#mentioned on twitter but things don't Quite line up perfectly

[ofmdee]

ofmdkinktober2024 day 14 - squirting

gifs on twitter 🔞

[bangrychannie]

Stray Kids Fic Recs

Hello! Recently I have become a stray kids fan and have fallen into a rabbit hole of fanfiction. Various pairings bc I don't care what the pair is just that it's stray kids related lmao. Added a line break bc there's a lot. Also feel free to rec me skz fics please bc I'm always reading

the book of us; electricity: (Seungjin | 10/10 | 84,966 | teen and up)

HJ @hyunfortunately 5h ;-; i was at the store and this song was playing over the speakers and i tried to remember some lyrics so i could search it up later but i can’t find it this is TRAGIC HJ @hyunfortunately 5h it was in korean and it’s kind of got rock-pop-balladish vibes and the first line of it was “neoneun neo neoneun na” if anyone knows it PLEASE tell me Seungmin doesn’t like to interact with other people on Twitter, but the questions seems almost aimed to him. He hits reply and types, “Try Hi Hello by Day6.” [Seungmin falls for Hyunjin from 2000 miles away. He expected that it would be inconvenient. He didn't expect quite how much Hyunjin would change his life.]

Genuinely one of the best fics I've ever read. It reads like a love letter to high school in the best way possible.

so this is what love is by dwaekinz: (Seungjin | 4/4 | 43,743 | teen and up)

seungmong_22 Hi, Hyunjin! My name is Seungmin. I'm Felix's friend, I hope he's mentioned me before…? Ha. We met online two years ago. I know it's unexpected But I kind of need your help hyuntothejin Me??? After 2 years of online friendship, Seungmin has finally found the time and saved up enough money to visit Felix for his birthday. In order for the surprise to work, he recruits the help of Felix's brother, Hyunjin, and together they spend the next three months forging a plan as well as a friendship of their own— or maybe something more.

So cute and fluffy no notes

Endgame by Raesan (Minsung | 9/9 | 150,840 | Explicit)

Jisung didn’t mean to procrastinate, but he didn’t think that all the clubs would be full in just a week. He sighed, seeing that only one club still had availability. Too bad he didn’t know shit about chess. Or what happens when Jisung, captain of the college soccer team, meets Minho, the number 2 ranked chess player in the country.

This fic is genuinely SO GOOD lol I think about it every day

reply hazy, try again by mrehk (BinChan | 1/1 | 14,951 | Explicit)

Changbin’s calculus tutor is Bang Chan. Smile wide, eyes shining, curly hair wild around his head. He’s got his backpack slung over one arm, those fuck ass chino shorts with a five inch inseam that make Changbin’s mouth water— and, goddamn, he’s wearing a fucking cropped t-shirt. Jisung and Seungmin are going to string Changbin up and have their way with public humiliation when they hear about this. (OR: solving for the derivative of l+o+v+e)

Funny and cute, I love idiots in love and that's what this is

Also mrehk is a fantastic writer so if you like this fic there's way more where that came from

i will protect you (gothic font) by mrehk (Minsung | 1/1 | 16,661 | Explicit)

Seungmin ignores him, smacking the folder onto the desk, flipping it open without looking, sliding it across the surface towards Minho. “It doesn’t matter. This was in the lease. You signed, right—” he taps the bottom corner, Minho’s initials perfectly legible. “Here.” “Excuse me?” Minho leans forward. “Paragraph nineteen subsection C,” Seungmin says, not even looking down as he recites the document word for word. “Lease is not voidable in the case of suspected paranormal activity.” He pounds his finger on the period. Minho laughs. A short, barked thing, completely disbelieving. “You’re kidding me.” “I’m really not,” Seungmin’s face pinches up into the sort of fake, squinted smile someone gives when they’re being an asshole. No remorse. (OR: Minho has ghosts, Jisung hunts ghosts)

Another funny one by mrehk my beloved

one day to fall in love (countless ones to love you) by whatifidbeenthatauthor (Minsung | 1/1 | 22,018 | Mature)

Minho stopped in his tracks. He turned to face Han Jisung. He looked unbothered, still going on about his way. “You didn’t say Hi,” Minho said, forcing the voice to come out of his throat. “You always say hi, hyung.” Jisung turned to look at him, a smile playing on his lips. He looked amused. Minho’s mind wasn’t keeping up. “Today’s different, I guess,” Jisung shrugged. “I went with a variation.” Minho would have found him insufferable, but he didn’t have the mental capacity to process the frustrating sensation that usually accompanied Jisung’s presence. Minho blurted out something that might have him sent to a madhouse. “No. I’ve lived today six times. You- you always say hi, hyung.” He felt crazy. More than usual. Jisung laughed. “What the fuck,” he said, and Minho knew he sounded insane, but could this kid please not be so arrogant? “Me, too. I thought I was the only one,” he continued, and he changed Minho’s life. *** Minho's life is boring, predictable, borderline uneventful. Until he gets stuck in a time loop. And, with him, his friends' friend, Han Jisung, a crazy dude who's only into skating. And whom Minho doesn't necessarily like.

I love time loop/time travel fics if anyone wants a list of specifically those lmk lmao

(never) have your fill of me by lolainslackss (Minsung | 3/3 | 36,028 | Explicit)

“How often can he possibly be having sex that it’s disturbing you this much?” Hyunjin asks, disbelieving. “He has sex, like, every day. And then again at night, sometimes.” Jisung makes a noise of distress. He drags his hands down his face before balling them into fists beneath his chin. “It’s just . . . so distracting, Hyunjin.” “Distracting,” Hyunjin repeats, giving Jisung a meaningful smirk. “Oh, I bet it is.” “Aw,” Jisung whines. “Why’d you have to say it like that?” “Like what?” “Like you think I wish I were the one he were fucking, instead.” “Because you do, don’t you, or are we pretending we both don’t know that?” Hyunjin’s gaze flits over to Minho before it swiftly cuts back to Jisung, all-knowing. “You’d let him do anything to you. Am I wrong?” - In which PhD student Han Jisung unleashes a succubus from a magical book, winds up living with him, and then forms a sex pact with him.

I also have a lot of demon fic recs so lmk

36 Questions That May Lead to Love by bluecalicocat (Minsung | 1/1 | 17,282 | Teen and Up)

generic username @realhanjisung yo my friend wants to be a therapist, can someone pls fake date me so he can practice counseling couples? i have 3 cats @leeknow deal

This fic is so funny

Searching for My Heart in Yours by lk321 (minsung | 5/5 | 36,995 | General)

When Jisung moves to Miroh, a town in the middle of nowhere, all he’s looking for is some peace and quiet. Instead, what he finds is a prickly witch for a neighbor by the name of Minho, who accidentally spills a potion on Jisung and forms a psychic bond between them, opening Jisung to whole new world of magic. As Minho tries to find a cure for their predicament, Jisung finds himself pulled into Minho's lively and magical life. It's not the peace and quiet Jisung was looking for, but as Jisung gets to know the witch through the emotions they're forced to share, Jisung realizes that the answers he’s searching for in life might just lie here in Miroh, in places he least expects.

Feels like a warm hug

the long game by floraii (HyunSung | 1/1 | 16,045 | Teen and Up)

“Anyway,” he continues, voice still sultry, “I’ve been seeing you in class, and I was just wondering—” he moves his hand to curl around a strand of his hair. “Could I get your number?” Han Jisung’s big brown eyes blink again. His gaze darts to his lips, then to his notebook, then up to his eyes. “To study?” “Yeah,” Hyunjin blurts without thinking. What the fuck? Study? What is happening? Why is he agreeing?

Hyunjin has a type. It’s not usually shy boys in his Intro to Statistics class with big round eyes and glasses, but Han Jisung is different.

This fic was so funny I was actually laughing out loud

I have plenty more where that came from! So there will be more recs soon

[kafkaoftherubble]

再谈JJK 236五条悟的心理刻画// I want to talk about Gojo's psychology in chapter 236 again 

I'm quite happy to say that my thoughts on CH236 have evolved—even if I still greatly dislike many of its executions, pacing, logic, and other storytelling issues. Previously, one of the things that really pissed me off is the character derailment Gojo Satoru suffered in CH236.

I'd mentioned before that the idea of the afterlife dream sequence is massively appealing to me. It's just that there are so many little things in it that sounded wrong enough that in the end, I wondered if I was looking at Mahito's Idle Transfiguration at work. As one person familiar with the JP side of Twitter reportedly saw (take it with a reasonable grain of salt for there is no link to the tweet, but no big deal):  "Gojo sensei didn't just die, it feels like his soul was killed as well."

However, unlike many detractors, my gripes were not centered on "Gojo dickriding Sukuna jobber mindset." I actually think the self-deprecation was perfectly valid for the human Satoru (my previous rant had more details on this). I thought it was humanizing to see him freely admitting his vulnerabilities. 

