#virtual net idol

[sakuraghosttown]

Chiyu-12 SAI & Biscuit-tan by Poyoyon Rock

[aniwebfindsko]

[zetaflarep]

My next four prompts for Fashioctober! Gyaru, Sanrio, Jirai Kei, and Oversized featuring Noriko, Koneko, Urara, and Miu!

[horriblengrossstories]

40 (and then some) facts about Derek Goffard

so a couple years ago before Gato deleted her blogs, I copied and pasted all her answers and information about Derek

I have crammed them all into a list, what you in "parentheses" are direct quotes.

I think it will be useful for anyone wanting to write some fics about him.

(again these are copy and pasted from gato old blog, none of these are mine, I just tried my best to organize them)

Derek goffard is 27 years old, and 5,10 in height.He is Canadian “ and probably hails from a rich area outside a large city” And in his route was described as “young, spoiled, and has a monstrous personality-” and “ it’s probably easiest to run into Derek and Derek IS specifically hunting you-” “his path is actually based on the deserts of South America “

Derek has only killed in the desert, and he hasn't gone that many times (was never given the actual amount) 

Derek refuses to wear a mask in the desert because he believes nothing could possible go wrong out there :) 

“He's very clean, almost obsessively. He was made to appear perfect at all times, especially in public  only his 'vacations' into the desert where he ever really gets to be unkempt.”” Derek absolutely goes to black tie events… constantly. He’s very well behaved and often garners praise from his father’s peers for being a prodigious heir to his position.”

“Derek was beaten regularly, especially if he ever cried.” “That's part of the reason for the large tattoo on his back [ a coverup for scars ]”

Derek is an Extrovert! And “Derek is the pickup artist on social media

“Derek has more available funds to him, and Celia has a higher personal net worth.”  “Most of 'his' money isn't even really his either- it's still his father's. His life is very tightly controlled” “Derek has virtually unlimited assets available, but they technically belong to his dad- not him. “ “While he’s still ‘under his dad’s thumb’ financially, he has been raised and trained to evade taxes via offshore accounts and bullshit ‘charity contributions’. A classic wall street leech.”

Derek has no real friends! “People sometimes suck up to him in public for his connections, and he might mistake this for friendship”

“Derek cannot maintain a romantic relationship. Due to his shitty personality, the only people willing to ‘date’ him are gold-diggers, who he treats exponentially worse right off the bat.”

If Derek was an animal he would be a Hyena!

“Has two different 'kinds' of drunk. One is 'bastard frat boy' drunk, which you can probably guess at. Deeply irresponsible with alcohol when he's carelessly partying. The other kind of drunk is 'fake drunk' and involves wandering around while swapping different drinks in his hand and not drinking all of them. It means he wants to appear harmless and has another goal in mind. 'bastard frat boy' drunk is actually the better option.”

“Derek: Very good at performing the act of kissing”

Derek is the most likely to insult you to your face. And he“Will find some way to insult MC about them. Even if he finds them cute, he will probably be derogatory anyway. [ The more he insults them, the more he probably likes them ]”

Derek secretly idolizes Machete he thinks that he is “mysterious, calm, and cool. Other people seem to naturally respect him.” and “Derek actually never notices Machete in that scenario (ﾉ´ｰ`)ﾉ All he sees is YOU”

 Dere does buy overly expensive clothes but it's mostly suits, since “He doesn’t particularly LIKE the clothing on a personal level but he has a deep understanding of it so that he can judge others on what they wear.”

“Derek Would never eat off the floor, but would pay someone to eat off the floor for his amusement.” and “Derek would deliberately order something wildly expensive or privately prepared by a chef and then act like it was some garbage food”

He isn't super materialistic, but he still is, more to the extent that“ it’s that he’s gone so far into jaded that nothing is good enough for him. thing is off limits, which makes nothing exciting.” and “My number one awful spender is Derek. Derek is given disgusting amounts of money by his dad and subsequently has no respect for it. Not only does he constantly spend on overpriced shit from booze to parties to cars, but he also goes through that stuff like it’s disposable. He’ll buy a vintage wine just to smash the bottle.He’s like a loan shark that wants to be paid back in suffering and humiliation,Accepting money from Derek is not a Good Idea™”

 Derek is seen as the "spoiled rich boy" of the group and he is not happy about it

Derek gets off to blood and violence but- “crying is what really does it for him” If Mc is an angry crier then “He’d mock them mercilessly. It would bring out of the side of Derek that’s a walking, breathing 4chan.” his favorite type of crying is “Fear, wailing, hanging on to his every word.” but ugly sobbing with tears, snot, spit. And cute little hiccups in between whimpers and tears will also get him “sprung”

Derek is gatobob “horniest character “ and“ my(gatobob) interpretation of Derek is of a man who is too impatient to bother with anything that impedes his ability to get his dick into something as fast as possible.

