#When did this title gain an article? Or was it always like that?

[barananduen-blog]

"GUARDIANS OF THE DAFENG" - EP.1 Dylan Wang as Xu Qi'an

[empty-movement]

Someday, Shine With Me...

It's Christmas Eve. It's 1997. You actually went to see the AWESOME Utena Musical over the weekend, and you have rewatched your VHS tape recordings of the last episode a dozen times.

You've been jamming out to Internal Clock, Municipal Orrery. You obtained a time machine to pour over episode commentaries by Ikuhara and Saito that cover the last three episodes. You've already stolen the script from be-Papas' office. You've even got a screencap gallery of it!

You've been watching along with some other internetizens, because forums are cool.

You've been staring at the insane art drop by Akemi Hayashi for this month's Animage Magazine:

You've been poring over the to-be-released creator commentary, transcribed by Vrai Kaiser, whose articles about Utena have been living rent free in your future head all year:

There are two meanings to the Japanese word utena. One is “the calyx of a flower.” That’s also the meaning of the title, of course. The thing that supports the beautiful petals; the one with the noble heart. And the other meaning of utena is “tall tower or pedestal.” We translated this into a visual: the tower at the center of Ohtori Academy, the one with the Chairman’s room on the top floor. And the dueling arena located deep in the woods is the same. In the early stages of production, when the story wasn’t firmly established yet, this was one of the aspects I most wanted to visualize and produce for the screen. A world where demons roam. In its center, a tower called the “Tower of Revolution.” Whosoever can remain victorious in his battles against the demons can reach the pinnacle of the Tower of Revolution, and at the same time receive the power to revolutionize the world; the power that changes the rules of the world. However, when he reaches the pinnacle, he learns the world’s governing laws. He faces the ultimate choice: will he stay nobly, beautifully powerless? Or will he accept ugliness into himself and gain absolute power? He desired both. Or rather, perhaps he couldn’t choose either. His mind in anguish, he divided himself in two. His “noble heart,” and the “adult with absolute power.” And so. With one last wish that the day would come when someone would awaken him, the “noble heart” that had lost its body, in other words the prince, fell into a deep sleep. Early on in the series’s conception, I kicked around the idea of placing something like the above at the heart of the story. Later, after several changes, it became the tale as you know it, but without a doubt, he did reach the pinnacle of the Tower of Revolution. It was a place where “eternity” dwelled. And “eternity” turned out to mean perpetual sleep. The prince (Akio) who became an adult while in perpetual sleep lost something. What he lost was “the power to create an enjoyable future.” Revolution means gaining “the power to imagine the future.” The prince chose to sleep on, and the princess chose to wake up. At the top of that tall tower, the princess bid farewell to the prince. No – she wasn’t the princess any longer. She quit being “a person (thing) ruled by someone.” The victory bells rang, but there was no “tower (rule)” beyond them now. She’d learned where freedom lay. She crossed the threshold of that “Door of Revolution” which had always been closed to her before, and began walking. The “girl’s revolution” lay in the girl’s future. “Wait for me…Utena.” The world (the stage) is free and wide.

You're not ready for Utena to end. Which is good, because it isn't going to. Not for you. Decades from now, Utena will still be here, speaking to you. Challenging you. Changing you.

[jokeroutsubs]

📝ENG Translation: Elle Men Special: A Fashion Odyssey with Kris Guštin

Article written by Ajda Gregorc, published in the November/December 2024 ELLE Slovenia Magazine. Print and digital versions of the magazine are available for purchase.

Scans and English translation by @kurooscoffee, review by @weolucbasu and a member of JokerOutSubs, proofread by IG GBoleyn123.

Full article translation, scans, and Spotify link are under the cut 👇

🎧 Article available in audio form on Spotify.

Elle Men Special: A Fashion Odyssey with Kris Guštin

With Kris Guštin, the music author and guitarist of Joker Out, we escaped to another side of music, and with that, to his other passion. We talked about style and everything connected to it. There will also be no shortage of this in the band's third album, titled 'Souvenir Pop', which is released on the 15th of November—one week after the issue of Elle you’re holding now. How perfectly synchronised we are!

PHOTOS URŠA PREMIK, STYLING ALENKA BIRK

At Ljubljana’s Moderna Café, on a fresh but lovely autumn Tuesday, when everyone’s still at work or in school, he arrives in a dark green jacket with a checkered pattern, awesome trousers, and her necklace. This time, the menu is not serving music and life, but matcha and "all things fashion." I’m in a regular trench coat and a white T-shirt, but luckily he doesn’t judge people by their style—instead, the style might be what piques his interest to converse, if it's good, of course. Besides, he's the one being interviewed. So, let’s begin! AJDA GREGORC

Interviewer: When did you first discover your personal style or the field of fashion? Was it in childhood or a bit later?

Kris: I roughly divide my life into two periods: before I first held a guitar, and after. When I really got into playing and ventured into music, my world opened up in all areas. Discovering fashion definitely falls into this second period, so the post-high school era. To be completely honest, my style in high school wasn’t something I’m particularly proud of today. (laughs) My girlfriend and I still have a photo of me wearing cargo pants and a black sweater, which is a proof she truly loves me, since that look was far from the best choice. (laughs)

When did it evolve from just a aesthetic impression to self-expression?

My first contact with fashion as a form of art or expression was during our band's first music video or fashion shoot, when I realised that this is also something you need to consider as a musician. At first, it seemed to me like a fairly peripheral element, but as our career developed and we met new people who gave us more insight into this, I began to understand its significance, what I could personally gain from it, and what we as a band could gain. This quickly developed into standard practice. I was increasingly exposed to fashion; we had more and more costume rehearsals and stylings, and two years ago, we even got our first proper stylist. And then I really committed to it—at around nineteen or twenty. Before that, my philosophy was always to "just wear whatever I first find in the closet," but then I shifted to "I'll wear things that would make me stand out from others". But this process was a long one.

So, your style development with the band inspired your personal growth too? I’ve always wondered if a young person is compelled to mature in every area when so many 'big things' happen all at once, as they did for you.

Maybe you do "grow old" in terms of personality sooner. Yes, at first I wanted, and still want, to primarily express the difference or uniqueness that I feel inside myself through music, but then I discovered that this goes very much hand in hand with fashion, so I started looking for my expression there as well. Today, it's almost an equally important part of my day.

Which fashion ideas or directions attract you? You’ve probably encountered a lot of inspiration during your travels on tour, right?

Definitely, but speaking purely origin-wise, I think I’m just like any other rock musician—we draw from the rock aesthetic of the ’60s and ’70s, which was also very "in" when my fashion awareness was born. Back then, around 2016 to 2018, here were a lot of flamboyant shirts on the music scene, with a slight hippie influence, which was the starting point. Only later did I start getting interested in slightly more modern clothes. When I was younger, I found myself in street fashion, that sort of Eminem-esque, hip-hop vibe, so very baggy clothes, which I then began to reject when I made the shift toward the ’60s and a slightly psychedelic aesthetic. It makes perfect sense, as humans tend to jump between extremes. When I had worked through that style, I started discovering the aesthetics of the ’80s and late ’90s, which was also reflected in music at the time. The best example that comes to mind is Dua Lipa’s previous album, which was in the style of the “new ’80s,” and the fashion matched that as well. Today, the early 2000s style has come back, but I haven’t fully decided whether I like it or not. As a musician, I was, of course, initially inspired by other music groups. Arctic Monkeys were a big inspiration for us both musically and visually, as was the whole British rock scene, including bands like The Kooks and Oasis. That entire aesthetic has always been strongly present with us. I doubt there’s a single inspiration board at our shoots that doesn’t include a photo of one of those bands or, for instance, the Beatles. And that aesthetic has always been close to my heart, too.

Rockers have always been associated with more masculine fashion elements, while in recent years, many male musicians have been experimenting with more feminine style elements (for example, Harry Styles and Lenny Kravitz). David Bowie was already the one who back then started to blur these fashion boundaries. You, too, wear such pieces and dare to stand out with them.

It happened quite naturally, as the stylists we worked with always chose slightly more “unmanly” clothing for me. This doesn’t necessarily mean women’s clothing, but rather somewhat more androgynous pieces, which I quickly embraced. I found them interesting and appealing because there’s a lot of fresh expression in that style that I don’t find in traditional men’s clothing, though I don’t want to overdo it. I also started experimenting with them personally, choosing many more varied colours. For a while, I was very fond of pink, and lately, I’ve been playing around with orange. On the cover of the album 'Demoni', I wore an orange-pink sweater.

Are we, as an audience here, already mature enough for a musician to present his feminine side through fashion? Does that require courage?

It does, there will always be people who won’t understand you. But for me, when it comes to the stage or a shoot, I’ll wear anything, and if I feel good in it, I don’t worry about what someone thinks. When I walk around "in civilian clothes," however, especially in Ljubljana, I am still aware if I’m dressed somewhat "untraditionally." There’s a certain boundary that I still need to break within myself. On stage, it’s easier because it’s not necessarily a hundred percent my expression; I’m playing a certain character, but personally, sometimes I do need some courage to show up in a particular style. However, the awareness of being different is stronger in Ljubljana than in other parts of the Western world. For example, I never felt that way in London, but still, our capital isn’t the worst when it comes to this.

Speaking of influences, what about other artistic or cultural movements?

I love art deco, the aesthetics of the '20s and '30s, though it doesn’t influence my daily life. In terms of photography, Damon Baker’s black-and-white style is beautiful. The vintage camera aesthetic has recently won me over, which will also be reflected in our band. Musically, over the past year, I’ve been listening to old Italian chansons and older French music, chansons as well, so I’m clearly feeling very retro this year. (smile)

Will the third album visually stand out from the previous ones then?

Yes, it will be very different. In the last two, we used a lot of colours, but there won’t be as many in this one.

Style can be an excellent tool for expressing an artist's authenticity, but with increasing success, the artist can also become its slave; the line is thin. Do you ever feel the pressure of having to express your fashion style in your private life as well?

No, I’ve never felt like my style owns me; it’s always been the opposite. I’ve always felt like I want more, like I want to dress even better than the day before, especially when it comes to my music career. Perhaps style only hangs over my head a bit when I have no inspiration and would rather wear sweatpants on an ordinary, relaxed day. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but then I do think about what would happen if I ended up somewhere in the middle of the city dressed like that.

It seems that Joker Out has developed a distinct style despite outside influences.

