#censorship is NOt very festive actually

[quarterprioritymidnight]

We need to start a Free Dan campaign!! Let the man live and post and do what he wants!!!!

he was just trying to give a 🎁 2 us lot is that so wrong????

[bambibaby-afterhours]

I feel like the point of that commenter was missed, do you actually think that they knew, for Charlie maybe yes? but I personally didn't know that the other guy was an idf. your feelings are valid but the amount of times they said that they get punished for speaking up or doing thing on their own accord. Contracts are complicated, i hope div1/jype will give them more freedom. It's heartbreaking this is happening in the world right now. It shouldn't even be happening. Right now as a Stay and a person, donating and spreading information is what matters to me right now. I won't be unstanning but will boycott the song. I believe that the kids have their subtle ways to show their support for Palestine. I believe that time will tell. I hope it comes very soon. Free Palestine !! Free Congo !!

🍉 anon

I didnt miss the commenter’s point and im not asking or telling anyone to unstan or boycott skz but being a true advocate for something means doing the complicated and difficult things especially when your in a position to influence change. skz in comparison to the people im palestine, the students protesting and the different groups of marginalized people protesting and speaking out about the genocide happened have nothing to lose.

They’re a major group the writes and produces their own music and if their reputation precedes them then breaking their contractual censorship wont be as big of a problem as people are making it seem.

Chuu for example is from a smaller company but faced being blacklisted simply for wanting fair treatment and to get paid but her reputation and positive interactions with all of the people she’s worked with helped save her career.

The worst thing that can happen to skz for speaking up is they get dropped by jype and then what??? they write and produce all of their music they can keep doing that independently or with a new company.

The worst thing that can happen to skz if they continue to stay silent is happening right now. Giving a platform to two terrible people; a zionist rape apologist and a zionist IDF member and giving them access to their fandom which is allowing a crazy increase of hate and threats to people boycotting and standing up for Palestinians.

Threatening violence to other stays for talking about not watching skz if and when they perform lmb. threatening fights and assaults at large major music festivals and purposefully streaming that song raising it on the charts which just causes more people to listen and give more money to two zionists again one is a RAPE APOLOGIST and the other is an IDF MEMBER.

Doing the hard things, the difficult things can be scary but whats scary is letting this roll off our backs by saying that contracts are complicated and difficult and they need permission.

At the end of the say all of skz are adults and have control of their hands, mouths and access to the internet. It’s 2024 our morals need to be stronger than a signature on paper especially when lives are being lost.

Imagine if your neighbors, your community was all gone in a matter of 220 days (from oct 7 to now(may 14)) due to being bombed, starved, dehydrated, left out to the elements, executed and forced into concentration camps and someone you looked up to not only remains silent about it but gives people involved and in support of this horrible senseless inhumane crime because “contracts are complicated”

Begging people to see you as human and to help you live another day in a language that isnt yours because you simply want the freedom to exist without the sound of drones and bombs 24/7.

Thats the reality for thousands of people in Palestine right now that’s what they have to do to try and get freedom but all skz has to do is pick up their phones and start typing.

It’s extremely simple when you think about it that way.

Thank you anon for donating and spreading information about gaza and boycotting i appreciate it and i know the people in gaza appreciate it even more. Lots of love to you <3 Take good care of yourself and have an amazing may ‎❤︎ ིྀ

[stargirlsuicide]

can you tell me about the impact fascism has had on the current socio political state of italy and why heavily right wing and authoritarian politics are so popular currently?

omg yea of course

a lot abt this but 2 main things : 1 heavy censorship and 2 aesthetic focused politics

for some context italy has a national public broadcast RAI which is state owned and its required to pay for it in your taxes.

RAI is pretty much the biggest media outlet in italy and is known to have very strict censorship laws. they air some of the most important events : the sanremo music festival and the labour day concert.

all the speeches have to be read and approved before being said live. thats not even really a major deal cause these are some of the most viewed events in italy of course they would want to prevent people from saying certain types of things. the issue is in what they choose to censor tho. during the may 1st concert of a couple years ago, fedez (rlly famous italian singer) exposed right wing politicians by quoting homophobic lines theyve stated publicly like smth along the lines of 'all gays should be burned in an oven' and his speech wasnt approved and RAI had issues with him cause they wouldnt have allowed it to be said live if it went through checking first.

most recently a speech that was made to be aired during april 25th (liberation day and end of the fascism regime) was censored and had to be posted on twitter by the author

not regarding the censorship but in the sanremo music festival 2023 volley player paola egonu made a speech (approved by RAI) that resulted in backlash cause according to peoples reactions 'there is no racism cause we let her host for 1 night so she shouldn't complain'

for my second point 'aesthetic based politics' its a bit of a more complicated issue actually. if you watch a speech by the prime minister georgia meloni you would notice she brings up workers, the traditional family and god, all things that were also referenced by mussolini a lot. in the speech that made her gain more traction as a political figure and the speech she made before becoming prime minister she uses fear mongering to turn people to her side, in the first one she says legal documents saying 'parent 1 and parent 2' instead of mother and father means the downfall of the traditional family unit and in the more recent one she says the downfall of the economy will cause a crisis for the workers and the tradional family.

so right win politicians play a lot into the 'im one of you' side of things, that theyre working class and truly care about the people. matteo salvini (who used to be the major right wing politician) also used this for racist propaganda saying we 'cant let immigrants in cause theyll steal our jobs' ultimately it all plays into the same tactic of pretending the 'issue' will harm working class people just to get people on their side which was also a. fascist talking point during the regime

[absolutebl]

Please help me find that one bl I watched but can't remember the name of it, I want to find and rewatch it do bad! So that's what I remember about the movie:

I watched this movie on YouTube and it was not Thai or Korean. There are two guys who are not brothers, the one with the parents adopted the other one. Gave him many things, like money and house. So they're basically step brothers. The adopted one is in love with the main boy, after some struggles that I don't actually remember, the main boy falls in love with him too. But his father doesn't allow them to be together. With this being the reason, adopted one faked his own death and the main boy was in pain for a couple of years (I think it was like two years? But I'm not sure tho) After some time, the main boy coincidentally sees his lover working at a cafe. And they have a happy ending.

I've been looking for it for a really long timeeee 😭😭😭

This sounds right up my alley so I should know of it. It's stepbrother trope which is one of my all time favorites. (After comment consults I think this must be Irresistible Love - see notes at end)

My guess is something early from China, pre 2018? It could also be from the Philippines or one of the other BL producing countries that I don't track carefully. I think... not Japan, that doesn't seem like the right tropes or narrative bent for them.

It's possible, if you saw it on YT it was a fan rip with an alter end (like it really ends sadly but the fan decided to not include that?)

But you said specifically not Korea so Diary of Heong Yeong Dang (Drama Festival 2014) is out, and that was my first guess.

My second best guess is Thai, My Bromance the movie (2014) or (more likely) My Bromance the series (2016)? But you said: NOT Thai.

So my final pull is...

Find You In The Crowd (China 2017) but this is a microfilm and it's sad. At last check it was on Gaga.

You're not thinking of The Promise (Vietnam 2022) are you? No, that doesn't have the parental stuff and it's very recent.

That's the best I can do. Sorry, the spreadsheet and my brain failed you.

Here is some homework:

There is a 3 Part series from Ellene Noire II of YT round-up videos highlighting VERY obscure queer, LGBTQ+ and BL content (they named title and country in the cards), perhaps it's one of those? It has clips so that might trigger your brain better.

I've had these videos saved to process into my spreadsheet for ages but haven't gotten around to it since they really are some of the MOST obscure and I know it just throws off my numbers with "can't be found" columns.

If you figure it out, will you PLEASE let me know the name and country? It really does sound like my kind of BL. And if possible I'd love to try tracking it down.

Meanwhile here's my stepbrother trope round up post.

