#clearly I have thoughts on this Online Drama but also this isn't online!

[sergle]

(re: sssniperwolf and jacksfilms) It's laughable that she escalated it that hard. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure stalking him like that is illegal and it's terrifying regardless, but Jack said in a stream (can't remember which one) that he wasn't about bringing up past controversies of hers or cancelling. And now she shows up outside his house (wtf!!!). Like he was willing to only call her out for stealing and freebooting but she's gone and stalked him and Jack doesn't seem like the type of guy to take that shit. Actual WTF moment from her part. wild

omg long post below bc apparently I have opinions: YES!! THAT'S WHAT'S SO INCREDIBLE ABOUT THIS... Jack has been genuinely diligent about keeping things on-topic in his streams, and hasn't brought up any of her other Stuff, or anything Personal. Despite the fact that she kickstarted the whole thing by making it INCREDIBLY personal and attacking his physical appearance... His goal has been to call out and bring attention to content theft, and he's stuck with it. Dude's also cared about this for years, and she's not the first content thief he's criticized. He just hates the way that freebooting has become so accepted-- to the point where youtube praised her for "coming up with such creative video ideas"? Hey! Ew! Dude wasn't trying to get her cancelled though, there was no smear campaign of her character. He's been rallying to get her to CREDIT the creators that she relies on for all of her content. It would set a precedent for all other "react" channels on the platform for one of the biggest channels on youtube to actually give credit where credit is due. Or, god forbid, get permission first? It's not hard. It's already done the job of making some other people who do "react content" self-analyze whether or not their content is transformative, and to maybe care about crediting the creators they rely on for their genre to work. There is a way to make this kind of video that isn't so slimy. And making fun of her lackluster-at-best reactions is so far from even being a big deal. Bc she literally does just sit there and say nothing. Plus, his goal has a clear End built into it: if she started shouting out the creators she takes content from, and put links directly to their pages in her video descriptions, the job would be done! That's what he's asking her to do. Real bare minimum stuff. It legit would have been easy to steer away from the content theft and to also talk about her history of lying to her audience! her ghosting a dying kid with cancer who was a big fan of hers! the fact that she's been arrested for armed robbery! her history of transphobia! He would also get more clicks that way, which is what she claims is his sole goal- to get more clicks. I'll bring it up though! She's been a terrible person the whole time, and has kept a steady course of manipulating her audience of young children and/or, let's be completely honest, simps- into thinking that she's a Wholesome creator. (And now, into thinking she's an innocent victim.) All of the actual effort put in by her has gone toward optics, not the content she puts out. A carefully constructed online persona, for one, but also literal appearances. Jack totally can't say this, bc she already went off the handle and said the only reason he doesn't like her is bc he Hates To See A Woman Be Successful. But I can! That was a cheap shot for her to use that argument when, for once, it's not applicable! Much the opposite, even! Dudes online wouldn't go to bat for her if she didn't look the way she does. And it weakens any case she'd have against him by making baseless claims like that. She banks hugely on being an attractive woman to get her clicks/following. A massive amount of effort is put into her appearance. The makeup, the lip fillers, putting her hair in little pigtails, the chokers and tube tops, the big non-prescription Nerd Glasses, the thumbnails where she has her mouth open in That Expression?

I don't even have to say anything. But making a weird facial expression and putting your hair in pigtails aren't moral failings. Showing up at someone's real life home (whose address you shouldn't even have access to), filming the front of their house at night, doxxing them to your audience of millions of people? Because you were mad at them online? That is fully scary! Yeah girl I'm pretty sure that Jack can press charges! There is absolutely no way to take the moral highground now that she's literally stalked him, and doxxed his home. She tried to goad him and Erin (Jack's wife) out of the house, also, which creeps me out even more-- because what was she planning to do? The fact that she's been arrested for violent crime before does pop into my mind! lmao! Jack was streaming a game at the time that she was outside his home, and these clips of him, his friends, and Erin reacting in real time to what is genuinely a scary situation have been taken down in case he needs to use them in legal action. Shit is legitimately serious!

[beemers-hell]

i desperately wanna apologize to you but you would call bullshit and paint me like something evil bitch when in reality, i want the cycle of abuse to end and to ease my mind. i just wanna redeem myself before ending it all.

- you already know who

to everyone else sorry about this, but I've had enough, anyway i was just gonna delete this, just like i deleted the TWO suicide notes you sent me in my ask box a lil bit ago, but a number of my friends DM'd me about what you've been posting on your blog so I can only assume this all came from Nene, also known as @/shugurrsn0w , and for anyone who doesnt know Nene is, well this callout thread will get you acclimated with her REAL quick lmfao:

You are not fucking apologetic at all if you are using s0uless' full REAL name on your blog, you stupid bitch. That kind of information can put them at risk of REAL GENUINE HARM. S0uless made the mistake of using their name as their art handle when they were younger but they have been doing a pretty extensive wipe of that username being online, I know this isn't exactly doxxing because of that but USING IT WHEN THEY'RE CLEARLY NOT WANTING IT TO BE PUBLIC INFORMATION IS SOME PRETTY SCUMMY SHIT, AND CAN BE USED FOR ACTUAL REAL HARM BEING DONE TO HIM YOU JACKASS

Don't come in my ask box hiding behind anonymous acting like you actually feel bad for the shit you did when you are STILL making posts calling me and my husband fucking freaks when you know DAMN WELL we're not. Don't you dare try and act all remorseful and pitiful and like you're some misunderstood fallen angel when you've been doing but helping making our lives a fucking nightmare. You don't get to act like you've done nothing wrong when you have CONSISENTLY VICTIM BLAMED THEM, CLAIMED THEIR TRAUMA WAS FAKE, BEEN RACIST TO ME, MOCKED MY ABUELAS RECENT DEATH, THREATENED HARM ON BOTH OF US, HARASSED AND STALKED US, AND SPREAD ALL THIS INSANE SHIT ABOUT US FOR NO GODDAMN REASON. You don't get to just act like you made some petty mistakes that you can walk off, you have been non stop harassing, stalking, and falsely accusing me and s0uless of being scum of the fucking earth when there is no goddamn evidence that we are and you KNOW there isn't, because we fucking ARENT. Unlike your freak ass, we KNOW what the fuck is right and what is wrong. But that kind of shit gets around to people and makes people start thinking we ARE those freaks that we aren't.

And you should be well aware of how fucking awful that makes a mother fucker feel, you know? Since you wanna keep whining about how "people keep being mean/demonizing you for no reason." What, you don't think people are gonna DM me asking me what the fuck you're talking about in those posts you make? Newsflash dipshit, most people wanna know both party's stories regarding drama that surrounds someone they know. Don't you try to twist this and cry about how I'm some creepy weirdo that's stalking you, you should've thought harder about following someone and then IMMEDIATELY sending them an anonymous ask about me and s0uless, cause that DEFINETLY isn't fucking fishy at all, dumbass. That's how I was alerted to you and your new bullshit. Don't try and act like I'm a freak that keeps tabs on you, I thought you'd drop off the face of the earth after that one callout thread got made on you. You wanna talk about evidence of wrongdoing? Nothing really shows your true colors more than publicly being racist, harassing minors, and consistently AND RECENTLY consuming bestiality porn of minors. Try bouncing back from saying that YOU want to make noncon porn of your favs, or being a whole ass adult saying you wanna fuck a 16 year old character that you KNOW is 16. THATS some REAL freak shit that YOU admitted to your damn self, you don't get to act like me or s0uless are the real freaks when there is REAL AND RECENT EVIDENCE of you doing that shit, you gross fuck.