Yes, today we are already very complete in our style. Others have definitely had an influence on us, and I think it’s great that each of them tried to express themselves through us – it was interesting to experience how Joker Out was seen by Ponorelli, and how Andraž Drobnič or Karlo Kirri did. Of course, there is a difference in this, but it also aligns with the development of our music and aesthetics, so all these influences are very welcome.

How much of your personal fashion identity is therefore reflected in Joker Out?

Maybe, as someone who is not an external observer, I can't answer that, but I can say that I was always one of the first to give feedback to the stylist when we were creating our outfits, approving moodboards, and so on. So, I have definitely shaped our style in a direction that suits me. On certain "blind stylings," when we just dressed up, I quickly threw something on myself and then helped look for pieces for the other band members.

What about this photoshoot, where Alenka Birk took over the styling? Did you let her take the lead with her tactics, or did you collaborate on fashion choices? How did the communication go?

I didn’t know Alenka, who, by the way, is an excellent stylist, before. She was recommended by Urša (the photographer, ed.). Later, she confided in me that she had also worked with my father. Alenka focuses on elegant men's fashion, which is a departure from this more fluid fashion; and this suited me because I had never really been photographed in a men's suit, jacket, and tie. I wanted to try something new. I hadn’t seen the outfits before the day of the photoshoot when we met in her small studio in the morning. There were nine of them in total, and we only swapped out a piece or two in at most three of the looks.

This is more of an exception than a rule in fashion photoshoots. Does that mean you felt good in them?

Yes. In some more so, obviously, but in others, you have to trust the people you're working with. When I first look in the mirror, I always keep in mind that if something isn't optimal, it doesn't mean it won’t work well on camera. Even if the pants are too short or creased, it's still worth photographing them, because the photo can be edited later, whereas on stage, it's a different story, and everything has to already be perfect in the mirror. Working with Alenka was very simple; we clicked really well, and I will definitely work with her again.

How linked are your confidence and the way you feel on stage with your styling?

Very connected. As a musician, you want to enjoy yourself as much as possible on stage, and the people who come to listen to you and pay for the ticket deserve to see you at your best, which means you have to feel good in every aspect.

You recently attended Ljubljana Fashion Week. Which of the local fashion designers do you like to follow?

As far as the Slovenian fashion scene is concerned, I’m still quite the beginner, so I only knew the designers we had worked with. This was my first time visiting the Fashion Week.

Which shows did you watch?

On the first day, all of them. I didn’t like everything, but what stuck in my mind was Sarivalenci¹ with their somewhat "country club", Lana Del Rey vibe, and golf moment. I also really enjoyed the Belgrade Fashion Week, as there was an obvious Balkan touch, which I would love to see more of in Slovenia.

¹Sarivalenci is a Slovene high fashion brand created by fashion designer Sari Valenci.

You are a fan of vintage clothes and second-hand shops. What do these pieces have for you that new ones don't?

Honestly, I don’t know if there’s an objective explanation why. I started getting into it because it was popular, and at the same time, it gives you the feeling of getting a more unique piece. At the same time, you're shopping sustainably and not contributing to the production of unnecessary new textiles on Earth, which is great, but I would be lying if I said that’s my main motivation. What I like the most is the experience of "flipping" through clothes, where each piece is different, like a treasure hunt, compared to regular stores where you "flip" through the same clothes in different sizes.

Did your mum, who comes from the Netherlands where people have been aware of this for many years, introduce you to this concept?

I wouldn’t say we talked much about it at home, but I literally lived it. This is probably true for Slovenians in general – almost all the clothes I had as a child were from older peers, or I would take something from my dad, too. When I was done with wearing the clothes, my brother would wear them too. Every piece of clothing that came into our house was passed around, which is a great practice, and it’s still like that today. My sister "stole" half of my sweaters, my mum sometimes takes something too, Maks borrows jackets from my dad, which I’ve also done myself. It's like we all share one big closet! (laughs)

So you have influenced each other’s style in your family, or rather, you still do so? Who has otherwise had the most influence on your style in the past, and who does today?

I don’t remember ever looking at my parents as role models in this regard, as I didn’t really think about it back then, but they definitely influenced me, at least subconsciously. When I see how my mom dresses today, I see parallels with my own style, so she probably did influence me, perhaps more than my dad. As for street style, which I mentioned at the beginning, it might have been inherited from my uncle, my aunt’s husband from the Netherlands, who wore loose sweaters and listened to hip hop. My mum also had an uncle from the Indonesian side of the family, whom I never met, but he was very eccentric. Some of his clothes made their way to us over the years, and when I looked at these pieces in the closet, I was fascinated by how they reflected his personality. Asian fashion became a bit closer to me because of this, and I might even explore it someday.

The heart necklace you wear all the time, even today, is from your girlfriend. Do you ever dress your girlfriend or does she dress you?

My girlfriend is very fashion-oriented and has played a big role in my fashion development. She has always encouraged me when I tried new clothes that, at the time, seemed more radical to me. In this way, she partially shaped me. We also really enjoy shopping together. She dresses me more often than I dress her, which means I ask her for opinion. There have also been times when we’ve dressed the same when it comes to basic pieces; we’ve never really styled each other, but there will probably be time for that in the future.

Where do you like to go for vintage pieces in Ljubljana? Did you find any gems while on tour across Europe?

Textile House Vintage Shop is, in my opinion, by far the best in Ljubljana. The next one is Humana on Stritarjeva street, where I find something every now and then. Abroad, we’ve visited many vintage shops in Dublin, Paris, and London. In the latter, I always go to Brick Lane, which is a street with vintage shops in the east side of central London, where the more hipster area starts. The downside is that it quickly becomes quite an expensive experience.

What kind of information can you deduce about a person based on what they’re wearing? Who, in your opinion, is truly well-dressed?

A person’s style is never a reason not to engage in conversation with them, but it is a very strong stimulator of my interest in that person. If I think someone is really well-dressed, I automatically assume they might think similarly to me and be interested in the same artistic, musical, or visual directions, so I’m more eager to talk to them. However, I’ve often met people who didn’t seem interestingly dressed, and later realised they were amazing people, even if they dressed completely casually.

Your audience expresses itself very differently in terms of fashion, as your parents also mentioned in a recent interview for Elle. How do you as a band perceive this?

Yes, what they meant was that it is no longer the case that you have to be "appropriately" dressed for a rock concert. When we observe the audience from the stage, I would say that the most typical thing for our time is that we are no longer genre-bound. Not just musically, but also in terms of fashion. 30 or 40 years ago, you would see people at a rock concert in leather jackets, black shoes, and jeans, and that was it. Today, you have flamboyant outfits with blue and green hair in one corner, gothic style in another, and of course, people in simple t-shirts and pants somewhere in the middle. And no one feels like they don’t belong; everyone sings our songs, and that’s really nice.

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❗Please do not repost without credit, and if you quote, please link back to this post!

[muiitoloko]

I just read Elliott fic when they have some domestic discipline and firstly I love it !!! Secondly, I read someone in the comment talking about Lionel and Turpin and it could fit them but what about a character no one would think about ??? Like Sinclair ! It’s so out of character and in the same time, I can imagine him and his partner having it as a fun sexual game because of course Sinclair is not a punisher, but he needs spices in his sexual life after his bitchy ex !

Title: Bedroom Boundaries

Summary: The exploration of new boundaries in the bedroom reveals Sinclair's hidden desires and deepens the connection between lovers.

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant × Fem! Reader

Warnings: Smut, BDSM.

Author's Notes: That's an interesting idea! I have to admit, it's a bit challenging to picture Sinclair as a dominant because he gives off such Golden Retriever vibes. But I went ahead and wrote about it, doing my best to keep the essence of Sinclair intact. Hope you enjoy it! 😄

Also read on Ao3

Sinclair was quite silent that night, you noticed as you brushed your hair in front of the mirror. You looked at him in the reflection, watching as he moved his fingers silently. He was reclining on the bed, his back against the headboard and the sheets pulled up to his lap. Sinclair always played with his fingers and was silent when he wanted to tell you something but wasn't sure if he should say it.

"What's on your mind, Clair?" you asked softly, putting down the brush and turning to face him. His brown eyes met yours, filled with a mixture of uncertainty and desire.

He hesitated for a moment, his blond hair slightly tousled, and his hooked nose casting a shadow over his intense gaze. "It's just... I've been thinking about something," he began, his baritone voice low and hesitant. "Something I want to try with you."

You walked over to the bed, sitting down beside him and taking his hand in yours. "You know you can tell me anything," you encouraged, your voice gentle.

Sinclair took a deep breath, his fingers tightening around yours. "I want to explore something new with you," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Something a bit... dirtier than what we've done before."

Your heart skipped a beat at his words, a thrill of anticipation coursing through you. "Tell me more," you urged, your own voice filled with curiosity and excitement.

He looked at you hesitantly before finally starting to speak, his fingers nervously intertwining with yours. "I bought a magazine about, well, sex," Sinclair began, his voice shaky. "And in the magazine, there was an article about BDSM. It caught my attention, so I did some research about it—about dominance and submission."

Sinclair paused, his brown eyes searching yours for any sign of discomfort. Seeing none, he continued, his voice gaining a bit more confidence. "I really want to experiment with you. But I won't insist if you don't want to."

You stopped, absorbing his words, a little surprised. You couldn't imagine Sinclair as a dominant man. He was like a Golden Retriever—innocent and eager to please. Even now, when you lived together, he still asked permission to kiss you. The idea of him being dominant in bed was a surprise.

"What exactly do you want to do?" you asked, your curiosity piqued.

Sinclair's cheeks flushed slightly, but he didn't look away. "The spanking part caught my attention," he admitted. "I really want to have that with you. I want to spank your ass, and you'd be submissive to me. Of course, not for real. We'd have a safe word, and you could use it if it ever became too much."

Your heart raced at his words, a mix of excitement and apprehension swirling within you. "And... you'd make some rules in the bedroom?" you asked, trying to picture the scenario.

Sinclair nodded, his fingers tightening around yours. "Yes, I could create some rules for us to follow. Like, you would address me as 'Sir' during our sessions, and I'd expect you to obey my commands. If you misbehave, you'd get spanked as a punishment."

You bit your lip, the idea of submitting to Sinclair sending a thrill of anticipation through you. "And what would you do if I obeyed?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

Sinclair's eyes darkened with desire, his voice dropping to a low, seductive rumble. "If you obey, you'd be rewarded. I could make you feel so good, give you pleasure like never before."

The thought of Sinclair taking control, of being both your punisher and your pleasure-giver, sent a shiver down your spine. "I'd like to try," you said softly, your own desire evident in your voice.

