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copperbadge · 1 year

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I am so close to being done with Royals/Ramblers I can taste it, and it's one of those frustrating situations where the last remaining work to be done is just annoying. I have to write one damn scene, which of course is the most emotionally fraught and difficult one, and then pick from the *counts on fingers* three separate versions of the epilogue I wrote, none of which are very satisfying. I'll probably slam them all together and then sort it out somehow.

And then I definitely have to give the whole thing one more pass before I think about posting, because it's going to clock in at right around 150K words, and I already have notes on continuity issues that need fixing.

Anyway, please enjoy this scene, in which I realized at the same time Gregory and Eddie did what a great joke their names make. (Some brief context -- Joan uses she/her but doesn't like the word "princess", so she chose the gender neutral Princeps as her title.)

Friday evening, when Gregory came on the air for the address, Eddie was sitting next to him, and Joan was leaning on Eddie's shoulder. Her excitement was almost a visible thing; she'd been fussed over that afternoon, Gregory helping her pick out clothing followed by Jerry doing her makeup for camera and Eddie doing a slightly less clumsy job of braiding her hair than she generally did.

"Good evening, Fons-Askaz, Askazer-Shivadlakia, our neighbors, and our viewers abroad," Gregory said. Behind the camera, Jerry mouthed the words along with him absently. "I'm pleased to greet you all this Friday evening and I hope you're well. I find myself, for the second time in a year, setting aside the usual issues of the day and questions from citizens to talk to you about family...."

His idea had been to talk about Joan's history just a little, then introduce her as the newest Royal, their daughter the Princeps. He could use that as a platform to present to the country his new funding package for adoptive families, meant to encourage adoption and support children coming out of the foster system. Each half of that would hopefully make the other half seem less random.

It went pretty smoothly; Eddie chimed in at all the right moments, and Joan got to say a few words of introduction at the end. After he signed off, he gave her a hug and a forehead-kiss and told her she'd done a great job.

And then Noah, standing with Monday and Jerry behind the camera in the little studio, said, "Well, you crashed the internet again."

Gregory sighed. "Can't blame Eddie this time, can we?"

"It was only the tourism website, and it wasn't on purpose," Eddie said.

"He was always breaking my stuff when we were kids," Monday said.

"Nope, this one's all Joan," Noah replied. "As soon as you introduced her as your daughter, traffic started spiking -- palace website, tourism website, and every royals' Photogram."

"Katie in Communications says told you so," Jerry said, already on the phone with her.

"Joan's Photogram is down, looks like bandwidth-suck. And there goes mine, and yours," Noah said, nodding at Gregory. "There's two hashtags trending, PrincessJoan and PrincepsJoan."

"Let me call my guy at Photogram," Eddie said, taking his phone out.

"You have a guy just like, at Photogram?" Monday asked.

"Yeah, he handles my requests, I send him sausages," Eddie answered.

"How is it you simultaneously live in the 22nd century and the 14th?" Monday asked.

"Have him kill the Princess hashtag," Noah suggested.

"It's fine," Joan said. "They can use it for now, it'll keep things, um." She narrowed her eyes, searching for the word. "Segmented. Spread out the discussion a little."

"Someone's been reading my data analytics memos," Gregory said.

"You leave 'em out," she pointed out.

"Good news is people seem excited," Noah continued. "The hashtag's glitching, it's moving so fast, but overall pretty positive," he added.

"Well, we knew this would be intense," Gregory said. Joan, studying her own phone, squeaked. "Joan?"

"Mas Corbin tagged me," she said, with possibly the most excitement they'd seen from her, at least since her first trip in the Jaguar.

"The footballer?" Gregory asked, confused.

"Who?" Noah and Eddie chorused.

"He's a Shivadh footballer, I think he's playing in Ireland right now," Gregory said, and his voice took on a slight edge as he considered some of the reasons a football player might mention his daughter. "What did he say?"

"Dedicating my next game to my new Princeps JoanMac, long may she reign," Joan read, and Gregory relaxed. "Congrats to Gin&Tonic, she's cute as a button. Mas Corbin thinks I'm cute!"

"Gin and Tonic?" Gregory asked, and then said, "Gregory and Theophile," right as Eddie and Monday both began to laugh. "How did neither of us think of that before?"

"You get used to it," Noah said to Joan. "All kinds of famous people are going to have opinions on you."

"What do I do?!"

"Gram him back," Noah said. "Comment and say thanks and that you're a fan and you'll be watching the game."

"I'm gonna have to do a video with some gin and tonic recipes," Eddie said, as Noah and Joan debated the best wording for her response. Gregory leaned back in his chair, exhaling, and let the chaos happen around him for a minute.

#shivadhverse

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keeperoftinyarmy · 1 year

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I’m glad there’s still some Jikookers who think similar to me, I was starting to think I was the only one in Jikookland who didn’t see the worst in Tae haha. But seriously, I am getting a bit concerned/surprised by the growing number of Jikookers who think Tae and his 2 minute lives are public enemy #1. I don’t remember all this animosity towards Tae a year ago when we were preaching for tkkrs to stop viewing everything Jimin did or said about JK as fanservice, clout chasing, being unnecessarily clingy. I could have sworn that most Jikookers were saying “the difference between us and tkkrs is that we don’t hate Tae or blame him when our ship doesn’t act accordingly.” Now I see the complete opposite everyday on my Tumblr timeline, every day one more blogger declares that they aren’t a fan of Tae and his antics because they believe he’s intentionally feeding his shippers/hurting Jimin by acting the way we always knew him to act. Suddenly I’m seeing essays analyzing how JK doesn’t smile and looks uncomfortable with Tae but is only happy with Jimin….wasn’t this what tkkrs said about JK when they accused Jimin of initiating 95% of the Jikook moments? It all seems like a weird dream to me how quickly the switch flipped within the Jikooker fandom. I used to be proud of how the majority of Jikookers carried themselves compared to other shippers by being more logical in their thinking and defending members from unfair hate/hypocrisy/conspiracy thinking. I think this anger towards Tae is also compounded with the fact that Tae didn’t publicly congratulate Jimin on FACE. Didn’t we all witness Hobi say that Tae was one of his biggest cheerleaders behind the scenes when he was performing at Lolla last year? We saw nothing on the timeline but Hobi said Tae was all up in his messages supporting him. Similar to what Jin said about not showing support online ≠ not supporting in private. I also wholeheartedly agree with you that members probably don’t dwell too much on the negative comments they receive. I know many Jikookers say that Tae knows about the hate Jimin gets and yet still continues to act a against his best interests, but I just don’t think he (and the members) post on social media according to the hate each member gets. Anyways, I say all this to say that I’m glad that I still see Jikookers who haven’t adopted this negative mindset towards Tae. You nice, keep going!

I love this Tae positive comment.

I never have any doubts that Tae is loving his bandmates until the end. He doesn’t have to post on social media for me to know it.

The hate is a minority. As Tae said in the Festa dinner 97%(?) support them truly. With that in mind they interact on social and share what they want and live with the trash and hate. When things get loud…like army attacking media on SM then sometimes the group says stuff but I think mainly they rise above the fray.

I sort of think that jikook have done some things in reaction to trending comments or loud hate…but it could all be coincidence.

I am soooo rambling sorry. I hope things calm down in ship land soon. It’s not a good look for any of us and the guys don’t deserve it. Their lives are changing dramatically…so much uncertainty in their careers and a bs hateful fanwar is raging.

It’s going to be a long 2024 without them. We should be supporting each other as fans not tearing each other (and the members) apart over nothing.

#kota asks

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aprilblossomgirl · 2 years

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This post is somewhat a continuation of my halfway review. [1] [2] [3]

=========================

What makes The Eclipse feels so real (for me) is that it shows authoritarianism in the education system and how it affects all layers of the school community. What's most striking is how the school didn't use the rules to maintain orderliness but to keep its reputation intact and the powerful authorities in place. I tried to see how some parts of the school community were affected by such a system through the names that Ayan put in his board. I think how he put the order of those names was intentional.

Akk

Ayan put Akk's name at the center of his board as the starting point of his thread of investigation while being aware that it's him behind the Suppalo curse. He saw how Akk played with the brake of the van that attacked the World Remembers trio, and then he put together that it might have also been him behind those other accidents he learned about through the Twitter trends before he came to Suppalo. But he also saw how Akk, as the head prefect, represented the most damaged by the archaic school system: the students. Uniformed, both in how they dressed and thought. Repressed by the inflicted fear of the curse and the brainwashing through repeated recitation of the pledge of allegiance. And specifically, for Akk, the pressure of carrying the whole Suppalo reputation on his shoulders.

Nun, Nong, Nian

Apart from the majority of students - tamed, controlled, obedient - represented by Akk, next on Ayan's board are Nun, Nong, and Nian. The World Remembers group, labeled as outcasts by their friends, insists on claiming their right to protest against the uniform rules. Their statement during the protest was clear: "A school is a safe place that welcomes everyone and fosters the culture of advocating basic human rights." Chadok, however, disregarded it as he still considered them to be violating Suppalo's own rules. In this case, the rules were absolute and controlling, superior to the National Education Act, which the group referred to during their protest. Doing these protests, they risked having clashes with their parents, teachers, and friends to stand up and fight for what they think is right. They realized how the century-old Suppalo's rules have been violating the human right of the students, especially regarding their bodies, freedom of self-expression, and possession, as highlighted in the series. They knew somebody would need to start bringing it to the surface and keeping it there for as long as possible for others to be aware as well, and so they took the role. Akk assumed Ayan was someone behind this group and their protests but he never was. Ayan's supportive of them, but kept his distance.

Sani

Sani's name comes right after the World Remembers trio. The new, young, naive, yet the attentive teacher is in a difficult position. She tried to be understanding of all sides. She knew things might be wrong with the school, but she hadn't fully grasped it. She knew she needed to, and did, stand up for the students, but there is more about having so little power and space than she was allowed to move. I understand Ayan's anger with her, an emotion similar to what he had once with Thua, but this time it was more, because he had high expectations as she is a teacher, in the same position as Dika to that, who he might have slightly thought should fully take the students' side more without any compromising. I also understand Sani's frustration with herself. (This is where things get a bit more personal.) Working in the education sector, I know really well how hard it is to break the long-established and corrupted system as depicted in this series, both from the inside and the outside. Being the young, the newbie in such a system, being critical to the faults of it while being highly aware of just how powerless she was in her position. No questioning, no saying no, were ever allowed. The conflicts (as mild as they might seem) she had were not only about a structural hierarchy but also an authoritative position and a culture of seniority, a set of deeply rooted system to fight. Sani's struggle, at least to me, was realistically portrayed. So, I wonder how this series will shape the final arc of her character's development.