Derek has a lack of “aim when it comes to satisfying his own needs because he doesn’t consciously understand everything he wants”

Derek could be convinced that getting earrings are cool, but “but he’s generally held to strict standard of appearance. Must look professional at all times*”

“ Derek has decided MC belongs to him and isn't willing to take any chances on escape at all” he woulsnt develop “warm feelings” “BUT Derek would get extremely attached. He's never taken someone home before, and he's never had an 'outlet' during the rest of the year outside of his 'vacations'. He'd be so much happier having someone at home he can abuse at any time.” “Whenever he'd be out or forced to participate in social gatherings or meetings, he'd be thinking about his pet and fantasizing about being back home and doing whatever he wanted.” “So yeah, warm feelings? Maybe not so much, but attached? YES, massively so, obsessively possessive.” “he’d grow attached to his little punching bag”

“Derek... well he's not used to anyone genuinely wanting him around. I think he'd be crazy about it although it would be awful for his already awful ego-.” if the mc devolved Stockholm syndrome. 

“Derek would still go out for his yearly trip if he had a captive at home- but he definitely wouldn't bring back a second one.Instead, he'd probably take pictures of whatever he did and describe his trip in gruesome detail to his captive at home.”

Slapstick. Derek's sense of humour is more physical, but it's just as cruel as Celia's. The type of person who would say "It's only funny until someone gets hurt, then it's a riot"

“Believes speed limits are minimum limits. Speeding tickets are 'fun tax'. Probably had a DUI or two 'taken care of' by his dad. Also the type to have an illegally loud lack of muffler and 'underlighting'”

Dereks faveriot season is summer Because “He just prefers the heat- and watching everyone struggle with body image. He’ll go out of his way to attend pool parties just to make offhand comments about people’s bodies”

Derek likes candy and soda, but thinks it's unbecoming of the image he’s trying to portray

“Derek does not have incredible business skills. What he’s skilled at is lying and being a bastard. “ and “Derek is pretty stupid. He's smart in some ways but he is certainly no genius”

“He is the favorite because he knows just what to say, and he very much subscribes to his dad’s doctrine of ‘only results matter, not how you got there’. While his half-siblings may have shown restraint or humility, he showed obedience and ruthlessness.”

“He has a few half-siblings but he is the favorite. I’d say he’s a shitty brother but it’s a lot less like siblings and more like rivals trying to secure a piece of the inheritance cake. He is winning and he knows it, and he is not cool about it.”

“Derek has many younger siblings from like 5 different moms.” “Derek's dad has stopped marrying/divorcing women and just brings in new 'girlfriends' all the time. None of the siblings pay any attention to these women anymore” “He has several siblings, all half-siblings. His dad tends to go through wives pretty quickly.” “Derek’s dad is the kind of CEO that needs to keep trading in for a newer model if you know what I mean.” Derek has no idea what happened to his mom. 

“He's also a total bastard to his younger siblings. He treats them like trash and rubs his inheritance and favoured status in their faces.He's also secretly a bit envious of them because his dad isn't nearly as hard on them [ the price of being the first in line ].”

“Derek does in fact live with his dad and several of his siblings” and “The main estate they live on is so large that avoiding each other is pretty easy.” “Derek was/is put under intense pressure for being the eldest and main business heir. Because of this, his relationship with his siblings is awful- rife with mutual jealousy and resentment.”

“The eldest of his younger siblings [ Matt ] despises Derek and believes he should be the heir instead. The rest of the siblings generally try to avoid both of them.”

