#essay shenanigans

[lumiilys]

Essay progress

Word count: 1/2000

[trauma-bot]

sin eater

[the-way-astray]

if keefe sencen was a real person, he’d have a crush on you

I’M GOING TO DELETE TUMBLR AND KILL MYSELF. ANON REVEAL YOURSELF AND YOUR ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY. I NEED TO STAND OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE AND THREATEN YOU WITH A SHARP, POINTY OBJECT UNTIL YOU AGREE TO COMPENSATE ME FINANCIALLY, EMOTIONALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY, AND PHYSICALLY FOR THE LEVEL 1000000000000000000 PSYCHIC DAMAGE YOU JUST DEALT ME. WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM AND WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE SUCH A THING. WHY.

[goldensunset]

i made this post before but what’s up with paldeans and destroying the environment. the player character hops on a plane to travel between spain japan and new york whenever they feel like it to run minor errands. the area zero team went into an ancient crater and found this otherworldly paradise and started building a bunch of giant research stations. the professors thought it would be cool to use a huge machine to either bring the dinosaurs back or summon a bunch of murderous robots and let them loose upon the world. the league is using cryptocurrency. geeta please something has to be done

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

It's a very different world now. 2016 PR shenanigans are not going to work. If they want their PR to be effective at changing public perception, they need to play the 2024 game. But they refuse to.

what would the 2024 game be like?

Old asks from April 2nd. (These came in 5 minutes apart, so grouping them together here.)

So PR is managing reputation/image and relationships. Note that this is a very broad generalization. PR is actually much more complex but we're going to keep it simple here.

"Old" PR is very much about controlling how people perceive you. The celebrity (or the company) develops relationships with journalists and communicates to their audience through those journalists, who are largely using traditional media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, television interviews). There's not much interaction with the audience or if there is, it's very one-way; i.e., the celebrity/brand/company is speaking to the audience via a spokesperson (whether a journalist or an actual representative) and there's no chance for the audience to respond, engage, or interact back.

And when social media is involved, the celebrity is still using social media in an "old" PR kind of way - to send messages directly to their audience but they're still not engaging. It's kind of like the old fan clubs of the '80s and '90s, where if you subscribed, you got the newsletter; the celeb's social media account is the new fan newsletter.

"New" PR has evolved to be more about communications and content marketing and, increasingly, involves more and more crisis management. It prioritizes direct, personal two-way relationships with the audience (so no spokesperson or journalist in the middle), where the celebrity is engaging/interacting with the audience and the audience is engaging/interacting with the celebrity, and largely using new digital media - e.g., social media, podcasts, etc.

More and more nowadays, "new" PR is also about authenticity and transparency. It's still a form of controlling your image, but done correctly, it feels more organic, not as constructed or manufactured. Particularly with the crisis management aspect of "new" PR - that's why we see celebrities making apologies or personal statements directly to their audiences via iNotes screenshots posted on social media (like Dave Grohl's statement today) instead of going through a media rep or a journalist spokesperson.

"New" PR uses social media as storytelling and for content marketing. Celebrities/brands/companies still post photos and messages, but that's not the only thing they're doing with those channels and accounts. They're creating videos, they're producing content, they're interacting with audiences and they're connecting with peers.

But all that said, it's the content of how "new" PR uses social media that has evolved the most, and that's the change I was thinking about when I made those comments about the Sussexes.

Ten years ago, the content celebrities/brands/companies were creating for social media was about and for the celebrity. They were using charities/philanthropy, public appearances, their work (e.g. movies, film, theatre, books, etc.), their brands, their merching to promote or market themselves.

Nowadays, it's mostly the opposite. Celebrities are using their platforms to promote charities, philanthropy, speaking engagements, their work, etc. They're still promoting themselves, it just isn't as obvious and it's more carefully done (especially with new rules for merching and sponsored content).