Notes

movie on YouTube

not Thai or Korean

2 guys who are not brothers

parents of one adopted the other one (stepbrother trope)

parents give adoptee many things, like money and house

adopted one is in love with the main boy

main boy falls eventually falls in love back

father doesn't allow them to be together

adopted one fakes his own death and the main boy was in pain for a couple of years

after some time, the main boy coincidentally sees his lover working at a cafe

Okay after consult with comments (with the exception of the bold bits I think this really has to be Irresistible Love).

Irresistible Love China 2026 - 2 Parts! 2 Endings!

Irresistible Love: Secrets of the Valet

YouTube

Irresistible Love 2 AKA Uncontrolled Love

YouTube

I not-so-secretly love this BL: Kidnapping, whipping boy, obsession, mutilation, very hard fought happy ending (in one version). Absolutely classic Chinese BL pre-censorship. It's a wild melodramatic ride.

This 2nd movie installment has 2 endings, one unhappy and censored and one basically happy. This series is quite violent, lots of tiggers, whipping boy chassis.

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/12/2023: RINGU, GOJIRA

I rewatched both of these movies in preparation for an event that my org hosted at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies has a lecture at the fest every year, and this time I got someone really great to accompany their Japanese programming. Actually, you can read the original paper that my speaker Sigmund Shen based his talk on, and I highly recommend it!:

He has something very compelling to say about how RINGU and GOJIRA (among other things) reflect the ongoing struggle to expose suppressed national histories, which inflict shame and trauma on a populace who are unable to fully process events that have been protected by censorship and taboo. Because this is a speed run season of Blogtober, I'll leave the analysis to Professor Shen--you won't be disappointed!

The film festival featured a slate of Japanese fare to coincide with a new documentary called THE J-HORROR VIRUS by Sarah Appleton and Jasper Sharp. When they were asked "Why now?" about this investigation into a mode of production that was extremely hot in the early aughts, and which has seen virtually no new growth in recent years, the answer seemed to be that only this much hindsight has clarified what it all meant--and they're right. The doc is really interesting and surprising, even to someone like me who remembers how hard J-horror hit the American festival circuit back when. The founding filmmakers share insights and inspiration that I never would have guessed at, but I have to say that my favorite part was the interview with Rie Ino'o who played Sadako in RINGU and RING 2. Despite her silent and basically faceless performance, she infused her character with a vivid personality that made Hideo Nakata insist that she return for the second film, and you can really see what made her so irreplaceable. I think I'm in love with her now. Anyway, see THE J-HORROR VIRUS if you can, it's really good.

[greensparty]

Album Reviews: Jimi Hendrix Experience "Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967" / Scream "DC Special"

Jimi Hendrix Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967

Another year, another Jimi Hendrix Experience release just before the holiday season! Since beginning this blog, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing loads of Hendrix albums including the posthumous album Both Sides of the Sky, the 50th anniversary Deluxe Edition of Electric Ladyland, the 50th anniversary re-release of his live album Band of Gypsys, his live box set Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts, the live album and movie Live in Maui, 2021’s Record Store Day release Paris ‘67, and last year's Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969. This week Legacy is releasing a never-before-released (or bootlegged) live album of the Jimi Hendrix Experience's concert at Hollywood Bowl just before they became famous with Hollywood Bowl: August 18, 1967.

album cover

At this concert, the Experience were opening for The Mamas and the Papas. Attendees were mainly there to see the headliners. Jimi Hendrix Experience's debut album Are You Experienced would be released in the U.S. five days later on August 23, 1967 (it had been released in the U.K. on May 5, 1967). By this point, the band had played a legendary show at the Monterey Pop Festival and opened for The Monkees. This is literally the moment just before they got famous. The trio were bigger than the sum of their parts: Hendrix on guitar, Noel Redding on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums. There were quite a few songs from Are You Experienced, but there are also loads of covers including favorites by The Beatles (“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”), Howlin’ Wolf (“Killing Floor”), Bob Dylan (“Like a Rolling Stone”), The Troggs (“Wild Thing”) and Muddy Waters (“Catfish Blues”). A live album would pretty much be enough to please a lot of fans, but this one is cool because it's not some overly-bootlegged concert so there's a sense of discovery, but also the covers make this feel like you're getting something new and different. There's nothing like hearing a band the very second they became famous and here it is!

For info on Jimi Hendrix Experience

4 out of 5 stars

Scream DC Special

Bursting out the DC hardcore punk scene in the 80s was the legendary Scream. The Reagan administration gave the Washington DC punk community quite a bit to rant about in the 80s and Scream were among the biggest of that whole scene, along with Fugazi, Bad Brains and Henry Rollins (the list, of course, goes on). In my friend Scott Crawford's 2014 documentary Salad Days about the DC punk scene in the 80s, he interviewed multiple members of Scream. Singer Pete Stahl and his brother / guitarist Franz Stahl, bassist Skeeter Thompson were a tight knit unit with original drummer Kent Stax. After Stax left the band in 1986, his replacement was teenage drummer Dave Grohl, who truly brought it. I was a big fan of the band's albums No More Censorship and Fumble and I have them in my record collection. After the band broke up (as we all know), Grohl joined Nirvana and brought that punk energy he honed in Scream to the masses. The Fumble album had been recorded in 1989 but was finally released in 1993. There were a few reunions here and there and Grohl has continued to work with the members of Scream (i.e. Franz was in Foo Fighters from 1997-1999). In 2009, the original lineup of Scream reunited and they even recorded with Stax on drums at Grohl's Studio 606 for an EP. But we haven't actually had a studio album from Scream since Fumble, which was 30 years ago. This week, Dischord Records is releasing DC Special featuring the original lineup. In September Stax died at age 61, making this his final album with Scream.

album cover

With the Fumble album it felt like the band was really evolving. The punk sound was there, but there was also a post-punk sound coming through. With all of their collective outside projects, i.e. Franz in Foo Fighters and DYS, Pete and Franz in Wool, Pete in Goatsnake and Earthlings?, Skeeter's solo work, etc - this band is way more than just an 80s punk band. This album incorporates a lot more styles and even some melodic tendencies. It's a nice full circle moment that this album got recorded with Stax before he died and that Grohl made a guest appearance. There's loads of other DC punk veterans appearing here including Dischord Records founder and Fugazi / Minor Threat singer Ian MacKaye. This is album is a treat for fans and enough to make you want to, well, scream!

For info on Scream

4 out of 5 stars

[construingseacats]

Umireread: Turn of the Golden Witch - Chapter 3: School Cultural Festival

The following contains spoilers for the entirety of Umineko. Please do not read if you are yet to finish it.

Shannon actively suggesting that Jessica should pursue Kanon is extremely interesting - is Yasu giddy from her feelings with George that she’s pushing even further for the feeling of being loved? Does she want to explore that aspect of herself even more, or try and convince her cynical side that even they are worthy of love?

Yasu is really out of her shell here. It’s honestly really nice to see.

Even if this is Yasu using the Shannon persona as a way to fake this kind of personality, there’s a lot to be said about “fake it til you make it” being a legitimate way to combat and overcome trauma. I faced a significant challenge to my mental health during my university years, and the only thing which actively helped me recover from my depression was indulging in a faux confidence that I was the coolest person in the world. Even if I didn’t actually believe it, that faux confidence turned into actual confidence, and here I am living a better, happy life because of it. There’s a good friend of mine who has an almost identical story to that. Yasu experimenting with and exhibiting these traits through her personas is absolutely a boon for her - and hey, it’s yet another example of how Fantasy can have a positive effect on reality.

Highlighting this as another case where the story is reinforcing the idea that Shannon’s love bloomed out of her environment rather than her personal desires. I suppose we could peel back a layer here and see this as a broader commentary on nature versus nurture - that might be worth keeping in mind as we look at Maria and Rosa later on.