Chadok

After Sani, it's Chadok on the board. Once, Chadok said this in a meeting with other teachers about giving Ayan a lesson, "...behind an able man there are always other able men." That statement applies to him as well. I could never move past how disturbing it was for me to hear these. To Akk, "The prefects' duty is to do whatever it takes to make Suppalo remain Suppalo. I hope you don't forget that." Such is the peak of mind game played into Akk's brain by Chadok, all to 'assist him' in keeping the order of Suppalo. And to Sani, "All right then. You deal with them the way you see fit. As for me, I'll deal with them my way." Those were words of no compromise. I have my way, and then, to Akk: and you will abide by it (a one-way order because of the student-teacher hierarchy), while to Sani: and you will not interfere with it (a warning because of the mixture of seniority and being colleagues). Ayan has just started confronting Chadok, because of what he saw with Akk, and he'll finally ask him about Dika in the next episode. So, more is yet to come.

The Principal

One of the last questions is, who is the one more powerful behind Chadok, which leads to the last name on the board. So far, we have only a few appearances of the principal: during Sani's interview, twice scolding both Chadok and Sani for losing control over the students' protests, and once when Chadok gave his official warning to all students through an announcement following the burned puppet accident. She gave Chadok a gesture very similar to one Chadok gave to Akk, putting her hand on his shoulder. A gesture of dominance and control. In the episode 11 teaser, Ayan said, "Let's go see the last boss." Will this be the principal or someone behind her? Is she the final end of this chain of school authorities, or is she, just like Chadok, just another chain link within? She warned that if the student prefects cannot do their work controlling the protest, an outside force will do it, and this was shown in the next episode's teaser. I wonder whether it would be a higher government authority, the military, or something else. Also, just what the school's alumni group sponsorship has something to do with the changes that these students demand? (Some of these last questions are rethoric, but giving a second thoughts of them wouldn't hurt.)

The unpredictability from the broader point of view of how this chain of power play on Suppalo might end is so full of tension yet feels so real. It's not only about the uniform but what it represents. It's not only about claiming individual rights but of larger entities. It's not only about choosing a side but understanding what it means to stand in the middle ground. The prison-like school is indeed just a miniature of a larger story.

#the eclipse the series #the eclipse #not just thoughts #my text 📝#another things bugging in my head i need move them outside before the new episode out #another last minutes struggling with should i write this or should i not #if you see the special episode you'll realize a lot of things had been said by the director and the casts

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likeadragonfruit · 2 years

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I’m surprised that I don’t have as much to go over in separate posts this time. So it’s roundup/brain dump time for book 3. Also yeah it’s been a few months haha 😅

Big Picture

Overall flow

This is the best season so far. I’ve even seen people say this is better than ATLA, and I don’t know that I’d go that far, but this is probably the most watchable it’s been so far. (And watchability isn’t damning with faint praise, Law and Order built an empire on being watchable.)

It does a decent job picking things up from the previous season and moving forward from there, especially considering how much book 2 looked like it was setting up a series finale.

But that cast size problem? Getting worse. We’re now up to Korra and the rest of Krew, Tenzin and his family (including his siblings still), Lin, Korra’s family (minus Unalaq), and adding in Lin’s family, airbenders (most prominently Kai) and the Red Lotus members

Also, the trend of breaking Korra in some way at the end of each season continues, expect this is the one without a hasty recovery

Korra and the airbenders

It’s the event that shapes the whole season: new airbenders emerging post-harmonic convergence

And it’s ambiguous exactly what happened but Tenzin (acting as an authorial mouthpiece) attributes it to Korra

So the point is consequences? She (supposedly) created a bunch of airbenders but also kickstarted the Red Lotus plot via Zaheer’s escape

Which later almost kills her, except for the other airbenders who prevent Zaheer from escaping

Anyway, the way this plot is introduced initially bothered me a lot, but since it’s what the season revolves around, I kind of had to deal with it regardless.

Politics:

The politics of moderation reign once more

“(Bad) monarchs are bad, but so is anarchy” is a take I suppose

It’s kind of weak with the Red Lotus being more straw man anarchists than anything

Character opinions

Korra: I’m actually a little bothered by how little I have to say about her currently.

Mako: as said previously, I didn’t hate him and he’s even better now that they’ve freed him from the love triangle. But they’ve also been quarantining him with Bolin.

Bolin: oh Bolin, you’d be so good if you were good. He’s more tolerable this season at moments, and so obnoxious at others still. (Yes I’m ignoring last season.) Ultimately I still landed on not liking him.

Asami: she still isn’t getting storylines, but she’s basically the best supporting player there is. She works well with any character you pair her off with.

Tenzin: pass

Jinora: pass

Kya: oh you get to do so little this season, but I still love you.

Bumi: was alright this season.

Kai: a pretty classic jerk with heart of gold, but the classics are classics because they work.

Hou Ting: pass

Lin: I was actually a bit conflicted because the whole “being forced to interact with Suyin” thing during her mini arc was not a good look on her.

Suyin: so for her all her faults, I actually kinda like her, and it’s hard to explain. The best way I can think of is she scratches the part of my brain that’s a fan of Gon Freeces. And put in a way comprehensible to non-HxH fans, it’s that her selfish and hypocrisy reminds me of other characters where those flaws were critical to their arcs, even though I already know this series will never call Suyin on it, really.

Opal: the only of Suyin’s kids worth mentioning this season.

Zaheer: he gets talks up a lot as he franchise’s best villain but meh.

Ghazan: I want to come up with more, but basically I like him, for the little we get

Ming-Hua: see Ghazan

P’li: better than the last combustion bender we got. But most of the positive things I could say are either design or action related. She just got so little to do character wise compared to the rest.

Shipping

yeah, still keeping this section

Korrasami: well they’ve spent more time together this season. As far as build up, umm…

Jinora/Kai: they’re cute, puppy love

Zaheer/P’li: meh

Bopal: love/hate relationship here. Sometimes I’m just like, “ugh, no, run Opal.” Others, it scratches that “aww dorks in love” part of my brain. But ultimately “girl, run” is winning. (You can do better, Opal!)

Stray observations

This season, having been ordered at the same time as season 4 is clearly setting up things that will come back in the next season. Are they the best use of these connections? Umm…

It’s odd seeing Kuvira this season as a dancer in her (background) introduction and for the rest of the season as the guard captain Lin and Suyin bark orders at, save her saving Tonraq’s life. It’s also a shame since so much more could be done with her and better set up the next season

Why is spirit projection an airbender technique? Because Jinora is an airbender, therefore it must be a form of airbending somehow?

You know, I actually really like the Mako detective moments. While I wouldn’t say I’d like a spin off, an au fic would work

If I had a nickel for every time a villain threatened to or tried to wipe out the airbenders/airbending, I’d have three nickels…

In the “Enter the Void,” Grey’s Ming-Hua starts slipping more into her Azula voice

Okay fuck Bolin for this moment

8 years later and I still vibe with Ghazan’s death over prison attitude

It’s been a very different experience watching book 3 like this, even more so than book 1 and 2. 8 years ago, I was watching books 3 and 4 during a stressful time in my life and didn’t necessarily mind all the details then

And with that, we’re in the homestretch. Just book 4 left now…

#the legend of Korra #tlok #TLOK rewatch #book 3 change #wish me luck with book 4

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fatedwithmbc · 2 years

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Embarrassments from this Weekend:

1. After trying every form of protein possibly on the market, I discovered it can make you very gassy. Not a problem if you’re not being social. Very BIG problem when you have an overnight at your romantic interests’ house. Thanks, Cancer, you slut.

2. I made a cake for my brother’s belated birthday dinner. The very first thing I stated was, “it’s flat”. The very first thing my brother said was, “it’s missing some height”.

3. Emotional posts on my social media accounts were abundant this weekend. Today marks 2 years since my Dad’s passing. I’m in full “grief” mode. It also makes me think about my own passing. I just keep thinking, I’m also Stage IV, I can’t have much time left… who knows.

4. Admitting to myself how much I missed, and actually crave physical touch from someone who cares about me. I mean hugs, spooning, holding hands; you know, PG-13, innocent PDA. It’s made me realize, you need to hug whoever you love. You need physical touch to feel loved; whether it’s a hug platonically, or a family member, or even romantically.

5. Confessing to “E” that he couldn’t buy a new Michigan hat because I already had — for him. Which in turn left me feeling as if I have put the cart before the horse. Is it too soon for gifts? I mean, his birthday is in 2 weeks and I am fully prepared, despite our lack of “status”. I care for him and this is how I’d behave for anyone I care for - and cutting the shit: I’m excited about where “we” could be headed.

Amazing Things from this Weekend:

1. Time with “E”. Seeing him in person definitely solidified things for me. We’re oddly comfortable around each other. We can be quiet without it being awkward. There’s banter. Which I love the most. His demeanor is serious, yet caring - hard and soft; a complete paradox that I somehow understand. We cuddled watching Unsolved Mysteries with “R” taking up the middle between us. We went to bed— and had deeply open conversations, like kids at a sleepover refusing to go to bed. Sleep finally came, and I could have stayed in the most intentional yet gentle embrace in his arms forever. I slept well, and without the aid of medicines for the first time in ages. He let me sleep later as he took care of “R”. I made his bed and readied to leave- but not before discussing plans to see each other soon. True gentleman that he is, he walked me out to my car, gave me the best hug in the world and said “Text me when you’re home”. That important line that means someone cares for you. I hope this continues to trend positively. We’ve not stopped talking since I left.

2. Celebrating my Brother; his happiness is my happiness. Knowing he loved his gifts, enjoyed the cake I made for him and is opening up with me again is more than I could ever ask for. I’ve missed him. We won’t ever be the same, but we’re healing and adapting. We’re making our family important.

3. Seeing my Nephew — including the best greeting: his smiling face and excited voice beaming “Asheley!” Our silly games, our hugs and our good-byes. All of it, with him, is special and precious to me.

4. Learning the Buttercream Frosting recipe from Mom-Mom

5. Selecting the flowers for Dad’s bouquet, ensuring the depth and meaning I am always looking for was accomplished. Red Roses - Love; White Roses - Loyalty; Amaranth - Admiration & Friendship.

6. A Georgia mug was added to my “You Are Here” collection from Starbucks; courtesy of my SIL and Brother.

7. Pep-talks from my amazing Bestie (also identifiable as “E”) really helped calm my nerves on Friday. And she is feeling better after having COVID. She’s in the top 3 of my biggest supporters/carers. I’m so glad I have a solid friendship to rely on and that makes me feel entirely supported.

8. I won $59 on random lottery winnings which coincided with Dad’s birth year on the day of his death date. It was a weird universe, coincidence thing. And I love those types of “signs”.

Random Ramblings:

MBC has totally stolen my appetite and desire for food. I’m dying from these daily protein in-take targets. “E” cares about my protein in-take. He asks about my goal and progress each day. Plant protein is very “dry”. “Whey” protein tastes awful. I have one item I bought that I have left to try. The bottom line is that I don’t know how I can force myself to eat. It’s so damn hard. Especially because once you haven’t eaten for awhile, not eating food seems natural.

I started feeling neuropathy, (thanks again, Cancer), for the first time since taking the Kisqali. It’s in my hand. Totally can’t feel the objects in my hand when I hold them (only periodically). It feels like pins and needles or like it’s “sleeping”.