Leave us the fuck alone, I do not care about your pathetic ass and s0uless sure as shit doesn't either. This has been going on for over a FUCKING YEAR NOW and i dont give a single SHIT about playing nice and being quiet about it anymore. Don't fucking come whining to me and acting like you're remorseful again when you're PULLING THIS SHIT AGAIN. Leave me the fuck alone and I'll leave you the fuck alone. Expect a restraining order dumbass, it was real easy to get your info when you've got it so readily available online! If youre gonna play stupid games, expect to win stupid prizes. Get the fuck off my and my husband's dick and focus on fixing yourself you ghoul. Do some fucking introspection so you can figure out why the fuck people don't like you. And don't come to me threatening suicide again, I don't give a single SHIT about you and I'm sure as FUCK not going to give you any sympathy when you've shown no fucking growth or genuine remorse for all of this. I've thought about killing myself a lot lately too, you're not fucking special.

[cometrose]

Exactly the only thing different is the genders, if they were reversed everyone would be on his side like you said we've seen this story a 100 times, not that there isn't a lot of misogyny in fandom spaces like all spaces and dramas still have room for improvement when it comes to female characters in general but the way fandom has changed these last few years is just crazy, no nuance no complexity nothing interesting just perfect characters or they will get eaten alive and when it comes to romance, all they want is endlessly devoted men the women and their actions don't even factor into it it's all omg he's such a green flag and she fell first he fell harder we've completely lost the ability to engage with media, everything becomes morality discourse for fake people. I don't remember how they phrased it but someone said the way these people engage with media is because the only activism they know is online they haven't done anything in real life which is why they think fictional characters and their actions are tantamount to what real people believe...

ooh this is such a good point and I agree truly.

Bullied by in-laws? Ignored by spouse? In any other story people would be rallying for HW to get on the quickest flight out of there (I mean I was lol)

There is still a lot of misogyny within fandoms and dramas themselves so I always try to be thoughtful when discussing female characters but god you're so right. We just want perfection from these characters all the time and some many people just want perfect tropes perfect characters and perfect stories all the time its exhausting.

I am repeating myself but I do like how they aren't hopelessly devoted to each other all the time. I've watched two dramas this year, Marry My Husband and Perfect Marriage Revenge, and both male leads are knee-on-the-ground, would do anything for their respective female leads and while i do like those boys I also don't mind a male lead that has contradictory emotions for his partner.

Like the biggest thing here is nuance, the truth is obvious from the beginning that Hyunwoo clearly loves Haein he has just buried that feeling under all this frustration and resentment that he can no longer recognize it. These people don't have perfectly good feelings or behaviors towards each other and I think that's fine.

Plus this is a story about an estranged married couple like how would there be drama if they were perfectly perfect partners to each other all the time? Even though they may love each other that love isn't enough to be a happy couple. Haein says that she did not write Hyunwoo in the will because she wished to marry him as soon as possible and had to get through her mother first essentially leaving him high and dry but they were so in love it didn't matter. Like noooo these complexities are interesting plus it is so common for spouses to grow to hate each other and seeing there relationship grounded in some aspect of reality is a fresh change. I welcome it.

Don't get me started on morality politics on social media, the first two eps dropped I went on twitter saw one discussion tweet and knew I couldn't stay there it would drive me crazy. People are always trying to idolize someone these days, to find some perfect thing or unproblematic item to worship unconditionally instead of just accepting some things are fundamentally flawed and discussing their strengths and weaknesses.

[egg-emperor]

As an Eggfan, how do you feel about Mike Pollock being unprofessional on Twitter?

He isn't "unprofessional" just because people don't like how he's honest about his thoughts and opinions, misinterpret his style of humor and snark, dislike the fact that he sets necessary rules and boundaries in his interaction with random strangers online, and don't like being told the truth when they're wrong. 💀 Those are the only things that I've seen people complain about him being on social media in order to claim that he's unprofessional and I'll never understand why they have such a huge problem with him, to the point they'll even make YouTube rant videos. (Which I don't give the watch time, I've just been told about it.)

Something I really have a problem with is how, as one of the only actors that will consistently interact on social media, people think they can say whatever they want and are so rude and entitled, then have the nerve to get pissed if he deals with it accordingly. With all the bullshit people give him, I have no idea how he has the patience and how he can still be open to interaction with random people but it's admirable how he doesn't let it get to him and stands up for himself, he handles it well. I kind of subconsciously took inspiration from that when finding the confidence in saying what I really want online and I can relate with how people constantly misinterpret my humor and intentions too, it sucks.

His humor and snark on Twitter is also just funny because he isn't trying to be rude, he's explained multiple times. You can see any video of events or interviews where he uses the same humor, only it's harder to misinterpret than in text, and it doesn't seem rude or unprofessional at all. He seems like a great guy and I know people that have met him that can vouch for that. And I'm so jealous lol I also admire his honesty and how he'll educate when it comes to acting and such. And by responding to people that are being hateful or spreading misinformation, he clearly isn't trying to stir drama or encourage attacking them. It's not his fault that Sonic Twitter is so hostile and love jumping on people.

People should be grateful that he'll take any amount of time out of his day to respond to them and I don't see anything wrong with the way he goes about it. He's sensible about it but at the same time takes no shit and it's other people that need to be more mature and respectful. He has a page on his site about the rules and boundaries he sets, they're perfectly reasonable and it's a shame that people disregard them. I've even come across people on Twitter insulting, obsessively hate posting, and making rant videos about him on YouTube and it's very surprising and concerning. You won't see me jumping on that bandwagon.

[nyxqueenofshadows]

so officially finished kiwami 2, majima saga aside which won't take long. ignore how this isn't a screenshot, this was easier

i'm just gonna dump the thousand words or so of thoughts i put in my fic doc here for posterity and anyone who might get a kick out of reading them. lots and lots of messiness, vague spoilers for rgg online plus one itsy bitsy reference to the stage play

hot take that there were maybe some redeemable elements in the last bit (mainly all the times kaoru and ryuji talk to each other) but so much of it is so fucking stupid and full of HE WOULD NOT DO THAT (mainly kiryu). idk. i don’t hate it but it needed some work

interesting things learned tho, ryuji didn’t expect to live long, he says he made it further than he was expecting. as we now know from rggo, he already knew about his jingweonha connection and was actively ignoring it (which is why terada marks him for death in the first place. slot han in here?) and remembered the night where his father died (despite being like 2 at the time, at most). kiryu also reiterates that he sees nishiki in ryuji, which i think is fair (and the stage play people clearly agreed). ‘the least i can do is honour a man like that’ is an interesting attitude to have. also ryuji is like ‘i see why my sister fell fer ya’ which is not quite the japanese line (ish) but it’s also not the straightest thing he’s ever said. ryuji also very clearly would have doted on kaoru quite a lot, if they’d lived together as children or otherwise, and i really think we missed out on seeing more of them. maybe i’m just soft for that kind of thing.

i feel like a more interesting conundrum would have been both ryuji and kiryu being wounded from their fight, delaying it again (cos they’d done it once no reason not to do it again) but neither are moving the way they should and (believing the bomb is real) kaoru has to pick one to carry and one to leave behind. (maybe halfway down the stairs or smth?) it wouldn’t be especially original but it would make more sense imo. her going down the lift does nothing but slow her down (ig she has access to the controls and doesn’t use them for hashtag drama reasons) which i don’t think fundamentally changes her position that much from before the second ryuji fight. it also gives her smth to fucking do that isn’t just crying and grabbing fences and doing that dumbfuck charge that i don’t think she would have done (her gun hadn’t gone far! then again i have hindsight and am thinking clearer than she is). anyway kiryu pushes her to take ryuji (guilt over nishiki?) and locks them in the lift thingy and sends them down, fully ready to die now. his and ryuji’s wounds mirror each other but i feel like kiryu got the shorter end of the stick? plus he was shot slightly earlier so has been bleeding for longer.