Truly, Umineko is a love story between Ryukishi and his anachronistic references. Or the When They Cry series as a whole, rather.

Very funny assist from Yasu here. It’s kind of cute seeing how much she wants to do this.

*mortal stampede starts playing*

Honestly? I love how this is set up as a joke, before becoming far more relevant later. I’m a sucker for foreshadowing that’s cleverly snuck past you at the start.

I’m a sucker for the Nico Nico Douga style text here. This is truly one of the places where the original version of Umineko is unmatched.

So, putting aside the anachronistic Marisa Cosplay and the censorship in more recent versions of Umineko (for what I presume are copyright reasons) - I really need to highlight the specific use of Tsurupettan here. Sure, it’s a cute reference since the song itself references Higurashi (Oyashiro-sama is stalking and all that) - but isn’t it apt?

Indulge me for a moment. Here is Yasu, dragged out of her comfort zone, trying to broaden the shell of one of her most cynical personas. Consider her insecurities - about how her sexual underdevelopment has caused her so much pain and suffering, how she’s resigned herself to the level of furniture. And here’s Jessica singing a song about a flat chested girl. There is no way that Yasu is oblivious to this; the song choice is too on the nose for the deeper notes at play here.

You would absolutely know better than anyone about having to kill your sense of self on Rokkenjima, Yasu.

This is a very telling line for Krauss’ philosophy. Having experience “Standing above people” - considering yourself as superior to them - is painted in a positive light. The Ushiromiya are superior by birthright, a fantasy masquerading as fact that is not to be questioned.

You know, like how a person might develop a persona of Beatrice inside of them that has no inhibitions. Although, to be frank, Yasu’s development of Shannon might be the more appropriate parallel to draw here. Regardless, I do enjoy how they’re exploring such a key facet of Yasu’s personality through other people doing this.

It’s also interesting to note that Jessica makes a point to say that she’s not escaping from reality just a few lines later - again, the point of fantasy wielded in this form is not to replace reality, but to make it more bearable.

Laying the irony on here quite thick - albeit not in a way you’d catch it on an initial read.

I suppose it’s much easier for Yasu to give out a real name as Shannon than it is as Kanon. I wonder if she’s thought about giving Kanon a “true name”, or whether this would have been a confession as Yasuda?

The Shannon-Kanon divide is really interesting; we have one persona who, knowing full well that it’ll end poorly, has opted for a “better to have loved and lost” scenario by entering a doomed romance; and another who refuses to let things progress that far and avoid future misery at the cost of missing out on temporary joy.

Notably, I think the existence of the Rokkenjima Massacre puts a very important spin on this idea. While the whole “love and lost” philosophy is interesting in a vacuum, considered over an entire lifespan - that’s not what we have here. Shannon and Kanon, alongside their would-be lovers, are all going to die before things ever progress to that fail state. So Kanon is trying to avoid a heartache that will never come - and Shannon has engaged in a love that is ended by untimely demise rather than incompatibility. That borrowed joy has lost the expected downside; from a game theory perspective, there’s no question that she made the right choice, right?

Said it before, I’ll say it again, Jessica’s suffering does a real number on my heart. I really feel her pain on this.

This one’s hilarious - an internal monologue of “hey if you’d been more extroverted like my other personalities then we could have had some polyamory going on here”

I’m also fairly ambivalent about the significance of the Golden Brooch here. Even with the knowledge of the whole story, I’m not sure I can see any meaning behind it beyond it just being a potential lucky charm that Yasu may have used; a wish upon one of her few nice possessions that she cherished upon seeing good fortune bestowed upon her afterwards. I’m not sure how many nice things Yasu would realistically have - I know they’ve mentioned that the servants are paid reasonably well, to the point that most move on after three years (yet she’s been here for ten), but I’m not sure how indulgent she is with her savings.

Of course, Kanon breaking the brooch is significant in the sense that one aspect of Yasu is acting destructively towards another of her aspects - trampling upon a possession that had otherwise brought her happiness. Of course, this pales in comparison to how destructive Beatrice has been to Yasu, but if nothing else it’s indicative of how much her different thoughts and beliefs are at odds with one another. Everything she desires cannot coexist in harmony. Outside of the Golden Land, at least.

Kumasawa does this a lot and I’m not entirely sure that it’s warranted. I like her “acting” persona but it’s weird when she shows up at the tail end of a serious scene to go “uwawawawa, how sad”. I think I’d prefer it if she had a serious heart to heart with one of the other servants rather than just monologue meaninglessly?

This is quite a big moment for Yasu, and honestly, I feel like it causes her to crumble even more than the Kanon-Beatrice moment we just had with Jessica. She’s built up this fantasy of a normal relationship, she’s enjoying her time with George, she smiles while thinking about the future of having a “normal” domestic life as a wife and mother. But, with the offer of engagement, it becomes real - she has to deal with the fact that she’s now barreling towards a future she envisioned in an idealised daydream, but one that is ultimately incompatible with the reality of the world. I think calling it a joke taken too far would be too mean towards the relationship with George, but I do think there’s an appropriate sentiment there where this is taking her beyond what she was comfortable with. The days of the Wonderful Utopia are over.

Opting to close us out on Life’s End for a grand total of like 5 lines is a WILD choice. It’s such an ominous song, and the start of it is just latin chanting before the music even kicks in. I legitimately don’t understand the creative decision here. Definitely should have used something else and saved Life’s End for a first appearance in something punchier.

[mmslooney007]

The (long-ish) Rant Review No One Needed Or Asked For™ - Unchained Love

Y'all had the keys to success but threw it all away,huh?

Character-wise

Bu Yinlou is a lazy(?) girl who couldn’t care less about status or luxury, but is coveted by the eventual Emperor. She wants to be free, which is super fair as she was almost sacrificed (as tradition dictates for childless concubines of late emperors), and seeks to be free from the walls of the Imperial City.

Xiao Cheng Duo is the Chief of the Zhaoding Bureau, seeking to carry out his revenge on his twin brother’s murderer. Also not a real eunuch-- this causes Conflict™ for not only the Wang Hedi stans (jkjk), but for covetous Emperors and lonely Empresses.

The Emperor (played very well by Peter Ho) is driven by his obsession over Yinlou. Viki commenters and avid dramalanders, we can’t even call ourselves clairvoyant for calling it when baby boy entered the scene-- it’s just the way life goes.

Plot-wise

It went from making sure Rong An (the lonely Empress) didn’t take control of the crown, to getting baby boy to take the throne, to taking the other clan’s leader’s title/power away because he was crooked (and also suspect #1 of “Guess Who Murdered My Brother”), to dream getaway with not-my-man-yet/get me away from the, now, Emperor, somewhere in the mix was the lantern festival, which was the exit before “Operation: Make Yinlou a Seductress,” then we proceeded to take a right to the fakeup (fake breakup, or something else-- you tell me), to Lantern Festival again. Well, actually, no that defo was not the order of events-- but my point is this: I think we could have shortened this to 28 episodes.

Who doesn’t like a good whodunnit? Who doesn’t like political upheaval in drama? Who doesn’t like women fighting for their right to be treated as fellow humans and not objects? Who doesn’t like Hedi men who have power like that, having fight scenes like that, and women who are equally capable (looking at you WanWan) out here colluding? And y’all had the whole forbidden romance going on, but you fumbled. 

This was funny as all get-out imo, but man. This suffered from the drama curse. I personally feel like it dragged on at times and really honed in on the romance more than developing the storyline a bit. As much censorship that went on, you could have developed the scheming. I wish the Empress did more and they went in more on her wanting to possess Xiao Duo like they did Yinlou and the Emperor. I wish we had a bit more of Yinlou’s dad colluding with the King (Prince?) in West Shu. I wish we had more insight of the intel gathering. I wish they (he?) fell in love a bit slower. 

Forget Bones to Pick...