I discovered a storefront that does Tarot Readings in a town nearby. I’m going this week since I’m on a forced LOA. Forced LOA definitely frees up ones’ calendar. I am super interested in how the reading will progress and what it will ultimately reveal. I also reached out to some relatives about a possible trip to NY state during my LOA.

I’m exhausted, but still not sleeping without the aid of pills.

I have a few appointments this week. Nothing major. No shots, no labs, no surgery.

I’m successfully avoiding the bathroom scale. But admittedly, I’ll weigh myself tomorrow.

The End.

Notifications: @kcco265

Font Key:

1. Headers

2. Cancer or MBC; My Nemisis

3. Author Tidbits/Wisdom

#fated with mbc #metastatic breast cancer #stage IV deserves more #confessions of a cancer patient #grieving adult child #grief journey #I have a crush

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fluffy-critter · 2 years

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#crosspost #busybee

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spiderling-space · 4 years

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I said this just as a passing thought but then I wanted to explore it more so I divided into 4 parts.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

MC is poor and Crowley doesn’t give them enough money to compensate what they need and desire. There ain’t a good place with good working conditions for them as well. But New Year is coming and the need for new year’s calendar is rising. So MC borrows money from Kalim as the capital for creating homemade calendars. But regular calendars won’t bring much money so MC is going to take suggestive and sexy photos for each month just like those sexy firemen or bikini model calendars and sell them. All students minus Ortho who isn’t included are assumed to be +18.

♠️♥️Heartslabyul♦️♣️

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle isn’t aware of (Y/N)’s calendar until he sees Heartslabyul students have the same thing on their hands. As a prefect he needs to know what his dorm up to.

This is the first time Riddle is seeing something such as this. He is shocked and embarrassed for seeing such pictures of (Y/N) on calendar.

He goes straight to Ramshackle to say this is against the rules but (Y/N) wins the argument by saying they are wearing clothes and they are selling self made products which isn’t against the rules of NRC.

Riddle is defeated but he can’t give up. He buys every copy of the calendar (Y/N) has at the moment, thinking that it will be the end of it and goes back to Heartslabyul, ordering everyone to bring the calendars to him. Riddle is going to destroy those calendars once he has them all and thinks it has ended. He doesn’t look at them out of respect.

♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️♣️

Trey Clover

Trey wasn’t expecting this out of (Y/N) yet he acts as if it is normal.

He is going to buy one calendar, saying that he wants to support (Y/N) and it is better than just donating money. He doesn’t even take a peak in the calendar as soon as he buys it. No one sees him flip a page at all. Yet he still doesn’t dispose of it.

Cater has never seen Trey open the calendar despite sharing a room but the calendar stays right in the drawer of his night table.

No one is aware that Trey looks through the calendar when he is all alone, enjoying each picture thoroughly.

♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️

Cater Diamond

Cater didn’t see it coming but he ain’t complaining.

He thinks this calendar would be quite popular in NRC since he is aware how many people lust after (Y/N). He personally finds (Y/N) alluring but the main reason why he is the first one to buy is that he wants to post it on Magicam and start the trend.

When he buys it, he takes a selfie with him holding the calendar and post it on Magicam with #HappyNewYear #(Y/N)sCalendar #TheBestCalendar #WillStartUsingCalendars and tags (Y/N).

Cater doesn’t check out the calendar until he gets back to his dorm and answers all the questions under his Magicam post and enjoys the number of likes. After he is done with it, he examines all the pictures of (Y/N), appreciating their body in every way he can. Of course, he will wash his hands after that. He hopes (Y/N) will post pictures like that on Magicam too.

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Ace Trappola

Ace didn’t know (Y/N) would make calendars such as that. He has seen similar things because of his brother but didn’t understand the need to buy something like that since he can find them online for free until (Y/N)’s calendar.

He teases (Y/N), saying that they are doing it to be popular and they are hiding high quality merchandise under those clothes. He buys one and says he is buying it to help (Y/N) earn money then he disappears through the day.

All of his roommates, including Deuce, knows Ace’s purposes with the calendar as he doesn’t hide it. They have seen Ace taking it to the bathroom with him and staying longer than necessary but no one will tell (Y/N) about this.

♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️♠️

Deuce Spade

Deuce isn’t aware what type of calendar it is at first and buys one for himself and for his mother. He sends one of them to his mother with cargo before checking out the calendar.

He tells this to Ace who snickers and tells him to check out the calendar. When he sees the pictures in it, his cheeks flare and he can’t function for a few moments and can’t make a complete sentence.

When he comes back to his senses, he immediately checks out his cargo status. If it isn’t delivered yet, he tires to cancel it. If it is delivered ot he can’t cancel it, he calls his mother and basically begs her to not open the cargo.

After that matter is settled, Deuce can again focus on his calendar. He thinks of returning it but he thinks it would be rude of him so he keeps it. He doesn’t look at it much but time to time he can’t help himself.

Deuce can’t look (Y/N) in the face every time he checks out the calendar.

🦁Savanaclaw🐾

🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Leona Kingscholar

Leona has seen similar things before. He may be the second prince but no one can deny how handsome he looks. He has received certain pictures from people who crushed on him too.

He didn’t expect the Herbivore to be this brave and bold enough to make a calendar with daring pictures. It peaked his curiosity but he is too lazy to go and buy himself and he would rather sleep so he sends Ruggie to fetch him one.

He looks at the calendar before sleeping and has vivid dream based on those pictures. After that he will continue to check out the pictures just before sleeping for sweet dreams.

Leona is going to tease (Y/N) about what they had done as well and if they wanted to work and want to wear those clothes, they could have asked him.

🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆

Ruggie Bucchi

Ruggie hadn’t have money to spend on products such as that before since he is poor and his priority is to get his and his family’s primary needs. However, he is perfectly aware what type of calendar (Y/N) had made.

When Leona tells him to fetch one, he buys an extra for himself. He wanted to see what the all fuzz was about and he does not regret it. He didn’t know (Y/N) had that in them.

Ruggie is going to tease them about this as well. Everyone in the Savanaclaw have better senses than humans so their walls are thicker than other dorms so that the students can have their private time. Ruggie has never been more appreciative of this ever before.

Ruggie later on will ask how much (Y/N) has earned. When he finds out their profit, he will think of doing one for himself next year ans swim in the cash.

🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

Jack Howl

Jack thought it was just an harmless looking calendar so he bought one for his entire family and thought he would send them on New Year as new year present thanks to the fast cargos.

Luckily for him, he is curious enough to check the calendar before he sent them. He is embarrassed to see (Y/N) wearing so little clothing and in certain positions. He can’t talk with (Y/N) for days after seeing their suggestive pictures.

He tries to deny what those pictures evoked in him and he is almost successful but he can’t ignore it. He thinks he needs advice about it but he is embarrassed to ask his parents so he asks advice from his upperclassmen Ruggie whom he sees as big brother and Leona whom he admires.

Jack will keep his and the extra calendars in his room in his closet. He doesn’t want to give them to others and at the same time he doesn’t want to throw them away, thinking that (Y/N) would see it as disrespectful.

443 notes · View notes

perhaps-in-anotherdream · 3 years

Text

[CN] S2 Victor- Setting Sail On A Journey (Eng Translation)

⌚ Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a company project that is yet to be released in the global server! ⌚

✧ NOTE ✧

This post features S2 Victor and MC, but doesn’t contain any spoiler regarding the S2 storyline!

This company project is the continuation of “Right Now Is The Time.” So remember to read that first! (◍•ᴗ•◍)

ー

[ SECTION 1 ]

MC: Goldman has broken his foot?

Didn’t he even excitedly post several mountain climbing videos in his moments two days ago, saying that he has bravely climbed to peak of the mountain? How did he suddenly break his foot?

Victor: He requested for two-week leave of absence. It’s a good time to look for an intern from your show to come at the summit.

Early this morning, I received a call from Victor, saying that there is something he wants to discuss with me. So it actually turns out to be this matter....

When the fifth episode of “Right Now is The Time” is broadcast, the filming of the show will enter its final stage as well.

But in contrast to the huge attention the show is receiving now, the pre-planned filming of the show was clearly a little tame.

If an intern can be allowed to carry out Goldman’s post for filming at the summit, it will indeed be a good content to attract the mass attention.

MC: However, this position is very important. If you let the interns who are shooting in the show to come at the summit, it’d be more or less suspected as a publicity stunt....

MC: Wouldn’t it be harmful for LFG’s professionalism?

Victor is currently taking out a small box of coffee beans from the cupboard. Hearing what I’ve said, he lifts his eyes slightly to glance at me.

Victor: There is no need to think in such complicated ways.

Victor: Whether LFG is professional or not, it’s never reflected through these minor details.

Victor: I’m not worried about the issue at all, so naturally, you don’t need to be worried. What you need to think over is, as far as this design is considered, whether it’s going to be beneficial for the show or not.

Almost as soon as the words leave Victor’s mouth, I immediately step forward, and nod at him vigorously.

MC: It’s beneficial, too beneficial. It’s settled then. I’ll have him arrive on-site immediately!

MC: Oh, by the way, he is that intern who bought medicine for you before. His name is Liu Cheng.

But.... as I finish speaking in one breath, my heart is once again somewhat unable of deciding what to do. Seeing the look of wanting to say something but hesitating on my face, Victor naturally tosses in the question.

Victor: What’s wrong now?

MC: ....He’s been a little out of form lately, and I don’t know if he’d be competent for this job.

MC: His performance has always been very outstanding before.

MC: Whether it’s the proposals, making PPTs or reports, organizing documents or dealing with the suppliers– they are all more professional than the other interns.

MC: But these past two days I’ve observed him, and as long as the camera is pointed at him, his state of nervousness is visible to the unaided eye.

I actually know the reason clearly too: He shone so outstandingly that, he became the most popular intern after the show was broadcast.

Whether it’s a chance encounter with a passer-by on the street, or a breaking out on the new tidbits, he is always being pushed into the trending topics. With the huge attention sweeping over him, an imbalance in mentality is inevitable.

Victor: Any matter is a situation with two sides to it, especially the matter of being in the limelight. You know that best.

Victor: If you’re worried that he won’t be up for the task, you could substitute to someone else.

I subconsciously reject this proposal in my heart.

MC: But in terms of effects of the show, and the degree of professional compatibility, he is the most fitting....

MC: Even if it can’t be as satisfactory as people’s expectations in the end, it will still display the most real effects of the show.

Victor puts down the coffee bean grinder, and nods at me.

Victor: In a while, I’ll get someone to go and work with him.

Victor: At this present stage, he only needs to handle the simple itinerary issues. Many projects involve commercial confidentiality, and it isn’t the time for him yet to get on board. So there is nothing to be worried about.

I give Victor a beaming smile.

MC: Thank you CEO Victor for your support and attention to this show. At the celebration banquet, you’re sitting at the main table~

Victor can’t help but let out a laugh, and then sweeps his eyes on me again.

Victor: Aren’t you going to inform your intern to come over and report?