Sinclair's eyes lit up with a mixture of relief and excitement. "Thank you," he murmured, his fingers caressing your cheek. "We'll take it slow, and remember, you can always use the safe word if you need to stop."

You nodded, feeling a rush of anticipation. "What's the safe word?"

"Let's use 'red'," Sinclair suggested, his voice filled with affection. "If you say 'red', everything stops immediately."

"Okay, 'red' it is," you agreed, feeling a sense of security in the clear boundaries being set.

Sinclair smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he moved to sit up straighter on the bed. "Now, let's start with something simple," he said, his voice taking on a more authoritative tone. "Strip for me."

Your breath hitched at the command, but you felt a thrill of excitement as you began to remove your clothes, piece by piece, under his watchful gaze. Sinclair's eyes roamed over your body, his desire evident in the way he licked his lips.

Once you were fully naked, Sinclair's eyes darkened with lust. "Good girl," he murmured, his voice a low, seductive purr. "Now, come here and lay across my lap."

You moved to obey, your heart racing as you draped yourself over his lap, your bare skin pressed against his. Sinclair's hand rested on your ass, his touch gentle yet possessive.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice filled with a mix of excitement and tenderness.

"Yes, Sir," you replied, the title feeling strangely natural as it left your lips.

Sinclair's hand came down in a firm, controlled spank, the sensation sending a jolt of pleasure through your body. He continued, each spank growing slightly harder, his other hand caressing your back in a soothing gesture.

But Sinclair wasn't used to this, you noticed, because every time you made a strange noise, he would stop and question if you were okay and if you wanted to stop. This amused you; it was clear that Sinclair was not used to being dominant, although he tried. So, you decided to provoke him a bit.

"Is everything okay?" Sinclair asked for the third time, his hand hovering over your reddened skin.

You bit your lip, suppressing a smile. "I'm fine, Sir," you replied, your voice a mix of reassurance and challenge. "Is that the best you can do?"

Sinclair's eyes widened slightly, his cheeks flushing as he processed your words. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice hesitant.

You wiggled your hips slightly, pressing yourself more firmly against his lap. "I mean, I thought you wanted to punish me, Sir," you said, your voice dripping with playful defiance. "But it feels like you're holding back. Maybe you're not cut out for this."

Sinclair's eyes darkened with a mix of uncertainty and determination. "Oh, really?" he murmured, his voice low and slightly shaky. "You think I can't handle being in charge?"

You smirked, enjoying the way his fingers tightened on your skin. "I think you're too gentle," you teased, your voice a seductive whisper. "I don't think you have it in you to really dominate me."

Sinclair's expression shifted, a spark of resolve igniting in his eyes. "Is that so?" he said, his voice gaining a bit more confidence. "Well, let's see about that."

Without warning, Sinclair's hand came down in a firmer spank, the sharp crack echoing in the room. You gasped, a mixture of pleasure and surprise coursing through you. "That's more like it," you moaned, your voice laced with encouragement.

Sinclair's hand continued to spank you, each slap growing harder and more deliberate. "You're such a naughty girl," he murmured, his baritone voice filled with a mix of excitement and nervousness. "You need to learn your place."

You arched your back, pushing your ass up to meet his hand. "Yes, Sir," you gasped, the thrill of his newfound confidence sending waves of pleasure through you. "Teach me, Sir."

Sinclair's hand paused, his fingers tracing the red marks on your skin. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked, his voice filled with a mix of wonder and desire.

You looked back at him over your shoulder, your eyes filled with lust. "Yes, Sir," you admitted, your voice breathy. "I love it when you take control."

Sinclair's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, his hand resuming its rhythmic spanking. "Good," he murmured, his voice gaining a more commanding tone. "Because I'm not done with you yet."

As his hand continued to punish you, Sinclair's other hand moved to caress your back, his touch both soothing and possessive. "You're mine," he growled, his voice thick with desire. "All mine."

You moaned in response, the mix of pain and pleasure driving you wild. "Yes, Sir," you gasped, your body trembling with need. "I'm yours."

Sinclair's hand stilled, his fingers trailing down to tease your entrance. "Tell me how much you want it," he demanded, his voice a low, seductive rumble.

"I want it so badly, Sir," you whimpered, your voice filled with desperation. "Please, take me. Use me."

Sinclair's eyes darkened with lust, his fingers slipping inside you, his touch firm and demanding. "Good girl," he murmured, his voice filled with satisfaction. "Now, beg for it."

"Please, Sir," you begged, your voice trembling with need. "Please fuck me. I need you inside me."

Sinclair's smirk widened, his confidence growing with each passing moment. "That's more like it," he murmured, his fingers pumping in and out of you with increasing speed. "You're such a good little slut for me."

You froze in his lap, and so did Sinclair. He had never called you that before, and it was a surprise for both of you. Sinclair remained still, his fingers paused inside you, his face flushed with a mixture of shock and regret.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Sinclair began, his voice shaky and filled with panic. "I shouldn't have said that. You're not a little slut. It was wrong of me to say that. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have even proposed this game of submission and dominance. I—"

You silenced him by pushing yourself against his fingers, ignoring his excuses as you looked at him with intense desire. "Shut up, Sinclair," you whispered, your voice dripping with lust. "I am your dirty little slut."

Sinclair's eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to process your words. "But—" he started, but you cut him off with a fierce look.

"Call me that again," you demanded, your voice firm and commanding. "I want to hear it from your lips."

Sinclair's breath hitched, his fingers instinctively moving inside you again. "You're... my dirty little slut," he whispered, his voice filled with a mix of hesitation and desire.

You moaned, pushing yourself harder against his fingers. "Yes, Sir," you gasped, your voice thick with need. "Your dirty little slut who loves being used by you. Please, Sir, fuck me like the slut I am."

Sinclair's eyes darkened with lust, his confidence returning as he watched you writhe in his lap. "You really are a dirty little slut." he murmured, his voice gaining strength. "You love it when I call you that, don't you?"

"Yes, Sir," you moaned, your body trembling with anticipation. "I love it. I love being your dirty little slut. Please, Sir, fuck me harder."

Sinclair's hand moved faster, his fingers thrusting in and out of you with renewed intensity. "You want more, don't you?" he growled, his baritone voice filled with dominance. "You want me to treat you like the slut you are."

"Yes, Sir," you gasped, your voice barely above a whisper. "I want more. I want you to use me, to fuck me like the dirty slut I am."

Sinclair's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, his confidence growing with each passing moment. "You're mine," he growled, his voice a low, dangerous purr. "All mine. And I'm going to make sure you never forget it."

With that, he pulled his fingers out of you, his hands moving to position you on the bed. "On your hands and knees," he commanded, his voice filled with authority. "I want to see you begging for my cock."

You obeyed without hesitation, your heart racing with excitement as you positioned yourself on the bed, your ass raised high in the air. Sinclair moved behind you, his eyes dark with desire as he took in the sight before him.

"Please, Sir," you begged, your voice trembling with need. "I need you inside me. I need to feel your cock fucking me hard."

Sinclair's smirk widened, his hands gripping your hips as he positioned himself at your entrance. "You want it that badly, huh?" he teased, his voice filled with dark promise. "Well, you're going to get it."

With one swift, decisive motion, Sinclair thrust into you, filling you completely. You cried out in a mix of pleasure and surprise, your body arching against him as he began to move.

"Look at you," he murmured, his voice a mix of admiration and lust. "My dirty little slut, ready and waiting for me."

You looked over your shoulder, your gaze locking onto Sinclair. He seemed quite different, nothing like your Golden Retriever that he normally was. His blond hair was slightly tousled, his hooked nose casting shadows over his intense brown eyes. You still weren't sure if dominance suited him, but damn, he was so hot now, all dominant and talking dirty. You had never heard him talk dirty before, and you didn't even know he was capable of it. A brief thought flitted through your mind, wondering if his cheating ex-wife, Natalie, had ever heard him talk dirty like this.

Sinclair's grip on your hips tightened as he continued to thrust into you, his voice filled with a mix of authority and raw desire. "Look at you, taking my cock so well," he growled, his baritone voice sending shivers down your spine. "You're such a good little slut for me, aren't you?"

"Yes, Sir," you moaned, your body arching against him. "I'm your good little slut. Please, don't stop."

Sinclair's smirk widened, his confidence growing with each passing moment. "You love it when I fuck you like this, don't you?" he murmured, his voice thick with lust. "You love being my dirty little whore."

"Yes, Sir," you gasped, your voice trembling with need. "I love it. I love being your dirty little whore."

Sinclair's thrusts grew harder and more deliberate, his hands roaming over your body as he claimed you completely. "I want to hear you scream my name," he demanded, his voice a low, seductive rumble. "I want everyone to know who you belong to."

You cried out, the intensity of his words and the pleasure coursing through you driving you wild. "Sinclair!" you screamed, your voice filled with ecstasy. "Oh, God, Sinclair!"

"That's it," he growled, his baritone voice filled with satisfaction. "Scream for me. Let everyone know who fucks you like this."

You pushed back against him, your body trembling with the intensity of your need. "Fuck me harder, Sir," you begged, your voice thick with desire. "Make me cum. Please, make me cum."

Sinclair's eyes darkened with lust, his grip on your hips tightening as he pounded into you with relentless intensity. "You're going to cum for me," he growled, his voice a low, dangerous purr. "You're going to cum so hard, and I'm going to fill you up with my cum. You're mine, all mine."

You moaned, the pleasure building to a dizzying peak as Sinclair drove you closer and closer to the edge. "Yes, Sir," you gasped, your body trembling with anticipation. "I'm so close. Please, don't stop."

Sinclair slapped your ass, and you screamed at the blow, which made Sinclair flinch slightly. His worry overcame him as he thought he might have hurt you, and the idea killed him. You noticed his hesitation and looked over your shoulder, pushing yourself against him.

"Sinclair," you murmured, your voice filled with a mix of challenge and curiosity, "have you ever done something like this to your ex-wife, Natalie? Did you fuck her like that? Did you talk dirty to her?"

Sinclair's face flushed a deep red, his fingers tightening on your hips as he processed your question. "No," he admitted, his voice shaky. "I never did anything like this with her."

You pushed back against him, feeling a thrill of excitement at his admission. "Then show me, Sinclair," you urged, your voice dripping with lust. "Show me how much more you want me than you ever wanted her. Fuck me like you never fucked her."

Sinclair's eyes darkened with a mix of desire and determination, his grip on your hips tightening as he resumed his thrusts, harder and more deliberate than before. "You're mine," he growled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "All mine. And I'll make sure you know it."