... I got a whole skeleton. Listen, my girl Yinlou was not out here leaving that armoire open during this. She was never a Bruno Mars feature. And y’all expect me to believe she was out here wearing his ring on her neck?! Where? Where. Y’all expect me to believe she was going to suddenly care for her abuser like that?! All cozy-- where? Tongyun wasn’t going to open up her mouth about the coercion to the most powerful man in the palace? The overplayed fakeup?! (Which ok sure she was being monitored but blink twice or drop a card to let ya husband know?) And why didn’t y'all keep the cards going? The wigs-- they never moved. Wet, wind, or sleep. Gorilla glued my guy. Minus torture. Her cousin didn’t die after being stabbed like that? But the Dowager didn’t make it, or Eunuch Bu, or any other arrowed foe. But why’d y’all bring him back since he contributed nothing to the plot after his being rescued from the grave?

Listen, I’ve got grievances. The emperor living as long as he did was at least three of them. The other ten being the amount of times the newlyweds could have left!

Takeaway

Yinlou I’m pissed too. He should’ve given me the twin swords.  

My Rating...

6/10 on a good freakin day

Clown shoes go *squeak* *squeak*

[mariacallous]

In 2022, I attended my first SXSW, and I couldn’t escape the suffocating atmosphere of crypto evangelism. A convention that touts itself as the nexus of art and technology, it seemed fertile ground for the seemingly growing NFT community. This year? I could barely find a mention of crypto. And the few who did bring it up seemed embarrassed to do so.

That strategy of non-acknowledgment might just be the future of crypto.

For the uninitiated, SXSW is an event that takes over nearly the whole city of Austin. There’s the main convention center, panels at different hotels, and concerts at the biggest stadiums. But almost every bar, club, and venue also has some tie-in party or concert. And those that don’t host official SXSW events hold unofficial ones to at least catch some of the hype.

All of that is to say, if you want to set up shop during SXSW, you can probably find a place to do so. This is what made it so bizarre that I was able to go most of the week with scarcely a hint of words like crypto, blockchain, or NFT.

In 2022, crypto blew the doors off the entire city. An outdoor venue with giant domes housed bombastic raves celebrating some little-known bunny NFTs called Flufs. (Incidentally, I attended the event last year, and the 3D images of crudely rendered rotting rabbits still occasionally haunt me.)

Blockchain Creative Labs—a division of Fox Entertainment—was a key sponsor of SXSW 2022. In 2023, BCL was nowhere to be found. Last year, there were dozens of panels advocating crypto’s benefits. This year, the word “crypto” only appears a dozen times in the SXSW event schedule. (Both “AI” and “metaverse” clocked at least 30 mentions.) Four of those were showings of a documentary about (among other things) “WallStreetBets and crypto fanatics,” and one was a panel with prominent crypto skeptic Molly White.

The minimal crypto presence at SXSW isn’t terribly surprising. Despite claims to the contrary, NFTs don’t actually work the way a lot of their advocates say they do. Many artists have rejected NFTs entirely and find them to be an external headache, rather than a useful business tool.

It’s not the first time tech has promised to revolutionize an industry only to fundamentally misunderstand the field it’s entering. (Just ask Stadia how easy it is to build a gaming platform.) But what’s notable is that crypto didn’t abandon SXSW entirely. 

Instead, it simply came in disguise.

On the expo floor, I saw a few companies that were still proud to admit they used crypto tech to insert a financial layer into an otherwise existing product. I saw a blockchain-based camera and a crypto streaming platform—both with names I’d never heard of—in tiny booths. The largest booth that prominently announced its crypto affiliation was Polkadot, a startup that “unites and secures a growing ecosystem of specialized blockchains called parachains.”

For every one of these companies, however, I saw just as many (if not more) that employed crypto while trying very hard to avoid mentioning that fact. Two companies claimed to be building the future of social media. Dig deep enough into their websites and they both offered users crypto-based incentives, but neither chose to feature crypto or blockchain tech as a selling point.

One of them, Ascend, had flyers all over the city. These made lofty—arguably impossible—promises, such as “no misinformation” (who defines what counts as misinformation?). Some of these promises were fundamentally contradictory, such as “no toxicity” and “no hate speech” but also “no centralized censorship.” It’s unclear how the company expects to reconcile many of these competing priorities, but according to its site the solution somehow involves earning “Ascend credits,” which are only described as crypto in a chart.

Another company, Arkive, launched a DAO in 2022 aimed at creating a community of members that would use NFTs and the blockchain to form a museum curated by the internet, rather than a central organization. The group met at SXSW 2023 and even put on a panel about the decentralization of art, but they downplayed the DAO and the crypto angle. Even Arkive’s own coverage of its SXSW 2023 presence barely mentions crypto.

In some cases, it’s unclear whether companies have abandoned their crypto plans or would simply prefer not to highlight them. Even expo booths for companies that are widely known for their work in crypto seemed hesitant to use any of the keywords closely associated with it. A display for The Sandbox—sharing a small booth with some other developers in the space—proudly touted the “metaverse” game and occasionally mentioned being a “Web3” platform. But the fact that much of the game is built around NFTs on the blockchain was somewhat obscured. 

It’s a dynamic I started to internally refer to as crypto-obfuscation. It’s not that any of these companies would refuse to acknowledge crypto, per se. When asked, many were all too happy to discuss their vision of a blockchain-based future. But they seemed to operate as though calling attention to it unprovoked was, at best, a little uncouth. At worst? An active deterrent.

Crypto has often been compared to the early internet, where the tech is exciting but not ready for normies yet. Still, no matter how cringey the internet was in its youth, there was never a time when companies avoided saying they were building a product on “the web” or “online.”

I’ll openly admit that I was deeply skeptical of crypto, even in 2022. There was already enough evidence of scams, rugpulls, disinformation, and fraud to make anyone wary of the blockchain for the next decade at least. But I felt compelled to keep my opinions a little quiet. At one crypto-themed party that year, a friend shouted quite loudly, “NFTs SUCK!!” And while I aspire to her energy, I also lightly shushed her for fear someone would take offense. 

This year, I felt like my skepticism had become the norm, or at least mainstream enough to express openly. Out of nearly everyone I spoke to, the few with any opinions about crypto seemed eager to share their doubts. Most simply hadn’t thought about the technology. And besides, generative AI was much more interesting to discuss.

I doubt any of this means crypto is dead or dying. The tech has been around in some form or another for over a decade, and public interest in it comes in waves. However, its subdued presence at SXSW suggests its advocates had learned a powerful lesson from the previous year: The best way to evangelize crypto outside the tech bubble is to hope you can convince people to pay no attention to the blockchain behind the curtain.

[bllsbailey]

'The Sopranos' Drea de Matteo Explains Why Celebs Fall for the Left's Faux Kamala 'Change' Message

Drea de Matteo may be an actress, but she isn't just another do-gooder pawn of the Left in the usual, glittering Hollywood style.

Many people will recognize de Matteo for playing "Adriana La Cerva" on "The Sopranos," which aired from 1999-2007. She even won an Emmy for her role in the groundbreaking HBO drama series.

She said on Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime" that many of her progressive pals get taken in by the Dems' message of changing the world and loving everyone--call it the "joy" message, like for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in this election--while the Left is actually camouflaging who they really are.

She said that "all of that weaponization on the left is camouflaged":

Any true liberal is anti-war, anti-censorship, pro-health ... They would be anti-mandate. That's totalitarian, that was authoritarian. That was on the left! I know that there's a lot of deep-rooted corruption, and sometimes they capture each party. Right now, that capture is on the Left.

While the actress says she's all in for RFK Jr. in November's election, she's gratified by the unity between him and former President Donald Trump--and understands that Trump is on the side of safeguarding freedom, something that many liberals claim they want.