Now with specific regards to the Sussexes, they're in kind of a weird place. Their media strategy is still very much "old" PR like the BRF - they've courted specific journalists, they communicate to their audiences through spokespeople (whether they're friends or Archewell or journalists), they predominantly use traditional media to communicate, all of the communication is very one-way (no personal or direct engagement with the audience) (Sussex Squad doesn't count), and everything they put out is very controlled.

Their content strategy, which drives their PR and media/audience relations, is still very 2016 in that it's almost exclusively designed to promote and market the Sussexes. There's very little (if any) information about the charities they support, the people they visit, the work they actually do, because all of that is meant to prop up the Sussexes and give them publicity. And that is one of the biggest criticisms they deal with; they're so obsessed with promoting themselves and managing their own images that it sucks all the attention, spotlight, and air from their actual work, such that the legit, real, movers and shakers and king-makers they want to connect with ultimately want nothing to do with them.

The Sussexes are uniquely positioned that they could go full-force into "new" PR with a modern content strategy focused on visual storytelling of their work and their philanthropy and it would be quite successful and innovative - and this is, in fact, what they demanded in the Megxit Manifesto. They wanted to be more "new" PR, to not have to deal with the media, to be able to connect and interact and communicate directly to their audience. But someone somewhere lost the plot - it probably happened when Facebook refused to port over all the bots followers from Sussex Royal IG to whatever their new IG was and they threw a massive "well we're just not going to have social media anymore (which was honestly very much a kiss of death for them, PR-wise and image-wise) - and now we're seeing the Waleses start to do this, so the Waleses are getting the innovative edit.

The videos the Waleses have made (for their 10th anniversary, Earthshot, the coronation, and now Kate's message) is very much "new" PR in terms of a content strategy for engaging and interacting with their audience. That kind of visual storytelling is exactly what social media is today, and look how much more effective that's been for them in terms of PR and image management than relying exclusively on the palace's machinery of press releases and portraits.

They're also using their social media platforms to share their personal statements - while it's certainly not the iNotes screenshot of Hollywood lore, it's still personal and it's still direct to their audience in a way that Buckingham Palace's press releases are not - and they're no longer using favored journalists to release and distribute their photographs. They're still using traditional media (and journalist relationships) to communicate longer-form stories to their audience, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see that start to change when William becomes King.

William and Kate do still need to get a better handle on the crisis management side of "new" PR. They have the right attitude of "never complain, never explain and it all blows over sooner" but they do shoot themselves in the foot, quite a bit, with their approach to work, which affects their crisis management. They tell us all the time that they do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, valuing quality over quantity, and that's why they're not as publicly engaged as we may want or expect them to be, but there's mounting frustration and mounting impatience over a lack of visible, transparent results from that work. And because there's no visibility into that work - no Court Circular records, no behind-the-scenes documentation, no tangible outcomes, no public disclosures, no public engagements - it makes the crises they deal with (well, some of them) really easy to explode into huge maelstroms. That's why it's so easy for Sussex Squad to spread the conspiracy theories and rumors; there's nothing coming from KP to offset it or redirect the narrative because their work is their crisis management strategy. Right now - for perfectly legitimate and valid reasons - because there is no work, there is no crisis management and because there is no crisis management strategy, KP looks, and is, caught with their pants down when these crises do pop up.

My hope is that when Kate is back to full health, whenever that is and however long it may take her, the Waleses do escalate their work and do become more visible with their behind-the-scenes work so that their work truly becomes as effective and as powerful for crisis management as it is for the rest of the BRF. Once they improve their work performance, they'll have a crisis management strategy, which should take the sting out of Sussex Squad's social media attacks.

I think I lost the plot here. Oh, well. It's late. Enjoy the rambling.

So that's the PR paradigm shift, with a little bit of social media evolution. Hopefully that explains things a little better. Remember, this is all VERY boiled-down-and-simplified because PR is so nuanced and complex.

If anyone who actually works in PR or media or communications or crisis management wants to chime in, please do!