I stretch out my left hand, glance at my bare wrist, and pretend as though I’m looking at my wrist watch, lightly coughing at Victor in a deadpan tone.

MC: CEO Victor, there is still half an hour left before the LFG employees have to officially get to work....

I wink at him, my gaze falling on his coffee bean grinder.

MC: Not having a cup of coffee together?

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 2 ]

Today is the third day of Liu Cheng’s assignment in his new post, and it’s also an important day for the meeting of the new project.

Aside from Victor, several executives who have their hands in the project are all here.

At this moment, the seats in the conference room are already packed with people. But Liu Cheng, the person in charge for conducting the process, is late.

As I keep waiting at the door for a while, I catch the sight of him trotting all the way over here, and he starts bowing to me even before he reaches in front of me.

Liu Cheng: I’m sorry, I’m sorry sister MC.... I’m late.

Liu Cheng: Is CEO Victor here already? Is he angry?

I pat him on the shoulder, and let him go directly into the conference room.

Although the people sitting inside are executives, but they all have the mutual relationship of co-workers with each other. From the moment they enter through the door it’s all– you’d say one word and I’d say another one. The atmosphere is far from heavy.

But Liu Cheng is clearly intimidated, and he walks straight up to the front burying his head. I can see his face turning blue and pale, and all his limbs appear very stiff and overcautious too.

....He is obviously feeling guilty.

This eye-catching white colored suit and white sneakers of his truly form a stark contrast with the meticulous style inside LFG’s conference room.

Victor is sitting in the first seat on the left side of the conference table. He turns his head to glance towards everyone sitting at the back row, and the sound of chatter that has still been rising and falling just now, promptly dies down.

Everyone sits up straight, loosens the buttons of their suits, and places their hands on the table, preparing to listen seriously.

He turns to look at Liu Cheng again, and motions at him lightly, his face still showing no expression.

Victor: Let’s begin.

Liu Cheng hurriedly nods his head, and begins to explain the first item on the agenda to everyone according the original flow of the meeting.

After the end of the three-hour meeting, I creep up to Victor, and leave the room along with him, following into the corridor while gesturing for the cameraman to catch up.

MC: Isn’t CEO Victor going to evaluate Liu Cheng’s today’s performance?

Seeing that I’ve intentionally brought the cameraman dangling in front of him, Victor casts a helpless expression of “If you want to say something, say it directly.”

MC: The thing is, he actually had a reason for being late today, but it doesn’t really have reasonable grounds.

MC: There is an advertising company who came to our doors, and invited them to shoot a short film for an educational organization.

MC: Liu Cheng has the best appearance, and he’s also the most popular. The client designated him to take on a lot of filming materials alone.

MC: Time was too tight. He was in a hurry to leave, so he didn’t have the time to change his clothes.

While we are talking, Liu Cheng has already caught up to us on large strides, only to stand back and not daring to approach, standing a few steps away from us in a silly daze.

As Victor turns his head to glance at him, he hurriedly runs forward, bowing solemnly at Victor.

Liu Cheng: I’m sorry CEO Victor. I was late for an important meeting, and my outfit wasn’t standard either.

Liu Cheng: I don’t know if the company has a corresponding punishment system. I’m willing to accept it all.... I’ve failed to live up to CEO Victor and sister MC’s trust. I’m very sorry.

Victor remains expressionless as before, seemingly he really hasn’t taken this matter to the heart.

Victor: It’s indeed wrong to be late. Don’t do it another time.

Victor: Remember to send the summary of today’s meeting to my email before getting off work.

Hearing the first sentence “It’s indeed wrong to be late,” Liu Cheng even stifles, face turning red. But upon hearing the next sentence of being asked to do the summary of the meeting, a pleasant surprise immediately spreads across his whole face.

Liu Cheng: Y-y-yes, okay! I’ll go do it at once!

This kind of narrative direction is a very “prominent feature” in variety shows. As such, I give Victor an expression of expectation.

MC: CEO Victor.... mind if I do a very short, very brief, really very short, tiny interview of you?

Victor doesn’t refuse.

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 3 ]

I place Victor onto the sofa in the CEO’s office, and toss the questions directly without any script.

MC: Regarding the topic of Liu Cheng being late today because of an advertisement filming....

MC: CEO Victor, don’t you think it’s a very serious mistake for an intern employee to be late?

MC: Speaking from the point of view of work ethics or from the perspective of time management.

Victor gives the answer almost without thinking.

Victor: He was wrong. Then he recognized that, and I’ve also told him already that it’s not right to be late.

With that said, he points towards the camera again.

Victor: Each one of Liu Cheng’s actions, each one of his words has already been recorded on camera. His strengths will be magnified, and so will be his shortcomings in the same way.

Victor: He knows that he will be facing the criticisms of many people when the show is broadcast, and that also includes the people who now place high hopes on him, and give him unconditional support.

Victor: In my opinion, he has already undertaken all the psychological burdens he ought to be bearing in advance.

Victor: There is no need to say anything more.

When Victor says these words, I can’t help but think of the scene when I’ve discussed this topic with him before.

Carrying the title of CEO of LFG on his head, no matter what he says or what he does, everything will constantly be followed closely by the media, magnifying the views therein infinitely.

Regardless of what decision he makes, someone is bound to find mistakes in the minor details, someone is bound to wait to see him fall on his face, and make a fool of himself.

He simply never cared about these. So much so that, when I am the one feeling grievances on his behalf or taking the initiative on his behalf, he straightforwardly tells me too that I don’t need to. But—

But anyone understands the truth. He is able to put himself in Liu Cheng’s shoes, and consider the time he undertakes the heavy weight of public opinions. What if actually at a certain stage....

Even if it was for a certain moment, a certain instant, he had once also felt the similar feelings?

MC: Victor, do you think that this genre of shows for young people like Liu Cheng who are just out of school, aren’t actually meant to be very good?

Putting them in an environment where they are considered as entertainments, scrutinized, evaluated, supervised and urged on to complete a task under the publics’ gaze– perhaps it’s a consumption for them.

MC: They are still too young after all.

Victor leans forward towards me, and his purposefully slowed down voice seems to be encouraging me about something.

Victor: You’ll have to find the answer to this question for yourself.

Victor: However, according to what I’ve learnt about them in this period of time, they are among the most outstanding of youngsters— Don’t underestimate them.

He stands up and walks forward, but he still meets my gaze out of the corner of his eyes.

Victor: Still having coffee today?

I shift in front of him, and point to the clock on the wall.

MC: It will be the time to get off work in a while. Is CEO Victor going to work overtime to make coffee for me?

MC: How about we owe the coffee in advance, and head straight to dinner, okay?

Victor lowers his eyes to size me up, carrying an expression of whether he may be laughing or not.

Victor: Up to you.

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 4 ]

The following two days, Victor’s schedule is about being a guest at an industry summit forum.

As it goes without saying, every time he attends an event, he is bound to gain a great amount of attention. Nowadays, he even brings the regular on trending topics, Liu Cheng, along with him. Naturally, reporters from all walks of life flock there.

Victor gets out of the car with the usual– strangers do not approach– written on his face, and is invited into the venue, sitting down at the first row of VIP seats. Liu Cheng, however, is stopped by the security guards, and is asked to enter through the audience passageway.

Seeing that Liu Cheng is alone, bunch of young reporters surrounding outside the venue immediately seize the opportunity to ask him all sorts of questions.

Reporter: W-wow! Liu Cheng, you are even more handsome in person compared to the show, and your today’s suit looks very good on you!

Reporter: Is your show still being filmed? Is the filming about to be finished? Are you planning to continue staying at LFG or go straight into the entertainment industry? You can act with that face!

Reporter: Is CEO Victor usually ominous or not? Have you ever been intimidated by him?

Liu Cheng is surrounded by them, and being unable of answering anything either, he busies in casting embarrassing smiles towards me. I hurriedly go over, pull him out of the crowd, and bring him to the venue.

Liu Cheng: ....Thank you sister MC. If I had known earlier.... and were a bit quick-witted, I could have avoided them.

MC: Once you get the hang of it, you will be experienced the next time.

Liu Cheng: Haha, I’m not a celebrity anyway. I won’t be using this kind of experience in the future....

Not long after we sit down, the host comes up on stage, and I see the lights setting off in Liu Cheng’s eyes. The individual presiding over the conference is a very famous, self-media in the finance sector.

Victor deserves to be reckoned as Victor. In the following sessions, regardless of whether it’s a core business magazine, media professionals or industrial scholars– after coming up on stage, they all can’t help but ask—

Does CEO Victor have any view on this topic?

There are several hundreds of audiences off the stage, and the entrepreneurs with the name Victor– you can’t finish counting them all on ten fingers. But when someone calls out “Mr. Victor,” the host knows that he has to give the microphone to Victor.

[ Note: Here, MC actually uses Victor’s family name in Chinese “李” (Li). What she says actually says is— “....entrepreneurs with the surname Li.... But when someone calls out ‘Mr. Li,’ the host knows that he has to give the microphone to Li Zeyan (李泽言).” The same goes for the part where MC says “Victor deserves to be reckoned as Victor” where it’s obviously hinted at the meaning of “Li Zeyan (李泽言).” In case, you are interested, here is an explanation of the meaning: ♡♡ , translated by @wedreamedlove ]

Each time as he waits for Victor to finish speaking, Liu Cheng will applaud frantically, only to clap as his both hands get red through and through. Not only him, but these hundreds of people at the infield will applaud, and the sound is akin to thunder rolls.

Halfway through the conference, Liu Cheng suddenly leans over.

Liu Cheng: Sister MC, the meeting with the advertising company is the day after tomorrow.... I’d rather not go.

He suddenly approaches with such a sentence without head or tail, which makes me react after a long time.

MC: Okay.

Liu Cheng: I’ve though about it. Also work is more important.... and now I’m working together with CEO Victor, not everyone can have this kind of opportunity.

Liu Cheng: Besides— studying business is much more interesting than filming advertisements.

Liu Cheng: I’m still more fond of business.

As he says this, Victor once again picks up the microphone to speak, and everyone all around rises to concentrate their attention, especially Liu Cheng.

I feel that the expression in his eyes as he looks at Victor, is brimmed with unprecedented resoluteness.

Perhaps it’s only me being upset over nothing, that’s all. Victor is right. They shouldn’t be underestimated.

This answer is just right.

◇──◆──◇──◆──◇──◆──

[ SECTION 5 ]

After the filming of the last episode of the show, the photography team withdraws from LFG.

As the master moves the last box of equipment in the car, I turn around and buy two cups of coffee from the coffee shop, and bring them upstairs to Victor.

MC: I’ve been freeloading your coffee for quite a while. Today it’s on me.

Victor: After freeloading for over ten days, giving back just one cup?

MC: ....You’re the CEO. Don’t haggle over every ounce like this.

MC: Oh, by the way, Liu Cheng filmed the last part of the interview today. Wanna know what he said?

Seeing that I’m impatiently wanting to show something, Victor picks up a stack of documents as he sips his coffee.

Victor: I can watch it when the show airs.

MC: He said....