i cannot say this enough, kiryu would not leave ryuji. like, he just wouldn’t. if there was even a chance he was still alive, he would make sure he got to someone or he would at least try. he’s at his most inactive in cutscenes in kiwami 2 (i think) and it’s frustrating as a player asdfghjkl

ALSO if sudo and date and haruka went to the effort of preparing and going up in that helicopter, why didn’t they also prepare a rope?? or smth to rescue people who were on top of the tower???? they clearly knew there was a bomb up there (beforehand or not is unclear but we don’t see them have a conversation about it) and want kiryu and co. to leave. (and not MAKE OUT ON A ROOFTOP they were really going at it huh, ryuji’s ?corpse? is right fucking there guys oh and goda jin’s? he sort of vanishes from that last bit)

also it would have been kind of funny if, while there was still that ten minutes, everyone sprinted for the stairs and made it down and they’re waiting for the building to blow and when it inevitably doesn’t they’re all just standing there checking their watches like is it late? did smth break? who wants to be the sucker and go check? can we call an ambulance for the two idiots? majima is down in the construction yard i think so he’d probably send nishida, maybe?

idk kiryu has no interest in kaoru to me. he treats her no differently to anyone else aside from the two times they kiss, both of which feel very out of character for him, and that romance subplot takes away any and all girlboss power kaoru had. she went from beating men up and threatening them with bokuto and shit to like, i love man, so sad. (they knew each other like a week!!!!!! and they’re dying for each other!!!! give me a break!!!!!) that’s not to detract from the awful fucking week she has of learning who her family are (some racism in there??? i’m not qualified to speak on that, maybe it’s just the gang thing, ) and then watching literally all of them die one after another. except mama, she’s fine and never appears again. it’s very much aiming for a ‘she can be a ‘woman’ (i.e. be emotional and like cute things and not try and match the locker room attitude of the men) and also take names’ but it doesn’t succeed at that at all. from kiryu’s conversation with her on their little date thing (which is cute, i’ll give it that) he was telling her to be true to herself, right? it's his go to line. which suggests that her kicking dudes in the face a lot and working incredibly hard (she’s a prodigy, in multiple fields! this doesn’t get explored enough) is NOT her true self, the one who plays with teddy bears and falls in love is. which, again, not that those two things can’t co-exist, but the game doesn’t allow them to either. just, ah. more wasted woman potential in a yakuza game. yayoi gets the same treatment :((( you gave me two step on me yakuza ladies and dropped the ball on both of them, come on guys. hopefully she gets to live a little in 8.

[beloved-not-broken]

The "worship leader" drama, explained

I learned a cursed fact on TikTok today: the term "worship leader" is actually trademarked.

An organization called Worship Leader claims its founder came up with the phrase in 1991 (which Christianity Today debunked) and filed for the trademark in 1992. Now it's in a trademark dispute with a social media company that "was using a logo with [Worship Leader's] mark, a similar font, layout, and appearance, [resulting in] confusion at trade shows and other industry events," according to a recent statement.

The fallout is as infuriating and ridiculous as you can imagine.

Online articles have been getting lots of attention with headlines like "Worship Director Discovers Term ‘Worship Leader’ Is Trademarked After His Facebook Page Is Suspended." Many TikTok creators have chimed in with snarky commentary (which is how I found out about this whole situation.)

However, Worship Leader claims that "Christian media outlets sensationalized the story." While there may be a grain of truth there, here's how I see it:

A Christian organization went after another Christian organization for issues unrelated to Christianity.

What I'm seeing in all this infighting is idolatry—and that capitalism and Christianity aren't compatible.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:3 that, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does."

As Christians, we're supposed to understand that our enemies aren't other people, but spiritual forces that are out to divide the kingdom of God against itself. And what's happening here is just that: division.

In a now-deleted press release, Worship Leader said, "We have 'invested' in our trademarks and so we are compelled to continue to defend all of them and ensure that our investments are protected."

Despite stating that their ultimate mission is about "empowering the church to build a lifestyle of worship," it seems like Worship Leader's #1 priority is actually profit.

"OK, Charlie, but what does all this have to do with capitalism?"

I'm glad you asked.

In the U.S., trademarks exist for financial reasons—namely, to prevent counterfeit products and services from being mistaken for the real deal. However, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states that "you don’t have rights to the word or phrase in general, only to how that word or phrase is used with your specific goods or services."

That's why Worship Leader isn't (and can't) come after people whose job title is "worship leader."

Trademarks are part of the capitalist system because they protect the value of something (in this case, a business—Worship Leader) that can be bought and sold. This is why Worship Leader was so concerned with other companies causing confusion at trade shows: in general, when counterfeits flood the market, the value of the original thing plummets.

Of course, Worship Leader's reputation was also on the line, but so was a whole lot of money.

Now, we'd expect a secular company to be focused on profit. But a Christian one?

Jesus famously said that "you cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24). Inevitably, you either fall into idolatry or look to God as the sole source of your happiness and success.

Capitalism is rooted in commerce. Without making a profit, a business will inevitably fail.

But what about Christian businesses? Surely they put their trust God rather than money... right?

Well, as we've seen from this whole trademark dispute between two Christian organizations, clearly not.

Final thoughts:

I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't form businesses. But I do think it's telling that many Christian businesses don't put God first. The whole world looks critically at Christians already, and infighting like this doesn't help us live up to the image of Christ.

As Christians, we should be building each other up, not tearing one another down—least of all attacking each other over trivial things. As Jesus famously said in Matthew 12:25, "a household divided against itself will not stand."

[rouninren]

often times when i hear about some artist's name that winded up in some controversy, ongoing memes/harassment, or anything of that sorts, i may take a deeper look into it.

and more often than not, the person in question turns out to be:

in their late teens/early 20s; meaning they still didn't stop developing as a person (trust me, it's crucial). coming from an abusive, religious, restrictive, or otherwise traumatizing background. groomed as a minor or were exposed to sexual content in a way that clearly affected them negatively. maladaptive coping mechanisms, such as extreme dependency on the internet clout. have some developmental arrests, especially emotional kinds of. a part of a marginalized group, which adds more to the "insanity" of their traumatic responses and behavior.

... and nobody seems to question that explicitly? like, sure, some people say "get help" here and there, but it never goes beyond that. it's just constant baiting, harassing, twisting further what person said which, as one can expect, of course drives them even more insane. it's a never ending cycle, unless person is bullied off the platform/the internet, or in some cases offs themselves.

what bothers me even more is that people who claim to hate places like kiwifarms do exactly the same thing, fall for exact same trope of thinking, lack of analysis, sympathy, and in general are just prone to brushing off blatant victims of cptsd the moment they realize their trauma is "ugly" (same goes to mistreatment of cluster b btw) this is literally the monkey-brain level of tribalism, and it's not a good thing, just stop.

like. these call out posts and, granted, very shallow, nitpicky and generally low tier attempts at analysis are literally just kiwi/lolcow.farm threads 2.0, but this time this is excused because it's not associated with aforementioned websites.