[ao3-shenanigans]

who do you think is more of a BAMF?

quirkless deku

Anime deku

Or

Fan fiction Dadgiri

Unironically, I wrote a collage essay about who was stronger: Canonical Hero Deku or Fandom Quirkless Villain Deku. (Fandom villain Deku won on points of class, creativity and story cohesiveness, cannon hero Deku got points for brute strength).

I will have to give the BAMF award to quirkless Deku.

[natjennie]

lou wilson for real writing a 300 word response to an essay question as the mimic desk he's writing on is attacking his character..... d&d doesn't get better than this it just doesn't.

[glacial-art]

Evadne, the best thing that has ever happened to the Sorceror

Seven Part Pact is a ttrpg by @jdragsky about wizards and you should play it rn ^-^

[joshuamj]

yall i am soooo close to writing a whole essay about my thoughts on isat but there's just so much to talk about...

[thatweirdnoise]

Dazai fell first AND harder.

I’m not hearing anyone out

[jianghuchild]

赵英俊让我看懂了女儿国 | How Zhao Yingjun Made The Kingdom of Women Make Sense

不知怎的，突然想起赵英俊的那首《女儿国》。这两天反复听，歌词也扒着反复琢磨。朋友们，我悟了！女儿国这个单元，我从小到大没看懂，但赵英俊让我看懂了。我以为的一厢情愿，原来是心意相通；我以为的她爱他逃，原来是惺惺相惜却不得不斩的一个“情”字。所以赵英俊是怎么用一首歌来重塑了我对女儿国、甚至对唐僧的认知呢？且待我娓娓道来。

（事先说好了，笔者从小长在���外，以下只是自己一些拙见，有哪些分析不对的欢迎交流。中文水平马马虎虎，不许欺负我哟～）

1）歌曲结构

这首歌给我个什么感觉呢，就是唐僧和女儿国国王在对唱，但好像又没有完全在对唱。整首哥没有传统的主歌、副歌，而是一男一女各唱各的。他们歌词不变，没有什么递进，只是一遍又一遍的诉说自己的困惑。这种结构不由让我产生一种很微妙的感觉，仿佛两人都各自困在一个不可逃离的循环当中。

赵英俊在《女儿国》里也很爱用对句，就是相声里常说的“天对地、雨对风”。列入：

任来世枯朽成灰 换今生与你相随

来世对今生、成灰对相随。（歌里还有更多的对句，到唐僧段挑几句细品一下。）这种细微的对照再加上整体的男女对唱，就让整首歌从大到小都散发着两个字：平行。唐僧与女儿国国王好像是平等而相互欣赏的知己，又像两条傍走却永不交集的河流。

男女声各自总共唱三遍，而只有最后一遍是一起唱。但即便一起唱也是交叉、平行，全程没有传统意义上的合唱。这也应证了他们即便心里有着对方，却奈何永远跨不过那道鸿沟。他注定要继续西行，而她也必须做她女儿国的国王。

2）女儿国国王的词

虽然歌里唐僧先唱，但我觉得还是先解读女生的歌词试试吧。倒不是说女儿国国王唱的这段没有深度，但感觉可能比较容易懂。要说女声这一段，最突出的应该就是那几句“x什么... ...”

说什么王权富贵 怕什么戒律清规 ... ... 念什么善恶慈悲 等什么望穿秋水

咱要往细了抠，光是每一句前面的动词都挺讲究的。两句点唐僧的话，一个用“怕”，一个用“念”。就好像她在说：或是你根本就不想西行，而是在害怕你那如来佛。你念的佛经，能��世人，可渡不了你我。而前后两句又好似在说自己：我一身的王权富贵，到头来不还是困在这里苦等？与其等待望穿秋水的那一天，何不此时此刻，在一起？这也正映照了“远走高飞”和“换今生与你相随”那两句话。管他来时怎么样，我现在就要在一起。