You moaned at his words, the pleasure and intensity of his thrusts driving you wild. "Yes, Sir," you gasped, your body trembling with need. "I'm yours. Only yours."

Sinclair's confidence grew with each passing moment, his hand coming down in another firm slap on your ass, the sharp crack echoing in the room. "That's right," he growled, his baritone voice filled with satisfaction. "You're my dirty little slut, and I'll fuck you harder than I ever fucked anyone else."

You cried out at the intensity of his thrusts, the mix of pain and pleasure sending waves of ecstasy through your body. "Please, Sir," you begged, your voice thick with desire. "Don't stop. I need you so badly."

Sinclair's hand moved to your hair, gripping it firmly as he pulled your head back, forcing you to look at him. "Look at you," he murmured, his voice filled with a mix of admiration and dominance. "So desperate for my cock. So eager to please."

You whimpered at the intensity of his gaze, the pleasure building to a dizzying peak. "Yes, Sir," you moaned, your voice trembling with need. "I love it. I love being your dirty little whore."

Sinclair's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, his thrusts growing even more intense. "You want it that badly, huh?" he teased, his voice filled with dark promise. "Well, you're going to get it."

With each powerful thrust, Sinclair drove you closer and closer to the edge, the pleasure overwhelming your senses. "Fuck, Sinclair!" you screamed, your body trembling with anticipation. "I'm so close. Please, don't stop."

"You're going to cum for me," he growled, his voice a low, dangerous purr. "You're going to cum so hard, and I'm going to fill you up with my cum. You're mine, all mine."

You moaned, the intensity of his words and the pleasure coursing through you driving you wild. "Yes, Sir," you gasped, your body trembling with need. "I'm yours. Only yours."

Sinclair's grip on your hair tightened, his thrusts growing more erratic as he chased his own climax. "Cum for me," he demanded, his voice thick with desire. "Show me just how much you love being fucked by me."

With a final, powerful thrust, Sinclair pushed you over the edge, sending you spiraling into another mind-blowing orgasm. You cried out his name, your body convulsing with the intensity of your release as Sinclair continued to pound into you, drawing out every last bit of pleasure.

Sinclair's thrusts stuttered before he came, filling you with his seed. You moaned at the sensation, your body trembling with the aftershocks of your orgasm as he groaned in pleasure, his fingers digging into your hips. As he calmed down, Sinclair pulled out of you and collapsed onto the bed next to you, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He pulled you into his chest, his shirt now stuck against his skin from sweat, having only taken off his boxer shorts to fuck you.

You watched as the dominant Sinclair disappeared, replaced by the familiar, gentle Golden Retriever demeanor you knew so well. He began to chatter, his voice filled with a mixture of worry and affection. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he blurted out, his brown eyes wide with concern. "I didn't mean to cum inside you without asking first. I got so caught up in the moment, and I—"

You silenced him with a kiss, your fingers tangling in his blond hair as you pressed your lips to his. "It's okay, Sinclair," you murmured against his mouth, your voice filled with reassurance. "I wanted it. I loved it."

Sinclair's expression softened, his cheeks flushing as he looked at you with a mixture of relief and affection. "Really?" he asked, his voice still tinged with uncertainty. "I just... I never want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

You smiled, caressing his cheek with your thumb. "You didn't," you assured him. "You were amazing. I loved every second of it."

Sinclair let out a relieved sigh, his arms tightening around you as he nuzzled your neck. "I'm glad," he murmured, his voice returning to its usual chatty tone. "I was so worried. I've never done anything like that before, and I wasn't sure if I was doing it right."

You laughed softly, the sound mingling with the remnants of your earlier moans. "You did great, Sinclair," you replied, your voice filled with genuine affection. "You were perfect."

Sinclair's eyes lit up with a mixture of pride and happiness. "Thank you," he said, his voice warm and filled with emotion. "I really enjoyed it, too. It's nice to try new things and explore together."

You nodded, feeling a sense of contentment settle over you as you lay in his arms. "I agree," you murmured, your fingers tracing patterns on his chest. "I love exploring with you."

Sinclair smiled, his hooked nose casting shadows over his intense gaze. "There's so much more I want to try," he admitted, his voice filled with excitement. "I want to keep exploring, keep learning about what we both enjoy."

You looked up at him, your eyes filled with affection. "I'm looking forward to it," you said softly, your voice filled with anticipation. "I love you, Sinclair."

Sinclair's eyes softened, his expression filled with genuine love and affection. "I love you too," he murmured, pressing a tender kiss to your forehead. "And I promise, I'll always make sure you're comfortable and happy."

You smiled, feeling a sense of warmth and security in his embrace. "I know you will," you whispered, your voice filled with confidence. "And I'll always be here, exploring and learning with you."

As you lay there, entwined in each other's arms, the world outside seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you lost in the sweet afterglow of your shared passion. The night had been intense, filled with a delicious mix of pleasure and pain, but in that moment, all that mattered was the connection between you and Sinclair, the man who could satisfy you in ways you had never imagined.

[aequorin-fr]

About Account Closures, Banxiety, etc

Good morning, Flight Rising Tumblr!

I posted a reblog not that long ago (this morning) responding to banxiety concerns. It appears to have been eaten by Tumblr, which happens; but I know a lot of you are concerned and there's a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings flying about. So I'm going to go ahead and repost this directly to the tags so anyone with concerns or anxiety can see this <3 (06:47 Flight Rising server time: Title edited to be clearer.)

—————

Oh dear, there's been quite a misunderstanding. What you've described here isn't true and likely to send our players into a banxiety panic. I'm sure that's not what you meant to do and I'm happy to clarify where I can!

We're fully aware people can change physical locations throughout the day which means their IPs will change. Some folks play or check in from home, school, work, a friend's house, etc. That means their account will log multiple IP addresses on any given day, sometimes within a thirty minute period.

Example: Player accesses on their school network —> School lets out —> They access via mobile data on transit —> Player then logs in on their home network

Closing accounts for having multiple IP addresses associated with them—especially in the mobile era!—would be wrong. And, frankly, absurd.

Account closures are based on activity data and reviewed by staff. Do we always get it 100% right? No, of course not. We're human. We make mistakes. Sometimes we do close an account in error and upon review, reopen the account. And sometimes it even means an account we're almost certain is cheating stays open a bit longer, because of that chance we're wrong.

Unless by "moving stuff over" you mean funneling to a new account, because our Terms of Use are clear that players agree to register only one account per individual. Multiple accounts provide a player not only with multiple opportunities for dailies and Roundsey, but access to various Flight Forums (including private Flight Dominance planning!) not just their original Flight, ways around our block feature, and the means to scam players during trades, giveaways, etc. The above ranges from cheating and gaining an advantage over others to outright harassment.

Now, there is also friend and family member funneling, where someone stops playing for themselves and just starts sending the earnings from their dailies or festivals to their friend or family member. That's still cheating and we've been clear about that for some time now.

Finally, we don't discuss account actions with third-parties and we don't discuss them publicly for privacy, security, and safety reasons. Even when the player who lost their account takes to the forums or social media with claims that are untrue, exaggerated, or minimize/downplay the violation that lead to the closure of their account. Unless they've taken the extra step to alter a screenshot as "proof" we said or did something we didn't do, we can't engage with their claims. This means the community will only see one side of the story, one version of events.

And as a note for anyone following along and concerned about their account, we do have an article in our Knowledge Base that explains account penalties: Account Penalties Explained.

I hope this helps clarify the confusion and concerns surrounding account closures! You don't have to worry about logging multiple IPs, moving, playing with your friends or family, etc. <3

[ashkillgore]

Nosferatu

I will make a review because I can first of all and because no one will actually see this. BUT, I did not like the movie. and No it is not because I was sitting there clutching my pearls because monster banging. I did not like it for many reasons but the glaring reason is that: even though vampires have always been sexual, and an allegory for SA and abuse inherently, the fact that Nosferatu actually committed the acts took away from the symbolism of it. How can it be metaphorical and a manifestation of the trauma abuse can cause if the vampire is actually banging? it comes across so differently, and I know, because the actions were actually committed and not implied, the less informed are going to get the wrong impression of the movie. Which was made clear when I saw two articles written about the movie contain "love triangle" in the title, and during an interview Depp herself called it a love triangle. the Dracula book handled the topics much more tastefully, even though it was written a million years ago. Furthermore, Van Helsing is the best part of dracula (I forget what they called him in the movie but it was the professor, Willem Dafoe) but they totally nerfed him so that Depp could be the hero by s*x killing the vampire, when I think the plot would of been so much better and they still could of had a woman hero if they had just made Van Helsing a Woman. But that was more of a personal gripe because I missed the character, my bigger issue is that it was weird that Depp's character was the "chosen one" or it had to be her. Because in Dracula the count just prays on whoever is the easiest target and whatever he can get because that is how an abuser things. If Dracula is supposed to be symbolic of a real predator, I feel like it is a harmful rhetoric to make it seem like his victims are special and chosen for a reason, when a big part of Dracula is that they're not, no one is special to him. You do not have to be special to gain favor with an abuser, they do not actually care about you. Also, (again more of a personal gripe) but on an artistic level the jump scares were just annoying. They were gratuitous! And it wasn't even scary visuals it was just really loud. it was all jump scares, hardly any suspense. for example, the carriage coming to pick him up and take him to the castle should have been EERIE, not a jump scare? I literally said "really?" in the theater that's how annoying it was. And before anyone gets on me about "Stop comparing it to Dracula it isn't based off dracula it is based off the 1920s silent film blah blah blah" the 1920s film is ALSO based on Dracula. It is literally the same story they just called it Nosferatu because they didn't have the rights to make the movie, and even with the different name the Stoker estate still sued them and won. In sum, biggest issue was rhe first, that the movie being so forward defeated the purpose of the vampire being symbolic, and made it feel more like a horny vampire instead of a larger commentary on a societal issue. (I'm being hyperbolic but you get my point). 2/10 stars! just read dracula it is a good book.

[joandraws]

Connie Converse

Maybe you've heard of her, maybe you haven't. I'm writing this for those who haven't.

Connie may well be the first American singer-songwriter, though her name remains relatively obscure. I only stumbled upon her music recently and was instantly captivated by it. My fascination with her artistry drove me to delve deeper into her life and the mystery surrounding her disappearance. This exploration took an emotional toll, as I found myself relating to her on a profound level. Her lyrics already resonated with me, but as I delved into her story and read parts of her final letter titled "To Anyone Who Ever Asks," the line, "Let me go, let me be if I can, let me not be if I can't," moved me to tears. I suddenly felt like her disappearance was such a significant loss to the world.