---

imma be real, i obviously don't really know what to do in these cases. especially when the person's behavior is completely out of hand. such as, pathological lying, sui baiting, self harm, etc. there isn't much you can do if you're miles away probably (though, as a trauma survivor that might have fallen down the insanity road when i turned 18, all it took is supportive friends and communities online that gradually helped me to stay sane and safe, so... who knows) i just sort of ignore people like this and try not to enable/trigger them further.

i'm thinking now that boundaries play a role here. a lot of people end up being abused by trauma survivors because they, themselves, have poor boundaries. that was the case with me too, and now i realize that maybe i could have helped them more if i had better boundaries and didn't let their antics get to me.

but anyway, stuff like this makes me think there's no hope nor place for trauma survivors. people are still largely ignorant on psychology and rely more on their knee-jerk reactions about events/people rather than stopping and thinking what is going on (bonus points if said people are also trauma victims, that's how you get never ending internet dramas lmao). cptsd victims, esp the longer they go untreated, unaccepted, misunderstood and ostracized, are the easiest target despite, for the most part, doing no harm. in retrospect, the harm they actually did was either something stemming clearly from mental issues, or something so... relatively mundane? i had some artists i used to follow and was disillusioned with them for one reason or another, and things they did made me angry at the time. but now i regret jumping on the bandwagon lmfao i kind of realized in retrospect that it was all some petty crap and definitely not something worthy of "cancelling" someone, it was just that typical weaponization of person's issues, thoughts, or even just neutral traits, which then was obviously met with them weaponizing their sui and self harm ideation in return. because that's what trauma survivors do. their emotions and behaviors are developmentally arrested.

---

i'm thinking how the whole chris-chan saga is sort of like icon nowadays, and sometimes it's presented like the biggest, most documented online harassment campaign, along with chris being the most documented person online. it sounds big. epic, even. sometimes it even makes you think it's the worst case of online harassment.

... and yet, how do we define "worst"? what about the rest of people documented on kf/lolcow? what about people who ended their lives from being unable to cope with the harassment AND with themselves? is there a line? where is the line? when bullying, enabling, harassing, abusing is "safe and appropriate enough to do"? am i the only one seeing absurdity of this question?

---

... i also can't stop thinking about how in most cases these people are from marginalized groups. i can't stop thinking how groups of ignorant, often seeking for some outlet, people are also acting like vigilantes when it comes to this enabling and/or harassment. is there a term cyberlynching? because it's literally what is happening. especially in most extreme cases when said "vigilantes" are pushing a clearly maladjusted person to suicide, probably knowing deep down that this person is weak and an easy target.

[kennyomegasweave]

Drunk as hell and finally watched 101 of Dangerous Romance.

I enjoyed this episode so much. I am so excited to see where this show goes. So excited. I had such a good time with this episode. Here are my real time thoughts.

I'm out here googling Thai baht to USD to try to make sense of these numbers and I'm Big Mad for Thailand.

They really said he lives with his elderly brother in the description online and that’s Papang. I'm furious. He's barely 30. 

I’m sorry what are these debts and why does a high schooler have to be concerned about them? Is it his brother's debts or their parents who may not be here?

Oh Perth has shown up being musty.

Aww, Auto's mom is like no you gotta make sure your friend eats. I already love her.

I'm sorry but these fuckass shorts are upsetting me. Perth is out here being menacing and hot but in fuckass shorts and I can't focus. I do know I already hate him and his friends though. 

Marc's character is already My Boy cause he is ready to fight and I love that.

HE IS NOT GONNA TAKE HIS $300 CONCERT TICKET OH I WANT HIM DEAD I WANT HIS FAMILY DEAD I WANT HIS HOME BURNED TO THE GROUND

I want you to know the gasp I just let out at them setting the ticket on fire was loud and dramatic and I MEANT IT. I also meant what I said when I said I want these boys to die, I want their families dead, and I want their homes burned to the ground. 

OH WE ARE LEGIT ONLY 15 MINUTES IN AND HAVE A FUCKASS TEACHER TOO. OH BITCH. OUT HERE CALLING A KID TO SNITCH. OUT HERE SNITCHING AND REPORTING TO A FUCKING TEENAGER. WHAT A WEAK ASS BITCH. 

Sailom, back up everything in the cloud next time. Because this fuck ass grown man is out here being a high schooler's bitch like that isn't the most pathetic thing ever.

Sailom is sassy and I love him. "Wanna be my heroine?" Yes baby. Call him out. Play Boys Like Girls Hero/Heroine.

Perth really is like KNEEL BEFORE ME like he's out of character Loki in The Avengers. That didn't go well for that Loki either sooo.

Are these dudes seriously watching her through the window? That's nasty as hell. My god. Also Perth you aren't needed either. I don't even know your relationship to her but leave her alone. Stop it. Leave her alone. Get a job.

You're trying to mack on a girl but also worrying about Sailom? You're so fucking gay and you don't even know.

WHAT DID THE CUNT TRIO DO TO MY BOY. WHY ARE THEY ALL LOOKING AT HIM LIKE HE DID SOMETHING.

Auto saying throwing water on him from above is a Japanese drama move. I saw them dump slushee on Kiyoi and Hira whooped ass so obviously I want Marc to kill them all.

HE SAID DO IT OPENLY NOT BEHIND OUR BACKS LIKE A BITCH. OH MY GOD. THIS IS MY BABY. HE IS MY SON. I NEED TO KNOW HIS CHARACTER'S NAME.

Not Perth's bitch ass friend being like if my hands weren't full I would have whooped them. Bitch there was a table right there, put your plate down if you bad.

Oh. This young man is just. I want him to get hit with a bat. I know I'm gonna love him (I never hated a man like I hated Ritsu at first and then I loved him in the end) but I want him to get his kneecaps taken out. SLEWFOOT THE BITCH. 

YES SAILOM PUTTING THE CARD BACK IN THE BITCH'S POCKET. I just said YES QUEEN ICONIC. IICONIC. outloud in my kitchen while drunk at 1:45AM. YES.

I don't even trust him with his grandma cause he's such a shit. He's like "oh where's dad?" Your dad probably don't wanna be near you cause you suck. Play Daddy Issues by The Neighborhood. 

Oh. His dad actually seems good? But I don't know if this is a cultural thing I'm not getting? Like his dad seems good to me cause he's like you don't want politics, just have fun and be a kid. But culturally is this his dad being like YOU A WEAK BITCH THAT CAN'T COMPARE. Because Perth seemed to be real upset about this. And grandma didn't look super happy.

This girl said "are you telling me to beat my dog I clearly love?" Because, once again, he's BOMBING with this girl and doesn't even seem to realize. lol

Auto risked getting fucked up hardcore to warn Sailom and he still showed up to save him. Oh these are my new favorite besties. 

DID THEY LOCK UP THE ANGRY ONE??? Of course they did. He would kill all of them. He just needs a gun. Someone give him a gun.

Did he really call this boy in front of a huge crowd and say take your shirt off and kneel at my feet. If you don't, I'm gonna take your shorts off too. Dude, this is something I feel like you gotta work out in therapy. This doesn't need a crowd.

He really is like WOW AUTO REALLY CARES FOR SAILOM THATS GAY. First, he clearly doesn't have friends at all. Second, my dude really needs to examine his own homoeroticism cause my god.

YES GOD AT SAILMON JUST KISSING PERTH INSTEAD. I have spent this whole episode in AWE of her queen shit.