（插句题外话，我估摸着这可以算chiastic structure吧？）

其实女儿国国王从来不是我想象中的强取豪夺。她早就看清自己的心，更看懂唐僧的情。两人也成了完美的对照：唐僧一心望成佛、渡世人，而国王甘愿放下已有的权利和来世的德行，追求当下的情欲。唐僧谨慎念佛，国王大胆追爱。二人没有对错，也注定不能长久。

3）唐僧的词

要说最让我对女儿国这个故事改观的词，那就是唐僧唱的这一段了。在我的脑海里，一直都是女儿国国王硬要留住唐僧，唐僧不情不愿。她好像跟那些想吃唐僧肉的妖魔鬼怪没什么区别，只是八十一难中的一难罢了。

世上安得两全法 不负如来不负卿

歌一开头就袒露了唐僧的纠结——再深一层，是不是也能读出一丝唐僧在心里把爱人和如来看得一样重的感觉？

反省凡心损梵行 从来如此莫聪明

这句可太厉害了。三重谐音看似没深度，其实是点破唐僧感情的关键。我得反省自己啊，我这肉体凡胎做不到放下七情六欲，达不到所谓的梵行，Brahmacharya。歌词通过谐音达成反差，刨开了唐僧即为凡人又为修行着的两难。第二句更是让这个人物彻底落地：唐僧又如何？不还是和你我一样？世上本就如此，金蝉转世也改变不了。

既生苦难我西行 何生红颜你倾城？ 如何抹去你身影？ 如同忘却我姓名

最后这四句真的是妙啊，可谓整首歌的核心。前两句引用了经典名言“既生瑜，何生亮”，也变相把国王与唐僧放在平等的台面上。这里的对句多少又有点古诗词的韵律——苦难对红颜、西行对倾城、抹去对忘却、身影对姓名。他们不是追求者与被追求者，而是可以面对面，势均力敌的知己。

唐僧的最后一句也狠狠的呼应了国王的最后一句：她愿今生相随，而他永世难��。他们两个一样重情，只不过理念不同，对情的处理方式也不同。

一些总结

突然想到马东在《喜人奇妙夜》上说的一句话：“真正的经典就是经得起一遍又一遍的改编。”当时他点评的是四士同堂的sketch《八十一难》。在小品的最后，在为了帮沙僧而没能取到真经后，三藏道：“终一生渡世人，和终一世渡一人，为师觉得是一样的。”也正是这一句让整个作品升华。

以前我总觉得唐僧在西游记里是最没用的主角，不会打妖精还乱跑，动不动还爱念紧箍咒。可随着这些改编，也随着自己慢慢长大，我好像重新认识他了。他不是不懂情爱，而是为了求佛舍弃了自己的凡心。

顺便引用《鹤唳华亭》里的一句话：“相濡以沫，是佳事；相忘于江湖，是幸事”。可能唐僧也是这么想的吧。毕竟，世界上又有几个齐天大圣呢？大多数不还是在世间徘徊、自问“世上安得两全法”的我们吗？

其实自从听了《大王叫我来巡山》我就知道，赵英俊是个妙人。说起来又好笑又感伤，我这个人不怎么上微博，有一天却莫名其妙打开了页面，正好看到赵英俊当天去世的消息。赵英俊生前被质疑写口水歌，他却说，能让大家共鸣的口水歌才最难写，也是他追求的。我一直以为《女儿国》是首老歌，类似《天竺少女》一样的86版插曲。他在2017年写了一首放在86版西游记里都不违和的歌，句句是精华，更是以一己之力颠覆了我对女儿国和唐三藏的认知。

最后，赵英俊说他从小就喜欢下雨，在某个傍晚狂风暴雨，便是他来看咱们了。那就在下一个雨天，跟他唱一首口水歌吧。

[reluctanttrabbit]

i've reread the outsiders book 2 times and the movie 3 times and i only now just realized johnny wasn't lying when he said he was sixteen at the drive-in 😭😭

[nerdie-faerie]

People will be like 'oh you go to uni, you must be smart!' mate, I've never met people with less common sense than uni students. Though what else would you expect when you stick a load of sleep deprived, overwhelmed, young adults together

[jamieedlund]

What's ur favorite hc for Aaravos?