I was more offended at his downplaying his achievements as though he never had a chance. I thought someone who was as enlightened as he is in judging a person's strengths and weaknesses should be better at assessing his own feats instead of sounding like my pathetic ass whenever I talk about myself. I know I have a rather abysmal self-esteem issue, but nothing in the story indicated Satoru as possessing that trait. That loss of measured self-assessment was one of the things that made me reel. But after reading some comments on this Reddit post, I've come to realize I forgot a very important piece of context:

This is Satoru after he lost.  

Being the strongest was, by all the web of causes around him (his birth, the way people regard him, the things people keep pointing out about him, the system's assessment of him, etc.), a huge part of Satoru's sense of self. It did not necessarily matter if he himself truly believed "being the strongest" was all there was to him. See, even in the real world, there is no "true self" (yes, "there is no self" is one of my most steadfast scientific +/philosophical stances). There is, however, a social self; a person's sense of self is porous and dependent on the environment and society (which can break up into communities) they exist in, and it reflects back to the person who comes to accept it as their own personal narrative. Being the strongest was part of Satoru's fable; the world around him even decided that it was his raison d'être.  

So when he lost, it dealt a really hard blow to his understanding of who he believed he was. It didn't matter if he was enlightened in his judgment of people. One of the statements everyone, including himself, had taken as a fact had just been completely disproven. Why wouldn't he then express doubt on the rest of the "I am the strongest" narrative? Why wouldn't he start to become skeptical of his strengths and feats, to the point of seeing the opponent who bested him as more powerful than Sukuna really was?  

It's just another glimpse into his humanity. Who among us feels not a shred of self-doubt when we fail at what we believed we were good at?  

In this light, it became easier for me to reappraise his expression of doubt.

--------

There was a part when he made it sound as though he was trying to reach out to Sukuna and shit "all along", seemingly at the expense of his students, colleagues and adopted son. Make no mistake, the omission of his students and the goals Satoru made as himself (instead of as "the strongest") in this afterlife dream thingy is still bad.

Reaching out to Sukuna, though? I don't think it's necessarily OOC.  

See, Satoru shared many traits and inspirations from Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha. In line with those references, it's my interpretation that Satoru does not actually exhibit egoism—I know, it runs counter to the dominant understanding of Gojo's psychology in the JJK community—but self-less-ness. 

Not selflessness as in "altruism", but anattā--one of the Buddha's realizations upon his awakening (and again, a concept I strongly support. My best friend can tell you how much I talk about this. Hell, my blog description says as much). The way I see it, Satoru's confidence in himself is no different from his confidence in other people—it's all rooted in what he perceives this given "person" is capable of. To him, "Satoru" is simply another person who happens to be really good at a lot of things and so deserves to be praised and uplifted as anyone else who's good at what they do; the fact that this person happens to be himself is irrelevant*.  

*Note: I once had a YouTube comment discussion with someone, who was surprisingly knowledgeable on Buddhist philosophy, regarding the blurry line between selfishness and selflessness in Gojo. It was great; we discussed anattā and śūnyatā and ended at the Mādhyamaka (Mahayana) school. There, I expounded on why I interpret Satoru as "self-less" instead of "enlightened selfishness" in greater detail. I intend to transcribe it and preserve it here someday. Not now, though!  

When I put that understanding into CH236's context, it no longer shocks me to see Gojo wanting to reach out to Sukuna. For a self-less being, there are no distinctions between them ("them-self") and other beings ("other selves"). They are all psychocausal processes in the form of persons. Sukuna is, therefore, "another person" in Satoru's eyes.

Sukuna is a person who's the strongest in his time and was worshipped and feared—not seen as human but as a calamity embodied in a living creature. Note that Satoru's empathy for Sukuna didn't make him condone Sukuna's way of living as "the strongest" (i.e. hedonistic egoist) even in his bare-my-soul afterlife sequence; he merely expressed an understanding of Sukuna's psychology. That understanding led to Satoru expressing compassion to a person who was burdened by being too strong at the top—it was even doubly easy for him to empathize because of Satoru's own lived experience. You can see why Satoru then tried to alleviate Sukuna's suffering in a way he believed could work: giving his all, through humor, etc. These are likely what Satoru wanted someone else to do for him.  

You can trace this same attitude in the way he mentored his students. He didn't hold back much (ask Yuta and Hakari again how it feels to be punched by their sensei). He regaled his students (and sometimes colleagues) with excessive humor. He was unabashedly "giving his all"—his childishness and "annoying narcissistic ass" and insanity—to those he especially believed to be liable for being lonely, whether it's because of strength or perceived danger (Yuta, Yuji), circumstances (Yuji, Megumi), life experience (Maki, Nobara), mindset (Nanami, Hakari), etc. It could be gleaned even as far back as his interaction with Riko Amanai when he started to see her less as a job and more as "a person", and so recognized the sort of isolation and alienation Riko was starting to feel as a Star Plasma Vessel. He did the same thing with her—trying to alleviate her suffering through what he believed was best. And yes, he gave his all even back then (no sleep for 3 days, guys.)

---------

Gah the translator for this chapter is fucking amazing! I'm jealous! Also, "I love everyone" is poignant, I think, as it paralleled what was in his head during his awakening ("I don't hate anyone.") 

The choice Gege made in depicting the "flower" as lotuses has become subject to various theories. After all, it symbolizes rebirth in some cultures and interpretations. I think it's a valid point for his comeback theories (though I dare not allow myself to hope), but those aside, I actually simply thought of it as yet another allusion to Satoru's connection to Sakyamuni.

Pink lotuses symbolize Buddhahood—a bloomed one is a Buddha; a bud is a Buddha in the making. In Mahayana Buddhism, everyone supposedly has a Buddha nature and is therefore capable of liberation the way Sakyamuni did. They simply need the knowledge (dhamma)... and The Noble's Eightfold Paths/The Noble Eightfold Path taught by a teacher, of course. Gotta subscribe to the course, aye? 

This translation actually made me realize that yes, Satoru did mention his students... in a very annoyingly subtle way. 

I don't think these lotuses refer to himself. I think they refer to his students. 

Hear me out. His goal has always been to raise a generation that could all be strong, so that no one has to be lonely again... including Gojo Satoru (a.k.a. himself), because this would be a world that no longer needs him. To match it with the Buddhist allegory: Satoru, "the Buddha", is trying to raise all of these lotus flowers ("buddhas-in-making") to bloom.  

He can make his students bloom (his goal of raising them). He can admire his students (he's proud of them). But he cannot tell his students to "understand him."

Ultimately, he seems to think his students—or anyone, really—don't actually understand how lonely it is to be up here. He doesn't resent it ("I don't feel lonely now"), but it's still an experience that predisposed him to find some resonance in Sukuna. I find it plausible that perhaps, in Satoru's mind, Sukuna is no different from his students in some regards. It certainly fits the trait of a Buddha/Boddhisattva—to be capable of compassion even to creatures and beings most of us wouldn't be.  

(Or maybe this feeling comes even more easily considering the fact that Sukuna is wearing Megumi's face.) 

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

Now, I know this is already a long read, but my evolved thoughts are not done yet! This is concerning what I previously saw as the biggest character assassination: Nanami and Haibara's comment on Satoru's character. They basically painted him as a dude who really just did it for his pleasure and no loftier goals. The fact that Satoru didn't even deny it was just crap.

But someone pointed out that the face he made was a frown—Satoru was actually upset that this was what Nanami believed.

Now, I've always been crap at discerning emotions, which extend to expressions. I've interpreted his expression as Satoru feeling embarrassed for being called out or accused. But honestly, it also makes sense to think that this is Satoru frowning at the fact that he's still being misunderstood even after death. He likely didn't bother to correct Nanami because he rather asked Nanami how he felt when he died.  

And that, I think, actually dives into heavy meta.  

A sizeable number of those who decry Satoru as OOC in his death were upset that the man didn't show his signature self-assuredness, arrogance, and "winner mindset" (this is the gripe I personally disliked the most because it's close to turning Satoru into this Alpha Male egoist role model), and is all-around "acting like a jobber." It's as if they like Satoru because he's the strongest—not because he's Gojo Satoru.  

Some, meanwhile, were seething to see him praising Sukuna and trying to reach out to him, calling it OOC glazing, meatriding, etc.  

Even those who like him for his character and traits, such as myself, ended up upset at what we believed Satoru was not showing.  

Satoru is showing a side of his humanity and it was confusing to a lot of us in big and small ways, for different reasons. A good chunk of it is still, I maintain, the problem with Gege's execution. 

But in a meta-sense... 

It kinda shows that we don't understand him completely either.  

We're kinda being Nanami here. We think we get Gojo Satoru, but then sometimes, we don't... at least not until we try to understand him on his own terms. 

What's Gojo famous for?