I can’t wait to watch the next episode when I’m less drunk possibly. lol

[thetiredstuff]

what did amell do? did I miss some drama?

hi anon! oooh you missed alllll the drama lol

yeah so rumors have been swirling around for yearssss that he's an asshole and that by the end of arr*w he and his fellow castmates did not get along. fun fact actually:

this VERY popular meme above is from a picture taken during i think s8 of arrow during oliver's funeral. it was posted by someone who worked on arrow i believe and it said how they loved working with these people. anyway it grew into a veryyyy popular meme and if i remember correctly and i think i do it eventually came out that smell absolutely hateddddddddd this meme cuz he found it disrespectful or something? I'm pretty sure he said something about it online? idk how else i would know about this but yeah lol that's funny. everyone found it especially funny cuz he's not in the pic and it was shared with the caption loved working with these people when all these people hated working with amell (or so the rumors have been going at least)

but as far as I know there isn't actually like definitive proof he was an asshole on set? (but I'm also not part of the arr*w universe fanbase so idk all that much about it) I do know that an actor who returned for s7 and s8 ultimately didn't show up as much and he later revealed he left the show again because he was depressed and couldn't stand working with one cast member (which many have speculated to be amell)

then amell also tried to shut down an animal rescue next to him for being too loud? which is just baffling to me honestly, especially cuz he apparently used to volunteer there?

then there is the story of him like drunkenly berating his wife on an airplane which he got removed for.

he once made a facebook post about allegedly miley cyrus where he said he was dining out with his wife and daughter when mc walked in and he was so repulsed because she is idk like moraly corrupt for young girls or something? that was the gist of it anyway? something like that idk

but as for recently: sag-aftra is striking (an actors union) which he is a part of. because of this strike, actors are not allowed to talk about any past, present or future projects and are also not allowed to promote any of their current projects on say social media.

however, 2 days after the strike was announced, amell broke those rules by talking about his projects at a con. although it was very confusing at the time what actors could and could not say so fans kept it on the down-low.

flash forward to now (2 weeks later) and he's got a show which is starting to air its second season and he posted a selfie of him in front of a giant billboard with the show's name on on Instagram. this directly violates the rules of the union that he is a part of and led many people to call him a "scab" someone who is crossing the picket line during a union, choosing to work or promote their work instead of striking or standing in solidarity with those who are striking. and more importantly: because amell is part of the union that is striking, this behavior directly violates the strike order and any behavior directly violating the strike order, can make the union throw you out.

anyway: after that amell thought that it would be a great idea to say: “I support my union, I do, and I stand with them, but I do not support striking, I don’t. I think it is a reductive negotiating tactic, and I find the entire thing incredibly frustrating. And I think the thinking as it pertains to shows like the show that I’m on, that premiered last night, I think it’s myopic.”

so right now he's as far as i know the only actor who has been so outspoken against the strike. and like the important thing to remember is that this strike is not for him (clearly) he was on arrow before it went to streaming, he has countless residuals from that show that while now available on streaming is also still available on cable as well so he probably still makes a decent penny from his appearances in the arrow verse. but the vast majority of well-known actors are striking for the actors that are not well-known. there are over 100.000 actors part of the sag-aftra union. the vast vast vasttttt majority of them do not earn enough money from acting alone. are not fairly compensated and studios are now wanting to abuse their image and voice through AI etc. the demands of sag-aftra have been published as well as the studios' response and it's disgusting that studios rejected these very very very reasonable demands. any actor who loves their job and who has even an ounce of empathy for others would support this strike because it is the right thing to do.

except amell which is why 2 arrowverse cast mates have told hinted in tweets that he sucks:

Aisha Tyler (from cirminal minds), someone who he has been hanging out with for years (probably more because they have the same group of friends) also posted something about, "when people you thought were assholes, turn out to be assholes" it could be about someone else but very interesting timing if it is.

and then lastly of course there is this screenshot of his threads profile where he shared a post from the fucking asshole inc*l, transphobe, terrible human that is jord*n peters*n

[astercontrol]

I think the only sustainable form of online interaction is the small group-- be it a Discord server, a Mastodon instance, an email cc'd to a dozen friends who've been replying to each other on it for a year, or what-the-heck-ever.

And I'm not saying such online groups are likely to be sustainable individually. I'm saying that 1. they theoretically CAN be, and 2. when they fail they aren't utterly destroyed or fundamentally changed in their nature, they just break up into similar small groups that retain whichever social connections want to continue.

And this is a feature that only small groups can really manage...

(cw: troubling and depressing thoughts about Moderation Drama, debates over banned content and the boundaries thereof, potentially triggering topics)

The reason is because any moderation done on such groups is done by a person or people who have some capacity to grasp the job they're doing.

And who are doing it because they care about it. Not because they have some delusion that free social media can ever be profitable.

Now, their job is NOT EASY. It's extremely hard, sometimes. Even if you have a small number of people to moderate, you can get very overwhelmed very fast by the task of trying to enforce rules, trying to decide just what is and isn't covered by the wording of the rules, fielding accusations of bias and second-guessing yourself on whether you're enforcing rules equally and consistently for all members of the group. I tried it once, and I don't want to again.

But if the group is small, at least there's a good chance that the people in it will be making a good faith effort to get along with each other and resolve disputes reasonably.

The bigger the group, the more likely that there will be a large number of people on it actively trying to exploit loopholes in the rules or gaps in their enforcement-- often with the goal of spamming, scamming, or harassing people. And there is simply no way to moderate this sufficiently.

Say I'm in a small group of fanfiction writers, and the rules of the group say "no explicit sexual stories involving minors."

So far-- thank goodness --every small group I've been in lately has respected that rule-- no attempts to challenge it or debate its boundaries.

But ...That's a rule that could be a subject of intense debate if people WANTED to argue about it. How do you define a minor in, say, the world of Tron programs (who can look and act like adults on the same day they're created... and whose time system is so enigmatic that we can't even agree on what's the equivalent to a "year")? And how do you define an explicit sexual story, in the Tron fandom (where many of our erotic scenes are about characters touching each other's circuits nowhere near the genital area, and the climax gets called things like "overload" or "restart")? How in the world could you define any of the borders of that rule?

But a small, cooperative group will probably just go with it, and will have an overall agreement on what is meant, and will probably have no interest in breaking the agreed-upon spirit of the rule or debating the gray areas.

Now imagine a group large enough to have subcultures of not only spammers and scammers and trolls, but also bitterly feuding armies on both sides of a culture war. Right away, you'll be dealing with countless members finding ways to use that rule against each other:

"If you won't ban him over how he acts when he's debating social justice, you should at least ban him for posting a sex story about that character who never canonically has an age but In My Opinion is clearly an underage teenager"

"Moderators are biased against me! They used the no-sex-scenes-about-minors rule to ban my story where the character has flashbacks to being abused in childhood, but they won't ban that story about him hooking up with the AI right after creating him, even though the AI is less than a day old so it's clearly eroticizing this thing between a man and his newborn infant son"

"He has no business moralizing about other people's writing after THAT thing he wrote! just because no one's circuits turn purple in the scene doesn't change the fact that energy transfer is SEXUAL and between that pairing it's seriously CREEPY"

"I'm not slut-shaming her, I'm just saying that the OC she uses in her slutty roleplay claims to be 21 cycles old, so she'd BETTER make it clearer what side she's on in the argument over whether 'cycles' are days or years"

And the moment you get enough people questioning the boundaries of a rule like that (with or without ulterior motives against others, or accusations of unfairness) ... the moderator suddenly has to deal with constant attacks from all sides regarding their interpretation and application of the rules, no matter HOW many times in how many ways they tweak the wording and enforcement.

Not only can you not make everyone happy-- you can't even make everyone stop actively rooting for your death, calling you an oppressor/abuser/predator, and trying to cause you real-life harm. With enough people, the category of People Causing Serious Problems becomes far too big to be dealt with.

At this point a conscientious moderator who cares about the group will likely just give up.

A corporate owner of a social media site, who's gotten rich entirely by convincing stockholders that this venture will someday make money, is going to keep trying... but is not going to care enough to do it well. At all.

So... part of me hopes every online group I belong to will always stay small.

And I take at least some comfort in knowing that if the small ones get just slightly too big, parts can always break off and start anew.

(Dividing after reaching a certain size is natural cell behavior. Whatever is going on with major social media..... is not.)