Derek's family is aware he has someone captive and doesn't care. The property is big enough that they don't even have to interact much.Or, I suppose I should say most of them don't care. He has some younger siblings who are more conscionable but they know better than to mess with anything he's doing.There are also some home workers [ cleaners etc ] that know about the situation, but they're paid specifically to never talk about what happens inside the property or interfere [ a random captive is definitely not the first horrible thing that's happened there” and his siblings suspect that he has killed soemone but arent “100% sure.

“Honestly the ‘Bateman’ character is more like Derek’s dad. Imagine if Christian Bale’s character was older and had a grown son who wasn’t really ‘raised’ so much as just set loose with access to large amounts of money and social power.” and “His dad is 100% sure though (that derek has killed), as he is the one that suggested the desert trip [ to reduce Derek's volatile behavior for the rest of the year ]

Does Derek know what obstreperous means? I feel like he would take it as a compliment (which it is not XD).”He does not and he would.”

“he's hardly capable of respect let alone love.”

[fanbun]

Suisei is absolutely right. Calli’s music at the start of her Hololive career was radical for being so different. But I think what was even more radical than that was her entire character from her debut. She literally started her new job by satirizing idol culture in a way that was risky when joining a virtual idol company like Hololive.

The running joke in her debut stream was that she couldn’t keep up her fake voice and overly polite demeanor without cringing at herself. This was of course meant to emphasize the gap when she broke character and her brash, cool side came out, as evidenced by the beginning of her featured song. But it was no doubt meant to be tongue-in-cheek and intentionally provocative through its sudden violation of idol norms. “Excuse my rudeness but could you please RIP?”

And she did get pushback for it. There were claims that she was a grifter for joining Hololive despite “disrespecting” idol culture. And that was all because she made fun of certain aspects of it, such as the expectation to be soft-spoken and cute.

She was also one of the first to collaborate with members of the male branch and encouraged her audience to watch them as well. That is huge considering how angry certain fans get about female-male collaborations within the idol industry. And I believe it really shows her strength of character to continue defying idol norms that are in fact super toxic in nature while at the same time embracing the positive side.

It worried me for a while that she might be aiding controversy too much, especially in her response to certain internet dramas, but she seems to be in a much better headspace than before. And I admire how much her presence has been a net positive for Hololive overall.

[mattapparentlystumbltourneys]

Virtual Character Tourney - Bracket B - Round 8

Propaganda below (May contain spoilers!)

Daia propaganda:

she can sing and dance, she's very cute and is gyaru inspired

Cute idol who loves her creator and wants to help her out.

she's an ai created by daia nijinosaki (yes they're both named daia)

Colonel.EXE propaganda:

love Colonel.EXE so much. They're one of the first characters I headcanoned as the same exact type of nonbinary person I am (epicene, in case you're wondering) because their story RESONATED with my young, closeted, fourteen year old heart so much that I had to epicene beam them. Secondly, I relate to their complicated mental health issues resulting in some part from being…maybe some sort of system? It's complicated. When Iris was separated from them, there was no holding back on their sort of mental health issues, which means identity issues, belief that they were inherently cruel when they weren't, and, to be honest, full blown BPD and OCD traits were on full display and I just felt so connected to them like I didn't with any other character, mental health wise. And lastly, they're just a really well written character; they have such inner conflict with trying to live up to the reputation Wily set for them of being the perfect Net Navi, and trying to follow their OWN morals, and oftentimes that comes into conflict. For example, although they thought it would make them a good person to coldly delete Megaman.EXE without qualms, they were in conflict because they still believed Megaman.EXE could be saved and that no person is evil or corruptible at heart. Their scrupulosity and moral absolutism often comes into conflict with their IMMENSE kindness and fear of harming people, which causes them to believe they're inherently cruel, even when evidence shows otherwise. They're probably one of my favorite characters of all time for this reason to be honest.

[nakanodivision]

Once the edge of May has finally rolled around in the city of Nakano, somehow it seemed like the surprise guest lining up to celebrate with our birthday girl today wasn’t only just another idol from a certain division in Fukuoka…

Out of the blue during the time Ririko was still getting her hands full with all the stuff she has prepared to upload on her online multiplatforms, suddenly the phone that she was currently using appeared to have a little bit of noise and then there was a figure of someone mysteriously showing up on her phone’s screen!

—Wait, was that… herself?

“Hi there, 2-cute☆ Do you have a sweet time on your B-day?”