UPDATED: WATCH: RFK Jr. Appears With Trump As Special Guest at Glendale, AZ Event; Full RFK Jr. Remarks

She added that what she likes about both Kennedy and Trump is that they aren't "lifelong politician[s]." She mentioned that she will never have another acting job because of her willingness to voice her opinions on politics that don't toe the party line:

I’ll never have another gig. At the moment, all I care about is … trying to wake up a few more of my fellow liberals.

She name-checks one star, who is likely too far gone with Trump Derangement Syndrome--actor/director Ben Stiller, who recently enthused that he's excited about change represented by Harris' presidential run. De Matteo said that's completely backward, since Kamala has been in the White House for almost four years.

Another example of what she's talking about is George Clooney, who raved about Joe Biden stepping aside for Kamala Harris in glowing terms, while at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on Sunday. Previously, he wrote a Washington Post op-ed urging Biden to end his reelection campaign "over age-related concerns." He told the AP:

The person who should be applauded is the president, who did the most selfless thing that anybody’s done since George Washington....It’s very hard to let go of power. We know that. We’ve seen that all around the world.

That's what de Matteo had to deal with every single day in Hollywood. Let's pray that what she's saying can get through to a few willing ears, on what's really going on in our country.

Read related: 

WATCH: RFK Jr. Releases a Series of Short, Inspiring Ads About America, the New One Featuring JFK

[femmesandhoney]

i'm not sure what other gay implications have been censored bc i've only heard of the jeht thing but that's quite sad 😭. those tweets really annoyed me since they felt so dismissive of how censorship affects lgb ppl and representation of same sex relationships. it's nice that hyv continues to give us implied gay and lesbian relationships even when they've been forced to remove stuff before. they even extend it NPCs (who don't make them money) and dedicated a whole lantern rite (only yearly reoccurring festival, representing chinese culture!!) to showing guiping being soulmates.

i've read that beiguang thread; i love it a lot and reread it (+ other threads by that twt user) every once in a while since the amount of symbolism between them is wonderful. like the amount of effort put into their relationship is so lovely. and i love that the VAs are allowed to openly talk about and ship the gay and lesbian ships. not only the english VAs but i've seen chinese VAs tease about them often too!!

ur right that bronya and seele are more explicitly lesbian in honkai impact! in fact they kiss in one of the mangas (so not in game but still official content) and unfortunately this actually got taken down due to censorship and iirc was only reuploaded on the global site. not sure if it's still unavailable in CN. and apart from those two, the other two main characters, kiana (protagonist) and mei (who ei and makoto are based on) are canonically in love too!! kiana declares her love for mei within like 10?? minutes of starting the game and is very affectionate towards her. the driving force behind one of mei's main character arcs is literally her love for kiana. they have a buuuunch of cute official art including them getting married etc.

if you would like to see them being angsty here is one of their most iconic moments:

https://youtu.be/v1sd5CzR504?si=o3yEoUIrYNCoe1dD

for context kiana (white hair) is dying and mei (black hair) has been offered the chance to save her by an enemy organisation and kiana is trying to stop her from leaving and joining that organisation

sorry for rambling 😭 i just love hyv lesbians

no haha im actually already decently familiar with the hi3 lesbians (tho not the story of honkai), so thank you for the reminders and context! also i forgot the bronseele stuff got taken down, which is again such an obvious rebuttal to those people who go "well there's explicit gay relationships in hoyo's other games, so they could do it in genshin and this means the couples you think are implied gay actually aren't" yeah before the even harder censorship crackdown that occurred a few years ago, those games?? the ones now being affected by the same censorship? like lmao okay. and genshin is their most popular game, ofc the censorship will be more enforced upon the media that has the most eyes on it. like it doesn't take much thought to realize why and what is being censored in genshin lmao. i wish we had more explicit lesbian and gay rep in genshin tho :'( i'm familiar enough with kiana and mei to wish we got more stuff like that. maybe in an upcoming region we could get a lesbian couple that's more heavily hinted at like how alhaitham and kaveh were. and they need to go "back" to beidou and ning and ei and miko and give them more obvious couple-y hints and scenes, we haven't seen them in ages and i'm missing them so much, especially beidou and ning.

[spaceasianmillennial]

I caught the Ernest & Celestine sequel at a Children's Film Festival. I loved it. It's also a very G-rated political film that tackles a refugee narrative, censorship, and artistic freedom.

--

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[back-and-totheleft]

"There’s still a presence out there reminding people not to speak about JFK’s killing"

Oliver Stone is not a fan of “cancel culture”. “Of course I despise it,” the Oscar winning filmmaker says, as if utterly amazed that anyone needs to ask him such a dumb question. “I am sure I’ve been cancelled by some people for all the comments I’ve made…. it’s like a witch hunt. It’s terrible. American censorship in general, because it is a declining, defensive, empire, it (America) has become very sensitive to any criticism. What is going on in the world with YouTube and social media,” he rants. “Twitter is the worst. They’ve banned the ex-President of the United States. It’s shocking!” he says, referring to Donald Trump’s removal from the micro-blogging platform.

It’s a Saturday lunchtime in the restaurant of the Marriott Hotel on the Croisette in Cannes. The American director is in town for the festival premiere this week of his new feature documentary JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, in which he yet again pores over President John F Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963.

“I am a pin cushion for American-Russian peace relations… I had four f***ing vaccines: two Sputniks and two Pfizers,” Stone gestures at his arm. The rival super-powers may remain deeply suspicious of one another, but Stone is loading himself up with potions from both sides of the old Iron Curtain.

He has recently been travelling in Russia (hence the Sputnik jabs) where he has been making a new documentary about how nuclear power can save humanity. He also recently completed a film about Kazakhstan’s former president Nursultan Nazarbayev which – like his interviews with Vladimir Putin – has been roundly ridiculed for its deferential, softly-softly approach toward a figure widely regarded as a ruthless despot.

Dressed in a blue polo shirt, riffing away about the English football team one moment and his favourite movies the next, laughing constantly, the 74-year-old Oscar-winning director of Platoon, Wall Street, Natural Born Killers et al is a far cheerier presence than his reputation as a purveyor of dark conspiracy thrillers might suggest. He is also very outspoken. For all his belligerence, though, Stone isn’t as thick-skinned as you might imagine. I wonder if he was hurt by the scorn that came his way when his feature film JFK was released in 1991.

“I was more of a younger man. It was painful to me,” the director sighs as he remembers being attacked by such admired figures as newscaster Walter Cronkite and Hollywood power broker Jack Valenti for listening to the “hallucinatory bleatings” of former New Orleans DA Jim Garrison when JFK came out. “It was quite shocking actually because I thought the murder was behind us. I did think there was a feeling that 30 years later, we can look at this thing again without getting excited. But I was way wrong.”

Garrison, of course, was the real-life figure portrayed by Kevin Costner in the film; he was the original proponent of the theory that the CIA were involved in the killing of the US president, after his 1966 investigation. Garrison wrote the book On the Trail of the Assassins, on which the movie was partly based.

Even the director’s fiercest detractors will find it hard to dismiss the evidence he has assembled about the JFK assassination in the new documentary. Once I’d seen it and heard him hold forth, I came away thinking that only flat-earthers can possibly still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy all on his own. It’s that convincing.

Stone blitzes you with facts and figures about the Kennedy killing and its aftermath. At times, he himself seems to be suffering from information overload. “I am sorry. There are so many people,” he apologises for not immediately remembering the name of Kennedy’s personal physician, George Burkley, who was present both at Parkland Hospital, where Kennedy was first taken, and then at Bethesda, where the autopsy took place. Burkley was strangely reticent when giving evidence to the Warren Commission.

“I think there’s still a presence out there which reminds people not to speak. I’ve heard that in, of all places, Russia,” Stone says. He was startled to discover that the Russians knew all about his new documentary long before it was discussed in the mainstream press. “They said, ‘We heard about it.’ I said, ‘How?’ They said, ‘We have our contacts in the American intelligence business. They are not very happy about it.’”