For being the strongest, most handsome motherfucker who's cool and cocky as fuck with cool-ass OP powers and all that meme-worthy stuff.

He's famous for being Gege's "most hated character," for the jokes about him having zero personality, etc.

Famous for being MAPPA's golden child with glossy ass lips and eyes that burden their animating budget.

He's sexy and hot; fuck did you see what he did to Jogo in Shibuya? He's feral and insane; fuck did you see what he did to Hanami? Or that time he turned Toji into a donut? He's bombastic and larger than life.

He sometimes feels unreal, like an alien. Some people hate him, and some people adore him to bits.  

But it takes some digging and analysis for us to realize that Gege lied about him having no personality. Because Satoru is one of the most fleshed-out characters he's ever created. He had more human sides to him that surprised even us—we didn't know he was capable of self-deprecation. We didn't know he was so compassionate he tried to reach out to the villain as if he was Naruto fucking Uzumaki. We suspected other things, like his loneliness at the top, but most of us believed Satoru was more gleeful and smug about being at the top than being angsty about it.  

Maybe this was what Gege was trying to do. Or...maybe he didn't intentionally try to do this, and simply fumbled and messed up his way to genius meta-hood (honestly who knows by this point).

Either way, CH236 could be read as an experiment on how right Satoru was about him never being understood. There are just that many larger-than-life projections/assumptions imposed on him—with "he's the strongest" as the most dominant narrative. He was a "living creature" experiencing alienation and dehumanization, even when surrounded and loved by his admirers and supporters, despite sharing everyone's common thread of the human condition.

All he could do when we argued about how weird he was because he didn't fit what we believed... was to frown and move on.

---------

Extra thought:

I know it's a conspiracy theory by this point that Gege did Satoru dirty because Gojo is his least favorite character, but I really think Gege is joking. If CH236 sucks in its execution of Gojo's afterlife sequence, it's because Gege hasn't been doing emotional beats and characterization well for a long time by now. Not because he hates Gojo.

Think about it—Gege hasn't cared to pause the battle for some deep-cut emotional shit since the Culling Game arc, and yet CH236 is where the battle takes the backstage (so backstage it's a fucking OFFSCREEN DEATH. COME ON, GREG!). Every panel in that chapter was drawn with details and care, and he took a step back from the fighting just to give Gojo even more characterization and flesh.  

Guys, I really think Gege loves Gojo.

Him bashing Gojo is him teasing Gojo the way Gojo teases other people like Utahime and Nanami and Megumi. He doesn't really know how to show his love for Gojo in the manga because his executions do miss, but I think he crafted Gojo lovingly. He fucking loves him. I think I'm actually willing to bet on this.

----

The evolution of my CH236-centric ramble goes from here, to here, to this. I also wanna shout out to the answer in that Reddit post that helped me understand the emotional beat of CH236 better (which allowed me to realize something else). I don't have a Reddit account though. I ghost-read!

Thank you for reading my ramble.

[emmadaniels1]

Digital Retailing: Branding On The Web

The Role Of Social Media in Digital Branding

Social media marketing for the purpose of this blog can be compared to a toolbox. Inside this toolbox of social media marketing are many different tools that all serve different purposes BUT come together to create a masterpiece! Social media marketing is such a versatile tool for brands to use when stepping into the digital marketing world.

With that being said, this blog is going to key in on six specific tools that are used when brands use social media as digital branding tactic. The tools covered here will be brand awareness, the generation of leads, the importance of social listening, connecting social posts via hyperlink, brand authenticity, and growing an audience.

In no particular order… lets open the tool box!

First and quite possibly the most important, building brand awareness. Social media allows companies to create awareness around their products and brand by promoting such things on a social media platform. This awareness can help brands create growth whether it be sported growth or flourishing growth. Social media has the power to reach so many potential consumer and then create brand recognition. An article by Carol Kopp, What is Brand Awareness? Definition, How it works, and Strategies depicts perfectly what is, brand awareness. Kopp says, “Brand awareness is a marketing term for the degree to which consumers recognize a product by its name. Ideally, consumers' awareness of the brand may include positive perceptions of the qualities that distinguish the product from its competition.” (Kopp, 2022, p.1) Kopp explains that brand awareness is the idea that individuals will recognize your logo, product, or service without being told. This creates a connection or relationships between consumers and brands!

Second, along those same lines, brands can generate leads. These lead generations don't specifically key in on consumer or B2C sales. These leads can also include the creation of partnerships with other brands (B2B) or influencers on social media. These are usually referred to as collaborations and often spark after two brands find themselves posting similar content or seeing a pattern in customer request. This tool works best when filtering leads on social media to help visualize the future partnership. This filtration will then bring new potential consumers to your brand / company as potential customers!

Third, the importance of social listening. This also plays off the same idea mentioned previously. Social media allows brands to hear clearly what it is their consumers want to see. With old technology, phone calls, voicemails, emails, and mail don't always cut it. On social media, brands can see what it is the audience is saying. This is beneficial to both parties as it creates a uniform experience for everybody. Not only does social media allow brands to be in tune with consumers by social listening but it gives them a way to respond to customers. A lot of times customers come on a platform like twitter for example and reach out with questions regarding a number of things such as, shipping, returns, product info etc.… By tagging brands / companies in the tweets / posts it create a brand new life of communication. This is beneficially for both the brand and the customer. The brand / company can reply to a higher volume of twitter posts or comments than phone calls for example. This helps engage customers and relieve them of any potential extra stress or hassle that comes with digital shopping.

Fourth, social media allows brands to connect social posts to increase revenue. This means integrating proper CRM to direct consumers / followers to a website landing page. Breaking this down… What is CRM? CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and falls into place in the customer lifecycle. The CRM is implemented into social media in a way that can quickly connect brands and customers via hyperlink. These hyperlinked posts allow customers to tap a photo and end up directly on a company’s website looking at the exact product / service it is they were seeing as a social media post. This works because consumers can visibly see products in action and quick click, if you will, to make a purchase. Creating less steps for the consumer is the ideal goal, having the least amount of steps from interest to purchase point.

Fifth, now more than ever brands are trying to create brand authenticity. With social media this is made possible. Now for millions to see, brands can make consumers aware of their stance on pressing matters, and even more so push their mission statements to the public. Social media is a way for brands to make claims and show the masses the biproduct of those claims! Brand authenticity is important because it maps out to consumers who they want and don’t want to support. If you’re a brand who I caught in lies and scandals fewer people will want to support, you and your brand. On the other hand, if your brand has outstanding customer service reviews, high likeability, good product or service reviews this is something to publish to social media. A proud statement that allows followers to see who you are and what your brand stands for.

Finally, sixth, grow an audience. This different from tool 1 and 2 because this tool means to gain a following. While anyone could post on social media and have people view their products, taking it one step further is creating a platform that is relatable and easy for people or an audience to connect with.

Recapping the bigger picture, we covered six tools in social media digital branding that give companies the upper hand. Brand awareness, the generation of leads, the importance of social listening, connecting social posts via hyperlink, brand authenticity, and growing an audience.

Every tool in this social media toolbox is important. While some tools may see more play time than others it is important that each and every one of them is utilized to create the best outcome possible.

Kopp, C. M. (2022, January 23). What is Brand Awareness? definition, how it works, and Strategies. Investopedia. Retrieved February 1, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brandawareness.asp#:~:text=Brand%20awareness%20is%20a%20marketing,the%20product%20from%20its%20competition.

[smolstarthief]

Persona 5/Persona 5 Strikers: Pro-Police or Anti-Police?

Hoo boy... So this honestly has been a LONG time coming on my end because I have seen so much of that debate on social media (Twitter namely) and I can see the points of BOTH sides but there have been moments where it just got out of hand... Especially whenever people tried to put in a more grey/nuanced take only to be slammed and taken out of context. Even repeatedly mentioning the interrogation at the beginning of P5 which, I will admit has gotten tiresome. At least for me, I do still feel for Joker and I wished the game acknowledged his trauma more but there's a thing called, "beating a dead horse" and this is one along with "Haru says ACAB" in Strikers (which was done THREE TIMES in the same arc and it got annoying fast, like shut up already! We get it!). So, let's dive in a little bit:

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!!

Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal

Now let me just say I know! Police in Japan are just as bad if not worse than the West and I STILL hate the idea of Makoto wanting to become a cop for such naive reasons (especially with what happened to Sae, her own sister!)... But there are at least some of form of nuances sometimes and by that I mean, I can see what they were trying to do? I do agree that P5/P5S backpedaled SEVERELY by deciding to sweep issues under the rug after addressing them and not continuing from such. In fact I feel like it could have been a hell of a lot better. But P5 did something different compared to previous games and addresses the issues DIRECTLY right at the beginning of said game! It was tense and horrifying, but needed. Of course... They then sweep it under the rug and act like nothing traumatic happened to our protag which is NOT a good look at all and I'm still pissed off about it. In the main game's case, it's portrayed as more black and white with only a SMALL amount of nuance like that cop that was trying to help Futaba when she went out by herself and got lost (which people ignore entirely by the way). So I CAN see where people got the "anti-police" message from... But that's only the tip of the iceberg as it's ACTUALLY more about Systematic Corruption, not exactly or JUST police corruption. Namely in politics with Shido and the Conspiracy (which is apparently still somewhat around in Strikers until Owada's downfall) controlling everything all the way to law enforcement. The force had been basically under his payroll (including the corrupt SIU Director before his death) whether by force or not (mostly not in this case though). Now honestly, the police depicted there are undoubtedly rotten to the core save for a VERY SMALL handful (the cop that was trying to help Futaba which, again, gets ignored by several). Look at the interrogators who ruthlessly beat and drug a minor without any second thought or remorse for example. But again, the black and white narrative the game kept unwittingly doing ended up being to its detriment in a way. I'm not defending those assholes AT ALL! They deserved every punishment given to them! But for a game that goes on about grey morality... It doesn't quite deliver on that. Still though, it does emphasize that it's more of the fault of the whole corrupt system, not just one part of it. There needs to be change and reform which is what our MCs were trying to do in a way (more like inspiring change but still). In the end, it's all about the following:

Corruption and abuse of power.

Again the police depicted in this game were incompetent at best, corrupt at worse with very few silver linings. But it's not just them but rather the one person responsible for the whole mess. Who had them under his payroll? Who controlled them and by extension all of Tokyo? Who was willing to dispose of anyone who "outlives their usefulness" or is perceived as a threat to what he wants (including his own family)?

SHIDO AND BY EXTENSION THE CONSPIRACY

Bottom line: They are definitely a problem but it's not just them.

"But, Joker and his trauma?"

I definitely understand that and still do. I fully believe he has and still has trauma with the police. Easy! But... I do feel like people go too far with it sometimes. It's hard to explain but there have been moments where people either use it as a justification/argument against someone trying to provide a more nuanced view of things or... Dare I say, depict him like a "uwu soft traumatized boi." Like I said, it's hard to explain on my end so feel free to ignore it. Everyone deals with trauma differently so there is STRONG chance that I'm overanalyzing it. I just remember moments where I just feel a little, I guess annoyed? I'm not sure exactly but final thing: I understand what he went through and I can't imagine how long it would take to recover but I hope he DOES overcome it.

"Sae? Akechi?"

Yep, even though their jobs are different, they are by and large members of law enforcement no matter how you spin it. Both were broken in a way. Akechi is pretty easy to explain with how Shido negatively impacted his life but not much about Sae, who dealt with sexism/misogyny at her workplace along with the trauma of her father's (also a cop) death. She no doubt had some idealism only to be hit with the fact that she's gonna have to use underhanded/downright illegal tactics to get by and even rise up the ranks. She, therefore ended up (well, nearly) corrupted herself before coming to her senses. That's honestly one of the BIGGEST REASONS why I felt like Makoto joining the force to become a police commissioner isn't a good, even a downright naïve, idea. I honestly would have been somewhat fine with it if it weren't for that fact among other things. Regardless of her willpower, it will go south fast.

Now... Onto Strikers!

Persona 5 Strikers

Since the game came out and I started playing it, I still feel like the system is still beyond saving, especially when attempting to do it from the inside. But I don't mind the added nuances that P5 didn't do much of. It's still continuing the critiques, just shows more of what does happen within said system and even has an ACTUAL officer (Zenkichi) say, "Yeah, my job sucks, everyone's corrupt, there are much better ways to do things and make a change but not this. I'm only staying because I have a daughter to take care of and it's all I know. I'm no different from them." Was it all handled well? I wouldn't say "yes" (Joker's trauma is BARELY addressed at all of course) but a little better than what P5's narrative did which only addressed the issues but not exactly follow up on them. Now to be fair... In the system, regardless of where you live, any one within it who remotely tries to do something or speak against it either lose their jobs or even go "missing" irl. Those have happened and it's more proof that yeah, it's rotten to the core. There's no denying it but regardless, that's NOT what the game is about at all. At least that's what I feel about it as it's only PART of the narrative. I think Zenkichi puts it best here:

Speaking of Zenkichi... Oh boy... Now I definitely understand some of the criticisms with him but honestly, he was the best written (PT) character I've ever encountered! He was honestly the perfect representation of those that genuinely want to help and do good, only to be held back by an extremely harsh reality. It was already hinted at with Sae but here? It 100 percent confirms just how harsh and even cutthroat it can be if it could break someone's idealism so badly. Even Kaburagi of all people thinks the same thing Zenkichi said:

Then there's his past and it's a tragic one! But let's look more at the decisions he ended up making:

While it was no doubt done to protect his daughter, he ended making a selfish decision along with a selfless one (which was brilliant!) with not only allowing the cover up of his wife's death and denying justice for her, but also ruining an innocent person and their family's lives.

It's horrible, but also... There's a grey area/nuance as with the rest of his character. It was both understandable, but also wrong as he, as Akane's Shadow puts it:

He sacrificed his values, his morals, all for the sake of having a peace of mind. Speaking of Akane, she's also an interesting case in a way that she more or less perfectly represents the more "black and white" views on justice in general. Namely the more toxic/biased kind. Her reasons are also understandable but she was also acting selfishly by only focusing on how SHE was effected by Aoi's death and not even considering those that were also grieving her death and/or that people grieve/handle grief differently than her. But back on topic.

Her own views and beliefs that law enforcement basically SHOULD be dismantled (mostly out of said childish bias and black & white views) and it's framed as WRONG and it's very much correct on that. Chaos and order are two sides of the same coin, one can't exist without the other. When I say ACAB, I'm calling for reform, defund, have the corrupt held accountable for EVERYTHING and even face jail time for their crimes! Defund the police, have the ones that arrest, harm, and even murder out of bias (race, gender, etc.), lose their badges/jobs and locked up, make improvements! It's saying that there IS still corruption out there and there's no denying it. But fully eliminating the law in general will just lead to more problems. Now granted, she's young and clearly doesn't fully understand why those views are ultimately wrong but still... It was a very interesting subject to tackle and I feel like they handled it well.

Now back to Zenkichi, he was at first in denial about his decisions ultimately being the wrong ones too and even tries to justify it. Of course, his Shadow said otherwise and that was when he finally admitted that he really did act no different from the criminals he despised. But it also doesn't mean he can't redeem himself and that's what ultimately leads to his new resolve:

That right there along with everything else! There's the nuance! And ultimately despite some hiccups, Strikers handled the grey morality and nuance beautifully! Especially regarding law enforcement! Dare I say, even better than the base game! It continues the critiques with no problem but also showing different sides and areas of it! There is good and evil, but what about in-between? What about the more greyer area? It still says that there IS corruption, sometimes even beyond saving but... Sometimes a small silver lining is hidden somewhere.

Now, the ultimate question:

Is P5 & P5S (namely the latter) Pro-Police or Anti-Police?

Personally, my answer is this: Neither.

Why? What theme do they both have in common?

JUSTICE

Someone puts it best on Twitter that the games are more pro-justice and I fully agree!

P5/P5S gives the idea about following your OWN justice, your OWN moral code and rules, paving your OWN path and not let others dictate it! That's what the MCs ultimately start to learn in both games. Therefore it's pro-justice. Again, do I agree that the system is beyond saving? Yeah. Do I at least acknowledge and understand what the narratives are trying to say and nuances regardless even if I don't agree with some writing decisions (ex: Makoto wanting to become a commissioner despite everything)? Also yes. But at the same time, don't judge a book by its cover for other people (not just law enforcement and politics mind you). Especially some that genuinely DO want to help at best. That there is nuance and greyness, just have to look closely. Some of the MCs are still TERRIBLY written and executed (even annoying) but the message was still somewhat there.

Final Thoughts

Now I fully understand how you all feel of course! I still believe in ACAB and even I agree that maybe I'm one to talk and have a lot more to learn about the world... This is just my own attempt at putting my own two cents in. If you disagree, that's fine! This is just what I've felt should be at least talked about more often. And I tried to phrase it as best as I can without coming off as insensitive or ignorant and if I did, I sincerely apologize for that! I'm not trying to say, come off as a "bootlicker" or any of the sort. I'm just trying show discuss more of the grey areas and nuances that are, more often than not, constantly overlooked. How one interprets both games is ultimately up to them. You, the player. And this is my own interpretation. Simple as that. I hope you all have a good day/afternoon/evening!

[oootsevenlyon]

why I'm not happy about the cb/mOnO

mOnO is OnlyOneOf's announced new single to be released on September 10, 2021 and OnlyOneOf isn't excited about it.

Not to mention there's a song release while 8D Entertainment still refuses to address fans' concerns about Jisung's departure.