Then a strange thing happened as I was painting this portrait of her. I glanced at my worn-out, old Intuos4 graphic tablet (yes, it still works), its stickers peeling off, and I couldn't help but cry. In a hypothetical scenario (if I also disappeared) where someone as sensitive as me discovered my possessions, viewed my art, and learned about my life, they might feel the same way about me. In that moment, I gained a newfound appreciation for my art, for what I do, and for who I am.

Being proud of my art has always been a challenge for me. Typically, I create and release my work into the world, allowing it to find its own audience. And I have to admit that a lot of the time I even dislike my art. But lately, I've been working on having the same level of appreciation for my own work as I do for others. I'm sharing this because I know there are many artists, like me, who are excessively self-critical. Yes, I struggle with perfectionism, but even more than that, I used to be so self-critical to the extent that I would stop myself from creating at all.

This year, however, through my personal sketchbook project, I've made a conscious effort to change that. I've been focusing more on savoring the process of simply putting pen to paper.

But enough about me for now; let's shift our attention back to Connie Converse, and I'll just leave this sentence that her brother Philip Converse wrote about her:

"Sis was a genius and a polymath. I do not use the terms lightly. Connie was a poet, a writer of scholarly articles, a cartoonist, a painter, a would-be novelist by her own description, an activist, sculptor, and among other things a songwriter."

She wrote most of her songs between 1950 and 1955 when she was in her late 20s, living in New York City. While they do evoke that period, they are also timeless.

There's another intriguing aspect about her, at least from my perspective. Based on my reading and the accounts of those who knew her, it's my personal belief that she may have been on the asexual spectrum. I don't mean to speculate or offend her family, but this is just my personal opinion. Her music often delved into themes of loneliness and isolation, but it also celebrated her independence and contentment with being on her own. It's evident that she grappled with depression and often felt unheard. If she indeed fell within the asexual spectrum, it's highly plausible that she also carried feelings of being different or "broken," a common experience for asexual individuals, including myself.

There has also been speculation that she might have been a lesbian, though it remains just speculation. Ultimately, we'll never truly know, and her personal life remains her own business. I believe there might be a connection between these aspects. She was undeniably brilliant, and while it might be wishful thinking on my part, the fact that she was never found and her family respected her wishes allows me to imagine that she might still be out there somewhere. I hope she senses how much people cherish her music now and realizes how deeply appreciated she is.

Thank you for reading if you did! If you want to know more about Connie Converse you can listen to Spinning On Air's beautiful podcast episodes about her here, here and here.

[oldguy56-world]

A Farewell to Arms

If you read the title and clicked on to the blog believing it would be a thoughtful dissertation of the Ernest Hemingway classic novel, boy did you come to the wrong place. I am not that deep. I have read upwards of 2-1/2 books in my life and none were by him. Sorry to disappoint.

If, however, you follow my blogs and understand that this is probably another article concerning my ever declining body parts: read on.

When I was young I had thick strong arms. I inherited them from my father who was half bear. (I have no proof other than what I can remember about him). I have been compared more to a gorilla, with one of my friends referring to me on occasion as Magilla. If you have no idea who or what that is, I can't be bothered to explain. I will instead direct you to the Hanna/Barbera website.

Getting back to what I am attempting to share, I once had strong arms. Now, not so much. I can't lift what I once did and that is sad. Stamina in my strength is also an issue. The best example I can give are my blogs. They are written on a Monday for a reason. We grocery shop on Fridays (stay with me on this) and the exertion expended by yours truly requires the entire weekend of R&R to gain back enough strength to type out these little gems. (That's right! I do no chores on weekends to recover. That is my story and I am sticking to it.) Arms are important as they prevent your hands from growing out of your shoulders. There are advantages to that like never having to reach for a check in a restaurant but otherwise it would be inconvenient.

With that in mind, here are some points about my strength loss:

It does help me eat less as my arms tire, but there is a chance in suffocating in my food as my face falls into my food with exhaustion,

When I was young I could grab food and hang on to it. My less than 4 year old grandson can take it out of my hand now. Very sad.

I can now properly execute 1 push-up before collapsing.

I would love to carry my grandchildren but I am fearful of dropping them. I believe their parents would frown on that.

This year for the first time I ordered a Baconator. It was tasty but it also took me three days to recover enough strength to shave.

I was always respectful of my wife but now I know that her small frame can easily take me in a fight. That is not respect it is fear.

People think I am lazy or snobbish when I don't help them move furniture. I just don't want them to see me faint.

I have to take my wife grocery shopping just in case I can't lift something to put into the cart. When I go alone I only buy light things like cheezies or popcorn. I haven't bought a watermelon by myself since before Covid.

Should I be in the middle of nowhere with no cell coverage and I get a flat, that is where my car will stay. My legs still work.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: None of us stays the way we were when we were young. We just have to learn how to deal with it.

[tokubf]

[picrew used]

While I was writing about Lucius, I thought of making a TGAA OC, who is his friend when he first came to London. This is Morgan Adler (37 in 1900), and his name is based on Moriarty and Irene Adler, but his personality is different to them. Morgan's occupation is being a defense attorney and writes as a hobby.

He came from a life of poverty but he graduated university with luck, hard work, and his intelligence. He's a smart person, who focused on law in hopes to reform Great Britain's law system. However, things did not pan out well for him...

Spoilers for both TGAA games under read more. CW for talk of fictional murder, execution, and a faked death.

He was 27 when he saw the Professor murders as a budding attorney. A year after the Professor's execution, Stronghart approached Morgan with an offer. Always take cases where van Zieks was the prosecutor and no matter the outcome, Morgan would be paid handsomely. He knew of the rumors about van Zieks and he was curious so he agreed to Stronghart's offer.

He never realized how bad the Reaper's curse was, as each of his clients died mysterious deaths. While the public commented on van Zieks being the "Reaper of the Old Bailey", Morgan's peers began to call him "Charon of the Old Bailey" due to him leading his clients to their deaths. Morgan despised that name but he couldn't refute it because he took up Stronghart's offer and couldn't get out of it, if he didn't want to gain Stronghart's anger. He was now a part of Stronghart's entourage and he loathed it. He was powerless against Stronghart's overwhelming hold on the law system.

Thankfully, a chance to leave occured because van Zieks to a break after all of the rumors about the Reaper. But Morgan had to plan as he didn't want Stronghart to catch on what he was doing. So he did his job as an attorney, and if he had to meet with Stronghart or heard anything about him or his connections, he may have recorded on what they talked about.

Finally in the winter of 1896, he created his flat to look like a robbery happened and on his way to Dover, he dropped his belongings into a river, making passer-bys and investigators wonder if he was kidnapped or murdered. The moment Stronghart found out Morgan was missing, he was already on his way to Switzerland. During his time in Switzerland, he focused on compiling on all the evidence he had on Stronghart. As for his disappearance case, the police couldn't find any evidence on who the culprit was and so the case became cold. Stronghart worried about Morgan, he asked a lackey to search for any files Morgan could have on him. However, the lackey found nothing besides case notes, which angered him.

Two years passed (1898) and Morgan felt ready to go back to Great Britain to begin his "counterattack" on Stronghart. Once returning, he realized he had no home and so he posted a notice for a roommate in the newspaper, even though his funds were dwindling. Luckily, he found a roommate, a writer named Lucius Pinawin. They were good roommates and Lucius would help with Morgan's writing as he couldn't come back being a defense attorney, so he wrote opinion articles under a penname.

During the trial of Gregson's murder, because it only allowed judiciary members, Morgan technically could enter, if he didn't fake his disappearance. Also Stronghart's watchful eyes made him nervous of being found out, so he bribed an old colleague to get in with them while in disguise. As everything was revealed in that trial, Morgan realized how formidable Stronghart's control and charisma was because even though the Queen stripped him out of his title and job, people in the court whispered in defense of him afterwards.

With Stronghart imprisoned, Morgan knew he had other people by his side that Scotland Yard or anyone didn't know about. And so, it became Morgan's mission to remove Stronghart's influence out of London's law system and bring in the reform he truly wished for.

[f1]

Magazine criticised for exclusive Michael Schumacher interview generated by AI | Formula 1

A magazine has been criticised for publishing an article presented on its cover as a world exclusive interview with Michael Schumacher, which it later indicated was generated using artificial intelligence. The seven-times world champion has not been seen since he suffered a brain injury when he fell while skiing in December 2013. However German magazine ‘Die Aktuelle’ this week ran what it described as an “interview” with the 54-year-old. Its two-page spread titled “Mein Leben hat sich total verändert” (“My life has totally changed”) is promoted on its front page alongside a picture of Schumacher as “Das erste Interview” (“The first interview”) and “Welt-Sensation!” (“world sensation”). However in smaller type the magazine also indicates how the feature was produced: “Es klingt täuschend echt” (“it sounds deceptively real”). The piece is introduced as if it was a genuine interview: “Talk to him once. Ask him how he’s really doing. And finally got answers almost 10 years after his tragic skiing accident,” it begins. Report: Michael Schumacher’s family discuss his life after skiing crash in film “No meagre, nebulous half-sentences from friends. But answers from him! By Michael Schumacher, 54! Here it is — the incredible interview! With redeeming answers to the most burning questions that the whole world has been asking for so long.” The responses given to the questions – none of which are believed to have genuinely been spoken by Schumacher – refer to his injuries and the careers of his children Mick and Gina. The unbylined article concludes by hinting at the source of its material: “Did Michael Schumacher really say everything himself? The interview was online. On a page that has to do with artificial intelligence, or AI for short.” Elsewhere the website c.ai is referenced, which is the home of an artificial intelligence which mimics the responses of famous people. “There are actually internet sites where you can chat with celebrities,” the article notes. German media expert Boris Rosenkranz criticised the publication for the article and its presentation. “This story here is a particularly remarkable cheek, even for ‘Die Aktuelle’,” he wrote. “You can’t hide the calculation to give the readership the feeling that Michael Schumacher might be talking about his physical condition,” he added. Schumacher’s family has gone to great lengths to keep his condition private since his accident. In a 2021 documentary about the world champion his wife Corinna said: “We’re trying to carry on as a family the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives. “‘Private is private’ he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible, Michael always protected us, now we are protecting Michael.” The lengths some in the media have gone to report on Schumacher’s condition since his accident has prompted criticism before. Shortly after Schumacher’s 2013 accident, one journalist was accused of impersonating a priest to gain access to him. In 2016 a photograph of Schumacher taken at his home in Geneva was offered for sale, prompting an investigation by the authorities. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 F1 season Browse all 2023 F1 season articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[keirainaustenland]

This image, or collection of images, spoofing a Buzzfeed front page caught my attention this week and made me laugh because it reminded me of something Catherine herself may have written after the conclusion of her adventures. This “clickbait” version of Northanger Abbey’s main plotlines begins with the headline “Did General Tilney Kill his Wife? 12 Things You Have Been Dying to Know About Northanger Abbey.” While the use of the word “dying” in the second sentence may be a little on-the-nose, it captures the obsession of Buzzfeed and similar media outlets with using hyperbole to draw people in, much like Austen’s character Isabella, who always has “a hundred things to say to you” (page 38). The image paired with the article is an older man (assumed to be the General) looking ominously outward with the tall Abbey in the background. Catherine Morland’s misunderstandings of Captain Tillney’s late wife’s death are due to both her naivety and her inclination to try to fit her life into a storyline from one of her beloved novels. Because the abbey reminds her of her gothic horror novels, she jumps to the conclusion that something sinister must have happened surrounding Henry’s mother’s death and ends up mortified when her suspicions are revealed. She cries for an entire evening out of embarrassment for the way she jumped to conclusions and had she been found out by more than just Henry, she could have ruined her entire stay at Northanger. 

