans bought? Why didnt he drop fans? Those people got brainwashed to this point?" / "I've never entered his weibo and today i feel like having a look yet it showed I've followed him. All his fans were bought right? It disgusts me, i immediately unfollowed. This kind of process is worse than WYF..." / "i dropped fans because of him...no...I just reposted 2 posts and I've dropped 4 fans?"

Isn't the tone and regressing brain cells, all too familiar and same?

//

Added above, will remind again to read this link. It has an even more in-depth knowledge on who are paying them.

So what should we do? Link here

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[sscoutregimentss]

A, R, M, I, N for Armin?

ohoho clever. also this is all modern au 😭 i didnt even realize until i finished. feel free to re-request for a different au or canonverse! i think i default to modern au because i want everyone to be happy.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Armin is really affectionate, but in a somewhat subtle way. He's not a fan of huge PDA or grandiose romantic gestures. Instead he'd rather have small ways to show his love for you in ways only the two of you would understand.

But it's also not so subtle that people think he's cold. Everyone knows you two are smitten with each other, but he just prefers to keep things private.

For example, when he's in an antique store he'll pick up some jewelry he thinks you'd like. Or when he's strolling through an art museum alone, he'll send you photos of paintings he thinks you'd like. He gives you personalized book recommendations, helps you study, holds your pinky as he walks through hallways. It's all really cute but not super aggressive like some of his friends.

He gives you a really gentle smile he reserves for you specifically. Armin is generally a bright guy, but he has a specific smile where it reaches the bottom half of his eyes and he looks like he has huge hearts in his eyes and everyone around you just knows.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

On your 5th date, you went to an arboretum. He'd been casually getting to know you after you asked him out. He honestly can't remember why he said yes when you asked him. He doesn't really make impulse decisions, but some weird mix of peer pressure, free food, and how cute you were made him think 'Eh, why not.' So you two have been taking it rather slow on account of Armin's nerves, and have been acting more like friends than people who are dating.

When your excitedly pointing at some pretty tree you know absolutely nothing about, Armin Arlert realizes he has it bad for you.

He treasures it because it's a sort of turning point in your relationship.

Armin is not huge for social media. He obviously has accounts because it is the 21st century but he has all the notifications off and rarely posts or checks his accounts. Because he is a pretentious hipster, he carries around a disposable camera and keeps a photo album of you two to keep the memories. He has a polaroid camera too, and he keeps a photo of that day in his phone case.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Armin, unlike your average college student, is not a procrastinator. Instead of staying up late to scramble and finish assignments, he actually gets enough sleep and wakes up fairly early.

So usually he's out of bed way before you. He'll take 10 or 15 minutes just to hold you and appreciate the silence, but then he's out of bed and making breakfast. He'd rather be with you when you're awake. You usually just waddle behind him when you wake up and give him back hugs.

In the rare case he does sleep in, you are not getting out of that bed unless you wake him up. He has a freakishly strong grip for someone so soft spoken.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Oh it takes him a while. Way after he starts calling you his partner, and he doesn't start calling you his partner until after 8 or 10 dates.

He likes taking things slow. He's young, he's got time ahead of him, and he just really wants to know.

And also, he's a bit of a closed off person. Despite how warm he seems to be, he has a lot of walls that take a long time to climb over.

He says it one day when his head is rested on you lap, the two of you watching a movie on a Friday night when Eren and Mikasa are at some party. He stops paying attention halfway through and starts staring at you, and it just... slips out.

You knew, though. It just took him a while to admit it.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Armin, in true nerd fashion, does not spend the night outside of his home if he has class the next day. So you only see him at nights on weekends.

At the early stages of your relationship, he comes over to your place, unless Eren and Mikasa are out and then you come to his. Half of it is him being closed off and being scared to introduce you to the only family he has left, and the other half is the fact that Eren will shamelessly show you middle school photos and compare Armin to Coconut Head from Ned's Declassified. But after a while, you start alternating.

If you're staying in, you two silently do assignments for an hour or two, then do something fun, like read a book or watch a movie. You really like when he just reads to you. It's calming. He should read audio books.

If you two are out, you two are more likely to just chat and then crash the minute you get home. He's not really a night owl.