I'll put most of the rest of this under a cut because it's long and i'll be discussing bubble messages. but just in case you're like "what's mOnO?":

It's a digital single announced as their first 6 member release, first teased with individual portrait shoots starting September 1st and then more properly announced on September 7.

Under the tagline "from boy to man", it is supposed to convey a "more intense and mature look."

[here's the Naver article this quote is from]

So here's all the things that bother me:

First, a few short comments on things I don't have a lot to say on but that are still notable:

- the line "from boy to man" really bothers me because their previous releases haven't been immature at all, they're literally all adults who for the most part manage their own content and Kyubin is literally 29 none of them are boys what are you on about?!

- the whole release, including the photoshoot, feels very rushed. the picture quality is... decent enough i guess? Except if you look at the group teaser picture, the "OOO" mark is incredibly low-res which is really weird for a watermark

look at that. what's that?

As I've said before, quoting the TV show Skins is... a choice I can't make sense of? And there was that one quote that wasn't even a real Skins quote. It really feels like 8D just ... googled that? And then didn't even fact check? Doesn't feel like something OOO would do. Doesn't feel like something Jaden would do..

- obviously it's ridiculous that 8D was silent for a month about a major reorganisation of their only group and them quite apparently silencing their members and then just drops some teaser as if everything is normal, that's a given and i'm not elaborating on it here because i talk about it literally every day.

- "mOnO", paired with the black and white pictures, the whole theme appears to be about "monochromatic" - anyway, here's a quote by Nine from an interview: "It means a lot to get away from black and white. By adding more elements and colors to our albums, we hope to represent our growth.” (he's talking about the ice and fire packaging)

[link to the article is here]

And now - OnlyOneOf isn't excited about this release.

I'm really only basing this on bubble messages - we also have the fancafe and the member twitter account. But bubble is that one platform where I, like, check my phone on my lunch break and there's 37 new messages from Rie. So. Bubble. I'm paraphrasing in parts and you aren't supposed to post their messages outside of bubble because it's a paid service. But if you don't have bubble and you want to see their messages for yourself, there are places on the internet where you can find translations of all their messages from the very beginning.

I'll do this teaser by teaser, and put everyone's reactions:

Yoojung -

from Yoojung: "who saw the teaser~~~" (0:47 am KST) + that he was surprised when he saw the picture + thanking everyone for complimenting him.

from KB: saying that yoojungs photo is "a big hit 🤯 " (0:48 am KST)

KB -

from KB: "i like the teaser.." (17:02 KST)

from Nine: saying that KB's picture came out well (6.11 am KST)

Rie -

from Rie: "wow you guys are seriously amazing, i can’t believe you put it together.." (0:48 am KST) (*bc people were right abt his teaser being next)

Mill -

- Mill hasn't mentioned his or any other teaser -

from Nine: "oh!! it's Yongsoo?!? I thought it would be Junji 흐흐" + Mill's hair has gotten long + he's handsome (0:05 - 0:14 am KST)

from Rie: saying that his teaser looks like a perfume model (2:01 am KST)

Junji -

from Junji: "it’s me?!ㅎㅎㅎㅎ" (1:18 am KST)

from Nine: "doesn’t junji's hair fit him perfectly????!??!?" (17:53 KST) (but he didn't fall in love with him!) (+ next day talking about it again, "oh my jjunji isn't that too erotic...?!?!" (Sep 6, 1:27 am KST))

Nine -

from Nine: 19:28 KST - is looking forward to the teaser, hopes it comes out soon / 23:50 KST - "is it time already?!?!?" + what kind of picture will it be? / 1:28 am KST - "oh right my teaser is up too" (after talking about Junji's teaser again) + how he took out his piercing bc he thought it would fit the picture better

group picture -

- nothing -

video teaser -

from Nine: "oh the teaser was uploaded ㅎㅎ it's my voice 하 " (4:15 am KST)

basically - that's nothing. even with wookjin clowning us like that, it's literally nothing. they've talked about getting vaccinated a whole lot more than they've talked about this song. no word of excitement about the actual music. big "oh, right... the teaser" vibes. all the reactions we have are basically about the visuals, not about the content or the concept

[silverinia]

I came for Baranski, I stayed for Baranski - a quick Christmas On The Square review someone* actually asked for

(* thank you, anon)

Disclaimer: I am in no way a professional of any sorts when it comes to film and I'm not a journalist either. The last movie review I've written was probably for a school assignment in eighth grade. I didn't do research for this and I've watched the movie exactly one time, so this is just for fun.

It was a Sunday, Sunday the 22nd of November, nearing the end of the train wreck of a year that is 2020. I woke up on an air mattress around seven am, my head aching, my throat itching with pyrosis and light nausea, it was still dark outside behind the closed blinds in front of the windows, when I slowly realised where I was, one of my best girlfriends sleeping next to me in her bed. I had crashed at her place after a warm, fuzzy evening of mulled wine, tacky Christmas movies I would never watch alone (Christmas Chronicles and Holiday Calendar, which I quite honestly didn't enjoy at all, but the company made it fun anyway), doing our nails, wearing the fun kind of face masks for a change and smoking too many cigarettes, as the soft pain in my head informed me right now. She woke up an hour later and the morning went by with coffee and reheated pizza for breakfast, when we decided to watch another movie and I realised that it was THE Sunday I'd been waiting for through Zoom interviews and Dolly Parton twitter memes and the infamous wig gate that will be briefly discussed in the following, and so we clicked on the small icon in the Netflix menu that said "Christmas On The Square".

And oh boy, was it a ride.

To start off, I should mention that I have a hard time watching most modern day American Christmas movies, as I noticed quite vividly again when I watched the two aforementioned Netflix productions last night. The character development is always foreseeable to say the least, the plot lines are plain clichés hunting each other like they're the kids in The Hunger Games, and the writing is generally so bad that you can join the actors in reciting the entire scripts on your first watch. I watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas once a year while I'm gift wrapping and pause every fifteen minutes to shamelessly stare at forties Christine Baranski (I think we should all turn away from the birth of Jesus and instead count our years based on Christine Baranski's date of birth) in flamboyant nightgowns and short Christmas themed dresses, looking so fabulous that every interpreter of Santa Baby ever could only dream of it, I watch Love Actually at least five times a year to lust over Hugh Grant, cry with Emma Thompson and miss Alan Rickman, I enjoy Bridget Jones, which I would definitely consider a Christmas movie, and that's it. That's my yearly Christmas time entertainment routine and I can barely tolerate anything beyond, because I'm still traumatised from the time when I was around five years old and on a holiday family visit where had to sit through National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the dumbest movie I have ever seen (my apologies if you like it but also, who hurt you?), with my cousins. I hated it. I hated every minute of it. And it scarred me for life.

But this was a Christine Baranski movie, I knew she was going to play the lead and so I was pretty much as excited about this as I could. And the fact that Dolly Parton wrote the whole thing didn't hurt either. As I said earlier to my friend I was watching it with, I have the pop cultural taste of a fifty year old gay man, a quality I am most proud of, and this simply ticked off all my boxes.

I expected something similar to a Mamma Mia experience that wouldn't cause me to crave packing my bags, give Covid the finger and run off to Greece. Light-hearted entertainment, easy to stomach, uplifting music and so little plot that the simplicity feels like a creative choice. That's what my pained, hungover brain knew it could cope with and that's not what I got.

The movie started and I was immediately in the zone. I saw Christine Baranski's name in the front credits (an experience that never fails to make me scream "Yass Queen" at the screen, regardless of where I am and who I'm with, as if I'm the sobering result that pops out of the package when you order Jonathan Van Ness on Wish), the setting was wonderfully corny (I grew up watching Gilmore Girls once a week, so give me warm fairy lights and a gazebo and I'm perfectly happy) and as my friend wondered whether Dolly Parton, in her exaggerated homeless attire that didn't make her look shabby at all, was green-screened into the setting because she stood out so much (which she was because the background dancers were dancing in slow motion, but to be fair, we were probably still a little too drunk to notice that from the start) and I told her I thought that it was just the natural glow someone who's Dolly Parton simply carries with them everywhere they go, I was happy. This was the movie I was prepared for. A movie in which the most problematic thing would be stereotypical characters and the wig they hid Christine's real, flawlessly handmade by God herself hair under.

And then, around five minutes in, Christine Baranski's childhood love interest was revealed as she pressed her perfect pointy nose against the window of his shop and sang about her unrequited love.

And suddenly, things started taking turns at a pace I was still way too sleep-deprived for.