[ingravinoveritas]

I've finally gotten around to watch Michael's Twilight interview thingy! Honestly enjoyed it, he seemed to have a great time and it was a fun watch. The one thing I'm taking away from it (other than the whole discourse about parts of the brain potentially blurring the lines between characters and co-stars, which we already knew to be a whole Thing with Michael and I'd love to get into that, but it's almost too much to unpack) is that he's a huge flirt, isn't he. Which, also, isn't news to me at all, but I haven't witnessed that side of him for a while now. (He's not public with Anna and if we want to take David into account, that's not the flirty thing he does, that's much more... soft). But at the very beginning when he joins the conversation and before the interview properly starts you can perfectly witness how charmingly playful he likes to be. There's something quite deliberate in his voice and in his chuckles, plus the offer to come to Wales, of course. I know that he likes Ashley, she's a fun person and I know that she has or used to have a thing for him (it's hard to find anyone who knows him and wouldn't say that about themselves without lying). It's just something that I found so... revealing, in a sense, like sometime's you can really sense how much of a charmer Michael can be. Yes, I'm also aware that Anna was sitting to his right just outside of view for the whole interview and I'm not trying to somehow make this seem like a bad thing, I feel like this is just who Michael is with people he either finds attractive or is friendly and comfortable with, or both, without that being in any way serious, he's just playful. Look at David, for example, who'd never turn slightly flirtatious in that way. It was so Michael and so familiar yet strangely refreshing and I find that side of him strangely attractive for some reason. It's just something I felt the need to mention. xX

Hi, Anon! I’m so glad that you got to watch Michael’s interview on the Twilight podcast, and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me.

Your analysis is so spot-on, and that charming/playful side of Michael is also something I find incredibly attractive and part of what made me fall for him in the first place. There are so many things we can discuss about the podcast (and I agree, the “blurring the lines between characters and co-star” thing is something I could wax rhapsodic about for days), but you’ve really homed in on something interesting here.

I have some other Anons still to answer who’ve talked about Michael/AL’s strange social media presences as of late, but what I’ll say about it here is that one thing I really liked about Michael on the Twilight podcast is that he was clearly having fun. That seems to be something that’s been missing lately, something we used to see in his tweets/overall online presence--that feral chaos (minus the fandom drama) that was so genuinely Michael, rather than this watered down version of him that we’ve been getting.

Obviously, Michael has responsibilities that he’s taking care of and causes that he’s supporting, but that side of him that you mentioned, Anon, has been conspicuously absent. And I agree with you that it’s different from how he is with David (something softer, something reserved just for him that Michael doesn’t do with anyone else)...it’s that specific, flirty Michael that (in my opinion, at least) is much closer to who he really is than the “family man Michael” image that PR has been pushing lately.

I do think what makes this flirting significant is that Michael does with people he has history with, which speaks to what you’re saying (the deliberate tone of his voice, the chuckling). We’ve seen this with Lizzy Caplan, and with Bellamy Young from PS, and now with Ashley, but it is definitely something we’ve seen a lot less of lately. And I think it’s interesting that, for all the attempts to corral Michael and sell the relationship with AL, that side of him is going to come out whenever it wants to come out. He can’t (or chooses not to) control that flirty side of him, which makes it unavoidable to mention that this happened a month before AL gave birth to baby #2, and with her right in the room (the podcast was recorded in April but went live in May). So it’s just interesting to see that juxtaposition of “family man Michael” with the Michael we saw in the podcast. 

But yes, it was quite nice to witness that side of him again, and to see Michael genuinely having fun, for once. This isn’t to say that he hasn’t had fun at all lately, but it’s the fact that it was public, and a confirmation that the charming Michael we all know and love is still there. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of him again someday soon...

[redcloakedraven]

HSMTMTS REWATCH - TAKE TWO 1x1 The Auditions

"I'm waiting for the right time to tell him." Something Nini continues to do in season 2 which made things worse. Also, considering she feels like she has to wait for a good time (before he walks up, that is) is because she knows he'll upset because she knows it was just a pause to him, and because she hates being in conflicts (shown in later episodes)

She states how she knew it was a pause "I didn't want to take a pause" and while knowing it wasn't an official break up yet ended up dating someone. From Nini's perspective I get where and how this could've happened but we're not at the flashback yet so I'm not gonna talk about yet.

She clearly has grown to stand up for herself when she tells Ricky she's still talking, but she only seems to ever do this to Ricky and not anybody else, which is shown later on as well.

The flashback: The video was clearly up for a while and she knew Ricky hasn't watched it yet and decides to show him herself. Now I understand her being scared to properly sing it to him, but she could've at least simply took a video and saved it to her phone to show him.

Nini's perspective in flashback: She just put her heart out there not only to Ricky, but also online where some people saw it. Ricky then proceeds to only say freeze (in this flashback) so at this point we are given why Nini is upset and it is a valid reason.

"You kind of dumped me." She says this after her previous statement of not wanting to go on a pause. This tells you that she was aware that Ricky thought it would only be a pause. (Can't really get more into this until the next flashback) But I can say considering the pause happened very quickly before her summer away (4 weeks as Ricky states) It gives us a bit of what Ricky is thinking. She told me she loved then quickly started seeing someone else while she was gone. To Nini, it happened because he asked for the pause and didn't say I love you back which broke her heart and EJ was there. To Ricky, it feels like the I love ended up not actually meaning anything, but again without Ricky's perspective being shown yet we can't get fully into it, and us as an audience isn't supposed to try understanding his side yet.

Her saying "But it's a breakup now" is her basically admitting, okay yeah maybe you were right about it being a break but that's not the case anymore. Which comes across as her kind of understanding that she started dating someone without fully being out of a relationship. I came across someone saying how they thought Nini Lowkey cheated when she first started dating Ricky and watching this makes me kind of think the same thing. Even that intent wasn't there. But also she could've thought it would hurt Ricky after she got hurt... So who knows maybe subconsciously it was there.

I still get a little annoyed when Kourtney snaps at Big Red because he wasn't trying to get in the middle of it he was trying to get her to stay out of it as well.

"I feel good about this-" "-Everyones on the same page" You didn't really give him a chance to say anything, you know he's upset/confused, and she somehow has a good feeling about it? She's either in denial or thinks everyone automatically agrees with her.

Gina in the background really looking at Kourtney and Nini leave, sensing the drama

I might have realized it before, but never clued in that Ashlyn was sitting beside the kid he got hit with the shirt

Carlos really out here skipping class

Natalie watching Nini and EJ really wanting to know the drama

The way EJ talks about Nini and their summer together, it's clear (or at least how I see it) that he was unaware that Ricky even existed. Maybe he saw him in passing, but that's really it. I don't think he even knew that Nini had an ex until Ricky's audition. He just thought Nini was cute for quite a while, and when she showed up at his summer camp took his shot and lucked. He doesn't know about the break up, how previous it really was, and the fact that he was just a rebound. He doesn't even notice how Nini was watching Ricky while he was walking because he felt like everything is okay.

Nini's scene with her family and Ricky's scene with his dad being right next to each other show the differences with where they are at this point. We learn that Nini has a supportive and strong family that love each other. Then we learn Ricky's mom is in Chicago and doesn't want to talk to either of them. Ricky then decides to fight for his relationship with Nini because his dad (and his mom) isn't even trying to do that.

He then goes to Big Red where he admits that musicals confuse him, but he's going to do it because Nini enjoys them and he wants her to see him as someone different then the guy that made a mistake. That's obviously not his actual wording, though. Big Red doesn't think he can pull it off and says this to him as well. Very different from Nini's experience through out the episode.