I know he is doing it deliberately. As such, I simply bring a video of the segment in front him– which I’ve recorded, directly facing the center of his line of sight.

MC: “Receiving attention is only an outward appearance. But the reason you’re receiving the attention for is what’s more important.”

MC: “I hope that one day people will be paying attention to me because I’ve made contributions to some extent in my field, and have become a benchmark in the industry.”

MC: “When the moment comes, I will be able to let these attentions display an even bigger impact.”

MC: “And lead these attentions towards more significant fields or focus on more significant products....”

The condition of the audio recording of the video isn’t good, so I read out these words of Liu Cheng to Victor in their original form.

MC: Victor.... you are really great. You haven’t taught him any major principles, but you have made him realize these on his own with your every word and action.

Victor: I didn’t do anything. He was the smart one.

Although Victor only says these words lightly, but his gaze has been resting on the video in my phone all along. I read-out a little bit of gratification and affirmation from this expression of his.

Victor: You’ve filmed the show pretty good this time.

With that said, he hands a folder to me. I open it and take a look at it. It’s an approval from the HR department, which contains all the jobs these interns are about to be assigned to.

Each one of them has received a formal offer, and they are on the verge of taking a step forward, exhibiting their talents within this tremendous business empire of LFG.

Victor: Liu Cheng is the only school student enrollment of the Investment Banking Department this year.

Victor: Everyone speaks very highly of him. You have a pretty good eye in choosing people too.

MC: Of course— This is the best that I’ve tracked down and selected very carefully from thousands of excellent students. It was easy on you!

I put down the folder, and slowly lean closer to Victor.

MC: CEO Victor, I’ve recommended eight people to you at one-time, and all of them are on board. Shouldn’t we settle this “headhunting fee?”

Victor ponders for a while, and then nods to my surprise. He turns on his phone, and I don’t know what he fiddles with– I instantly receive a new email.

— A notification of project approval being granted?

Victor: Your approval has been granted. You can start to prepare for the new project.

MC: ....

Victor: Not worth being happy about?

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, and being left with no better option– I nod at him heavily.

MC: Worth it.... very much worth it. Thanks CEO Victor for your affirmation. As always, I will be troubling you with the next show as well!

Victor laughs as he turns off the computer, and then he gets up to pick up his suit jacket.

Victor: Let’s go, luminous and sparkling gold medal producer.

Victor: It’s time for dinner.

Having returned to my senses, I find that the curtain of night has long since fallen, the french window reflecting the silhouettes of Victor and I.

And outside the window, the white lights of countless office buildings intersect as they echo each other, embellishing the night sky, and gazing into the distant vast sky full of stars accompanying each other.

MC: Mm, let’s go.

◇──◆──◇──

[ EXTRA TIDBITS- Spoiler Warning: ]

On the “coffee” being a running topic in this company project—

Even though it’s a normal happening for the characters in the game to have coffee together, but in Victor’s case— it holds a special meaning. In CH 37 of S1, in the farewell with Victor, MC told him that she will bring him a cup of coffee when she returns.

In S2, CH 1: We have Victor saying it himself that MC always brings him coffee. And we also see how seriously MC takes this gesture (despite the Victor she brings the coffee to, not remembering it now) when she makes a detour only to buy him a cup of coffee.

In the R&S “Seaming the words and thoughts:” [ translated by @ey8508 ] We see that this has turned into a very terrible habit.

In CH 10: We see that this habit is still very much thriving.

....Just me casually dropping some angst. :'(

ー

#THEM and the way they reciprocate each other... ಡ‸ಡ #...and THIS MAN ಡ‸ಡ #mlqc cn #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc spoilers #mldd victor #mr love victor #mlqc #mr love queen's choice #li zeyan #mlqc s2 #mlqc season 2 #love and producer #李泽言 #恋与制作人 #mlqc translations

32 notes · View notes

peekbackstage · 4 years

Note

Thanks so much for sharing your perspective. I've found your posts very informative and appreciate your time and effort. I saw you mention something about XZ's team not doing a great job responding to the situation, though of course they aren't to blame for it. If you don't mind, would you share your thoughts on what a better response might have looked like, and what impact it might've had if they'd done things differently?

One of the things that stands out most to me is how unprepared XZ Studio was when dealing with a PR crisis. It seems to me like they most likely did not have a strong social media team at the time who would have been tracking any trends or conversations associated with XZ. (By the point at which 227 happened, XZ Studio had already been established for about five months.)

It is pretty standard to track your artist’s name and keep an eye on trending topics, especially to get in front any major issues. As 227 began to develop, had XZ Studio been tracking the development on social media, they could have potentially defused the situation very quickly when the big call to action first emerged from XZ fans to report a fanfic to the government. It was so out of hand, and there was no statement from either the company or the artist that it seemed as though both were complicit in allowing it to continue, which is precisely why so many antis emerged, incensed against XZ’s apparent lack of action to rein in his fans and guide them appropriately.

Much of the backlash that occurred against XZ and his fans is because there was no initial response when the call to action first appeared - they could have essentially stopped it before it got too far and prevented AO3 and Lofter from getting banned. A simple statement from the artist and the management company to defuse everything could have potentially stopped the movement in its tracks, with the amount of influence XZ does have over his fans.

When things did go sideways, there still was no statement or even an apology from management or XZ, who was being criticized for the actions of his fans. Though it wasn’t his fault (technically), the ways in which his fans behave reflected poorly upon him as an artist and an influencer. Had he taken “responsibility” immediately and apologized, it might not have gone so far as a boycott against him that resulted in so many brands dropping him.

What I think a better response would have looked like once 227 occurred would have been this:

1. Immediately issue a PR statement condemning the actions of the fans and take responsibility for not initially “guiding” fans properly. Apologize on behalf of the company, the fans, and the artist. Statement should also include a note that states the offending content is merely fiction and that there is no truth to the story. There is no reason to be upset over something that is not true or defamatory, as it is imaginary. (This would essentially be a coded statement denying a certain relationship to begin the process of dissociating and creating a different narrative.)

2. Artist should issue a statement condemning the actions of the fans and apologizing as well. Call to action for any fans who might continue to act out to behave appropriately. Remind fans that fiction is not real, and to stop acting out against something that is imaginary.

3. Meet with Weibo privately. Ask them to help with community management to ban accounts that are breaking their TOS. Do this very early on in the process. Also, invest a good deal of money to hire an entire social media management team or a company to heavily monitor Weibo and aggressively report accounts that are engaging in defamatory behavior and potentially breaking Weibo’s TOS. Take legal action against anyone who is actively breaking the law.

4. Book an interview with a large media outlet or a well-known media personality. Allow and even encourage questions about the incident. Artist should condemn the actions of the fans who caused the incident and apologize to the public for their behavior. Artist should also say something like, “The story is fake/imaginary/fiction/not real.” (Saying something like that more or less demonstrates how dumb all of this is.) I am assuming that questions won’t be asked about AO3/Lofter being placed behind the Great Firewall due to China censorship.

5. Dissociate from anything and everything that might allow others to continue associating the artist with the incident. In XZ’s case, that means dissociating from WYB, because he’s associated with said incident given the fact that this was all caused by a fanfic. Put a moratorium on kadians and any other potential “interactions” that would allow fans to continue to have “content” to discuss on Weibo. The point here is to change the narrative - this way antis won’t also have content they can use to criticize XZ.

6. While this is happening, call all brands and schedule meetings. Attempt to rescue the brand deals. For brands who are very unhappy, offer a contract revision to suspend the contract terms for a set amount of time (such as four months) to see if the issue blows over. (It’s better to put it on hold than it is to have to try and get a new brand deal, especially once the brand’s annual sponsorship monies have already been allocated for the year.)

Potentially work with third party PR team to circulate rumors among XZ’s fanbase that he is losing brand deals to create urgency for a counter-campaign against antis trying to boycott XZ’s brands. If there are just as many people calling brands to support XZ as there are calling for a boycott, then it would potentially be a 50/50 toss up as to whether or not a brand deal manages to be saved. This might also lead to a surge of sales for all of XZ’s brands, which would then maybe demonstrate to the brands that XZ shouldn’t be dropped.

7. Track sentiment/feedback once all of the above has been completed. If all of the above didn’t help at all, create new action plan which might include withdrawing the artist from all activity for a set amount of time.

So there you have it. Maybe a response like the above could have potentially ended up with a different outcome for XZ. Maybe it wouldn’t have helped at all and everything would have still been just as bad. We’ll never actually know.

What I hope is that XZ now has a better team who can handle issues like this in the future, and that he will see a full recovery for his career this new year. If 2020 has proven anything to anyone watching, it’s that XZ’s consumer power is still massive, and that his popularity has not waned at all. The fact that he is still sweeping all the awards that require fans to vote, often winning by millions of votes, and the red sea that fans managed to put on for him during the Tencent awards are undeniable symbols of his enduring popularity.

This kind of influence is staggeringly powerful - brands and media outlets that previously might have felt uncertain about XZ as an artist most likely will have positive sentiments towards him as a result.

So, let’s hope that 2021 will be the best year for XZ.

The future is full of possibilities and the sky above is endless.

Edit: @pepeyee Made it clear to me in the replies that I definitely did not clarify myself or my thoughts on all of the above well enough, so I will be writing a response to all of the above to further clarify some points so that there is no confusion about my stance here.

#Anonymous #ask #xiao zhan #pr response #artist management #227 incident #xz studio #peek answers

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accio-victuuri · 3 years

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The GG & Li-Ning & Xianjiang Cotton Situation

I was asked to give my opinion. This is also for other bxgs who may have the same sentiment. You don’t have to agree with me but i hope you respect whatever it is I choose to share here. This is my blog and my space. I maintain this out of my pure enjoyment of the fandom and all the good it has given me. So let me address some of the points.

Li-Ning boasts their use of XinJiang Cotton

My simple answer here is, of course they will. This is not something new. Li-Ning is a celebrated olympic medal winning gymnast. A billionaire. You don’t get to that place in CHN w/out supporting the government’s agenda. In this case, that there is no injustice and persecution going on in Xinjiang. This brand, boasting about China made cotton, in their terms, shows patriotism and support for their country. This brand’s literal goal at first was to provide a local brand for Chinese athletes to wear in the Olympics. This is also not the first time that Li-Ning had been called out along w/ other international brands due to questionable ethical practices.

I find it very hard to believe that the timing of GG’s massive Li-Ning ad campaign, coinciding as it has with these Western brand boycotts, was a coincidence.

Let’s get this out of the way. Whether the boycott happened or not, Li-Ning is guaranteed an insane amount of sales because they hired Xiao Zhan. This is the same man who always sells out products in seconds. Who took KXZ to 200% growth and so on. I can talk about stats all day but this massive campaign for him is a no brainer. GG is expensive and a guaranteed success. Any brand who hires him will be stupid to not launch an all out campaign across all cities. Li-Ning knows what they are doing by hiring him. For years, they have been trying to appeal to Gen Z. Especially now that youth in CHN are more and more into the “guochao” (国潮) - National trend. Integrating traditional chinese culture and fashion w/ domestic brands. This ties in with the whole movement of erasing the connotation that made in china is of inferior quality. GG was a good choice. He appeals to the younger generation (19-25) and the working class ( 26 and up ) who buys goods. I would imagine even GG’s team did their research and knows this trend is going on too. This will not be the last you will see of this type of endorsement from him or Web. The rumors on this collaboration was going around as early as, March 15 I think? I was literally asking another bxg if GG’s ad will be pushed back a day or two because of what was happening. or what will this all implies. He was always gonna come out and endorse this brand boycott or not.

