#QUIT ENABLING HER BEHAVIOR AND THE MERCH

[tired-hellowl]

this, alongside the fact that artists of spindlehorse had to submit nearly over 40+ original drawings for different pin variants, acrylic standees, DESKMAT FULL SHADED DRAWINGS, AND ON TOP OF IT DIFFERENT T-SHIRTS AND NEW ART MERCH AFTER THE FACT THAT SPINDLEHORSE WAS UNDERPAID TO ANIMATE ALL OF THE HAZBIN SEASON FINALE EPISODE, I FEEL SO BAD FOR CURRENT SPINDLEHORSE ARTISTS BECAUSE THIS IS NEARLY 60 PLUS PIECES OF DIFFERENT MERCHANDISING FOR VARIANTLY COMPLEX CHARACTER DESIGNS WILDLY VARYING SHAPES AND COMPLEXITY-

IF YOU'RE A SPINDLEHORSE ARTIST THIS PLASTIC POLLUTION DESIGNING HER MERCHANDISE ISN'T WORTH IT VIV JUST SEES HER CHARACTERS AS DOLLAR SIGNS AND NOTHING MORE-

PLEASE STOP SUPPORTING SPINDLEHORSE AND SUPPORT THE ORIGINAL ARTISTS BEHIND VIV SHE IS NOT DRAWING OR ANIMATING SHIT AND IS FORCING PEOPLE TO ON HER BEHALF AT THE COST OF CONSTANTLY PRESSURING DEADLINES OVER NEWLY GRADUATED ANIMATION FANS PLEASE JUST QUIT BUYING THE MERCHANDISE-

IF YOU STILL ARE NOT CONVINCED THEN WHY IS IT JUST HELLUVA BOSS VALENTINES MERCH AND NO HAZBIN MERCH? VIV LOST HER HAZBIN CHARACTERS TO AMAZON/A24 COPYRIGHT SHE PROBABLY CAN'T RELEASE 'INDEPENDENT' MERCHANDISING PROFITTING OFF OF THOSE DEMONS SO SHE JUST CONTINUES HELLUVA BOSS SHITTY MERCHANDISING I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE YEARLY NEARLY MONTHLY TO THE TEE PRODUCT AFTER PRODUCT SEASON INBETWEEN SEASON-

PLEASE STOP SUPPORTING VIVZIEPOP SHE JUST USES ARTISTS TO GET WHAT SHE WANTS. MERCH SALES ONLY GO TOWARDS THE LITTLE PAYMENTS TO THE ACTUAL ARTISTS BEHIND THE SCENES IT ISN'T AS MUCH SUPPORT AS YOU THINK YOU'RE GIVING ://///

A FAN RECENTLY ATTEMPTED THEIR LIFE AND ALL VIV HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT IS 'HERE'S THE VALENTINES COLLECTION THIS YEAR HAPPY HAZBIN RELEASE?" NO I'M TIRED OF VIV'S CHILDISH ANTICS ANYMORE.

Ok I’m gonna be a little bitch for a second because I think it’s fun but in the new Helluva Boss Valentine’s Day merch is it kind of weird that Mammon, basically the only fat character, is the only character that isn’t in revealing clothing

[samanthasroberts]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms' emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it's time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it's probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We're sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you've done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,��� she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it's not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder's hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That's led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder's step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it's the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you've never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There's the "this show is so smart normies don't get it" self-congratulation that's so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there's the propensity to doxx the show's female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there's the mass freakout after McDonald's ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that's correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there's going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here's hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and "haters." Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves "bro," don’t call yourselves an "army," and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that's sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

"Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness."

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

"Always punch up" is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet's very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

More Great WIRED Stories

Sex, beer, and coding: Inside Facebook’s wild, early days

Sci-fi invades Netflix—as they both invade your home

The worst cybersecurity hacks of 2018 so far

Microsoft’s big bet on a tiny-computer future

How Silicon Valley fuels an informal caste system

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories

Related Video

Culture

How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll's favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

[adambstingus]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms’ emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it��s time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it’s probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We’re sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you’ve done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it’s not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder’s hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That’s led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder’s step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it’s the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you’ve never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There’s the “this show is so smart normies don’t get it” self-congratulation that’s so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there’s the propensity to doxx the show’s female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there’s the mass freakout after McDonald’s ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that’s correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there’s going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here’s hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and “haters.” Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves “bro,” don’t call yourselves an “army,” and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that’s sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

“Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness.”