Stone believes that no US president since Kennedy died has been “able to go up against this militarised sector of our economy”. Even Trump “backed down at the last second” and declined to release all the relevant documents relating to the assassination. “He announced, ‘I’m going to free it up, blah blah blah, big talk, and then a few hours before, he caved to CIA National Security again.”

The veteran filmmaker expresses his frustrations at historians like Robert Caro, author of a huge (and hugely respected) multi-volume biography of President Lyndon Johnson, for ignoring the evidence that has been turned up about the assassination.

“I can’t say [LBJ] was involved in the assassination,” explains Stone, “but it certainly suited him that Kennedy was not there anymore and he covered up by appointing the Warren Commission and doing all the things he did.”

Stone tried to cast Marlon Brando in JFK in the role as the deep throat source Mr X, eventually played by Donald Sutherland.

“I realise now I am grateful that he turned it down because he knew better than I that he would make 20 minutes out of that 14-minute monologue and it wouldn’t have worked.”

Nevertheless, he filled the film with famous faces. He thought that having familiar actors would make it easier for audiences to engage with what was an immensely complicated story.

Getting Stone to stop talking about JFK is like trying to pull a bone from a mastiff’s jaws. To change the subject slightly, I ask if he is still in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. He is and is utterly horrified at how Assange is being treated, especially given that Siggi the Hacker, a key witness in the extradition case against Assange, admitted recently that he lied. Stone praises Assange’s partner Stella Morris as “the best wife you could ever have. She really is smart, she’s a lawyer … he has two children. He can’t even touch them or see them. It’s barbaric. It indicates America is declining faster than we know. It is just cutting off dissent.”

The mood lightens when I invite Stone to discuss some of his favourite films. He recently tweeted a list of these, which included Darling starring Julie Christie, Joseph Losey’s Eva starring Stanley Baker and Jeanne Moreau, and Houseboat, a frothy comedy starring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. “I love films, always have. People don’t know that side of me. I could go on forever.”

Between his darker and more contentious efforts, Stone has made a few genre films himself, for example the underrated thriller U-Turn starring Sean Penn and Jennifer Lopez. He notes, though, that even when he tried a sports movie, he ended up right back in the firing line. The NFL was furious about his 1999 American Football film, Any Given Sunday. “They (the NFL) are arrogant, very rich people who close down any dissent, so I had to change uniforms and names… but they got the point.”

Last year, Stone published the first volume of his autobiography, Chasing the Light, which took him from childhood up to his Oscar triumph with Platoon. It was well received but it didn’t make nearly a big enough splash for his liking. “There was a curtain of silence about that. Maybe it is Covid… it was not reviewed by many people,” he says. “I wish the timing had been better. The publisher was terrible. They didn’t really promote anything. So now I have to start over again if I am going to do a second book, which I would love to do. But I have to find the right publisher.”

The book contains a barbed account of Stone’s experiences as a young screenwriter working in London for British director Alan Parker and producer David Puttnam on Midnight Express. “I wrote about it in the book, so you got my point of view. They were not very friendly people. I gave my criticism of Parker that he had a chip on his shoulder. He was from a poor side of the English. There is this phenomenon you see in England of hating the upper classes until they approve of you.”

No, they didn’t stay in touch. “And Puttnam is a Lord, right? He reminds me of Tony Blair. He is such a weasel.” For once, Stone feels he has overstepped the mark. He doesn’t want to call Puttnam a weasel after all. “Put it this way, Tony Blair is a weasel. I wouldn’t trust Tony Blair. Puttnam is a supporter of Blair. Let’s leave it at that.”

On matters English, he isn’t that keen on soccer either. He watched the semi-final between England and Denmark but had no intention of tuning into the final.

“Soccer is a different kind of game. It’s a different aesthetic. It is constant movement. The United States game allows you to re-group after every play and go into a huddle and so it becomes about strategy. I still enjoy it although people think I am brutal.”

Ask him why he so relishes American Football and he replies that he “grew up with violence in America … we were banging – cowboys and Indians, a lot of killing and that stuff. How do you get away from that? We weren’t playing with dolls.”

There are reasons for patriarchy through the centuries. Tribes tend to have a strong leader.

Stone’s feelings about the US are deeply ambivalent. He is old enough to remember a time in the late 1940s and early 1950s when “everything in America was golden” and part of him still seems to love the country but his mother was French and he talks about the US as a nation now in near terminal decline.

Perhaps surprisingly, his real political hero isn’t JFK. It’s the former President of France, Charles de Gaulle. “He said no to NATO and he said no to America. He understood the dangers of being a satellite country to America. You have no power in Europe. Don’t kid yourself. The EU is just an artificial body that was amazingly stupid in cutting off Russia and cutting off China too now.”

He doesn’t much like Boris Johnson either. “Boris, listen. He’d simply throw you in jail in a second.” He rails against the English for holding Assange in Belmarsh prison.

When he is not on a crusade or unravelling a conspiracy, Stone relaxes through Buddhist meditation. “Moderation in all things,” the man who came up with the phrase “greed is right, greed works” says with no evident sense of irony. He enjoys hanging out with his friends. “I have a nice life. I’m lucky,” he says before quickly adding, “I wish I had been more honoured and respected in my lifetime, but it seems that I took a course that is in conflict with the American Empire.”

Stone’s films have had relatively few strong female characters. Ask if he welcomes the #MeToo movement and the challenging of old gender norms and he gives a typically contrary answer. “It cuts both ways, though. There are reasons for patriarchy through the centuries,” he says. “Tribes tend to have a strong leader. You need strong leaders, but I do see the feminine impulse as being important, especially when situations become too militant. The feminine impulse, I’m talking about the maternal impulse not the Hillary Clinton/Margaret Thatcher version of feminism. They’re men. They’re not women,” he says. “I don’t want women in politics who want to be men. If a woman is a woman, she should be a woman and bring her maternalism. It’s a leavening influence.”

The director deplores the rush to judge historical figures about past misdeeds from a contemporary point of view. “I am conservative in that way… don’t expect to rejudge the entire society based on your new values.”

He met with Harvey Weinstein in Cannes a few years ago to discuss a potential Guantanamo Bay TV series. “At that point, maybe he knew he was on the ropes; he was delightfully charming and humble.” The project was scuppered by the scandal that that engulfed the former Miramax boss, who is now behind bars as a convicted sex offender. Stone’s gripes with Weinstein are less to do with his sexual offences than with the way that he attacked films like Born on the Fourth of July and Saving Private Ryan to boost his own movies.

“The press loved him [Weinstein]. Don’t forget, they loved him in the 1990s,” he says, remembering the disingenuous way in which Weinstein portrayed himself as the underdog taking on the big, bad Hollywood system.

“I think he robbed Cruise of the Oscar, frankly,” Stone huffs at the intensive Weinstein lobbying which saw Daniel Day-Lewis win the Academy Award for Best for My Left Foot, denying Tom Cruise for Born on the Fourth of July in the process.

Stone acknowledges his status in Hollywood has diminished. “All that’s gone. The people have changed,” he says of the days when the studios doted on him and his films were regularly awards contenders. Now, he’ll often finance his work out of Europe. He is developing a new feature film (he won’t say what it is). “Never say die, never say it’s over,” he says of his career.

Stone is based in Los Angeles and also has “a place in New York”. During the pandemic, he still managed to travel to Russia to make his nuclear power/clean energy documentary. “I got my shots over there because the EU is so f***ing stupid,” he says of the of the Europeans’ refusal to recognise the Sputnik vaccine. “It’s ridiculous, part of the political madness of this time.”

Now, he is putting all his energy into his new documentary about nuclear power. He waves away the idea that the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters show what can go wrong – they were accidents.

“Accidents you learn from. If there were not a few crashes, how would you fly?” he says. It’s a line that somehow seems to express his entire philosophy of life.