The Auditions: There's a lot I want to mention about the auditions, and they are a lot is linked to EJ. Right off the bat, EJ feels confident and comments that he's bummed that there's no actual competition there. As of right now in season 3, we know that EJ is actually one for traditions and rules. We also know that once he has a plan, he sticks to it, and it's hard for him to cut away from it even if a second plan was made as well, this shows in season 1. Before he says this, we see scoping out the room. We know that he's a theater kid before this and has been the lead multiple times. So him thinking he'll get the lead again after looking around probably means he's sees familiar faces (minus Gina) that's he's beaten the lead for before, which makes him feel even better about his chances. I think he says this as more of a confidence boost for both him and Nini then a genuine comment. He has it all planned out. He as Troy, Nini as Gabriella, another showmance. He's planned his outfit, prop, and audition to be perfect (another thing we see EJ struggle with when directing in season 3). He wants everything to be perfect and everything go according to plan and he feels like that could happen (right now that is).

The Getcha Head In The Game foreshadowing

Back to EJ's audition. Perfect vocals, perfectly know the lyrics, charm, outfit, and prop. He's confident, and the overconfidence kind of shows. He's so focused on everything being perfect and coming across as perfect that he doesn't fully connect to the song because he doesn't really let himself for one second let go and actually feel the lyrics he just sings them. He don't see him do the acting part of the audition, but I assume it's the same way. He perfectly knows the lines, but doesn't know the emotion behind them. But up to this point that's worked for him probably because in the end he was probably always the best audition regardless.

"My mom always says if you can't be good at something, it's not worth doing.-" Gina saying this shows more insight on where she is coming from for this audition. She wants this to go very well and is trying her hardest for this as well. Out of all the characters we've only the girls perspective so far with his talking head scene.

EJ reassures Nini and supports her. He then goes on to say "She's 100% real and that's why he loves her." See in this moment I don't think he meant it as being in love with her. I think he does love her as a person. But this line also shows once again he isn't aware of Ricky and Nini once being a thing. We talk about Ricky kind of loving the idea of Nini (which I do think he does a little bitbut he genuinely loves her). Here though, EJ has only known her part a month, it's cannon he's never had a valentines day single up to this point. What he feels for Nini is probably very different to what he felt for other girls, and if he did really think he was in love with her in this moment i think thoughts feelings could've confused because he never had them. (I'm not being Anti or going against the EjxNini ship btw)

Nini pauses and we get the other part of the flashback. Keep in mind this flashback is from Nini it's from she remembers, Ricky isn't in the auditorium yet. She remembers him calling it a temporary pause. Obviously hearing this broke her heart because she had just said I love you, and she has every right to feel this way. I just want to point how remembers him using the words temporary and how it would just be for out of town. Again her feelings could've been really high in this moment and going into camp probably as well. But it kind of proves a little bit even if it wasn't her intentions she did kind of half cheat on Ricky while she was gone.

Ricky's perspective: It's mentioned that his mom was already in Chicago so any thought of it just being a recent thing from earlier in the episode is completely debunked. (Also in present time his mom has been living in Chicago for over a year now). His mom even texted him, and it's pretty clear right away she doesn't really do that. He says she's been working forever. Obviously the whole working thing at this point is a lie and I think it this flashback Ricky is aware of it. The last time he probably heard anyone say the words "I love you" was probably from his mom before she left, now Nini is leaving for a month as well. (Maybe that is how long his mom originally said she'd be) The Only difference is he actually knows Nini will come back and until then he has time to work through things and have his panicked brain and his heart to be in the same place (Something that happens in season 2 as well). He could've explained all this a lot better, and he clearly made a mistake. He knows this as well.

Now we get back to the auditorium. EJ has no reaction to Nini being off in her own world or and has no worries about another guy possibly being in the picture. Once again, he has nothing bringing down his confidence or ruining his plans, it all comes down to Nini's audition for him, and she was supposed to be the very last audition. Then a Wild-Ricky wildcard comes in (I regret nothing). EJ was not planning for another person to run into the auditions. He didn't get the chance to scope him out. He's never seen him before, never seen him audition or even be a random student extra on stage. He doesn't know how he performs and what his strengths or weaknesses could be like he saw with the auditioners (he was the last Troy audition before Ricky came in). Ricky was not a part of the plan, he's a random kid who showed up late, and that immediately bothered EJ. His reaction when Ricky comes in isn't him being mad or jealous towards his girlfriends ex it's more of annoyance. It could also be because he came in when Nini was going to perform at the very end of the auditions. This puts a small damp in his plans and comes across as if Ricky didn't have a plan at all, another thing that could've bugged EJ. He then finds out that Ricky only knows the Troy stuff, so ontop of that he now finds out this new kid is trying to compete for his role and he still has no idea how well this kid can perform or act. He cheers very loudly for Nini, I feel like the cheer would've been genuine, but made it extra loud and made sure to say babe. At this point a lot of people know he and Nini are dating, but this feels like he's overcompensating and making everyone know she's his girlfriend, aka this new kid he has no idea about, so he's making sure he knows to stay away, still unaware of whats going to happen. This cheer then causes Miss. Jenn to spill her coffee and cause a quick power surge. Before he could even think of anything to do Ricky gives Nini a spotlight and he immediately gets up and joins looking mad at Ricky for being the one to do it.

Nini does what both Gina and EJ failed to do and that was genuinely feeling the song, granted it made her go over the time though and that is a mistake that you can't always make.

After Nini's audition though and he see's him Ricky looking at each other while he starts going on stage EJ doesn't look mad he looks more confused and wondering whats actually going on. This time Ricky is the one to look more annoyed at EJ putting his arm around her.

Big Red comes up and i feel like he was actually at the auditions from the beginning but hiding off so Kourtney and Nini wouldn't see him. He did up showing up to support Ricky and when he couldn't find him probably stayed around to see I he would show and to watch the auditions as well

EJ looks so confused when Ricky is doing the Chad lines. He truly thinking wtf is happening who is this kid?

Everyones kind of watching and not really knowing how to react or slightly judgy if you pay attention to the background characters. Big Red is kind of just there seeing it all happen and probably doesn't know what exactly to do because he doesn't really know musicals either.

I think Ricky at this point knew that his audition was going bad, so he just took the moment to say his feelings and play the song. I would like to point out that Nini at this has taken the song off her main and put it in her archive's and she probably did that before she went to camp because EJ has no idea about the song here. So Ricky taught himself the song mainly by memory on a different instrument. Ricky was totally a music kid from the beginning. Miss. Jenn knew something was going on with him and Nini by the end of his monologue.

Kourtney sliding away from Big Red sitting down by her seemed kind of uncalled for, but she's being supportive of Nini and completely understand that.

This was when EJ finally figured out that Ricky and Nini totally knew each other. He looks between Nini and Ricky a few times and he goes from confused to confused and mad. He then looks over at Ashlyn who is kind of openly enjoying it. His look here is harder to decipher but it looks more like insecure look compared to the other ones. At this point this random kid comes in wanting to audition for his part, puts a spotlight on his girlfriend, makes a monologue to her, and now is singing to her. But also he's not doing bad like he was at the beginning, he's actually doing good he actually has talent, and all his plans are completely changed and disrupted.

Nini was getting into the performance, but when Ricky choked and got too shy to sing the final words to her in front of everyone, that's what shook her out of it. To her, it seemed like he still couldn't say it.

Ricky just dips pretty much after his audition he's legit the first one to leave. He went there to just say what he wanted to say and that was pretty much it. His original audition went bad but at least he got his feelings out.

Even in the confrontation in the hall, you can tell Nini was getting into the conversation and it would've gone well if it hadn't been that exact moment everyone showed up

At this point, everyone is surprised Ricky actually got the part, including Ricky. Miss. Jenn gave him the part because he managed to quickly save his audition, showing if he were mess up his lines or if a scene was just not working out he can think of the top of his head it fix it. (Except for when he's having a panick attack but that's for later) He improvised a monologue that actually had heart and was the only to emotionally connect to what he was saying compared to everybody else, and his song proved he can connect emotionally while singing as well, which other then Nini no one managed to do that.