Suddenly, in the middle of my general amazement at seeing Christine Baranski do literally anything and laughing loud at her impeccable comedic delivery, there were unresolved daddy issues, hanging prominently at the wall in her marvellously designed house (she literally says "Daddy" at one point and I couldn't help but think that only someone with her vocal skills could keep from making it sound cringe-worthily kinky). One moment, I was clutching my chest above my heart while she was bonding with little bartender Violet and munching on pretzels while downing some whiskey in that elegant way only Christine Baranski can bond with ten year olds who had it rough, eat pretzels and down whiskey, and the next she felt responsible for said girl's mother's death (which she kinda was too, but I'm not the boss of her). I was still busy making fun of how the very annoyingly, but when you're snacking on pizza with extra cheese at nine in the morning also highly funny, slow talking pastor's name was Christian, and suddenly there was a cancer scare.

It was a lot, a hasty sprint from major issue to major issue with a hint of comedic relief every now and then, and it didn't get any less until the very, rather poorly resolved, end.

The entire, constant up and down was followed by the movie's peak of suspense, the near death of precious Violet, something I couldn't even get too invested in because I was still so busy worrying about Christine's MRT results (I was truly fucking worried), not to mention that I hadn't even started to really process the sudden revelation of the love child and how it had affected her character's actions until this point. Was her constant tendency of pushing people away, as we've seen most clearly with her angel in training assistant who's name I cannot recall right now, the result of her broken trust in her father who practically ripped her son away from her after she had just given birth to him? Was it a result of her never getting the closure she needed with plaid flannel wearing Carl she was clearly still in love with? Maybe both? And what of the many issues was it that made her so incredibly shaken up when Violet blamed herself for her mother's death? Was it 'just' due to the fact that the closed pharmacy was on her, or was there more to it? Was it because she had grown up without a mother herself? Or did I miss a major piece of information because I was momentarily distracted, dumbfoundedly staring at Christine's very blue eyes? No time to ponder on that, little Silverinia, because here comes unconscious Violet in an ambulance, WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO!

I'm not going to go in depth about what plot lines I thought were especially carelessly handled and why, real standouts were the sudden forgiveness towards her father who had still acted like a shitty asshole even though he might have had his reasons, because giving the baby up for adoption just wasn't his choice to make, and the fact that I kind of didn't buy how quickly Regina managed to forgive herself, especially for Violet's mother's passing, considering how deeply her tall, slim, dare I say angelic and entrancing figure was buried beneath the weight of all her issues. It felt rushed and incomplete, but that's as detailed as it gets because my major point is something else.

I think this movie made the great mistake of trying to be more than your average, flat, happy ending Christmas movie. I think no one involved thought it was possible to make it a big hit if the only real plot would've been great Dolly Parton music, fun ensemble dance choreographies, Christine Baranski's outstanding acting skills, fun settings and costumes and a redemption arch with as little plot as it could possibly take to make Christine likable to those who aren't already lost forever in the rabbit hole of being obsessed with her (poor fuckers, can't relate). They didn't notice that with the legends that were involved, they could've easily gone the Mamma Mia way. And I think that's why they tried to include heavier plot lines than most creators would've chosen, experiencing loss at an early age, struggling to find closure, dealing with sickness, teenage pregnancy, parents forcing their choices on their children when they affect their childrens' lives first, adoption, and the fear of losing your kid.

It was a lot and I don't want to say that it didn't work because my friend was crying, like, pretty hard and I questioned my entire existence all through the movie in not the worst way, and I did enjoy it a lot while watching. The "grief is love with nowhere to go" line was a real standout, for example, where the attempt of complexity DID work. It positively gave me fleabag season two, "I don't know what to do with it now, with all the love I have for her." - "I'll take it. It sounds lovely. You have to give it to me." feels, and that's about the biggest praise I can come up with. BUT (and this is written in capital letters because it's the big but) I'm also totally convinced that I wouldn't have enjoyed it if they hadn't cast Christine Baranski for the lead role. In my humble opinion, the hasty, not really at all resolved plot of this movie only worked because Christine Baranski is just a fantastic actress. She quirks a mocking eyebrow and you laugh. She parts her perfectly painted red lips and you immediately hang on them because you don't want to miss a single breath she, a literal goddess, graces us mere peasants of people with. She smiles and you're happy. She laughs and even while she's still laughing, you can't wait to hear her do it again. Her eyes fill with tears and you feel goosebumps on your arms, her voice slightly trembles, a breath hitches in her throat and you feel your heart shattering to pieces. As Chuck Lorre once said, this woman could read you the phone book and you would end up laughing tears because she just gets the job done. She knows what she's doing, she's an absolute pro in her game, and it doesn't matter, not even a little bit, what she's working with, because the work she eventually delivers with it is always at a minimum of 200%. I forced my friend to watch this movie with me because I adore this woman, and I felt for this movie because I felt for her. It wasn't the plot that sadly brutally overestimated itself, it wasn't the songs that I obviously enjoyed, nor the comedic elements that truly made me laugh a lot, it was all her. I came for Baranski, and I stayed for Baranski. This woman can do anything. She can even look graceful in a terrible wig job.

(side note / unpopular opinion: I actually didn't think the wig was all too bad. It wasn't good, actually far from good, but for me, nothing can match the awful wig game of Mamma Mia 2. I loathed that wig, I absolutely cannot stand it. So this didn't feel all that terrible. It definitely wasn't the most problematic part about the movie.)

I enjoyed watching this. It was a nice distraction from all the bullshit in the world. Watching it today was the first thing this year that actually brought me something close to excitement about the holiday season, even though everything will be very different and probably not quite as jolly this year. But it just gave me good vibes and as someone who did not watch this as a film reviewer, that's the biggest part of what leads me to enjoy a movie.

Will I watch this again? For sure. Will I enjoy it when I'm not hungover, having freshly done nails and munching delicious pizza for breakfast? Probably not as much, but it'll still have Christine Baranski in it. Would I recommend watching this? If you share my obsession with Queen B, one hundo. If you don't, probably not.

[buddha-in-disguise]

That Ultimates question!

I’ve seen numerous posts about the question asked of Chyler in regards to social media at Starfury Ultimates, May 2019. (Link will be at the end for her full answer if you haven’t read it or wish to refresh your memory).

The amount of disinformation as to who asked the question or what the question actually entailed is quite startling.

I’ve seen people say it was inappropriate, that the question should never have been asked. But before I get into this too much, I need to say the question was reviewed by a number of Starfury staff after the event and all agreed that it was a well worded question. These are neutral staff, who run these events for a living, so are perfectly placed on to what is or isn’t appropriate.

So my first point is this: one person asked the question, entirely on their own initiative. Let’s not blame someone just because you believe it to be true. It isn’t.

It was also talked about to others before Ultimates, seeing if it should be asked - and the driving force behind that question was truly about social media and hate. Not how it should be worded or to attack a group or people in particular.

So look, here it is. The photo of the handwritten question (that is accurate & not a mock up). This is posted with full permission.

So yes, Sanvers is mentioned, but in truth, we can easily say it was way beyond Sanvers on this question. Remember the way Chris Woods was attacked? Or how about Floriana. Both got horrific amounts of hate and that in turn led to some awful fights going on between sections of fans and it can and does still go on.

However, we can also say that once Azie was announced it became another horrible situation, and that was in part why this question was asked. I saw fans being attacked for supporting Azie, or for still supporting Chyler in her role as Alex, or still supporting the show and much more.

Let alone the hate that was spewed by fans towards the person posing the question was that was almost immediate on Twitter. Hate that could’ve had police involvement in some cases it was so bad. Yes possible police involvement was mentioned. That hate trickled down to anyone associated with the person who asked the question, the severity depending on the perceived closeness of that friendship. So I and my husband got some hate as well, albeit not to that level.

I personally got attacked by numerous fans over comments I made on my own timeline, that wasn’t directed at anyone beyond my own thoughts & opinions before Ultimates. I didn’t @ anyone or hashtag anyone or a fandom. Yet I got horrific almost immediate hate the moment I posted things. So did my husband. Both of us had posts completely misrepresented. In several instances people completely misread them and even when this was pointed out, we still got attacked.

I got DM’s telling me who I should or shouldn’t follow for months in advance of May from people I barely knew, or had never interacted with. All trying to sway my opinion on someone or something. Even when I politely asked these posters not do that, that I was getting dragged into something that had nothing to do with me, and that I really didn’t appreciate it - I’d get the replies of ‘yeah fine, we get it’ - only for them to carry on with more reasons why I should listen to them & agree with them.

Let’s just turn this around - If someone comes into your timeline or your DM’s & told you to stop posting about someone or something, or who you can & can't interact with, you’d be rightly annoyed.

I know we can’t always agree on things, but if there is one thing I am sure of it’s we should all use our own critical thinking on how we interact on social media. I absolutely do not agree with telling anyone how they should be around other users if I don’t like their friendship and especially wouldn’t say anything if I wouldn’t interact with them normally, or how they should post on your own timeline (unless it is outright bullying or racist, bigotry etc). That becomes authoritarian and in part egotistical if you turn around and say you can only listen to my opinion.