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

“Always punch up” is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet’s very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

More Great WIRED Stories

Sex, beer, and coding: Inside Facebook’s wild, early days

Sci-fi invades Netflix—as they both invade your home

The worst cybersecurity hacks of 2018 so far

Microsoft’s big bet on a tiny-computer future

How Silicon Valley fuels an informal caste system

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories

Related Video

Culture

How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll’s favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/183577966647

[allofbeercom]

The 10 Most Difficult-to-Defend Online Fandoms

Oh, fandom. So passionate, so partisan—and, too often these days, so prolifically peevish. From Tumblr and Wattpad to more mainstream platforms like Twitter and Instagram, online communities have served as rallying points for stan armies: obsessives who comb over every interview and shred of non-news for information about the object of their adoration. But increasingly, fandoms' emotions have been curdling into a different kind of potion; something petty, entitled, conspiratorial, even abusive. So on the occasion of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest fan events in the world, it's time for some tough love.

First, a note: this is a look at toxic strains that exist within a larger fandom, not an indictment of a given artist or person. Fandom is a pure and precious thing, and no one should feel conflicted about being invested in a pop-culture figure or property. If you express that investment by being a worse person, though—treating appreciation like warfare, demanding dogmatic purity tests, attacking people, or seeing yourself as some kind of a crusader—than it's probably time to take some time and re-assess things. We're sure nothing in the following catalog sounds like anything you've done in the name of fandom, right? Enjoy Comic-Con!

10. Barbz (Nicki Minaj Fandom)

The Barbz are a fiercely loyal sort. Case in point: In April, upon the release of Invasion of Privacy, a writer for British GQ explained how Cardi B had adopted Nicki Minaj’s style in a much more accessible way. “Nicki intimidates; Cardi endears,” she wrote. Minaj disciples responded with an all-out attack. The GQ staffer was flooded with malicious tweets, ranging from the direct (“I will kill u bitch”) to even more direct (“You better to delete that before we get your address and start hunting you and your family down!!”) The following month, the Barbz turned on one of their own when a self-proclaimed fan wondered aloud on Twitter: “You know how dope it would be if Nicki put out mature content? No silly shit, just reflecting on past relationships, being a boss, hardships, etc.” (Minaj took it further and DMed a disgustingly petty reply to the fan). For Barbz, fandom doesn’t allow for dissent—even when it's not dissent but a valid, healthy appraisal. This may come as a surprise, y'all, but love and criticism are not mutually exclusive.

9. Swifties (Taylor Swift Fandom)

Generally speaking, Taylor Swift’s fans aren’t bad—they just really love Swift and tend to be a little over-the-top about it. And most of the time, that’s what fandom is. (Also, this is a pop star who sends holiday presents to them; she’s earned their devotion.) But within that group, the “Bad Blood” singer has a few bad apples. There are those who go after Hayley Kiyoko for daring to point out that she shouldn’t be criticized for singing about women when Swift sings about men all the time. (Swift actually agrees with Kiyoko on that point.) There are Swifties who get bent out of shape when she doesn’t get nominated for enough awards. And then there are the white supremacists—fans Swift seems to have done nothing to court, but pop up anyway. Yeah, the ones who call her an “Aryan goddess”? Those are the ones who give her a bad reputation.

8. Zack Snyder Fans

Look, Zack Snyder's hardcore supporters have it rough. Or, well, they think they do. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star that occasionally blinks out. He’s made some OK movies (Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen) but he’s made even more that have been trashed by critics: Sucker Punch; Man of Steel; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That's led to a persecution complex among more than a few of his stans. While this kerfuffle has died down a bit with Snyder's step back from the spotlight—recently, he has shifted focus to make iPhone movies and produce the DC movies rather than direct them—the coming years represent a reckoning. James Wan’s Aquaman and Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman sequel are headed to theaters, and the receptions they get may determine whether critics have complaints with all DC movies, or just the ones with Snyder behind the camera. In the meantime, though, his own personal justice league will be there to defend it.