-Geoffrey Macnad, "There’s still a presence out there reminding people not to speak about JFK’s killing," The Independent, Jul 15 2021 [x]

[rainbowsky]

Hey rbs, Happy holidays! Sorry to bother you but there has been something on my mind lately. Are there any moments where either GG or DD supported/showed support to LGBT?

That's a more complicated question than you might think.

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

Because of the political situation in China, it's not safe to appear to be a part of a political movement, especially one that seeks to fight against official positions and policies. It's part of why Pride parades aren't allowed in China anymore. It's a big part, I'm sure, of why there's been a crackdown on queer organizations and queer university groups in China.

The official position from the regime is that every citizen has a patriotic duty to enter a heterosexual marriage and breed as much as possible - they have a '3 child' policy they've been pushing - and it seems that in their minds, being queer directly runs against those goals (as I've said many times, there's no reason why being queer should prevent people from having children if they want to, except the unjust laws that stand in their way).

People can and do express support for or acceptance of queer relationships, but top celebrities can only do so within a very limited narrow interpersonal parameter. There are a few reasons for this:

There is a stated policy that celebrities must express ideas that align with the regime's positions. Any artist who fails to do so could face blacklisting and/or 'reeducation'.

The censorship laws in China forbid homosexuality being presented in a favorable light (or really, at all) in any significant way.

As I stated previously, in China it's not safe to appear to be part of a protest or political movement.

Queer celebrities are especially ill-advised to show any political leanings in support of homosexuality, because it would put them at extra risk. It's also part of why there are so few gay men in China willing to openly admit they are turtles. They don't want GGDD's ship to be given a political tone by the conspicuous presence of queer men in the fandom, so they keep any support low-key and under the radar.

Having said that, GG and DD have both shown alignment with the LGBTQ community from time to time.

They both have been known to frequently wear brands from LGBTQ-led design houses including DSQUARED_2, Charles Jeffrey, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, Christian Louboutin, Martine Rose, Jacquemus and others.

GG posted popular gay anthem Somewhere Over the Rainbow for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia back in 2017. (He also sang the song with Zhao Lei live on 2016/11/19, a date turtles believe might be GGDD's anniversary.)

DD's famous sneakers and ice cream post, which led some gossip sites to claim he had come out of the closet. @potteresque-ire did a great analysis of that post here. There was also good analysis from @untamedconnotations back when the video was posted, and you can find that here.

A 2011 Weibo conversation where GG showed support for a gay friend who had posted about having a new boyfriend.

GG wearing Pride sneakers for an interview.

A Pride flag showing up in the foreground of a Kai Xiao Zao ad GG appeared in this year. This one is ambiguous because it could have been chosen by the brand, but considering that's a photo of Jianguo next to it, it's possible that it actually came from GG (the kadian on the clock - 23:00, 'Love Zhan' is also cute).

GG selecting a rainbow watch to represent romance for a Zenith Qixi Festival ad campaign.

GG singing gay anthem Post Coital Tristesse on NYE last year.

Endorsing some queer-friendly brands, especially Budweiser, Bubly and some other international brands that have been known to be vocal supporters of LGBTQ rights. Budweiser has even done some queer-friendly advertising in China.

When he was in Milan, GG posted a photo (3:50 in video) of a cathedral where people had gathered to celebrate gay marriage being made legal. It's not clear that he posted it because of the queer context, but a lot of fans made note of it. He posted another photo of it during his February 2023 Milan trip. More on this CPN here.

GG sang Tempting Heart when he was on Our Song, which is a song from the 1999 film of the same name. The film is about a love triangle involving a lesbian woman, and the lyrics of the song allude to that.

Some fans believe GG may have posted in reference to the anniversary of Leslie Cheung's death on 4/1/22.

On 23 April 2022 GG posted a Douyin where he read a poem by celebrated queer poet Edith Södergran.

DD mentioned Brokeback Mountain in a video clip

GG and DD are both Spongebob fans.

GG mentioned in an interview that he'd like to see The Whale.

DD chatting happily with queer icon Dan Levy at the Loewe show in Paris.

There's also their frequent association with rainbows.

The rainbow watches in their lives (including GG choosing one for a Zenith Qixi Festival ad campaign, not on that list).

GG appearing next to a rainbow rabbit in a Roseonly ad.

GG wearing a rainbow stars jacket and Pride colors rainbow belt for his live performance of Running to You With All I Have last year.

GG wearing a rainbow fox hoodie to interview Wan Fang last year.

GG wearing a rainbow watch and using a rainbow badminton racket for photo set he posted on Weibo.

DD wearing a rainbow Thrasher logo hoodie during rehearsal for his Just Like Sunshine dance performance.

GG including a set of rainbow colored chopsticks in his annual PR gift box.

DD wearing pants with rainbow patches for a Chanel event on the first day of Pride (not Chanel pants).

I’ll keep updating this post as I think of more, or as more references occur. If you think of one that I’ve missed please let me know.

DD wearing a rainbow colored outfit for the Loewe show in Paris during Pride month.

GG posting a vacation picture with a Pride flag hanging from a balcony.

Bottom line: It's unrealistic for international fans to expect to see overt expressions of Pride from GGDD, like we would see from North American or European stars, but I think they show what they are able to safely show.

Edit: More on DD's Pride rainbow connections here.

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

So, I'm learning for my history exam, and reading about "normalisation" in Czechoslovakia. Basically, the communist party decided to get back their power and everyone was miserable.

Anyway, my brain is still in Descendants!! Mode, so I'm gonna make a list, featuring the stuff communists used to achieve their goal and see if Auradon did it! Fun, right?

Anyway, I'm doing both post-1948 and -1968, to get more comprehensive list. And hopefully give Auradon some positive points.

Create an atmosphere of fear. Yep. Definitely. They freaked everyone out with pretending the villains were a threat still and probably also threatened to send any offenders to the Isle. I mean, why wouldn't they? It would be effective. ✔️

Political processes, like getting sentenced without proper trial. Almost definitely, but I can't really blame them with some of the more awful villains. Still, another check it is. ✔️

Install wide variety of annual celebrations and festivals, so people would be distracted. Ehm, Sea Side Festival in the Rise? All the corresponding festivals in other kingdoms? And I'd eat my boots if they don't have celebrations of Uniting Auradon and Creating the Isle. You know, Panem et Circenses style. So: ✔️

Prefabricated trials for your own. (Is it how Yen Sid got on the Isle? Is it?!) Like, hopefully not, so: ✖️

Trials with death sentence, prefabricated trials, of course. Again, hopefully not. That's why they have the Isle. On the other hand, one could argue that dragging dead Villains back into the land of living so they can suffer more equals that. Anyway: ✖️

Censorship of knowledge. „The gates to knowledge are never closed, but library is open from XX to XX." Does that count? Probably not. Anyway, the books in library probably are censored. (I mean, the US of America does do that, right?) And Ben's books are totally edited ad usum delphini and I'll fight you on that. Actually, the VKs probably have better knowledge of what happened/is happening because the Villains can't keep their mouths shut and accidentally reaveal the stuff the other one wants to keep hidden in an argument. Or very purposefully. That depends. Also, the people didn't know how bad the Iske really was! Ben didn't! Which further supports my ad usum delphini argument, btw. One way or the other, here we go: ✔️

Replacing the church of *god* with worshiping the regime. I mean have you seen the church with vitrages of the heroes? Definitely ✔️

Trying to isolate people not agreeing with the regime and basically anyone with their own opinion. This is literally the Isle. I doubt all of the inhabitants of the Isle were major villains, so: ✔️

State-owned and state-controled TV programs. We know that exists on the Isle, so why not include it as one of the many channels in Auradon? Plus, the tales of major heroes are definitely spoon fed to the audience at least once a year. The Beauty And The Beast the most, in a display of irony. Still, I'm giving them benefit of doubt. ❓

These freaking five years plans for economy. I mean, we know nothing of Auradon economy, but I doubt even Beast would be that stupid. ✖️

Closing borders. Are there other countries besides Auradon? And it's allies? No idea, but Auradon definitely gives closed borders vibes. Again, benefit of doubt. ❓

Restricting children's opportunities in life by what their parents did. Excuse my poor wording, but this is precisely what Auradon did. ✔️

Create breathtaking displays of art, architecture, etc, so people would be distracted by how awesome the regime that can built that is & have job. Ehm, like the statue that turns from King to Beast and back? ✔️

Family friendly policy, so people would be too distracted by raising kids to question wtf is going on & future economy would grow. I can't say nothing for sure, but there really is a suspicious amount of heirs and heiresses in that class, isn't there?❓

No elections, or elections with predetermined winners. Since Auradon is a monarchy, I'm gonna count that. ✔️

Also, bonus points for Auradon only: Ensuring all the country's heirs go to one school, so they wouldn't get any ideas. ✔️

And baning magic would be on this list, if we had any. Unfair. Like, magic is creating differences between social classes!! We gotta ban that, immediately!!