This is a surprisingly hard question to unpack for a lot of reasons- but I'll do my best to articulate myself (ง •_•)ง

I think this spoke for itself but just in case, here is a short elaboration: if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be this.

He is someone who - despite all of the odds, despite how the world treated to him, despite being ridiculed, subjected to the worst torture known to man(yes solitary confinement is considered one of the most inhumane methods of torture) for over 300 years and had his name dragged through the mud for literal centuries-

-could still smile so brightly and sincerely like that, affirming that he does, with all of his heart, still very much love this world. However twisted that love might be, however difficult it was for him to learn how to use and express that love in a healthy way, it still speaks volume about who he is as a person.

Now if you have the time, allow me to explain bellow. If not, stop here, the question is basically answered 🙏💗 Thank you for reading!

Hello, if you're reading this that means you are willing to listen/read more about my thoughts and therefore I expect you to have a leveled head and a polite attitude to what I'm about to say.

If not then why are you here there was LITERALLY A STOP BUTTON. Please click off this post, what are you doing with your life wasting it hate watching me? 

With that being said, hello! fellow polite person who is reading this - - - Spoiler there is no illust down here because I'm running low on time on my thesis I'm so sorry ;;A;; Here is the elaboration to why this is my default favorite headcanon!

While I am aware of the amount of WILDLY different headcanons that exist out there for him, which are very popular within the fandom and even taken as gospel, I strongly feel that mine isn't really aligned with some, if not most of the hc out there at all.

Personally, I don't even agree with the canon version of in him ss4.

I'm assuming that you are asking me about my- personal favorite headcanon for him so for now, my answer will be: Ignoring the terrible characterization of him in season 4, my absolute favorite thing about him has to be: Despite everything, despite what everyone says about him, despite how the world perceives him

He is

without a doubt

Someone who loves this world very much.

Again this all ties in with what I'm going to present in my thesis, so I can't elaborate on it too much without giving any spoilers to the case I'm going to present for him. But for now, and especially right now at the time of writing this, they just released another vaguely worded and filled to the brim with plot holes short story regarding his past ... I-- hm I sincerely have no intention to keep up with the series... Therefore my hc will definitely contradict vastly with the horrendous plot holes ridden pre-established canon

-which then made the act of answering to this question exceedingly difficult due to the way I personally perceive him.

To wrap it up, all I want to say is, we could have had it all, a character who would make us cry, laugh and want to root for, had they written him with love and care, rather than trying to stuff him into the shoes a villain, which just felt forced and unnatural. Villains who are terrible only to be stopped have been overdone, and for tdp to be another generic show is a huge waste of potential

Wouldn't most of us have killed for, finally, an antagonist who isn't actually the antagonist but rather the very system that these people are experiencing is the actual villain ? ? ?

Best of all, they could have contrasted this with Callum, our protagonist. In Callum's case, despite being portrayed as one of "the good guys" or "heroes", he has all the reason to hate the world. This in turn create a complex narrative about the nature of people - Or in this case, the hero acting morally righteous despite hating the world vs the guy who was deemed evil and terrible by the world and yet still loves it with all of his heart. It could have been a heart-warming story about how two individuals find their way in this messed up world-- but nope~ non of this is canon :DDD

When in the history of television has any shows have a twist with the "hero" and "villain" ditching their role immediately to become a neutral party to reflect all the flaws in the world they live in? ? ? TDP had the perfect setup, but then proceeded to drop all of the balls spectacularly in ss4...

I always try my best to not touch ss4 but it feels almost impossible to talk about Aaravos w/out addressing the disservice that it did to his character. And that is all, I have to say for now~

Sincerely, thank you for reading.

[alarming-prism]

brain has been so full of art. i started drawing again. i started scrapbooking for the first time. i bought a 1968 sewing machine for $30 at a thrift store. i want to learn to quilt. i need help

[fangedjester]

if you don't hear from me in the next day and a half, well....