The second “article” is titled, “Is This Cancel Culture? Woman Loses Best Friend over ‘Misunderstanding’ with Friends Brother,” paired with an image of two young girls walking with linked arms with a bright yellow arrow pointing to the cheater and a lighting bolt between them. This image is funny because of the contrasting moods, the regency clothed girls in serious conversation paired with the gossip column-esque bright labeling. Additionally, the use of “cancel culture” as a clickbait tool fits, because Isabella would certainly try to assert that she was a victim of the 2010’s-2020’s cultural obsession with cancel culture, or a misdemeanor that resulted in a possibly less than warranted public shunning. When Isabella attempts to convey in her letter to Catherine that the reason she hadn’t heard from James was a possible “misunderstanding” after what truly happened was calling off the engagement for Fredrick Tilney, Catherine finally understands that Isabella is a cruel hearted girl and not a true friend. Isabella had been using the Morland family to hopefully gain a higher position in society, until she mistook Fredrick’s flirtations for a better offer coming along. 

The third article is titled, “Now I must Give One Smirk, and then we Must be Rational Again: Henry Tilney’s Flirting Tips (For a Guaranteed Engagement by End of Season)” paired with an image of JJ Feild smirking, who played Henry in the 2007 film adaptation of the novel. This article reminded me of a post that I saw from Tumblr user “Haunted-phantom-student” that was posted on August 4, 2023, that said “an adaptation of Northanger Abbey in which every character besides Catherine gets at least one scene in which they look at the camera like they're on The Office and Catherine gets more and more frustrated about not knowing what they're looking at but finds it too awkward to ask.” All of the witty remarks and pointed flirting that Henry does throughout the book largely goes completely over Catherine’s head, and it is as if all of the other characters can “look at the camera like they are in the office” because she just does not understand. She is certainly charmed by him, but does not understand that he cares for her back until the very conclusion of the novel. 

[kukuandkookie]

WOOOO yes hello I am just as excited!!! 😳 🙌 💕

Definitely really looking forward to this one because I’ve always felt like it’d be a feast for the eyes, but Li Haoling has also proven with his older work that he has an abundance of cool, pretty unique ideas, and even recently proving with Link Click and Ringing Fate that he can tell a good story with pretty strong emotional beats. 👀

I can’t say for sure I know more about this one than some fans, mostly because I’m a bit behind on some of the promotional info due to it being mostly in Japanese on this side of the Internet—as Bilibili has been pretty quiet about it on its western social media accounts. But that seems to be just how the donghua industry can be lol. They only occasionally release tidbits when they have something to share, and info on plots can be scarce, and info on release dates even scarcer—like I think Aniplex and Crunchyroll are the ones that revealed it will release in April 2025. x’D

That being said, I do have some stuff about it that might be new info to some people!:

When we all first heard of it, most of us assumed it would have a connection with two of Li Haoling’s earlier donghua (also co-produced with Japan), To Be Hero and To Be Heroine.

But even from the first trailer, my assumption was that the connection will be in name only—or that at most, we’ll maybe see a reference/cameo/Easter egg from these other two similarly titled series SKFSJJS. The former is known for being kind of crude, while the latter is known for being kind of chaotic at points. But both had some solid animation, and the latter also interestingly had a Japanese and Chinese combo for just the Japanese dub?? (it’s technically a transmigration story and the new world is in Japanese while the real world is in Chinese. Some anime fans find it jarring, but I think it’s a neat experiment). Iirc though, the Japanese version of To Be Heroine did kind of butcher it by splicing it up weirdly, but the Chinese original is quite hard to find outside of China??

Anyway, the reason I think the connection is in name only is both because we haven’t seen any sign of a tie-in in the promotional material for To Be Hero X, but also because it seems to be a “proper” and “dignified” animated series with its own set world-building and rules that don’t really intersect with its predecessors. Specifically, said predecessors were known for their slightly more indie but also bawdy presentation, as both kind of…focused on underwear (?) a bit more.

That probably sounds really weird ALDJSKDJ, so to try and explain a bit: in To Be Hero, the main character gains superpowers that turns him “unattractive,” and he himself is kind of vulgar and to top it off, he even befriends a perverted older man KSDGFJSD, while in To Be Heroine X, the main character enters a world where there are near-naked superpowered babies and her different articles of clothing can turn into warriors if not on her body.

…Yeah, okay, maybe explaining only made it weirder. 😂

But now you may see what I mean about To Be Hero X appearing to have its own self-contained lore! Not that To Be Hero or To Be Heroine were ever even that closely connected either ahaha. Maybe the connection here is just that Li Haoling likes exploring the concept of superpowers and how that can affect humanity, both in terms of the population and our humanity as people??

Speaking of To Be Hero X’s lore though, I can talk a bit about the premise!:

I got this information a while back and it is in my donghua recommendations list, but we also did get a new tidbit from the OP uploaded by Aniplex. 👁️

So in To Be Hero X, superheroes obviously exist, but only via trust. The more trust you have, the more powerful you are (and what I read back when the first trailer came out was that trust points are displayed on one’s wrist, but I’m not sure if this still applies), and it also means that if you lose the people’s trust, you will lose your powers. And the strongest one of all is the titular X, with his ability to change reality at the snap of a finger. And now the Aniplex trailers have led to me finding out that apparently a tournament—perhaps a bit similar to the one in Ringing Fate—is also held every two years to determine the rankings of top heroes, so I assume the donghua itself will follow one such tournament or something similar as we see heroes perhaps try to challenge X’s spot. That, and some character-driven stories about humanity in general, because that seems to be what Li Haoling likes to explore. 😆

And speaking of exploring…

X’s superpower is evidently a great reason for the really cool blend of both 2D and 3D animation!! 🔥

I’ve seen people claim it’s obviously received influence from Into the Spider-verse and even Arcane (which did work closely with China, it seems), and while I can’t confirm it, I can potentially see it. There does seem to be a rising trend in experimental 3D, which is very fun to see—and while I’ve enjoyed more hyperrealistic CGI donghua too, in Shaonian Ge Xing, The Island of Siliang, The Young Brewmaster’s Adventure, Ling Cage, Slay the Gods, etc, I do really like the experimental ones like Rescue Eternal Desert, No Doubt in Us, Chen He Ti Tong, and You Yao!

So speaking of animation, the studios we know are involved are:

Studio LAN—already famous for Link Click but also an old household favourite for their work with Li Haoling’s studio Haoliners, including some of my favourites like Beryl and Sapphire:

And I guess as this photo from their office showcases, they really do work so closely with Li Haoling, as this banner features quite a lot of his studio (Haoliners)’s donghua, including Beryl and Sapphire. 😳

Paper Plane Animation Studio—which I think have only worked on a few projects, but they may be doing a lot of the 3D CGI scenes, since they’re most famous for this League of Legends short:

Pb Animation Co., Ltd—another one with not quite as many works under their belt, but a bit more than Paper Plane. They’re listed as having been the driving force for Daily Life of the Immortal King season 2 and 3, but also for Light Catcher, one of my favourite donghua shorts of all time that is meant to showcase the beauty and growth of donghua overall—and with a 白鲨JAWS song too!!:

If the above video shows anything, it’s that we can obviously see a pretty solid blend of animation styles too, so that should contribute nicely to To Be Hero X!

And oh boy, putting all these together, I do in fact see the pattern of how we’re probably also in good hands action-wise, as all of these donghua studios have done some form of “superpower-based action donghua”—although I guess a lot of donghua in general place an emphasis on strong action sequences. 😆

For To Be Hero X specifically, we can also see the behind-the-scenes locations and distributions of work in this video from Aniplex:

Speaking of Aniplex, they’ve definitely been more active in promoting it on western social media lol. I do have the social media links in my donghua recs list, but I’ll leave them here too for anyone who wants it:

Official Chinese Twitter account

Official Weibo account

Official Japanese Twitter account

Li Haoling’s official Twitter account

As you can see from the Chinese Twitter account, it’s mostly done promotional and celebratory artworks for like…holidays and stuff, which does seem to be how donghua prefer to promote their stuff?? That’s why we see new illustrations every major Chinese holiday, yet the Twitter account isn’t nearly as active as the Japanese Twitter account in posting actual introductions to the characters and voice actors ALDJDKS.

The info on Chinese VAs does seem to often be delegated to Chinese social media mostly, as seen by Hoyoverse games like Genshin Impact. x’D

Hell, Crunchyroll has such a bad habit of completely snubbing and/or forgetting to promote the Chinese originals of donghua they have—like how Aiyou’s Secret Room aka X&Y was only promoted on Crunchyroll Brazil or All Saints Street is only promoted in Japanese because of Crunchyroll’s ties to Aniplex and Sony... Tian Guan Ci Fu is the luckiest odd one out, but a lot of its marketing on Crunchyroll still focuses solely on its English dub. So the fact they have To Be Hero X and now Mo Dao Zu Shi too, we may soon see more ignoring of Chinese VAs even in official material because they have the Japanese dubs (at least Mo Dao Zu Shi’s Chinese cast is already well-established!) otl.