7. Rick and Morty Fans

Yes, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created a funny, smart, challenging (god, those burps) cartoon. Yes, it delivers a bizarro Back to the Future ride through both spacetime and genre tropes. Yes, it's the most STEM-conscious animated show since Futurama. But sweet tapdancing Pickle Rick, you've never seen a TV fandom more noisome than this one. There's the "this show is so smart normies don't get it" self-congratulation that's so over-the-top it became a copypasta meme; there's the propensity to doxx the show's female writers and generally be such venal stains that Harmon despises them; there's the mass freakout after McDonald's ran out of limited-edition Szechuan dipping sauce. (Yes, that's correct.) While Adult Swim recently renewed the show for 70 new episodes, there's going to be quite a lull before anyone sees a new episode—here's hoping the fans grow up a little bit in the meantime.

6. #TeamBreezy (Chris Brown Fandom)

It’s been almost a decade since reports first surfaced of Chris Brown’s violent abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, Rihanna has rocketed to pop superstardom while Brown’s career has strided along, aided by a loyal following that borders on enablers. Despite an earnest-seeming redemption tour, reports of Brown’s violent behavior continue to bubble up: Brown’s ex-girlfriend filed for a restraining order; Brown went on a homophobic Twitter rant; Brown punched a fan in a nightclub; Brown locked a woman in his home, without a cell phone, so she could be sexually assaulted. (Brown’s camp denies that last accusation.) Yet, Team Breezy generally attributes such reports to misinformation and "haters." Fandoms are built on stand-by-your-man loyalty, but at some point it becomes impossible to love the art in good conscience. If the #MeToo movement is any indication, the times have changed since Rihanna’s bloody face headlined gossip sites. Willful ignorance is no longer an acceptable choice.

5. XXXtentacion Fans

On June 18, outside of a Broward County motorcycle dealership, 20-year-old Jahseh Onfroy was fatally gunned down by two assailants. At the time of his death, Onfroy, who rapped under the moniker XXXTentacion, had already amassed a rare kind of fame: He attracted deep love and even deeper hate with a ferocious mania. The allure of Onfroy’s dark matter inspired the type of fandom that spills into violent obsession. A recurring source of vitriol for the rapper, and an easy target for his rabid fanbase, was his ex-girlfriend, Geneva Ayala, who filed multiple charges against the rapper (including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and witness tampering). When it came to light that Ayala created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for hospital bills due to damage inflicted by Onfroy, his fans bullied her into exile: forcing her to delete Instagram, hacking her Twitter account, harassing her at work to the point that she was left with no option but to quit, and shutting down her GoFundMe (it was later reopened). Having made a name for himself on Soundcloud, where he often engaged issues of mental health in his music, Onfroy willingly embraced his demons (he once called himself “lil dylan roof” on Twitter, referencing the Charleston shooter who murdered nine parishioners in South Carolina in 2015). But even now, in death, XXX is a reminder that extreme fandom has the power to blind people to the blood on their own hands.

4. Logang (Logan Paul Fandom)

Let’s get this out of the way up front. Many, even most, of Logan Paul’s fans are literal children. And so if you ask us who is really responsible for their bad behavior, we’re going to have to say the fault is predominantly with Paul and, you know, other adults. But the Logang (or the Logangsters, depending on who you ask), like Lil Tay, are inventing a new category of internet villain: the terrifying baby troll. They do all the things adult trolls do—parrot back the sexist and racist things Pauls says, stalk him outside hotel rooms, and harass and troll the “haters” daring to criticize their deeply problematic idol—but they’re kids! So you can’t really fire back at them without being a jerk yourself. Listen, Logang: all Logan wants to do is sell you merch. He’s not really your friend. Can I interest you in a puppy video?

3. Bro Army (Pewdiepie Fandom)

First rule of non-toxic fandoms: Don’t call yourselves "bro," don’t call yourselves an "army," and definitely don’t call yourselves the Bro Army. People might assume you’re a bunch of flame-war-loving trolls who think girls are icky—and where YouTuber PewDiePie’s fans are concerned, everyone would be absolutely right. It’s not just that they’ve stuck with the Swedish gamer/alleged comedian as he peppered his videos with racial slurs, rape jokes, anti-Semitism, and homophobia for nearly a decade (though that’s bad enough). It’s also that they insist that PewDiePie somehow isn’t being hateful at all. Oh, and if you quote their hero back at them, they’ll wallpaper your social media accounts with thoughtful messages about how you suck—for years.