We can’t all like the same people or agree on the same things, yet too often this is taken as being an automatic attack on someone or a fandom, or group. The reality is, that is real life; we are all different, not robots to be commanded about how we think or act. That sort of expectation becomes more like a cult than fandom (and for goodness sake before anyone accuses me about making that comment specific to a fandom, I’m not).

So let me say from a personal standpoint; I was glad that question was asked, because I had seen my husband have aspects of himself attacked (especially being transgender and referred to ‘it’ more than once), or how I was pushed on how to behave, what to say or who to interact with, or just attacked especially behind the scenes. This was going too far. And yes - this was all from Sanvers fans in our instance. Not anons or alt accounts, but known active Sanvers fans. This is when I do mention a fandom, but it applies to more than one group. This doesn’t mean I’m dismissing others' experiences, but merely mentioning my own. If attacks were so bad after the question, that police involvement was a distinct possibility, that is what is not acceptable. These again were Sanvers fans and we can’t shy away from that.

Also I think it’s important we remember Chyler’s opening & closing lines on her reply, as it helps show how important it was for her to answer the question:

The start of her answer.

“So, so, I’ll be very honest with you, I’m very glad that you asked me that question, and this is a very big discussion amid our crew, in this season in particular, as far as our gaggle of gals has expanded. It includes Melissa, and it includes Azie, and it includes ah, Katie, and we’ve had multiple conversations about you know, about the fandom….”

The end.

“I love you all. And I really want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’m surprised I said so much.”

As for it put Chyler on the spot and she felt uncomfortable answering or it made her cry. If you go to enough conventions over the years, you know if Chyler didn’t want to answer I’m pretty sure she she wouldn’t have given the length or depth of answer she did. Reminder of her words: I’m very glad that you asked me that question.

I’ve seen guests plenty of times either politely decline to answer something (usually with; ‘this really isn’t a question I feel is right to ask or relevant to the panel’ or a variant of that, to answers that are brief & fairly basic). Chyler’s was neither of those.

Yes, Chyler did get emotional towards the end, but if you took the time to read what she said, it isn’t surprising. This was obviously something that was emotive for her, not because of the question per se, but because of what it meant as a whole. It was also asked at the Supergirl panel, not the Sanvers panel as that seems to be going around.

Plus refer to my earlier point, neutral Starfury staff had no issue over the question & thought it well worded.

I also have to ask: if this question had come from anyone else in the audience, would these kind of things be said? I truly doubt it would. For some maybe it wouldn’t change their opinion, but I really think that a lot of what has happened is not because of the question itself, but because of who asked it.

I say that in part because I saw Tweets flying around well before the question was even asked talking about who was in line to ask something, and variants of the theme of that it was bound to have a go at Sanvers fans, and how dare the bullies be given a platform to speak. So without even knowing what was going to be asked, people were placing their own opinion as fact out there on Twitter.

Another thing I should mention is that people are saying the question meant the Sanvers panel the following day became a moderated panel.

No. It didn’t. That moderation was announced by Sean before the Supergirl panel began, long before the question was asked or known. Again, don’t put your own bias on this. Why it was moderated had nothing to do with it, and placing that sort of accusation on people is not right.

Also when people say it wasn’t the right arena for the question to be asked. Why not? It’s a fandom event and the question was about fandom. This comes back to something I’ve mentioned before; if you don't like an answer to any question, it doesn't automatically make it that the question is wrong. In fact, if you simply say a question is wrong, even before an answer is given, it holds as well - it doesn’t automatically mean the question is wrong. Just as difference of opinion, no matter how unsavoury to you, doesn't mean it is bullying.

It’s also been said the question should never have been asked as it made attendees cry & get upset.

As much as I’m empathetic that some were upset, we can’t not ask questions purely because we feel it might not be well received by everyone there. We can’t know it will upset people to the point of crying, anymore than you can say it shouldn’t be asked. As I say, we have to genuinely ask, was it the person asking the question that caused that reaction, or the question itself?

If it was the question itself, what part exactly? Because as a question overall, without cherry picking out words to take them out of context, I personally feel it was valid and seeing Chyler answer as she did shows me it had merit.

Last but by no means least: It's obvious some people object to me and my opinion and that's fine. I accept people can't always agree on things. I just ask people don’t continue to come onto my account or my timeline to carry on discussions knowing we’ll never agree on something. That serves no purpose other than to browbeat someone and honestly, I don’t have the time or energy to keep repeating the same thing ad-infinitum. I post on my timeline, and don’t ask anyone to read it or retweet it. I don’t do it with any agenda beyond trying to spread kindness or awareness. If you don’t want to see my posts, by all means please block me. I don’t have issue with that, but if you or others continue to stalk my account, then you and you alone have that responsibility.

Link for Chyler’s answer:

[jacksbutland]

ChriKra did an amazing interview, I think they overran by an hour, but it was sooooo funny...!!! They had people ask him questions. Jonas Hofmann asked "Hi Chris, it's Jonas. I'd really like to know: Do you like your own dressing style?" and Chris replied Yes! He does! He's aware he's a very boring dresser, with his trousers and basic t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts, but he's comfortable and that's his priority. "I sound like I'm > forty, don't I? WHO CARES!" interviewers: So the others in the

dressing room have more swag?“ Chris "I mean *obviously*! Just look at Ibo Traoré! He can pull off *everything*! To be honest, I’d love to be able to wear that, all that glitz and glam and gold that he does, but if I tried that people would say ‘look at the lanky German, what does he think he’s doing?!” He says some nice and wise things as well, and spends a good deal gushing about Thorsten Mattuschka, which is so cute. “To me it was love at first sight!”

He also he says he currently “can’tstand Dieter Hecking” for benching him. The reporter’s obviously a bit shocked and CK says “That’s normal, isn’t it?” and says he and Hecking get on really well personally; though you can tell he’s really miffed, & that Hecking’s not giving him good reasons for it (Hecking was actually asked about that statement by Chris and said he understood him perfectly & that it definitely wasn’t Chris’ fault. A bit weird.) 

His former Bochum coach asks a question, Kießling and Leno, Lars and Ginter, Knippiand Mattuschka and a comedian and the ZDF presenter that he did the world cup stint with (Breyer, who starts out “Hi my favourite colleague, 1st question, when will you hang up your boots and join me full time?”). HAHA! He’s asked if there are people who just know him as TV pundit, not as a footballer, because apparently Mehmet Scholl mentioned that once. CK “Well I can say, my presenting went over well with the ladies over sixty. I’ve got many elderly ladies telling me know what a cute littlelittle thing I am. I trace that back to the ZDF work, rather than football…” Apparently the cashiers in the supermarket say that to him “And I have to say I love it, every time! It’s the best compliment!" BILD reporter "It’s obvious, by the way, that you are quite well liked by your teammates and other colleagues, since every single person we asked to participate and send in questions agreed to do so immediately. Well, one exception. We also asked Max Kruse and he said he'd do everything for Christoph Kramer, but not for BILD. Which, well, ok, fair play to him, I respect that." .... 

oh, he's still keeping that diary. Düsseldorf game entry goes something like "sat on the bench again and it sucked, really annoyed. On the other hand we won 3-0, still up in the table, yay." Also he does NOT complain constantly about not playing "that would be really shitty for my teammates who do play, wouldn't it?" and the atmo in the team's apparently great, and heloves them all. Would he rather play for Dortmund or for Bayern? Neither, he wants to stay in Gladbach. What was the best offer that he seriously considered before deciding against it? Ever since 2014 he's repeatedly been approached by Italian clubs and he did consider it once, during the season at Leverkusen, but then Gladbach contacted him and everything else became irrelevant. 

"You learned to play the guitar -" "No stop it, shut up, I didn't." "What?" "Well. I can't. I really tried but I... I can't. It really hurt on my fingers as well, I was so told it was supposed to, but no. You know, if you have ten lessons and still can't play a single chord, you have to face the truth: you're not made out to play the guitar. I'll take up piano lessons soon, but I'll fail that, too." "Is that really the spirit?" "Oh, I definitely won't be able to play two-handed, but, you know, maybe with one hand. Actually I just want to be able to say, "care to hear a song?" and then play one." "Oh, so we'llsee you on stage soon on the piano." "No, you definitely won't. I have not a single musical bone in my body. Probably once my football career is over, when I can focus all my energy and concentration on music, I'll try really hard and learn to play the recorder." HAHAHA. He's really quite funny. 