Did anyone ask to see this? No.

Did it help me learn for the history exam? ...Actually, yes.

And now it's your problem, too.

[zizz-asdf-re-r-o-u]

Predictions/Hopes for Zachary Ying sequels?

Alright, so since I’m very much hoping Xiran Jay Zhao has planned a sequel (or making it a series?), this is what I am predicting or hoping for: (List subject to change as i change my ideas)

-Let Zack say fuck xD Or let Zhao sneak in a swear/curse of some kind. 

-As Zack gets (hopefully) more fluent in Chinese, I want to see Chinese writing/characters, alongside the pinyin & translations, actually in the books. Since this is set closer to our reality than Iron Widow, I think it would be a good idea. Also, maybe some discussion on Cantonese censorship?

-Mulan appearance. There’s already a fictional character as one of the “historical figures”, why not Mulan as well? 

-Tu’er Shen appearance. He’s the gay rabbit god. If Zack ever gets a love interest or his sexuality is ever addressed i feel like that future book (probably not so soon since Zack is still dealing with various crisises ) 

-Very VEEEERY unlikely- Mao Zedong? I wanna see Zhao’s interpretation of him LOL, but he’s not from ancient China & a lot of people will get super pissed. 

-Full Moon Festival- since the ghost month is a big deal and they mention Dragonboat festival, why not include Full Moon? I’m not sure if Muslim Chinese celebrate it though. 

-Something involving Tibet. Just cause.

-Can they also visit Hong Kong or Guangzhou? I’d like to see some justice for Southern China and I hope Xiran Jay Zhao would be able to.

-I think it would be nice to see more of Zack’s dad’s past.

-I don’t want Qin Shi Huang (or any of the emperors, including Jason) to get any sort of redemption. I don’t mind SImon and Melissa getting redemptions though.

-That one scene where Simon/Melissa/Zack are realistically short 12yearolds and they’re getting elbowed in a sea of tall adults was hilarious. I look forward to finding out if the books grow along with them as they go through puberty/growth spurts. 

-I want to meet more people that are hosts to various emperors/historical figures. 

-Someone crossdressing at some point. Melissa already mentioned the “pretty boys are popular” and idols are mentioned a few times. Even if it’s not Zack or Simon. 

-More queer characters? Especially if there’s analysis into the queer culture in China. Also Melissa is an idol and probably knows other idols. Xiran Jay Zhao is also a cosplayer. Will we get any cosplayers 8D (And I feel like introducing cosplayers would be a good way to introduce trans characters maybe?)

Things I’m worried about:

- Simon & Melissa’s character growth/development if they get more of it. Zack is starting out completely opposite to Iron Widow!Wu Zetian so I like that, but I worry that Zhao may ultimately just make Zack an angry boy girlboss (I can see hints of it already).

- So one thing original PJO & the TOA series WAS good at (but not HoO), was having multiple goals over a period of time- a goal for each book and an overarching goal for the entire series, with reasonable time skips. Right now I can’t tell if the overarching goal will be closing the portal permanently, rescuing Zach’s mom, defeating yellow emperor, or something else. I don’t want there to be an OOOH SURPRISE overarching goal thats introduced in book 4/5. For middle school books, I think the Big Bads are usually established pretty early on.

- Running out of meng po broth. How much do they carry around and what will happen when they run out? I can see this backfiring so easily, especially since social media IS a thing in this universe. (Thank god the final battle was at night!)

- Qin Shi Huang and other vanquished historical figures returning “without their 2000+ years of character development”. I can see this backfiring too. 

- Running out of qi? Considering how much damage they take and how close they get to running out, I worry when this will backfire too. 

I hope Xiran Jay Zhao does not do any retconning with those points because I want there to be reasonable/consistent world building that some other writers are not so good at. 

Ok now irrelevant spoilers!

Alright and here is where I will basically talk about love interests and queer rep. 

First and foremost, I want the main focus to be on culture & history, romance as a sideplot, unlike Iron Widow. Partially cause I think Zhao writes history & action better than romance. Also, no love triangle/love dodecahedron. Please. 

In Iron Widow, the queer reveals were kind of awkward as all 3 leads were tell not show. With Zack, it’s more show than tell and in close 3rd person. (I’m personally biased towards 3rd person anyways.) And one thing about queerness being sideplots is that it needs to be in natural conversation for it to not be awkward. So Zack being surrounded by a bunch of adult women, Tiffany calling him out on it, only for Zack to be like “I-I don’t like girls!” seems way more natural, than Shimin/Yizhi/Zetian saying “Hey, I like more than just girls/guys I think UwU”.

Now Avatar, PJO, and various shonen anime, are infamous for childhood romances. If Zhao wants to be realistic to a 1st generation Asian American’s queerness, the chances of Zack coming out as gay/bi/pan/demi/ace/etc and acting upon it when he’s only 12 seems highly unrealistic- sexuality is definitely not taught to 1st generation immigrants. If he’s stays in China, yeah there gonna be stigma. If he goes back to America, he’s surrounded by a bunch of white people and his priorities will be on friendship/accepting himself first. So I realistically don’t think he’ll get a love interest in book 2, maybe not until whatever book it is when he turns 14/15/16/17. 

However for the sake of fictional book plot purposes, it may be different and I’m willing to tolerate that as much as I tolerate Solangelo (which is not much I’m sorry). As an aside, I do think it would be a little weird to make Zack ultimately bi/pan since so much of Zack’s internal thoughts are “he is supposed to like girls. all the other guys liked girls. he blushed at these guys” and ofc the first time he says aloud anything, he goes “i dont like girls” (and not “I dont like girls that way” either). 

But say Zack is a teenager, realizes he’s gay/bi/pan/demi/ace/etc & there’s possible love interests. To keep in the vain of Avatar/PJO/various shonen, a childhood friendship to lover would be an obvious candidate. So high contenders will probably be Simon. Another option is book 2 will gain more close friends/allies and 1 of them will be a guy that Zack really likes without idolizing (something that Shuda/Simon first started out as). Lastly, I’m glad Zack is planning on cutting ties with Aidan (and I don’t want Aidan to get a redemption), but I think I wouldn’t mind if one of Aidan’s friends that defended Zack grows a backbone, leaves Aidan, and befriends Zack for real. Possible love interest there too?

Now unlike Riordan and LoK, if there is a teenage queer romance with Zack, I would hope there is a first kiss on page. Since he’s still a preteen/teen, I also don’t mind the idea of Zack kissing a girl to realize he doesn’t like girls that way. 

Now unrelated to Zack. I think it would be good for there to be multiple queer characters, some good, some bad, in varying stages of “outness”, in both China and America. Also I think a cosplayer would be a nice way to introduce a trans/nonbinary/genderfluid character.