Apologies to rant a bit there, but with that out of the way, I’m petty about Chinese VAs not getting enough attention—to the point it is technically a pet peeve of mine for them to be completely ignored; although, in my defense, sometimes the ignoring does stem from sinophobia or ignorance (eg those not realizing a donghua is a donghua, especially with anime looks and Japanese voice acting)!—and since I can be the one who shares their Chinese voices...let’s do it! This is for them, but also for everyone who wants to appreciate the Chinese VAs to have easier access to this info. 💪

My information on who the Chinese VAs are comes from this Weibo post, at least for the 10 characters we know most about right now—the top 10 heroes in To Be Hero X, both in people’s trust of them and power:

10. Nice (奈斯 (Nài sī))—VA: Gu Jiangshan: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Gu Jiangshan (谷江山), as confirmed via Baidu:

Yuan Yang in Beloved Enemy aka Tit for Tat

Huiyu aka Raven in Beryl and Sapphire

Jin Zixuan in the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua

Xia Mingxing aka Jesse in Light and Night

Wangquan Baye in Fox Spirit Matchmaker

9. Hundian (魂电)—VA: Yang Kaiqi: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Yang Kaiqi (杨凯祺), as confirmed via Baidu:

Geely Shrimp and Lamb Paomo in The Tale of Food

Elysium in the Chinese dub of Arknights (lmao you know what, I always struggle to find the Arknights Chinese version and this video is titled “I won’t allow anyone to have not heard the Chinese voice acting for Elysium!!!!!!!!!!” and I’m just like, “You go girl (gender-neutral); what a mood” DGJDSD)

8. A-Hu (阿虎) (literally the diminutive prefix “A-” plus “Tiger”*)—VA: Zhang Fuzheng: character song PV on YouTube*, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Zhang Fuzheng (张福正), as confirmed via Baidu:

Xue Yang in the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua

Sikong Changfeng in The Young Brewmaster’s Adventure

Diting in You Shou Yan aka Fabulous Beasts

Jayce in the Chinese dub of Arcane

*I explained his name since I think official English content will just translate it as “Hu” (or his Japanese name) without the “A-” in front… Oh and I’m crying lmao; Aniplex YouTube forgot to add A-Hu to their To Be Hero X playlist so it took me a bit longer to find it KSDHGDS

7. Xingyu Qing (幸运青) (literally Lucky Green/Blue)—VA: Zhang Shuang: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Zhang Shuang (赵爽), as confirmed via Baidu:

Xiaoyao Xinghe in Wo Jia Dashixiong Naozi You Keng (if not sure which girl she plays, it’s the one with blue hair!)

Sapphire (female form) and Flax in Beryl and Sapphire

Dongfang Qinlan in Fox Spirit Matchmaker

6. Loli (罗莉)—VA: Qian Cheng: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Qian Cheng (钱琛), as confirmed via Baidu:

Furina in Genshin Impact

Robin in Honkai Star Rail

Bu Suantian in Wo Jia Dashixiong Naozi You Keng

Little Spirit (Xiao Jingling) in Beryl and Sapphire

5. Xiao Qiang (小强)—VA: Jinli (Koi): character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Jinli (锦鲤), as confirmed via Baidu:

Kong Hongjun in Tianbao Fuyao Lu, both the donghua and audio drama

Lyney and Freminet in Genshin Impact

Lan Sizhui (voice only) in The Untamed (for those who don’t know, cdrama roles can get re-dubbed by not the actor for a variety of reasons, such as vibe, accent, and/or background noises because many dramas film in the same giant area at the same time)

Yue Zhishi in Lovely Allergen

4. Mosha (默杀) (literally “silent kill”)—VA: Chang Wentao: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Chang Wentao (常文涛), as confirmed via Baidu:

Jin Chenyu in Inferior by Nature (goes officially in English by The Selfish Gene on MaoEr FM, but that’s confusing because the author has another novel that translates more accurately into The Selfish Gene—anyway, I recommend this audio drama a lot!!! If anyone’s unclear, Jin Chenyu is the arrogant-sounding guy who shows up partway through, gets called “Gege” by the little boy, is eventually yelled at by the little boy to leave, and laughs at the little boy, aka his brother lol)

*Sadly a lot of his roles do not seem big enough so far for fans to have clipped them, so I only have this one sample!

3. Lianglong (梁龙)—VA: Chenzhang Taikang: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Chenzhang Taikang (陈张太康), as confirmed via Baidu:

Lan Sizhui in the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua

Hua Cheng in the Tian Guan Ci Fu audio drama

Xiao Xingchen (voice only) in The Untamed (same deal as with Jinli for cdrama voice dubbing)

Lin Yutong in Don’t Say You Love Me (yes, I subbed this clip lmao. No, this role of his isn’t actually on his Baidu page, but I’m biased because I enjoy this manhua/vomic so I’m including it anyway hehe)

Wei Yanzi in I Ship My Rival x Me (Bilibili version here)

Gong Changsheng in Wo Jia Dashixiong Naozi You Keng

Jiaoqiu in Honkai Star Rail

*Sorry for adding way more roles in here than necessary lmfao. But again, I am (very) biased here!!! He may be most famous for Lan Sizhui and Hua Cheng and Jiaoqiu and arguably even Xiao Xingchen, but I love him—and first fell for his voice acting—for Wei Yanzi, Lin Yutong, and Gong Changsheng ehehe. 🥺

2. Queen/Nüwang (女王)—VA: Liu Xiaoyu: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili

Other notable roles by Liu Xiaoyu (刘校妤), as confirmed via Baidu:

Tushan Susu and Tushan Honghong in Fox Spirit Matchmaker

Kang Jinlong in Black Myth: Wukong

Caitlyn and Jinx (see second half of the video; the first half is Jinx’s voice in the League of Legends game) in the Chinese dub of Arcane

1. X—VA: Wei Chao: character song PV on YouTube, character song PV on Bilibili*

*This song was one of the first things to come out of this donghua, so it is out there and it is definitely catchy!!

Other notable roles by Wei Chao (魏超), as confirmed via Baidu:

Lan Wangji in the Mo Dao Zu Shi audio drama

Wangquan Fugui and Wang Fugui in Fox Spirit Matchmaker

Qiongxiong in Tianbao Fuyao Lu, both the donghua and audio drama

Wang Jiexi in The King’s Avatar

*Fun fact: I didn’t list all of them, but while checking everyone’s Baidu pages, I found a surprisingly high amount of Fox Spirit Matchmaker. 👀

I would playfully suggest you take a guess/make an assumption as to the number, but you may spot the answer down below lol. And well, it is definitely a very long donghua with a giant cast, but I was still taken by surprise! Because 8/10 of the top 10 heroes in To Be Hero X also share a voice with Fox Spirit Matchmaker characters!! 😆

Anyway, I think that’s everything I know—and everything I’ve learned while writing this post!!

I hope it was insightful, and I’m sorry for how long it is...! Of course, I could put it under “read more,” but also...I spent so long on this (to the point I discovered a Tumblr limit to providing external links before the draft would stop saving lmfao oops) and I’d love for everyone to know more about this donghua, especially of the Chinese VAs, so...I’m going to be obnoxious and leave it as KSLDGJDSH,,, double sorry!! 🙈

You know what, I might actually turn this into a post for my donghua blog, which I haven’t updated in foreeeeeever ahaha. But yes, I hope this was worth the wait!! ^^

OMG OMG THIS LOOKS SO GOOD

The animation is smooth as fuck and that switching from 3D to 2D and back again??? Holy shit. And the colors! This looks so good, and most of all the guy is so hot 😳

So excited for this donghua aaaah

[mcgnussen]

excerpt from a danish article about kevin and his teammates - and the 2023 season:

kevin and his teammates

the collaboration with schumacher was uncomplicated compared to the relationship with romain grosjean. during the first years, information did not flow completely freely between the french and the danish side of the garage. after a year in sports cars, kevin magnussen completely changed his approach to the teamwork part of racing. he returned as a team player who openly shared knowledge and tried to help his young colleague to the best of his ability. especially during the first half of the 2022 season, their relationship was like mentor and student.

the expectation from the team is that nico hülkenberg will push his danish colleague far more than schumacher did - especially during qualification. but despite the prospect of finding it much more difficult to dominate his teammate, the approach to working with nico hülkenberg is the same as it was with mick schumacher.

kevin: “i am in a different place and i still am, so it will be the same with nico. for me, the focus is on the fact that we are a team and we must work together. i think my ego has diminished.”

when asked about his relationship with nico hülkenberg, kevin says: “frankly, i understand people joke about it because it's easy. but that [suck my balls episode] was five years ago, and it was an insignificant thing.”

interviewer: “and you’ve had children and got married...”

kevin: “yes, not with each other though.”

although kevin magnussen advocates teamwork, there is still a need for internal rivalry between teammates. in the first half of the 2019 season, the haas duo drove together too often on the track, but the collaboration was exemplary despite that, according to magnussen.

kevin: “with romain there was a really good and healthy fight, although i know that netflix showed it in a different way and the press picked up that narrative. but actually it was healthy. we had a good time with each other, romain and i. it was something that meant that you always knew you would be beaten if you didn't do your absolute best.”

interviewer: “which of your teammates have you learned the most from so far?”

kevin: “jenson. also due to the fact that it was my first year and i had a lot to learn. but he is also the most experienced. at the time, he was in his 15th season. there is just so much to learn. you see both his strengths and weaknesses, and then you learn from his strengths. but you also focus a lot on yourself.”

on the 2023 season

interviewer: “what else is needed to take the steps forward that you would like to take next year?”

kevin: “first of all the obvious. we have got a title sponsor in moneygram and the stability it brings is the most important thing, but we have had a good season that provides momentum and that can be built on.”

interviewer: “where is the most to be found?”

kevin: “on the car. that's not to say that the operational aspects can't also be improved, but if we rolled the red bull into our garage, we would also win.”

interviewer: “mercedes came back at the end of the season. how long do you think it will be before the field starts to gather?”

kevin: “i don't know if it ever will although it would be cool. after all, they find ways to gain an advantage anyway. if you have money in this sport, then even if there is a budget cap, there will be an advantage.”

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Something I don't understand about these articles that bring up Larries and their 'conspiracy theory' is that it draws more attention to it and could create new Larries. People who have never heard of Larry will read those articles and be curious and look it up and see youtube vids, blogs and etc. If they are on the fence about Harry's sexuality then they definitely will. So there is just as much chance people will read into it as them laughing it off. The fact that Vulture is paying to promote their trash article hating on Harry and using a clickbait title about his acting and then mentioning the 'conspiracy theory'. Like are they completely dumb? If they want to bury the 'conspiracy theory' then don't mention it at all? I don't get it. Why are these so called critics all going after Harry and writing hate pieces on him and barely acknowledging that there are other actors in the movie too? I'm guessing that they come from WB's side trying to ruin him after messing up DWD promo, or Sony who are terrified of him 'coming out' or even competitors. The hate campaign against him is getting weird, and now they're paying to promote it? Why is his PR team nonexistent? Shouldn't they be planting some positive stuff about him?