I am not removing the possibility that these local brands have a hand in the boycott. It’s a very valid concern. or that, it was a convenient perfect storm for them. A perfect storm of EU, US & CAN sanctioning CHN. The sudden attack on brands’ statements against Xinjiang cotton from a year ago. The whole agenda of controlling the people’s view on what is happening. All of these are connected. sure. There are many things behind the scenes that we will not know but we can make an educated guess of. Li-Ning is not the only domestic brand that had a positive push because of this.

On 3/25 Li-Ning’s stock closed with a high of 10.74% , plus an added 9% on the 26th when GG was announced as ambassador. The same thing happened with Anta and others.

I find it very hard to stomach seeing Li-Ning ads on my dash, regardless of GG’s presence in them. Without condemning him for taking this endorsement deal, and without judging what he is or is not personally aware

I will just be addressing GG’s alleged part in all this. I say that cause we don’t live in his brain and won’t know what he’s thinking. You can all try and project your values on him but he is a whole person of his own. I have hopefully given some view on why GG accepted to endorse this brand in the previous point. GG has spent most if not all, of his life in China. He has repeatedly said that he was brought up traditionally. Tho his father was very encouraging in him participating in the arts and widening his knowledge. He had Foreign professors at CBTU. He is part of the generation that knows what’s going on outside by using the internet. He’s smart. I would guess that he is aware of the country he is living in vs what it’s like outside of it. But at the end of the day, his loyalty will always be with his country. I hate to break it to you all but he will continue to live and thrive as an Actor even without international support. Tho it is great that he is a source of National Pride with how people outside of China love him.

Now, about his support for Xianjiang Cotton. I wanna start by showing this:

It’s a post from People’s Daily wb which boasts all the c-ent top stars that voiced their support of XJ cotton. The sense is, hey people look at your idols supporting the cause. Look at their Patriotism. What do you think will happen if GG was not on this list? Knowing that he is a top star in CHN. Knowing he was just in hot waters post 22*? Knowing that he is actively being endorsed in CCTV which is a National Channel. Are we still surprised that he posted that support? I was just honestly waiting for him to post if anything. I talked before about how C-ent celebrities are expected ( and actually it’s in their law ) to be more morally upright than the lay people. This is prime example of that.

Another one is this from CCTV Wb. I’m including this for you all to have an understanding of how this whole thing is being played out in CHN. This is the type of online narrative that is going around and I would think GG is seeing. The sentiment is,

“No matter what hardships, ups and downs and blows go through in our country, her people will always come from all directions and stand up to speak justice and do just things.”

It’s also showing all the hot searches that is related in support of XJ cotton and defending CHN’s innocence.

Also this video that was heavily circulated showing mechanized picking of cotton vs the allegations of manual.

This is the kind of narrative that is going around, as expected. I don’t really fault GG or condemn him for doing what is best for him. What is the best for an individual does not always mean it’s the best for all. In talks like this, I always try and put myself in their position. I mean, who the hell are these people trying to attack my country? the country that has provided for me. I wanna say I understand where they are coming from but understanding does not mean agreeing. I see these A LOT. ALOT ON WEIBO. The China vs. Everyone story. It’s the notion of, they are attacking us and we must protect the country. Also keep in mind that news is heavily regulated.

You know what type of news the CCP would love for them to get a hold of? The rising attacks on Asians in the US. Oh boy they would fuckin love that! Making America the big/bad asian-hating boogeyman in the eyes of their people yet again.

Okay, now we’re down to the final part of this. Why do I share the promo pics for Li-Ning. Where do i draw the line.

To me it’s simple. It had GG in it. I was waiting for this to come out, and tbh, would you all even know about this brand’s practices if the boycott didn’t happen? No. This is a bjyx blog where i share things about them. That includes ad, dramas, pictures and videos. I understand if people don’t feel comfortable w/ Li-Ning ads and others, so just don’t like those posts. Did I buy anything from the collection? No. Did I buy multiple copies Web’s single Youth in Times ( like i do with his other singles )? No. That’s where I draw the line in this. I know we’re all gonna be put on a tight spot again once Faith Makes Great comes out. Once I saw that leaked pic, Ooohhh! I just know. Also if BAH adds some propaganda about CHN’s war on drugs. I am just waiting. I am ready. I know what my values are. I will not allow other people to dictate who I am. I know what type of content I’m only gonna be sharing.

I see this very forceful air of asking bxgs to take a stand on this ( always bxg, never the other side. always us of course even if we are the minority) and it really puts me off. I read someone say that they will not say anything because they don’t owe strangers on the internet an explanation. Which is true. I have separate spaces that I share my views on world/local issues. Accounts that show my actual name and around people I know in real life. That’s what I choose to do for myself. I started this blog for myself and i still find it very bizarre that people follow this account. I am not some sort of KOL, let’s get that straight. This is just a blog where I talk about things if i want to and SCREAM about GG and Web too much. I will probably not answer any follow up questions on this cause i feel like I have addressed a good chunk of it.

Just know that whatever I post on here in support of GG and his projects does not equate to my entire political/moral stand regarding this event or any. It’s really good that we have conversations like this cause it’s an important one.

Whew! That was a long post! 😅

#ask response

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ambivalent-anarchy · 4 years

Text

Body

Part 1 of 2

Part 2

Masterlist

Gender: Female

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Warning: None

Anon requested- can I get a one shot where the reader does the body positivity trend with the new megan thee stallion song and the reader is insecure about how ppl will react to it?? Most importantly how peter will react to it?? K thanks

Awww I love doing smol readers and where Peter's actually the one that has it together lol sooo thanx for this

The TikTok is that new body positivity trend with that Megan Thee Stallion song. Couldn't link it because tumblr acts weird about links but part 2 will have a video for Peter. Also reader will be 18 (senior in high school) cuz some people think minors shouldn't participate in the trend lol

A/N: Either a motivation fairy hit me in the middle of the night or I'm really just that bored to the point where I had no choice but to get my motivation to write back. Either way I'm happy lol. Enjoy! Thanks to @yumings and @kelieah for helping me feel confident in this lol

Will definitely be a two parter🙂

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Body oddy oddy oddy oddy oddy oddy oddy-

You'd finally finished editing the video.

It was a simple, short collage of all of your favorite selfies and pictures that showed off your body well. There was a new trend going around on TikTok and when you saw it you just had to jump at it headfirst.

People would take their favorite pictures of themselves, ones that showed off their bodies just the way they liked, and they'd put it to the sound of Megan Thee Stallion's song "Body".

You looked through your entire phone gallery to find pictures that you were confident enough to post, some you'd forgotten you even took in the first place.

When you were done, you threw in the simple caption that everyone was using.

Heard we're using this sound to show off. My turn then😜

Yeahhhhhh, the caption sounded much more confident than you actually felt.

You actually thought about deleting it from the minute you posted it. Insecure wasn't even the word for it. And even with your followers there to hype you up, you couldn't help but feel self-conscious. So, albeit hesitantly, you went to your friends for support.

The first person you showed was Michelle.

"You killed that," she said in math class as she passed you the phone underneath the table so that the professor wouldn't see.

"Thanks," you said. "I was honestly kinda nervous about it." You noticed her incredulous look and explained yourself, toying with the loose strings on your jacket. "Like seriously, I don't wanna fish for compliments, it's just that there are so many better ones out there."

Michelle gave a lopsided grin. "That's just you being insecure, you dork," she retorted. "You look hot." She gave an uninterested glare at the teacher when they told her to be quiet. Then she turned towards you with a smile. "You shown Peter yet? I bet he'd agree."

You shifted in your seat nervously and MJ immediately caught on. "What, you don't wanna show him?" She gave you a look when you took a while to answer. "Dude he's literally your boyfriend. I'm pretty sure he'll like it."

"MJ, we haven't even-" you looked around secretively. "-we haven't even taken our shirts off in front of each other yet. There's literally a pic of me in my sports bra and I.." You shrugged, a little embarrassed by the conversation topic. "I-i just don't know how he'd react."

You and Peter were a fairly new couple and were taking it slow. You'd only ever kissed, cuddled, and held hands so far. Plus, you were a major causal clothes wearer. Sweatshirts and jeans, those were your specialty. The two of you were in no rush and you were both fine with that, but you had no idea how he would react to seeing pictures of you like that.

And, though it wasn't the most feminist approach, you kinda wanted to impress him. Was that so bad?

MJ, forever the voice of patronizing reason, rolled her eyes at you. "So, let me get this straight. You're not fine with your boyfriend seeing sexy pictures of you, but you're okay with literal strangers seeing you instead?"

"Look, I know it's-"

"No, no I totally get it," she said with a sympathetic smirk, before laughing. "I just wanted to show you how dumb it sounded though."

The bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"Look," she said, standing up and getting her things. "You have nothing to be worried about. Peter practically worships the ground you walk on. He'll love it."

When you showed Ned, he genuinely didn't give a shit.

"Oh my God, there's a new Megan Thee Stallion album?!"

"Uh, yeah."

"I have to listen to it right now!"

"Yeah okay, but do you like the-"

He was already plugging in his headphones before you even finished your sentence.

You showed Harry next. If anyone was gonna rate you unabashedly, it'd definitely be him.

He was the only friend you had in your lunch period, so you met up with him every day. Towards the end of lunch that day, you'll pulled out your phone and asked if he wanted to see the video. He enthusiastically agreed.

He watched the short video with an amused expression, bopping his head to the music all the while.

When it ended, he handed you your phone back and gave you a high-five. "Damn girl!," he praised. "Just throwing it out there, if Peter fails you, I'm hella available."

"Heh, thanks." You smiled as you felt your entire face heat up. "Ya think he'll like it?"

"What, you haven't shown him yet?" You shook her head, giving a nervous smile. "Oh-" he nodded confidently. "-he'll love it. Trust me."

"Are you sure?," you asked.

"Yeah," he responded with a shrug. "Why are you so worried?"

"Because he's not-..he doesn't really seem-" You couldn't find the right words for it. "I dunno, I just really want him to like it!"

Harry scoffed. "Look. Let me tell you a little secret about Peter Parker," he snickered. "Or practically all guys for that matter."

"Okay?," you said, curious as to where this was going.

He smirked. "You remember when he introduced himself to you at my party last summer?"

You nodded.

"Well, hon..." Harry lowered his head to where he was whispering in your ear. "Your personality wasn't what he was noticing from across the room.. catch my drift?" He chuckled when he saw you blushing as you caught where his eyes had wandered. "Just sayin'."