Winking and smiling mischievously at her was the pink-haired girl in kawaii 3D model with 80% exact same features that resembled herself, however, the voice that came out of her device was clearly not hers at all.

“Greetings, this is ‘ANGE’ the special ambassador from my human’s division! Well~ Looks like the gift from them is going to arrive at your house soon… But boo~ It’s not fair that only humans can do the giftgiving to one another, right? Tee-hee☆ That’s why this time ANGE decides to join in the fray too!”

And while listening the mysterious model on her phone speaking nonstop in such a highly enthusiastic manner, then the content creator has noticed something bizarre on her phone… which was now having an unknown file pop up out of thin air —It seemed like it was a file of the virtual 3D model ready for her to use in any streaming gig that she often sees the Vtubers do on their broadcasting!

“According to what ANGE has been binging on the activities you humans do on social media lately, ANGE has found out that you have yet to have your own model for some gigs humans called ‘streaming’… Thus ANGE is determined to make you one! Hope you enjoy my gift and have a great use of them then!

—And oh, looks like the gift from my human is now arriving at your doorstep! Would you like to give it some check? Well then, see ya again next time, human~~ ANGE kinda wonder if we could become friend though”

And as soon as the mysterious persona who commuted via the virtual model was bidding her a farewell, the doorbell outside of Ririko’s apartment was starting to ring just like she said! Looks like there was some delivery arriving at her home.

Briefly checking inside her mailbox, she found a box with an adorable set of dessert earrings. In addition, there was also a card containing inside:

“Happy Birthday & Having a nice day!

—Yuuya Kanata & Asahi Tomoharu, Nara Division”

The pink haired girl shrieked as soon as the model appeared on her screen.

“Wah! H-How’d you get into my phone!? ANGE, huh? Well, it’s nice to meet you, but don’t you think there’s better ways of introducing yourself than hacking into someone’s phone!?”

After noticing the file that suddenly appeared, it was like a lightbulb switched on in her head.

“Ohh, so is this supposed to be your division’s birthday present? How nice! I’ve seen some pretty popular Vtubers on the ‘net, but I never thought of doing it myself. Welp, there’s a first time for everything! Thanks, ANGE, but, whose division do you belong to anyway??”

Before she got an answer, the model disappeared, followed by a sudden ring of the doorbell. When she opened the door, there was a small package at her feet. After going inside and opening it, she pulled out the set of dessert earrings, along with the note.

“Aw, these are soo cute! And they’d definitely go well with some of the pieces in my closet! A gift from Miraitabi, hm? They gifted Alice something on her birthday as well, what did she say it was? Fortune cookies and an outfit? Well, still, this is a nice gift! Even if their “representative”scared the living daylights out of me..”

Thank you for the gift!

[zebee-nyx]

CalmWriMo Day 5

[11/5/2023]

Update!

Not a whole lot of progress today. Mix of writing block and not feeling overly well (=n=). So did some thinking, editing, and shifting around for the last prologue for Waywards.

Progress:

2 Hour Writing Goal: ✅

Blurb: [see below]

Self Care:

Food: ✅

Hydration: ✅

Sleep: ❌ [(ToT) I’ll get the good sleep tonight! Must get the sleep tonight!]

Reading: ✅

Worldbuilding blurb: Street Idols & Dream Idols

Bright, beaming, and high energy; street idols are one of the newest pop culture crazes. In essence street idols are a wide range of entertainers who stream from somewhere out in the streets of the city. Originally most street idols started their fame through their talents in singing or dancing. After the first few street idols made it big the craze started an influx of new street idols all looking to make their mark on the world. These newer street idols expanded to all sorts of small niches of entertainment, which eventually became increasingly more extreme to bring in more views. Some of the more extreme streams range from highly risky parkour through corporate properties to literal blood sport and merc work. Anything to bump up the view count.

Street idols are sometimes some of the most augged people. Those that can afford it invest heavily in any sort of augs that they think will enhance their image or performance. Many become strikingly beautiful with sculpted faces and cyberware eyes that can help put emphasis their often exaggerated expressions. Beyond that, the augs that street idols get are extremely diverse, playing into whatever entertainment they provide and the audiences that they bring in. One aug that is essential for any street idol is an accessory to their cybercomputer that allows them to stream their feed as well as receive real time feedback on view counts, revenue, and viewer comments.