Leno asks why, even after he left, there was a pair of shoes of his hanging in some room of the Bayer 04 premises. And he gets all emotional: those were his FAVOURITE shoes! A pair of white adidas running shoes, he loved them so much. And he stepped in dog shit with them!! "So, dissolved in tears, I ran into the showers with them and spent ages trying to clean them, but the material, and the surface structure was such..." He couldn't get them clean. Or rather, they looked alright, but they still *smelled*. He should have thrown them away, but he *really didn't want to!!!* So he hoped that if they could just air out they'd be alright & so he hung them on a hook in some little back room."So if, by chance, anybody from Leverkusen is listening and, hoping against all hope, those shoes are still there: I'd REALLY like them back!! ...But you've probably long thrown them away and I really can't blame you..." He is soooo funny, and really likable. 

The thing with the podcast is that he gets a squeaky toy (or whatever) and when he doesn't want to answer he can use it, he gets that option 2x2 times (2 for each part of the podcast) and he does use it once. The reporter starts "A littlewhile ago someone tried to blackmail you with pictures - oh ladies and gentlemen, there it is-" "[squeak]" Do you want to hear more? The entire thing is priceless. To the interviewer's great surprise, he's recently taken up golf. "Yes, well, my parents are both newly retired and to stop them from bashing each other's head in spending all that time together at home, I had to think of sth I could do with my dad so I gave him golfing lessons for his birthday. And it's much more fun than expected.""What about your mum?" "Her birthday's not been yet. But I have to think of something. I hope I will." 

The first part is about sports, Gladbach, Bundesliga, fans/ultras, world cup 2014, world cup 2018, his career, the second part is more personal. I don't know how long it's supposed to be, but in the first part, at some point, the interviewer says "to be honest we've already run far overtime but I actually have no intention of stopping you, I'm having so much fun...". It's called phrasenmäher (pun on "Phrasen" and "Rasenmäher") and I'd never heard of it before, but going by the reactions on twitter, ChriKra's was the best one yet and much more entertaining than the previous one with Lahm twitter com/DreiMannSturm/status/1062081498998824960. It's really extremely entertaining! (They also talk about some serious stuff, btw. I was quite happy with the big majority of his responses. But all in all, he's really very likable!)

thank you for sharing this interview w me honestly chris is such a babe and i really like that his personality really comes through in interviews like these

also lmfao at max drawing the line at bild but it’s so nice to see that theyre still close

i cant believe he’s getting on the golf bandwagon

kinda wanna know wha the question about the pictures is about but if he doesnt wanna talk about it fair play to him

maybe i’ll take a listen though i probably won’t understand much so honestly massive thanks to u for making me aware of his interview n translating stuff for me (one day ..... one day i’ll be able to understand enough german to listen to interviews and read articles but for now i shall have to rely on u my lovely anon)

[freakypumpkin]

hello there !!! i have a few questions about your art, if you don't mind; first of all, i'd like to tell you how much i love your art style !! it is absolutely incredible and so unique and soft at the same time, i find that so gorgeous i could look at your drawings for hours !! so, i was wondering. how did you find your style ? i've been struggling with that recently, and feeling like i can only draw things if i have a reference to copy (for portraits mostly), and basically not using my (1)

(2) imagination much- that probably is because i’ve gotten used to copying, and therefore i feel more satisfied doing that because the results look better. however, it’s really became frustrating to see that i can’t exactly use those capacities that i have when i’m copying stuff and apply them to drawings for which i don’t use ref. how do you deal with this, and how do you manage to visualize things enough before drawing them? i’m guessing you’ve been drawing for quite a while ? i feel like -

(3) your sketches have such a natural good line, if you see what i mean ? if that’s not too invasive or whatever, can i ask you how long they usually take you to make ? and finally, what type of markers do you use to color in your art ? it looks so pretty, on some of your pieces it looks almost like digital art and that’s really mesmerizing i’m just !!!! wow. hope you’re having a good day !! lots of love for you

So, first of: I love you. It means so much, that you enjoy my art that much. 

Sorry for taking a bit with my answer, but I wanted to have some time to give a proper one. Also, never be afraid to ask questions. I’m constantly fascinated, that people are actually interested in my art. 

Your art style is something, that’s always evolving. I had at least three times already, when I thought, i had found my style and it changed again. Drawing means constant learning. You’re never completely done and there’s nothing wrong with that. I also believe, that in a way, you always have a certain style of your own because no person is like the other. You might not realize it, but in a way your drawings already are unique just because you drew them and nobody else.

About the markers I use: I have copic ciao markers. Haven’t really used them in a long time, but they didn’t dry out. They are quite an investment, but if you can afford it, they are really worth it and also make great birthday presents. (;3) I don’t know much about cheaper alternatives, but I hear, that they are pretty good, too. Basically they are alcohol-based markers, that are refillable. Now, you usually get specific marker paper for it, which is made to not suck up the ink and stop it from bleeding, but I don’t like the texture of that kind of paper, at least the one I have, so I use thicker paper, which sucks up the ink, but also allows it to bleed into each other, an effect I love to work with. (They get empty this way quite fast, but I have refill ink for the colors I use most and you can refill them quite often with one bottle of ink.) It also depends wether or not you like the brush tip.

I have been drawing for a while now, I dreamt of going professional when I was in middle and high school. Then I had a scarring conflict with my art teacher in the AP art course, which made me drift towards writing because I had it in my head, that my art would never be good enough to get anywhere, so I stopped taking it seriously myself for about 5 years. Only recently, after finishing my final paper for my literature studies, I got back into drawing, probably because I was so sick of writing after these months of working on the paper. And basically I only now get back to the level of accepting my own art as something good, something that is worth investing time in.

My influence and basically the reason I started drawing, was reading Mangas and wanting to draw them. I loved the art style of certain series, the character design choices and just generally the way this type style can be so unbelievably expressive and dynamic, how they work with blanks, with black and white  contrast, the expressions of the eyes, the use of panels, the use of chibis and screentones, etc.  And I guess, that over time, from seeing different art styles I just took the things, that I liked and combined them. (Like drawing hair in bigger strands and always somehow curly and never completely short, or narrow hands with long fingers and also mostly women, I think Magnus and Alec are my exception of drawing guys …) 

Going from drawing with reference to drawing without is a challenge, I know that. I’ve been drawing without references for the most time (also due to a ‘you can’t do portraits at all’-comment I got in highschool), then I did it to give drawing portraits a shot again, then I tried doing it without and couldn’t come up with anything. And if you have trouble coming up with your own ideas, then maybe don’t just use photographs as reference, but also other people’s art, that you like (of course, never post it without credit, ask the artist if it’s okay if you want to post something, etc.), but maybe  this way, it would be easier for you to get away from clean photographs and to the path of developing your own ideas.For me it’s also always important to look through other people’s artwork, I follow a bunch of artists I like on instagram, on twitter etc. just so I can keep a certain visual impulse going and at some point, I’ll think, ‘Hey, that composition is pretty cool’ or ‘I could try that angle’ and stuff like that. Find your different sources of inspiration and use them. Photographs are not the only choice you have. :) Also, drawing from reference is not inferior to drawing without. It’s different, not easier. You only draw portraits based on pictures? You’re still a legitimate artist. You are good and you’re doing a good job. (Not to mention, that those that can copy photographs have my highest respect, that stuff is difficult as hell.)

About visualizing the drawings … I don’t know, I mostly just tend to visualize everything, remembering notes with the help of mental pictures, drawing cartoons to learn dates for a history exam. But I think, I got a lot of different imagery from my time of reading mangas and now I’m just using them like an archive of ideas.This also tends to lead to me staring at a blank page not being able to decide on just one picture I want to draw. But usually I wait until I have the base structure of the picture, then I put down the general shape of the bodies of characters and then I decide if I want to go with the details I had planned or change them, but I have the basic idea, that acts like an anchor.(Though I would also like to add, that there are artists, who work with very clear concepts and there’s no ‘right’ approach.)

The time I need is different, because sometimes I spend like half an hour just to get the hands right, but I would say, maybe about half an hour for a messy one, depending on size and details, one hour for a clean one, around an additional hour for lineart and color (on small drawings) and two additional hours for bigger ones … I’m not sure, what you mean by ‘natural good line’, because I’m not always that impressed with them, but I’m glad you like it :) What I’m also very thankful for in terms of my art, is owning a lightbox, to which I lately found the power cable again. And with that I started sketching with color pencils and then go over them with a regular pencil, this way you get a form of ‘erasable lineart’, which is super nice to copy via a lightbox or another way of tracing the picture. 

(It’s also quite a fun effect in itself …) But this way, you can trace your drawing as often as you wanted and if you want to try three different color combinations? Go ahead. You’re scared of messing up lineart? Just go for it, if it doesn’t work, you can always go again. Tracing your own artwork is perfectly acceptable. 

I don’t know if this was helpful in any way, I hope it was, but I feel like I just end up rambling a lot and not giving proper answers. If that’s the case, feel free to ask again, if you have the nerves for that. And again, thank you for letting me know, that you enjoy my art, it means a lot to me. :) And really, never be afraid to ask question, I’m weird, but mostly harmless.

I wish you a great day! :3 Lots of love to you, too!