Seeing your incredulous expression, Harry continued. "Peter likes to act like he's not checking you out every second of the day, but I promise you he is. That little "I'm so respectful and bashful" crap he has going is complete B.S."

You smirked and rolled your eyes as he pulled away from your ear and kept walking. "You're an ass."

Harry shrugged. "True, but I'm a realistic ass." The alarm on his phone sounded which marked his time to start heading to his next class. Standing up, he smiled down at you. "Seriously, if I could take back all the time spent listening to Pete go on about how good you look in your jeans, I'd be one well rested guy."

You rolled your eyes, but it betrayed the small smile growing. After all, he wouldn't be Harry if he wasn't a flirtatious dweeb. "Bye Harry."

"Show him the video, [Y/N]. He'll love it. You know I'm right."

And then there was one...

Later in the day, you were talking with MJ after school, waiting because Peter always insisted on driving you home because chivalry was not going to die as long as he was alive to keep it going.

When he finally showed up, the first thing he did was take you by the hand and give you a quick peck on the forehead.

"How are you guys doing?," he asked as your little trio started to walk.

"We're good," you chirped, ever so conscious of the phone in your pocket that you were suddenly very hesitant to pull out.

MJ noticed and nudged you. "You got anything you wanna show anybody, [Y/N]?," she asked with a smirk, causing Peter to look at you curiously.

You stayed quiet, but MJ still wasn't putting up with it. "I think you may have a video that you made..."

You remained silent and Peter looked at you, a lot more confused now. MJ frowned. "Um... cough.. cough."

Peter laughed and stopped walking. "Okay, what am I missing?" He looked to you and when he didn't see your expression falter, he looked to MJ. "What's going on?"

Michelle shrugged. "[Y/N] wants to show you a dumb TikTok she made but she's scared about how you'll react."

"Michelle!," you scolded.

She shrugged again. "What? You weren't going to say anything anytime soon."

"A TikTok?," Peter questioned. "Cool, which one did you do this time?"

You could feel your face heat up for the hundredth time that day. "It's a...um.." You stared down at the ground. Jesus, this was hard. "..It's a body positivity trend."

His eyebrows went up at that. "Oh, well um.. is it cool if I see it?," he asked.

You blushed. "Sure." You pulled out your phone and opened the app. When you got to the video you quickly shoved it into his face before you had a chance to second-guess yourself.

Both you and Michelle watched Peter's face as he watched the video.

His cheeks immediately turned red but his expression was unreadable. He had to have watched it over 5 times before MJ pulled the phone out of his hand. "Helloooo, earth to Peter Parker?"

She snapped into his face several times and he started to blink wildly, apparently being pulled out of a trance. "I...um- heh.."

You gave a small, nervous smile. "..did you like it?," you asked, growing confused as stared at you, his expression still the same. "Um, Peter?"

Suddenly, he smiled and let out a little chuckle. "Sorry... just..." He laughed again and scratched his head, unable to keep eye contact. "You're just- like.... really hot."

You blushed. Fuck. "You're not just saying that are you?"

"No, really like-" He looked back at the phone. "...Damn." He bit his lip. "How on earth did I get so lucky?"

"Okay, can we please get in the car before I throw up?"

The two of you looked at an uncomfortable MJ with embarrassment riddled on your faces. "Yeah, totally," you said with an awkward cough. "Sorry."

"Nice video [Y/N]," Peter murmured bashfully, opening the door of his car for you, his face still beet red. "Really nice..."

Tagging: @allegra-writes, @allegra-soleil l, @yumings, @hey-its-grey, @spideyyeet, @sunkissedspidey, @tommyunderoos, @chaoticpete, @snarky--starky, @sovereignparker, @thesherlockianavenger, @bubblebucky, @eridanuswave, @ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr , @kidney9-9, @gwenvrse

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c-is-for-circinate · 4 years

Text

Okay, so I’ve got way more reactions to P5 Strikers for a longer post later, but I want to keep playing, so I’m recording some thoughts and predictions after the first boss (and all the cutscenes thereafter) before they get derailed or confirmed by later events.

This is going to be a story about cycles of violence, I suspect. On the whole, I really liked how the game handled that with Alice: what happened to her was terrible and traumatic, and in no way excuses what she did in return. And Ann was still desperate to save her. I’m hoping we see more of that: understanding and also condemning, all folded in together.

Oh!!! And as I’m writing this, I’m thinking about how that ties in thematically with what I suspect may be the deal with jails and monarchs. See, palaces, we know from Yaldabaoth, were jails in their own sense--prisoners kept in isolation from the general population of Mementos and the Prison of Regression, shunted over into their own private little pocket dimensions where they could rule whatever they wanted. (And I have some more complex thoughts thoughts about the specific ways that system enables further violence by rewarding bad behavior, in terms of Yaldie’s motives and also reflections of the real world, but that’s another post for another day.) This, on the other hand, feels far more like the entire jail system is just big sprawling pocket remnants of that universal prison complex with all the wardens gone. Now individual shadows have clawed their way up to becoming monarchs over their own pockets, but being queen of your own jail still makes you in jail. The monarchs of these places, I suspect, will all be prisoners of their own pasts and the violence that taught them to turn to violence, which is a thematically cool way to do this and I like it.

Actually, framing it that way is making the whole concept of a cycle-of-violence P5 game grow on me. One of the things I honestly liked about the original P5 was that, with one notable exception, we never once gave a shit about the tragic backstories of the villains we took down. Sure, we’d learn a bit about them when we stole the Treasures, sometimes, but it didn’t really matter--because the important thing about each antagonist was the harm they are doing now, not forgiving them because of the harm done to them in the past. So I had a little bit of concern that this seeming reversal of that trend might veer off into too much sympathy for the aggressors, bur I’m thinking (I’m hoping) that what we’re actually getting is a look at how systematic violence can turn victims into further oppressors. And given that P5 was always a game about systematic violence, this ends up feeling like a natural progression rather than undercutting the original concept. Heck yes.

Speaking of systems of violence: yep, I am using social justice lingo when talking about this game, and no I do not think I am projecting or reading too far into it, because damn is P5S not remotely fucking around with how it feels about cops. Like, Zenkichi Hasegawa aside (and oh boy do I have thoughts on him), dear god do I love Haru sweet smile ‘Sorry, we just despise the police, is all!’ Okumura. Meanwhile, our hordes of faceless trash mob enemies are literally vaguely police-shaped Shadows in riot gear. We spent a major battle blowing up cop cars. Like. Persona 5 said prison abolition, to the tune of spending our entire game trying to break out of our metaphorical Velvet Room prison and boss-battling our final endgame through the cognitive prison of all society. P5 Strikers apparently said, ‘you know, we were too subtle last time, and also Fuck The Police.’

Okay and actually let’s talk about ol’ Zenkichi there (hell yes, team, you go right ahead calling this adult authority figure by his given name with no honorifics even in the original Japanese, I support you). My hope at this point is that we get his development as a parallel to the same things we’re seeing in these jail monarchs: as part of a cycle of violence. He’s clearly got some backstory if we’re meant to care about him this much, and it led him to this place of becoming a cop out of a desire to help or to hurt or whatever, but the road he followed brought him to this role of an authority figure with no issue manipulating, using, threatening, and borderline abusing his power over teenagers. (I say ‘borderline’ because he hasn’t moved beyond threats yet, but it’s pretty clear he wouldn’t mind doing so if necessary--we saw him beat up a drunk, so yep.) Which, can we talk about the parallels between that scene and Akira’s original confrontation with Shido? Drunk man harassing a woman, drunk man ends up on the ground. Except: Akira was alone on a dark street with only the three of them there, and Hasegawa’s surrounded by people who could intervene, help, or even side against him in court if anyone cared what they had to say. Except the drunk office-worker is clearly unimportant and unthreatening, while Shido was forceful in pride and anger even while drunk. Except Shido’s victim was terrified, while Ann is mostly just disgusted, surrounded by friends, in very little actual danger. And Akira never touched him, never pushed him, just took one step up to try and help. Zenkichi Hasegawa provoked a mostly-harmless drunk into attacking him for the excuse to punch him unconscious on purpose. Akira’s Shido flashback was framed in every way to show us the ways our protagonist was powerless. Zenkichi’s scene parallels it to show us a dozen different ways this man is powerful and unafraid to use it--not just against those he deems unworthy, but also, if he so chooses, over those he saves. I am really enjoying this guy as a character. Every single time the PTs have no use for his shit, I cheer. Him being unbalanced by the metaverse is glorious, and please let Morgana continue to freak him out by existing and Haru continue to freak him out with sweet, pleasant smiles while talking about how she’s very sorry, it’s simply that all cops are bastards, for the rest of the game. (Additional note: @errant-light and I have been watching and talking about a whole bunch of Fullmetal Alchemist lately, and apparently Hasegawa’s Japanese VA is also Roy Mustang. Which has just been a delightful detail re: this guy’s manipulative bastardry, because in some ways I am pretty sure the mass-murdering war criminal version of this character is the better person.)

Alice as a really obvious parallel to Kamoshida is interesting, I think. Even to the point of being a king and queen ruling a castle--and don’t think I didn’t see that “Birdcage of Lust” label! I don’t love having a pretty young social media influencer as our sin of lust (but even that’s complicated, because Alice was pretty clearly caged and abused for daring to feel lust in the first place, NOT for preying on people, except that then she did get predatory and it’s all a little thorny and not especially kink-positive). I do have a lot of feelings about Shujin as this place where Kamoshida abused and preyed on people with total abandon, while Alice was demonized for daring to even look at boys in the wrong way. I really wonder if they ever met. It’s a cool counterpoint, and a really cool counterpoint to Ann, who was likewise a victim of that school and refused to let it turn her into an abuser herself. (I have a LOT of feelings about Ann right now.) I’m really hoping future jail monarchs continue to mirror palace rulers in interesting ways. In theory, next up is vanity, and gosh knows there’s plenty to fuck around with in playing against Yusuke’s lonely artistic yearning to be understood. I’m very excited.

Apparently, the internet says this game takes 35 hours to play. Me and my 21-hour playtime so far have some Opinions About That.

#C plays persona #persona 5 strikers #what if I just became a persona blog #persona 5 #NO SPOILERS IN THE NOTES PLEASE

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miraculouscontent · 4 years

Text

Askplosion #11:

(note that I know I mentioned a “Voiced Askplosion” last time in the tags for anyone who put a 🎤 in their ask, meaning they wanted to hear me respond verbally to it, but I only got one and it wasn’t anything serious - just a tease from someone I know - so I either won’t be doing it at all or will be holding off)

Asks responding to previous posts:

ALYA NO!!!

(the idea of Sabrina avoiding not only Ms. Mendeleiev, but also Alya, is very amusing to me)

The fact that the special focuses on the love square instead of Sabrina and Delmar is a crime.

(also note that “Need some help?” is rhetorical in this context; Alya doesn’t care)

Highly recommended, honestly, otherwise it just turns into a big shame because there are shows I really like but with some content that I don’t like, and why torture myself with it when I can cut it out instead?