Nearly universally street idols are quickly identifiable by the cam-drones that constantly hover around them and flashy eye-catching fashion. The cam-drones are usually controlled straight from their cybercomputers through a slotted linking device. Many of the smaller street idols are able to work alone, only needing a contract with a particular channel or streaming platform to stream to. Wealthier and higher value street idols are either owned or sponsored by corporations and have large teams that they work with to produce their content. These ones have effectively become a part of the current celebrity culture.

Dream idols are kind of like the street idol's tamer cousins. They primarily only stream on the dream-net itself as avatars or even sometimes as disembodied voices. The content they stream is basically limitlessly diverse as they can control much of their content with a thought. Their presence and audiences are more limited to the virtual world which limits their views, but they don't require contracts to stream on the net. Dream idol streams are often far more personal because they can be digitally present anywhere and readily interact with anyone in the space of the dream-net.

[Little fun fact: street idols were inspired by vtubers (^.^) although I guess in effect they are a bit more like “influencers”. (‘^.^) Anyways and always I hope you are having a lovely day, peace (^u^)v]

[writer59january13]

SAFELINK TracFone synonymous...

Dear SafeLink Customer, (one of the many recipients includes me). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is ending, and April 2024 will be the last fully funded month for your benefits if Congress does not provide additional funding. All ACP customers on all service providers will be affected but we have made it our highest priority to keep you connected. Even if Congress does not provide additional ACP funding after April, and the FCC only authorizes a partial funding in May, SafeLink will fully fund your ACP benefits through May 31st, 2024. This will give Congress more time to fund this program without impacting you. Aforementioned bulletin elicited following: SAFELINK TracFone synonymous... not only as my lifeline, and connectivity insurance with family, friends and strangers, whereby yours truly experiences virtual safety net as would be true for many purple people eaters, when havoc unexpectedly strikes triggering an emergency situation, where life and death as very uncomfortable truth teeter in the balance necessitate immediate intervention, hence survival of one mediocre bipedal hominid within twenty first century, not only requires allocated government funding for unlimited talk and text, to brook intervention allowing, enabling, and providing help while I channel urgent plea via telephonic wireless portal or surfing the cyber sea if in need of an up to date telephone number until that one day in the near future, when logical integrated circuits, albeit miniscule or near invisible bots to the naked eye, of the foreign tiger said telecommunication trappings ideally, easily, and admirably embedded within body electric batteries not necessary when capacity to energize lovely bones emulates, jump/kickstarts, and powers an uninterrupted self sustaining feedback loop courtesy subcutaneous nearly microscopic solar cells (similar in principle to intrauterine devices) generates ample electricity with resistance from subjects to communicate wirelessly, which means every waking and sleeping movement grudgingly monitored, thus surreptitious antics possibly flagged for: accusation of plagiarization, barbarization of mine mien, cannibalization of pet peeves, demonization of politicization, elation of short lived beneficence, fictionalization of embedded chip insertion, glorification qua state of art communication, humanization of artificial intelligence, idolization of electronic engineering, jollification of electrons. adieu from:

matthew scott harris

[cyclopsbully]

figtober day 4!

[sakuraghosttown]

[aniwebfindsko]

[01tsubomi]

it’s always interesting the way fandom sizes impacts creator visibility (like with supply and demand) but i’m especially thinking abt it rn bc i almost only ever write krbk which is such a big ship inside a huge fandom so i expected Nothing posting kagepro fic but half the people who read it left comments which is a crazy ratio. like i knew kagepro fandom is going thru a Renaissance rn and it’s a very cozy caring dynamic but i was always thinking “kagepro fandom small i will get 50 views tops” but in the end cozy and caring wins out over small in terms of engagement which is interesting 

[merakiui]

more octavinelle thoughts (albeit more floyd-focused) but!!! a concept in which you are an idol and the twins are your bodyguards and azul is your very scummy, sleazy manager who would do virtually anything so long as his star angelfish can shine brighter than the other idols and their agencies. though the idol industry is cutthroat and stressful, thanks to azul’s quick wit, the leech twins’ connections, and lots of smart investments you manage to gain success relatively quickly. that’s the entire point, after all, and yet even with your success in recent years there are ominous shadows that stretch far and wide. 