2. The Dark Side of Star Wars Fandom

The most recent eruption has been a hilariously non-ironic campaign to remake The Last Jedi, but that's sadly just the latest in a long line of online grossness from the entitled Sith-heads who are so keen on reclaiming the Star Wars universe . Somehow, Gamergate has come to a galaxy far, far away; hectoring, harassment, even death threats aimed at director Rian Johnson. To be clear, this is a tiny (if vocal) subset of Star Wars fandom, which on the whole is as joyous and inclusive as the universe is finally becoming. But to to quote our own Adam Rogers:

"Everyone has a right to opinions about movies. Everyone has a right, I guess, to throw those opinions in the face of the people who make those movies, though it does seem at minimum impolite. Everyone has the right to ask transnational entertainment companies to make the movies they want, and if those companies don’t respond, to stop giving the companies money. But harassment, threats, jokes about someone’s race or gender? A Jedi would fight someone who did that stuff. The Force binds us all together. Hatred and anger are the ways of the Dark Side; they may bring power, but at a cost. It harms individuals, debases the people who do it, and it breaks the Fellowship. In the end, the cost of that power will be powerlessness."

1. Elon Musk Acolytes

"Always punch up" is a good life motto. You’ll accomplish a lot by speaking truth to power; dissecting the misdeeds of a relative unknown, though, makes you look like a tool. That’s why, despite the plethora of dark and toxic fandoms that flourish on the fringes of the internet, the group that tops our list of nasties is devoted to a person at the internet's very center: Elon Musk. To his fan club, Musk is so much more than a charismatic artist, a talented musician, or, hey, a flawed but successful tech entrepreneur—he’s a messiah, a vestige of an age of retrograde masculinity, when a reasonably successful man could expect his ideas to remain unchecked and his words be read as gospel. And Musk wields his one-man metaphor status (and his 22.3 million follower army) to whack out any dissenting opinions. “Because before he commented on my tweet, it was floundering in relative obscurity,” science writer Erin Biba wrote in a piece for the Daily Beast. But after Musk’s dismissive response, Biba found herself drowning in hate mail and abuse. By letting his mob pick over opinions he does not like, Musk is able to control the narrative, playing up investigative reporting on Tesla’s poor labor practices as a misinformation campaign—or even, in some recent deleted tweets, insinuating that one of the people involved with the Thai cave rescue efforts is a pedophile. It’s bad to be thin-skinned, and terrible to play the underdog, but playing it while you ignite a million-man bullying campaign is reprehensible.

More Great WIRED Stories

Sex, beer, and coding: Inside Facebook’s wild, early days

Sci-fi invades Netflix—as they both invade your home

The worst cybersecurity hacks of 2018 so far

Microsoft’s big bet on a tiny-computer future

How Silicon Valley fuels an informal caste system

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories

Related Video

Culture

How To Battle Trolling Ad Hominem Attacks Online

An internet troll's favorite way to argue? Ad hominem, of course! This is your guide to spotting bad arguments on the internet and how to fight them.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/the-10-most-difficult-to-defend-online-fandoms/

[vernicle]

To The Bone | Netflix Movie Review

2017 Netflix film evaluate: To the Bone follows Ellen (aka Eli) a female with anorexia nervosa as she struggles with restoration, restoration plans, and a team household. The actor Lily Collins who formerly had an ingesting condition seemingly misplaced a lot of pounds to engage in the part of Eli or Ellen. For that explanation, I believed that NetFlix was in the completely wrong. I identified the portrayal of ingesting problems (EDNOS, Binge Eating, Bulimia, and Anorexia) to be quite precise, the ED behaviors had been on entire show and I feel that is a superior matter if a person wishes to actually see what an ingesting condition is certainly like. I appreciated Keanu Reeves as Dr. Beckham, his challenging adore design and style is in line with what I feel is essential in most cases. I was not a significant admirer of the Luke & Ellen adore story component of the movie, it did not seem to be vital to me. Susan, performed by Carrie Preston was excellent at showing help but largely not being aware of what to do. Pearl with the feeding tube showing us what is possibly ideal around the corner for Ellen was coronary heart breaking. Judy (Lily Taylor) as her organic mom was strong when she tells her "she is okay with accepting that she may want to die" was straightforward and quite hard to observe. All round, as you can convey to, I actually appreciated this movie. I only desire that the lead part was not performed by a person who in the previous has had an ingesting condition. Actors shed and acquire pounds for roles all the time, but when a person has a background of an ingesting condition, they should really not do this, it is Pretty perilous and I never help it. Marti Noxon does an excellent occupation of directing and producing in an effort and hard work to showcase ingesting problems, their destruction, and ultimately she leaves us with a glimmer of hope, which is what we all want when it comes to ingesting problems... Hope.