Just to give a rough idea, here’s my cut of “Desperada”; mind you, this is just my quick cut of it (basically a “beta” version where I just removed everything I disliked without much care for transitioning/having everything make sense; some of Marinette’s friends talking, the guitar scene, Aspik, etcetera), as I’m not comfortable handing over my “perfect” cut of it since it’s like my personal copy.

Yeah, that’s a super awkward scene. As much as I’d like to imagine that Adrien just doesn’t understand the “guy time” thing (which I still hate), the fact that they use the word “guy” specifically is--ugh.

I wasn’t aware of what he said in the French dub, so thanks! It’s really painful to see her throw so much love his way, openly and publicly and obviously, then be so humiliated for it, only for Adrien to feel nothing for her.

Say whatever you want about Chat Noir’s advances and how sAAAAAAD he is when she rejects him, but her rejections are just that; in private. There aren’t other heroes who are around and Chat is never really humiliated. Even in “Prime Queen,” Chat wasn’t the target - Ladybug was, and then Ladybug shifted it to Nadja - so Marinette is the one taking all the heat in love while Chat gets to sit on the sidelines (plus, then “Oblivio” happened and now people probably all thing they’re a thing).

Yeah! That’s the group I was thinking of!

Thank you!

I’m so sorry that happened. ;—;

I’m not aro but I am ace and I’ve gotten the whole, “oh it’s just because--” stuff before, so I know what it feels like to have people put on the pressure/invalidate you.

YES.

IT’S GORGEOUS.

I’m not really familiar with how holidays are celebrated outside of the bare basics of Christmas/New Year (which I am trying my hardest to forget lol), so I couldn’t say.

Sorry!

New Asks:

10/10 thought, would fantasize again.

Though would also accept MC Audrey just doing some “spring cleaning” of the whole staff in general. I have no idea how she’d replace Jeremy since he’s the company’s poster boy but most of the writers have to go at the very least and Jeremy should be given less power.

I think MC Audrey would appreciate how Kagami carries herself, though potential bonus if - while Tom and Sabine just openly trust whatever Marinette wants - Audrey does a bunch of digging to make sure Kagami is “worthy” of being with Marinette (she takes this all very seriously).

Double potential bonus if Kagami takes it just as seriously, so here’s Audrey and Kagami acting as if Kagami dating Marinette is like some sort of job interview.

Kagami handing over a “resume” of her accomplishments to Audrey. Audrey has already looked all of it up herself but appreciates the effort put in.

If the question in Miraculous is, “Do we really need a--” and the thing being introduced is something the staff came up with then the answer is usually “no.”

The movie will look pretty and that’s all I’ll expect. It’s just Jeremy’s take on Miraculous. Luka and Kagami probably won’t even be around so I’m not even interested.

I’ll watch it, but I’m also not interested lol.

Honestly, I’d rather turn into bubble froth.

oddly specific but... I mean, damn

I have no idea, and I try not to throw around words like “spite ship” because I know people could genuinely like the ship, though I will say that I went on AO3 and - unless I read from - the first Maribat fanfiction on there was posted after the airdate of “Chameleon.” I think it might’ve started with inspiration from “Marinette moves schools” ideas at the very least.

Non-Miraculous Asks responding to previous posts:

Oh, I understood, no worries! It was just funny for the split second it took me to figure it out.

My bad, that’s not how I meant to come off (especially since “magical girl shows” is a little broad; I mean, obviously I don’t think something like Cardcaptor Sakura is aiming for fanservice when Sakura’s--like... ten). I answered all those asks in the last askplosion in the same day so my brain was a little fried by the time I got to that ask.

I’m not even talking about Sailor Moon either; it’s just that I knew there are shows with fanservice and there are certain magical girl outfits where I kind of give the side-eye.

Absolutely zero problem with girls fighting in pretty outfits though. I fully admit that I’m a bit of a prude so sometimes I see fanservice where there might not be any. Super short skirts without shorts, for example, inherently throw me off (shout-out to Saint Tail - which I discovered while looking up “pretty magical girl outfits” - because the main character does have a skirt in “magical girl” form but also tights/boots and a cute hat, which is one of the more unique ones I’ve seen).

Non-Miraculous Asks:

Do you mean Sailor Moon Crystal? Yeah, the only reason I hesitate on Sailor Moon in general is because I’m not crazy about the transformed designs. It’s not really a matter of animation but more a design choice that takes me out of the experience.

I have seen all of Cardcaptor Sakura anime though, and then all of the Clear Card arc. I like the former, despise the latter, and I tried to keep up with the manga but once one of the big plot details were revealed, I officially dropped it.

As for Revolutionary Girl Utena, I looked it up a while ago and don’t remember what exactly turned me away. It might’ve been the darker tone though if what you say is accurate that it’s a darker take on a magical girl show.

Also, I may or may not have looked up the ending of at least Princess Tutu and I’m sorry, I’m sure it’s a great anime, but if there isn’t a happy ending then I give whatever anime a hard pass.

(note: yes, I realize the hilarity of saying that when I continue watching Miraculous)

(More Madoka Magica talk/salt below!)

Ohhh, it started a trend? I had no idea since I don’t actively keep up with every anime out there; descriptions need to really pull me in (the only current anime I’m keeping up with is Hanyou no Yashahime, Otherside Picnic, and Cells at Work (Season 2)).

The focus on specific--uh--body parts in magical girl transformations also reminds me that I think that’s usually what kills it for me, not because of the sexualization but because I expect transformations (especially ones that get repeated over and over) to be really dynamic with changing angles and such, which is harder to do when the camera is trying to draw focus to specific places.

Obviously you have to do it for some moments (I’ve always imagined Miraculous transformations like a potential sheep or another one for rabbit, then rabbit!Jean from Leave for Mendeleiev and fox!Juleka from LadyBugOut) because things will be weird if you focus on nothing, but I think there are ways to draw the eye without trying to sexualize.

Not having Ladybug-esque bodysuits is a good start. It reminds me too much of the Catwoman with just a bodysuit so it leaves nothing to the imagination.

How did I forget about that Sayaka scene? omg (though I dunno if the Bechdel Test is hard to pass if there aren’t really any endgame male love interests? are there rules about that? not saying a pass isn’t a pass but it feels like cheating)

It is nice when fans can respect the opinions of others without having to outright attack. I have had a few people come to me with, “I see your point/respect it even if I disagree,” instead of accusing me/others of--well, you get it.

Fandoms can be really messy, particularly as they get larger. I think there’s a certain balance between small fandoms that all know each other and a big fandom that’s out of control. Then there are things like “loud minority” and it’s just uggggh.

Anyway, back to the asks themselves, yeah, I’m not crazy about taking things that are just meant to be positive/cute/whatever and being like, “OKAY BUT WHAT IF IT WAS EDGY AND SAD.”

n o , p l z

Oh, I’ve never heard of that one!

Sayaka dying didn’t really do anything for me either. It’s hard to explain when I saw it so long ago, but it was just Sayaka’s attitude about the whole thing and it made it feel underwhelming. It was a shame too because I liked her and she had potential.

She was Madoka’s friend so I was just like, “Yeah, she’ll die soon.” Probably didn’t help since I knew what I knew about the show being “dark.”

Madoka/Sayaka is probably what I’d support the most out of all the potential shoujo ai ships. To my knowledge, none of them are really canon, though I remember a special song after the death Sayaka and Kyoko which I guess makes them the most canon and that did basically nothing for me since their relationship didn’t interest me (nor did I care for Kyoko as a character). The PSP game might have more intimate potential between the girls, but I never played them so I can’t make those claims (I only remember something about everyone potentially living and then a bad ending for Sayaka where part of her body was decayed when they didn’t get her soul gem back in time).

The tomboy argument makes me think back to a conversation with a friend of mine where we were discussing tomboys in anime and... we couldn’t really think of any? At least any that really qualify as “tomboy” for me.

Like, Misty from Pokemon, for example. I knoooooow everyone really likes Misty, but regardless of my opinion on her, it’s hard to see her as a tomboy.

I feel like they try to lean that way by making her super aggressive and violent (because... m E N) and I think Ash makes a comment once about her not being “like a girl,” but... I feel like that’s just how general “aggressive” female characters are written?

I mean, that’s tsundere female characters I’ve seen in general. Really loud (and not in a “gIrlS aRe sO lOuD aND ScReEcHY” way but like... the way anime gives them big heads while they scream at whatever male character they’re mad at), angry a lot, short fuse, etcetera.

But Misty is still crazy about clothes and dolls, she still gushes about cute things and romance, and both of those things seem pretty indicative of what “standard girl character” would be defined by, since they’re all “stereotypically girl thing” (I say stereotypically for obvious reasons since boys can like blah and girls can like blah and gender exclusivity is blah--). I get that she dresses differently, but that’s about it, and it comes off like, “she dresses differently and she’s ANGRY and VIOLENT, so she’s a tomboy,” which... yeah. They even gave her three beauty queen sisters with CURVES and BUSTS as if to say, “See?? These are GIRLS, not TOMBOYS.” (busty females can exist who are also tomboys, thank you have a nice day).

This becomes more complicated in magical girl anime since girly clothes are usually part of that so “tomboy” means that frills and skirts probably wouldn’t be a factor.

I mean, if you gave those sorts of outfits to me, I’d be like, “SCREW IT, I’M NOT A MAGICAL GIRL ANYMORE. IF LOOKING PRETTY IS REDUCED TO SKIRTS AND FRILLS, SOMEONE ELSE CAN SAVE THE WORLD.”

I’d also like to see some mixes between personalites and “tomboy” things. Like, non-stereotypical tomboy personalities doing tomboy things. Mix and match, y’know?

This was really rambly, but to answer the question... no, I wouldn’t count Sayaka as a tomboy.

All of this.

I think it also exemplifies the whole “dark and edgy magical girl show” thing because... ugh, how do I put this...

The “girls are overly emotional” thing is already bad, but then you realize that there not being any magical boys is also because that doesn’t hit the “shock value” threshold as much.

Y’know, because boys equal dark and edgy shows, so if there was even one magical boy it wouldn’t be as shocking when Mami gets her head chomped. They could’ve done, “emotional teenagers are the target because they’re in that vulnerable stage; smarter and more physically capable than children, but not as mature/stable as adults,” but having some boys in there for balance (it makes me feel weird saying that when I’m all for girl power shows with an all female cast, but in this show’s logic, it’s a different ball game) would make the show seem less bright and “girly” and thus lessen the shock value.

Does that make sense?

#((Aspies who also deal with Winter Blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder))#((how do you do iiiiiit))#((my usual methods aren't working and I'm constantly sluggiiiish))#category: trash #special: Miraculous New York #MC's Art #art: single picture #relationship: alya cesaire & sabrina raincomprix #category: salt #episode: Party Crasher #relationship: love square #relationship: adrien agreste & marinette dupain cheng #MC: Audrey Bourgeois #relationship: kagami tsurugi & marinette dupain cheng #character: marinette dupain cheng #other: non ml talk

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