floyd dwells in these shadows, always teetering between being happy for your newfound success and loathing the fact that you’re so popular and busy now. even though he follows you everywhere (he and jade are bound to you via contract, but floyd could care less about the legal bond between the both of you), it’s always for business. he’s forced to keep within certain boundaries so as to not cause legal trouble, personal trouble, and just overall trouble for the fans and you. there are times he’s thought of wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you against him after it became an irritating chore to watch you pose for pictures or sign various things when fans would recognize and approach you. he wants to prove something by doing this, but he’s not sure what. prove that you’re untouchable to the general public—that only he can lay a finger on you? prove that you are no one’s idol? prove that you belong to him? 

floyd hates this feeling. it’s as if he’s wrapped in fishing netting and there’s no escaping no matter how much he bites and claws. the more he thrashes, the more it winds itself around him, constrictive and painful. it hurts to see you shine so brightly while knowing fully well he can’t truly have you. you’re meant to put on an act to prove to everyone that you are accessible and loyal only to the arts. therefore no romance for you. even your personal and work relationships are difficult to navigate because no matter who you’re associated with fans will get envious, or they’ll make rash judgements. 

floyd’s thought about yanking you up to his height to kiss you square on the mouth while out in public with you. he’s thought about taking you in the recording studio so they’ll have recordings of your voice as it wavers with moans and sobs, and for the right price azul can sell it to tabloid journalists and they’ll release it and the whole world will hear their slutty idol getting fucked by a faceless, mysterious bodyguard. then you’d truly be his because no one would want you. 

he’s thought about keeping his hand planted firmly on your hip when at social gatherings or clinging to you like a luxury handbag. jade often advises against it. as physical as floyd would love to be, he has to follow the rules. floyd hates the rules because he never knows what half of them are or what they entail. he’ll get away with fleeting touches when he can, masking them with the excuse of his job. if a fan attempts to get too handsy with you, he gets to put his hands on your shoulders and steer you away while jade politely advises them of the rules. 

floyd spends so long trapped in this troublesome stage of pining from afar, never to surpass any boundaries, always remaining as your bodyguard, that he begins to wonder if anything will ever change. he wants to get married; you can’t. he wants to settle down and start a family; you can’t. he wants to publicize his love; you can’t. there are so many things you can’t do and it’s so annoying. floyd tries to tell azul that it’s not fair—that you ought to be given more freedoms (“fuck the fans,” he often says)—but he may as well be a petulant child whining over impossible, unsolvable problems. this may be a reality to everyone else, but it isn’t the reality he wants. the reality he wants lies in unreality—in the far corners of his mind, each one a sugared fantasy he often considers when he needs material to get off to. thoughts of you in your pretty, frilly, elaborate idol outfits, each one shredded to pieces to get to warm skin beneath (he’ll buy you a dozen replacement outfits if it means you’ll let him fuck you; hell, he’ll spoil you rotten just so you continue to allow him to stand by your side as your most loyal bodyguard), have him falling over the edge into orgasmic bliss. god, you’re so perfect. so sweet. so soft. so deliciously noisy when you’re practically howling beneath him when he fucks you so hard the bed shudders (and the dreams always fall apart right when he’s about to tell you he loves you in the aftermath). fuck. he wants you all to himself. 

at some point, as his love twists into something unfathomably crooked, he gets it in his mind to knock you up. it’s the perfect solution! secret relationships, publicized romance, and rules be damned; a pregnancy would unravel the carefully crafted spool of thread azul has spent so long spinning to perfection. you really would be his then because it would be undeniable proof. and when your belly is so taut and round with his child, even with azul’s silver tongue, it will be impossible to explain away. and everyone would know. everyone would know you belong to him. your picture-perfect, successful world will cave in on itself, fold itself away into a packet of misery, and from the tendrils of bad, terrible, hateful things floyd will pull you free—right into his arms where you’re meant to be.

today you smiled at him, brought him a snack to thank him for his hard work, and tomorrow he’ll return the favor when he slips something into your drink so you’ll fall into your own little fantasy.

the idol industry is cutthroat, but then so is floyd.