****Make sure you Read through**** If you or a person you know is in immediate danger, remember to call a regional crisis telephone range or go immediately to the closest crisis place.

------------------------------------------

Massive THANK YOU to my Patreon Patrons! Without the need of you, I could not keep making video clips. xoxo http://ift.tt/2bGlGxB

---------------------------------------------------------

I'm Kati Morton, a accredited therapist generating Psychological Health video clips - Despair, Eating Conditions, Stress, Self-Hurt and a lot more! Psychological wellbeing shouldn't have a stigma hooked up to it. You might be worth the battle!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Videos just about every Monday and Thursday!

Check out http://ift.tt/1kBLaZW for group help! MERCH! http://ift.tt/2tkDu8r PATREON http://ift.tt/2bGlGxB TWITTER http://www.twitter.com/katimorton Facebook http://ift.tt/2gONLrP TUMBLR http://ift.tt/1N88ZKO PINTEREST http://ift.tt/1YekqCH Subscribe! http://little bit.ly/2j2frsv

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enterprise electronic mail: linnea@toneymedia.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SENDING KATI Things PO Box 1223 Wilshire Blvd. #665 Santa Monica, CA 90403

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enable! SUBTITLE Videos

http://goo.gl/OZOQXi

Subtitle video clips if you know English or any other languages! You can enable people today who are both listening to impaired or non native English speaking. By carrying out this, you are encouraging some others and strengthening our group.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MY Absolutely free WORKBOOKS Simple to stick to at household workbooks for your mental wellbeing....

Self-Hurt workbook http://goo.gl/N7LtwU

Eating Problem workbook http://goo.gl/DjOmkC

LGTBQ workbook http://goo.gl/WG8jcZ

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KATIFAQ Videos Wanting to know if I have answered a problem like yours?

Look for for it right here: http://goo.gl/1ECSlO

Enable us caption & translate this video clip!

http://ift.tt/2tkEGJb source

from Viral News Around The World - Feed http://ift.tt/2gOUpOM via IFTTT

[closetofanxiety]

Show Review: Women’s Wrestling Revolution, “Identity Crisis”

It’s been like three months since I went to see wrestling in person, let’s see what happened:

Women’s Wrestling Revolution, “Identity Crisis”

Aurora Nightclub, Providence, Rogues Island

Crowd: 130, per Squared Circle Sirens

Show notes: I went with Mark and Mike, the first time the three of us had been to a show together since we saw Jushin Thunder Liger in August. It was cold, cold, cold. Luke Bryan (sp?) was in town playing at the hockey rink, so downtown was packed with fans of, I’m guessing here, country music. A lot of camo, anyway. Our normal dinner spot was jam packed, so we went to a Korean barbecue place down the street from the venue. Let me tell you: I love some dang ol’ Korean barbecue. The spicy chicken, the crunchy vegetables, the kimchi, the purple rice. Buddy, I am hungry just thinking about it. Anyway, the show.

Sea Stars (Delmi Exo & Ashley Vox) w/Jocelyn vs. Maria Manic and Penelope Ford

The Sea Stars are New England locals who I’ve seen a bunch of times, and I’m happy to report they’re coming along well. They’ve improved by leaps and bounds, although they’re still a little green. They have kind of a Chikara vibe, like they carry a trident around, and their manager/friend/whatever was dressed as Left Shark, essentially. Ford and Manic were doing the unapproachable stuck-up blonde thing, and the match had a lot of energy, but was pretty sloppy in some parts. Just like at Beyond shows, there’s no seating, but because all the wrestlers are women and wrestling fans seem like creeps, they were hyper vigilant about separating the crowd from the wrestlers when matches would spill out of the ring. I’ve never been shoved by so many men dressed like referees in my life. Sea Stars win with the Hart Attack. Rating: Two Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Willow Nightingale vs. Skylar

I hadn’t seen Willow Nightingale before, but she has kind of a LuFisto physique with a Solo Darling persona, although less hyper. Significantly less hyper; Solo Darling is really trowelling it on these days. Skylar is another local, familiar from Blitzkrieg Pro, and is also improving significantly but still green. This match was actually pretty dang good, with a lot of submission holds traded back and forth and some really impressive stuff from Nightingale, including a really nice Fisherman’s Suplex. Good match, but it was one of those face vs. face things that sucks some of the air out of the room. It’s OK to have a wrestler people hate! Rating: Two And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Sonya Strong vs. Vanity