Hey, love.

I’m gonna go to the second part of your ask first.

I really don’t think Warner Bros would send a PR “hit” out on Harry like that, for multiple reasons. First, studios and record labels don’t work the same way, in that Harry’s not under an exclusive contract with Warner Bros. and so they have no reason to want to keep him in line or under thumb the way Sony used to in One Direction, nor do they have the power to. He’s employed for one movie, and essentially, because it was a bad experience for Harry (and everyone), WB would have everything to gain by maintaining a cordial, professional relationship with him, if they intend to work with him again in the future. (And, considering how much they’re relying on his brand to keep this movie afloat in theaters, it’s likely that, however they feel about his acting chops, they recognize that the smarter business move is to have someone like Harry (and his fan base) as an open option for the future.)

Second, he didn’t actually do anything he wasn’t supposed to. “Screwing up DWD promo” is a fandom opinion, because we know what he’s like when he actually wants a project to succeed. In terms of his professional obligations though, he did everything he was hired for (and, unfortunately, more). He didn’t speak out of turn, or bad mouth the movie. In fact, he spoke about it in as effusive a manner as he could, given the quality. He played a good little stunt puppet, and even allowed them to piggyback on his music to make bank, so they literally have zero reason to “want revenge”, even in light of the contrast with My Policeman promo.

Rather, I’m pretty sure the disdain from critics boils down to nothing other than the gatekeep-y nature of the industry. Critics are never welcoming of musicians who want to work in acting - literally never - and this is something we foresaw. We always knew Harry would have to be utterly flawless in his role (impossible, three movies in) in order to receive even a modicum of critical praise because they were always going to be exceptionally hard on him, as they are on other celebrities who try and make the leap. The only reason he was spared during Dunkirk was because criticizing him (simply for being Harry Styles) would be tantamount to criticizing Christopher Nolan’s casting decision and that wasn’t a hill critics were willing to die on, especially for a minor part in an ensemble cast.

This, however - pop culture’s current obsession scoring two leading (and one queer!) roles in the same year, with two directors who are still finding their feet - this was fair game. And, it sucks because I think critics would have been so much more willing to go into My Policeman with some room to be surprised, if not for the absolutely overexposed media catastrophe that was DWD. But it’s just too tempting now, too sweet, too (seemingly) justified to be able to tear him down for just having the audacity to throw his hat in the ring, because after that circus, no one is expecting him to be any good. More importantly in entertainment, no one is expecting anyone (of note) to come to his defense. So, even if he holds his own, it’s not ever going to be enough (not now, at least).

This is not to say the criticism of Harry’s acting isn’t warranted. I’ve read some very fair critiques, especially pointing out the contrast between him, and David and Emma. But that’s the thing: rarely are these articles criticizing the actual acting. Rarely do they even seem to get the objective of the movie, if they deign to mention the movie at all. Instead, they’re focused on the Harry of it all and it’s making me laugh because they’re doing the one thing they make fun of fangirls for: they’re making it… ✨all about Harry Styles.✨

And, as for the Larry stuff…

One, their PR teams never did seem to get the memo that if you wanna prove Larry isn’t real, stop trying so hard to prove Larry isn’t real. It’s their twelve year struggle; we’re still waiting for them to catch on.

Two, I’ve said before that fan girl hysteria is an easy and juicy scapegoat. In a bid for attention (which is entertainment media’s main goal), the easiest people to pooh-pooh are young women. Nothing will get you clicks like making fun of a predominantly female fandom, because you have the patriarchy fully in your corner. So, you get the clicks and you get the bonus points of the Jack Chambers-es in every basement high-fiving you with both Cheeto-crusted wank hands.

The caveat, though, is that we silly fan girls turned out to be just a little too right about Olivia Wilde (shocker!) so its still too soon to try and sell the whole “they hate her/her movie cause they fancy her boyfriend” shtick again. So what did they do? They pivoted on the hysteria strategy, and the next best narrative to fans who would fully shank your girlfriend out of jealousy is fans who are so crazy they believe you’re gay and in a 12 year closeted relationship with your former band mate.

Just another day in the fandom. Sigh.

[thelonesomequeen]

The man has a net worth of $110 million. He doesn’t need to play PR games for a check. And this type of thing isn’t going finance a movie either when a script doesn’t even exist yet 🦎/// Yes but he is less and less relevant in Hollywood. His roles are meh he doesn't have Cap to cover for that anymore. He have to stay relevant in the business that is changing to streaming instead of theatrical release. This business always was trashy and now Chris is playing this game hard too. He just get catch cause apparently he can even fake a romans for pics. I don't believe they together. Maybe was are friends but that's doesn't matter. Likes matters lol. Not only for him but others too. That's how agency's gets those less known actors on top lol. It gain traffic and fallows for them. People gets interested in them and that's the pandemic effect. When we all stacked at home that was the only way for them and also people started to pay attention to likes and fallows more (maybe out of boredom). They signed contracts with them so it's in their interest to get them jobs, recognition and higher status in Hollywood. Chris is doing dirty things, stupid Hollywood games. It's just time to accept it and stop baby him. Just watch him burn himself maybe he learn something.

ALL celebrities play PR games to some extent to stay relevant with the public and sometimes studios. But I still don’t think his career is WHY he would be involved with Alba for PR if that’s what’s going on. I just don’t. I’m sorry. 1. It had the potential to backfire BIG TIME by making him another Hollywood cliche. And to a degree, that DID happen. 2. They aren’t in the media together enough for me to be solely convinced this is ONLY PR. The general public isn’t sorting through likes and follows the way fans do to try and connect the two of them together. That’s stan behavior, not public behavior. And they haven’t done a whole lot to gain PUBLIC attention. Gaining fan attention isn’t enough for relevance when we’re a much smaller group of people than a lot of us here on tumblr or LSA would like to believe we are. 3. If he was desperate for public attention, there’s so many better ways PR could have been done. They could have ran with the Sexiest Man Alive title so much further than they did, they could spin ASP to look so much better than it does, the public loves him with Dodger and they could have pushed for more Jinx ads and articles considering he’s a brand ambassador. PR doesn’t have to just be relationship related, and for him, highlighting other parts of his life has always seemed to gain him more favorable public attention. But that’s just my opinion and you’re free to disagree.

Here’s the other piece of the puzzle and I’m just going to say it. If he wants to remain relevant in Hollywood, he just needs to be picking better projects and concentrate on doing better with acting. That’s all there is to it. He’s a mediocre white guy in Hollywood. There’s dozens of those everywhere. He’s very easily replaceable. His acting isn’t strong enough to set him apart from his peers. He’s at an age where the younger, muscly men in Hollywood are going to start taking those “action” type roles (and if they’re new to the industry, they can be paid less) but he’s not growing at the performance rate of his peers or actors that are slightly older than him for more serious roles. If we look outside of Marvel, he hasn’t had very many box offices successes. Knives Out did GREAT, but he was part of an ensemble cast. A cast full of respected actors or those with enough public draw. He didn’t carry that movie on his own. Lightyear didn’t do well with the box office. It was ok, but it wasn’t great. Red One and Ghosted are both streamers that appear questionable in quality. I’m not saying they’ll be bad, but I highly doubt they’ll be scoring Oscar nominations. Pain Hustlers (again, another streamer) I think could go either way depending on how they play out the story line. Studios aren’t going to just look at a celebrity’s PR or who they’re dating. They’re also going to look at what it costs to hire that actor, if their acting chops are up to par on what they need in the movie, and if they can sell tickets based on previous box office numbers. 🦎

[under-a-felonious-moon]

F.O.P.O. (For Offensive Purposes Only // For Occult Punx Only) Issue #3 - The Worst Of

The third and final installment of the zine known as F.O.P.O. (2007-2009). Created by a handful of friends and myself, while mostly crammed in a tiny bedroom at my mom’s house in Southern California. F.O.P.O. was largely a collection of satirical takes on far left conspiracy theories and punk culture, but aside from it’s comical musings it also served as a platform for local artists to share their work, as well as provide an outlet for music reviews, band interviews with such bands as UNHOLY GRAVE and Leftover Crack (lmao smh I know), and a place for bands to promote their releases and give info on local concerts. As a rule, no authors were allowed to use their real names, meaning all names therein acted as aliases and many of the reoccurring names throughout this zine are actually several different people writing under shared pseudonyms. Even though this was almost all satirical and most of us were only 17 years old, my friends and I were on a fuck load of drugs and always thought the FBI were watching us for the tin foil hat ass conspiracies we actually did believe in, and I like to think that paranoia managed to manifest within these pages.

Aside from an incident where a crazy self-described “pro-life libertarian anarchist” fan took me for the sole author and publisher behind the zine and attacked me at a show because of the “Post-Birth Abortions” article (a whole story of it’s own) - issue #1, originally titled For Offensive Purposes Only, was well received among some sizable circles in southern California’s youthful punk scene of the mid 2000’s. After this initial success, due to hectic schedules as well as other conflicting factors, we struggled to publish a follow up worthy of the name F.O.P.O. And after taking far too long to publish issue #2, which in the end we were all unsatisfied with and felt was sub-par, the team disbanded to pursue other projects. It wasn’t until 2009 when the creator, whom we will call Morrandir, and myself, under the name Maurnathron, decided to go back and attempt to salvage our legacy. Over the next few months he and I alone worked day and night to reorganize, rewrite, and reshape issue #2 into something we could be proud of. In the end, we felt that our new product was so different that we decided we could no longer call it issue #2.5 like we had originally planned. We ended up taking about 1/3 of the content from both issues #1 & #2 and stuck them in with the bulk of our new material and rebranded it For Occult Punx Only - The Worst Of, which is what you have above. It was a huge hit with the original following our little zine had gained, as well as with new readers across the scene. Indeed this master copy managed to make it from coast to coast, from the dreary Pacific Northwest to the bustling streets of New York city - F.O.P.O. was a name to be reckoned with. Alas, this was however it’s swan song. Just as soon as it came back to life, it faded back into obscurity, to be forever lost in the vast annals of punk absurdities. And in the thirteen years since the publishing of this issue, the F.O.P.O. team has yet to collaborate on another project with such zealous passion.

The Tengwar (elvish script) bordering the front cover reads, “My mind is my greatest weapon. Sharpened, it will serve as the spear that severs the Serpent’s Head. Fuck all cops, kill all politicians, burn all banks.”