[potteresque-ire]

Hiya! I've only just started watching Chinese dramas and the drama behind the drama is already blowing my Western mind. Thanks for your meta btw! I was thinking about what you said about Chinese government not explicitly banning anything, rather people had BETTER catch on to what they mean 😨 Is it possible that delaying OOL is their way of warning future productions to think twice before involving Xiao Zhan, because they want to undermine his popularity? As he is 'too entertaining' 💀

Hiya Anon!! The decision to air a c-drama lies in both the government and the platforms. Once the drama gets the distribution permit from the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), it's up to the platforms to schedule the airing date.

The distribution permit for OOL was issued in May 2020, and so the government cleared it for airing a while ago. And so, it is the platforms that are holding the airing date back.

Multiple considerations go into the decision of when to air any drama. Here are some financial considerations I can think of: are there fierce competitors in the same period? It's usual for multiple c-dramas to begin airing on similar dates. The week between 2019/06/23 and 2019/06/30, for example, 9 series began airing—including The Untamed on 2019/06/27. And on that very same date, another prominent, very well-made drama also began its airing—The Longest Day in Chang'An 長安十二時辰). 

And then, has a popular drama of a similar genre been aired right before? If so, it may be wise to push back the airing date a little. Is it exam period or is it summer, with students being on vacation and having more free time to watch TV, chase after their favourite idols and buy merchandises? That’s the golden season for idol dramas! Are the production studios, platforms under pressure to produce a solid profit report to their investors? Better move a series with very bankable stars then ...

Afterwards, there are, of course, political considerations. For those who may be worried about c-ent’s current upheaval, I’d like to emphasise this: the government swooping in and say, or hint, that this and that popular thing displeases its Socialist sensibilities isn’t new. Dangai isn’t the first genre to be soft-banned, for example; before that, there was the ... Imperial Harem infighting genre 宮鬥劇 (sorry for the silly translation, I don’t know what’s the proper name for it!), which was extremely popular at the time of the ban with recent hits such as The Legend of Zhen Huan 後宮甄嬛傳 and Story of Yanxi Palace 延禧攻略. There was the time travel genre 穿越劇 (For example, Scarlet Heart 步步驚心). The state criticism against “sissy” 娘炮 idols also made its former round in 2018. 

And so, while there may not have been precedences where the government targets c-ent’s obsession with “traffic” 流量—a relatively new term that describes the heavy flow of social media posts, of buzz and cash surrounding a beloved something or someone, c-ent has a long history of, and ample experiences with, dealing with their government’s displeasure at something that its audience loves, that is financially lucrative for the industry and most importantly, along that line, something the industry wishes to keep. 

The last point may be worth emphasising: the production studios, the platforms (streaming, social media etc), the marketing companies, the yxh, the companies who employ celebrities as their spokespeople etc etc, all of them desperately want to keep stars like Gg and Dd around. This is especially true with c-ent being in its “bitter cold winter” financially since 2018, with the tightening censorship that means hit dramas, and "top traffic” 頂流 stars, are increasingly more difficult to make or come by. “Top traffic” stars, in particular, are very attractive to the industry because their fans are (far) more willing to spend money, generate the needed buzz on social media to bring in more “passer-by” audience and in turn, more revenue, and more investment, and more endorsements and sponsorships (see: the number of Dd commercials in SDOC4). 

Therefore, as fans and audience, I think it’s safe to assume this: at least on the front of wishing to protect Gg and Dd’s star status, to protect potentially popular dramas and genres such as OOL, these financial interests stand with us. Does this “saving” go against what is safe for these companies? One can say so. It would be safer for the platforms, for example, to air ... um, say, The Best Speeches by President Xi in place of dramas like OOL. The act would likely please the government very much; signal, perhaps, that the platforms have caught on its ultimate dream, with Xi being the One Idol of China. But this decision would also go against the very nature of these companies as for-profit entities, these Capitalist Existence that are traded in stock markets and are driven to make as much money and as quickly as they can.

What, then, is the easiest way to protect traffic stars like Gg and Dd, like Yang Zi 楊紫, the lead actress of OOL who is also very popular and who, reportedly, also has her own rather ... rambunctious corner of fandom? What’s the easiest way to “save” a potentially popular drama like OOL? Saying what is *the* easiest way may be difficult, but I believe I can name one easy way: to simply keep these popular people, these (potentially) popular things out of attention for a while, especially with October 1st (Communist China’s birthday) drawing near and in 2021, the year of the Chinese Communist Party’s Centennial. 