This was a huge amount of fun. The women’s wrestling equivalent of a hoss fight. I hope that’s not taken in any way other than totally complimentary. It is what it is. Wrestling is about, among other things, bodies, and these athletes have bodies that might be described, in some circles, as thicc. They’re both tremendous wrestlers though, and Strong in particular is great at being the arrogant heel who hates the crowd. The goofy crowd responded to her heel behavior with adoring cheers, though, which is an epidemic at the indie level. I maintain that Matt Riddle is still working heel, it’s just indie fans are too good at outsmarting themselves to realize it. Anyway, Strong basically ran the show here, brutalizing Vanity for much of the match until a late, desperate rally that was ended by a nasty-looking Dragon Suplex. After the match, Strong had words for Veda Scott, who was doing commentary for the show. Rating: Three And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Karen Q vs. Tasha Steelz

Something of a mismatch, as Karen Q is significantly larger than Steelz, who was working heel but also the underdog. I had seen Karen Q wrestle before and was vaguely impressed, but she was fantastic in this match, just tremendous athleticism and, why not, I’ll say, “ring psychology.” She let Steelz stay in the match by selling like a fiend before finally wrapping things up with a Boston Crab. It helps that Q has fantastic new ring gear. That shouldn’t matter, but it does. Imagine Bruiser Brody in white trunks and normal boots. See? Rating: Three Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Davienne & Belmont w/Sammi Lane vs. The Twizted Sisterz (Thunder Rosa and Holidead)

The WWR (and maybe Rhode Island?) debut of the Sisterz, who have a terrible name but a a great Dia de los Muertos gimmick and work fantastically together, like an actual tag team is supposed to. Their opponents are locals and I can’t really figure them out. They have kind of a dominatrix gimmick (Belmont used to be “Mistress Belmont”) but kind of not? There’s something unsavory about them, anyway, and they’re really good at traditional heel stuff like cheating and being deeply annoying. Davienne screams in a way that’s like nails on a chalkboard. The Sisterz do most of the work in this match, which is fine, because they’re good wrestlers. Sammi Lane distracts the ref, enabling the cheap roll-up with a handful of tights, but the Sisterz get revenge by beating the hell out of Lane while Belmont and Davienne scamper back to the locker room. That’s classic wrestling storytelling, my friends. Rating: Three And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

INTERMISSION

Ring announcer Rich Palladino starts off the break by reminding us all not to grope the wrestlers. I don’t really mind these exhortations to behave like normal, non-criminal human beings, because let’s face it, there are at least a few wrestling fans who really need these guidelines to be explicit. I’m an unmarried dunce in my 30s who collects wrestling magazines and I’m Noel Coward compared to some of these guys. Just watching some of the interactions with the wrestlers at intermission (I always want to say “halftime”) was cringe-inducing. I was talking with two people and some guy who looked like a M.U.S.C.L.E. toy in a Bullet Club shirt was making a beeline for Sonya Strong and, instead of just stepping around us, stood at the edge of our three person huddle and kept saying, in a robotic monotone, “Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me” because we were in the direct path of Strong. We silently parted ways and watched him interact with Strong the way you or I might interact with a vending machine.

Speaking of creeps, I am one, although not quite as bad as M.U.S.C.L.E. guy, and my big goal for the evening was getting a mark picture with Su Yung, a wrestler I have wanted to see since 2015, and the reason I bought a ticket to the show in the first place. I thought I had glimpsed her before the show, in a Papa Hales T-shirt and with a bandanna over her face, talking to the bar staff, perhaps letting them know that, in a venue with both a Su Yung match and a bar, the two will inevitably collide. For most of the long (45 minutes) intermission, though, she was nowhere to be seen, and I was modestly bummed out. 

Then, just a few minutes before the end of intermission, she came out in full paint and Blood Bride garb, not to sell merch or pose for pictures, just to make a circuit of the room and creep people out. You know someone has something special when other wrestlers stop to take pictures of them. My pure beef heart went pitter-patter and I was stoked for the second half of the show. Speaking of which:

Gabi Castrovinci vs. Barbi Hayden

Castrovinci is no longer Raquel (let go from TNA) and Hayden is no longer blonde. Gabi was wearing the Shine tag team belt she currently holds with Santana Garrett, who is working for TNA now. Hayden looked better than I’ve ever seen her, really playing up the heelish tactics which, of course, made the goofy-ass crowd cheer for her. Hayden had to carry Castrovinci, who’s still pretty green, but is at least coming into her own. She won with kind of a sloppy cross armbreaker, and I thought the match was a bit lacking overall, but later on one of my friends said it had been his favorite of the night, so you know, de gustibus non est disputandum. Rating: Two Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Alexis Rose vs. Veda Scott