After all, regulations from the Chinese government tend to come in bursts—axes falling left, right and centre for a while and in quick succession, followed by an extended period of silence (and neglect). The wait, therefore, doesn’t have to be long at all. As short as after a few month’s time, certain parts of c-ent may return to what it was like before and these c-ent companies, having had so much experience in working around situations like this, would know when that time comes, when the coast is clear.

Meanwhile, as fans, we wait. Being in i-fandom means our words and actions have relatively little effect, but if we were in China, our best action would, too, likely be similar to the platforms that delay the airing of OOL, except we cross out the the word “popular” and replace it with “beloved”: we keep our beloved people, our beloved things out of attention. We refrain from going around and complaining, no matter how much we wish to watch the show. We refrain from starting fights. We stay out of hot searches. The Chinese government is bureaucratic and corruption is rampant, which means often times, the higher-ups in charge of dropping the axes have little knowledge about who or what their axes are supposed to fall on, and little care if they get it wrong. In such circumstances, the key to survival is to not stick one’s head out; to make sure we don’t offer our neck, and more importantly, our favourite stars’ neck, for the axes to fall on.

It may be difficult sometimes. We’ll hear hisses, from antis, from doubters, from those who simply aren’t familiar with the situation, that will tempt us to put ourselves and our favourite stars out in the open where the axes are raining. Patience and independent thinking are important in times like this, qualities that allows us to stop, excuse ourselves from the virtual crowd and think ~ wait, is what is being said true? 

The government’s attack on “traffic”, for example, together with the soft-ban on Dangai, have led to soft hisses that Gg and Dd are the targets. 

I invite everyone to step back and think a little—are they?

Here’s one small, but important point that may be lost in translation (and lost, too, even in some Chinese discussions where netizens have scrolled through their feeds too quickly): in the state opinion pieces, the term used against “traffic” stars has consistently been “唯流量”, with 流量 = traffic, and 唯 = only. The presence of the character 唯 is crucial: 唯流量 are not simply “traffic”, or popular stars; they are stars with only traffic, with nothing but traffic. No acting skills, no singing or dancing skills, no other demonstrated capabilities beyond getting their fans to vote and comment and buy things for them.

Are Gg and Dd 唯流量?

Here’s Gg:

(For those who may not know: A Dream Like A Dream 如夢之夢 is not just a Chinese language play. A Chinese adjective that has been used to describe it is 殿堂級 ~ “palace hall grade”, ie, it’s a royalty. Trivia: the version in China ends with a cappella with Patient #5 singing about himself, which means Patient #5 can ruin the finale of the 8 hour show if he fails to sing well, and beautifully.)

And here’s Dd: 

I think I can rest my case. My fellow turtles, what do you think? 

Such rumours—that so and so, this and that are the alleged targets—are currently running rampant on Chinese social media, with almost every noteworthy celebrity and media projects etc being named by a few who dislike them. However—or rather, ironically, one may say?—because everyone and everything under the sun has been named, the net effect is not that different from if nothing has been named at all. 

If a similar rumour, if more of such rumours creep onto the shores of i-fandom, therefore, please do not be afraid and remember—these speculations, these noises will most likely fade into obscurity unless the populous Gg+Dd fandom amplify it with their voices, even if theses voices are words of defence.

Silence can be a defence. Silence can be the best defence.

For the time being, with the greater sociopolitical environment being what it is, with “Capital” being reportedly targeted by the state (previously discussed here), platforms and TV stations that are part of Capital may be extra careful and temporarily keep all traffic stars out of their productions, out of sight.

But I remind myself this ~ this isn’t about Gg and Dd. This probably isn’t about 99.9% of the stars who may be temporarily kept out of these productions in the coming weeks, some of whom may have starred in Dangai. As a corollary, I find it important to remind myself that too, to think twice before wondering aloud who may be the targets, to make sure I do not, even accidentally, put any non Gg Dd star and their fans under the axes—not because my words can influence the Chinese government, but rather, because of a simple, almost cliché reason: Do not do unto others what you do not want others do unto you.   

After all, one step outside fandom, people cannot tell one idol from another, cannot tell one drama from another, cannot tell cpfs from solos ...

As fans of c-ent, we’re in this together. ❤️💛💚

[softmochu]

shorty sub-unit lookin cozy at the airport! ♡ © 

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