I am not hugely familiar with Alexis Rose, but she is one of the wrestlers who was in that (to date) one-off ITV World of Sport revival with Jim Ross, and she apparently trained in gymnastics, which I feel like is a vast pool of untapped potential for wrestling. She came out to a version of “Kiss From a Rose” and got the crowd singing along, but then Veda came out, and people in Providence love Veda. I don’t even mind that they cheer for the heel in her case, because her constant barrage of sarcasm and whiny protests to the referee are more like the stuff you get from a bratty kid sister. She is a lot of fun, is what I’m saying, and almost impossible to dislike. Wrestling-wise, this match was a bit spotty, maybe because the two were unfamiliar with each other. Both looked good in spots, but there was some awkwardness. Veda got the win and Rose got a “please come back” chant. Rating: Two And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Renee Michelle vs. Jordynne Grace

Another WWR debut, this time from Michelle, who has kind of a Hania-esque gimmick. Or maybe Hania has a Reneee Michelle-esque gimmick? I don’t know. No way to know. Only way to settle this is in the squared circle. But first! Jodynne Grace. At midnight on show night, she would turn 21. She’s really young and is already pretty dang impressive as a wrestler. Definitely capable of being in a Lady Hoss division with Sonya Strong, Vanity, and Karen Q. This looked to be a mismatch, because Michelle is much smaller, but got-dang, can she go in the ring. Really impressive array of offense from Michelle, based around the simple story of trying to chop down the bigger wrestler, who kept relying on her superior size. Grace won with a bear hug, which is normally a piss-poor submission hold, but in this case the size differential actually made it look impressive. After the match Penelope Ford brought Jordynne a birthday shot, which Jordynne drank and pronounced “disgusting.” Tip the bar staff, folks! Rating: Three And A Half Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

Su Yung vs. Rachael Ellering

Su came out and sprayed a plume of red mist in the air. I got some on my hands and face. I was really happy about that. Much happier than I would be in practically any other context in which someone is spitting red food color on me. This match went like lots of Su Yung matches have gone since the dawn of her Blood Bride character, but that’s fine, because I love those matches: the other wrestler is a normal person and not entirely sure about how to engage Su, who is a crazy person and bumps like you’d expect a crazy person to bump. Lots of brawling, moving quickly onto the floor and then, naturally, to the bar, where Su’s matches tend to go. Ellering hit a nasty suplex on Su on the nightclub floor. I have to say, Ellering looked really good in this match. She’s been coming along very quickly since making her debut in Shine not long ago. This match was originally going to be Ellering vs. Tessa Blanchard, but the latter had to pull out to film that movie the Rock is doing about Paige. Fine with me, man, this was great. Once they got back into the ring, there was a lot of back and forth offense, with Ellering getting the upper hand but not being able to put Su away. Su mists the ref by mistake and Ellering hits her finisher for the win. I BOOED. It doesn’t really matter, though, Su’s matches aren’t about winning or losing, they’re about the amount of insane punishment Su can take. Su got a nice “Su! Su! Su!” chant afterwards. Rating: Four Luke Bryan (sp?) Fans.

After the show, we waited around a bit and Su came out late, taking pictures with basically everyone. I got my mark picture and bought a signed photo, because I SUPPORT THE BOYS. There was a Dylan Thomas quote on the photo, oddly. She gave me a Fest Wrestling pin. As we talked, the DJ was playing “Washington Bullets” by the Clash. I felt light-headed. She seemed very nice, although, you know, I haven’t really met any wrestlers who seemed horrible. Actually, wait, a guy who’s a regular at NEW shows was a complete asshole when I ran into him in December. If you see me at a show, ask me for the full story of bad manners.

We went back to get our car, but the garage was full of Luke Bryan (sp?) fans departing the concert, so we went back to the venue to have a beer. Su and the Twizted Sisters were in civilian clothes but still had the facepaint on and were dancing around to the DJ music waiting for promoter Drew Cordeiro to drive them to their hotel. I had an Abita, which is a solid beer. Everyone in Rhode Island drinks Narragansett, and folks, you can do better than that.