EJ's plans were completely ruined at this point, he finally had something not come easy to him and on top of that he see's this guy have a history with his girlfriends. He doesn't just hate Ricky because of the love triangle, he feels threatened by Ricky in other aspects as well, and he hates that he was such a wildcard he wasn't expecting.

[weiwuxian]

I really should stop looking at other people’s opinions on to my star 2 bc it’s making me a bit sad to see how people are talking about the show and the creator. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and no one has to like a show, but I’ve seen some kind of disrespectful statements on multiple social media platforms. Some people have been quite mean to the director and are saying she’s ruined everything and no viewers wanted what this season was and that’s just not fair (or true). Again people can have their opinions, but I wish they wouldn’t be so rude to someone who has quite clearly put a lot of effort and love into telling a very compelling, heart wrenching, and well executed show.

I do think some BL fans, may be used to the typical BLs which quite honestly still have a lot of shallowness to them due to simply lack of resources and care put into the making of them. The shows are quite simple and the issues aren’t very complex. I have also seen a growing trend in online fandoms over the past years of people being genuinely upset that fictional characters do not act in healthy logical ways, even though that’s not even how real life works and that would make for an incredibly boring story.

No one is required to like the show, or like Jiwoo, or agree with this thought process, or even want them to get back together. But I’ve felt increasingly disillusioned with online fandom for tv and movies over the past few years in particular. If a character isn’t perfect how dare you like them and want them to get a happy ending, if a pairing isn’t the wet dream of a couple’s therapist you shouldn’t want them together and it’s bad writing if they get/stay together, if a storyline doesn’t go how you want then how dare the writer/director go in that direction no one could *ever* like that writing choice and it’s ruined everything. Everything is just SO extreme and so polarized and people seemingly don’t want to just let other people enjoy things if they aren’t (and sometimes vice versa). It’s just exhausting.

Despite all that I’ve loved this season a lot, I wish we got Jiwoo’s perspective a little earlier, but I’m not too worried about pacing issues. I think these last two episodes were really well done and the last two are gonna have a running time of like 76 minutes, so I think there’s enough time for a satisfying resolution, whatever that is (I’m still rooting for them to just talk and get back together lol). I feel like it’s pretty typical to pack a lot into the tail end of any story, and can be done well and I trust this show to do it well. Looking forward to next week!

I'm with you 😔 I try to look through the tag often to reblog everyone's gifsets and support text posts, but I can't do it right now. The take I've been seeing about how this is a bad story now just because some people don't like it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. And I'm saying this as someone who really hates sad endings and will be beyond heartbroken if tms (my feel good drama!!) doesn't have a happy ending. A story isn't bad just because some people don't like it, that's not how it works. And yet.

You're absolutely right that fandom has become quite extreme. And the more I think of it, the more I'm like... tms2 isn't even that tragic. Yes, we're all suffering, but this is because we're so attached to these characters. But in reality, what's happening between jiwoo and seojoon is a very mundane story of broken people who were in a relationship before they had time to do some healing and I've seen in the same story in real life multiple times. People are acting like this suddenly became a novella with absurd and unnecessary angst which is so far removed from the truth.

Like. I get it. S1 had such good vibes and it was so light and it was such a feel good show and people are right that this is the reason we all fell in love with it. But I hate the idea that the writers owed us the exact same vibes again and, because they didn't come through with that, then they've fucked up a perfectly good story. It's objectively not true. The storytelling this season is so grounded and captivating and heart-wrenching and overall very smart. The story doesn't want to make us happy for 10 episodes, it wants to make us think and feel and that's valid. Sometimes I wish some people would just be honest and say they hate people suffering from mental health because it's what some of these posts sound like anyway.

[ughmyreality]

This whole situation with Amberlynn and her mom is getting on my last nerves. I don’t know anyone else in gorl world, so I thought I'd just take my opinions here.

Amber coming on video crying and telling her age-old sob story isn't going to convince anyone. If her mom truly didn't harm a service animal, then tell us some hard-core proof. Not all this pity party crying, that's irrelevant. Was she even in contact with her mom when this supposably happened? Why is she even trying to vouch for her? I'm so tired of her trying to paint her mom in this wonderful light one moment, and the next, she's trauma dumping about her horrible childhood. That's not to say that their relationship couldn't have improved, but typically, when you forgive someone, you move on from the past. Not for Amber, you never know who she likes and who she has a problem with.

Plus, Amber coming to the defense of her mom is hypocritical, seeing as she herself doesn't have a clean slate when it comes to animals. Especially back in the Destiny era or the situation with her leaving Twinkie to go to Chili's.

Also, if Amber was so bothered by these allegations, you'd think she wouldn't make a monetized video about it. She could have just made a post about it on her community tab since she thinks she's so good at writing. But of course not, she saw the opportunity for drama and clicks and couldn't pass it up.

She's putting all the blame on reaction channels as per usual. What do reaction channels have to do with this? If I get accused of something, my main goal would be to disprove it. Not go online and start playing the victim and shaming the people who accused me. It's deflecting, and it's clear as day.

I will give her mom a round of applause, however, for being 10 years sober. That's great, but that doesn't change the things she did in the past. Amber consistently acts like she doesn't know where this drama comes from, as if her "fan base" isn't built from drama. This was the whole reason she claimed she didn't want wifey on camera, so clearly, she understands to some extent.

Why is it a problem for anyone to talk about her mom's PUBLIC records when Amber has countless videos monetizing off of the lives of other people? AKA her filming while Beck was grieving their mom, Destiny in various states of undress, showing Krystal when she was clearly uncomfortable being on camera, showcasing a minor she "befriended", her continuing to say transphobic things to Casey after they broke up, having Beck drive when they weren't in the best mental or physical state. The list goes on. But of course, "how dare these people bring up anything about her mom." Get real.

Amber has been on YouTube for years now. No one forced her to make her content about drama and speculation, but she fed into that. She can't pick and choose what's appropriate and what's not. Amberlynn, if you're so sick with YouTube, get a job, get a degree, lose the weight and become a success story. Do something with yourself besides complaining to the people that give you views and a means to live.

[mamun258]

I write novels for foreigners, and my monthly salary is 20,000 yuan

As the publication of online articles matures, more and more translators and creators are seeking opportunities to make money by HE Tuber writing online articles. But everyone knows how difficult it is. With the popularity of short dramas and the help of AI, what is the current situation of online articles overseas? Let’s read this article together.

In 2011, a novel with the theme of "forced love" became popular all over the United States. In 2015, the novel was adapted for the big screen and became popular around the world due to its large scale.

This work is "Fifty Shades of Grey".

After harvesting a wave of North American audiences, "Fifty Shades of Grey" landed in China. Chinese readers shouted, "Isn't this the Jinjiang literature I secretly read in high school?"

Since that time, everyone has understood one thing - everyone likes to see Boss Ba.

Back to today, 12 years later, China’s online articles have become popular overseas. The "2023 China Online Literature Overseas Trend Report" was released. The total revenue of China's online literature industry in 2022 is 31.78 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.94%; overseas revenue is 4.063 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.87%. During the same period, the cumulative total of Chinese online literary works reached 34.5884 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.93%. Chinese online works have been translated into more than 20 languages, covering more than 40 countries and regions including Southeast Asia, North America, Europe and Africa. Among all types of online articles, romantic love online articles with female readers as the main audience have become the favorites of overseas readers.

As the publishing of online articles overseas gradually matures, more and more translators and creators want to seek opportunities in this process. However, they do not know that there are also many difficulties behind "writing online articles and making US dollars"...

1. As an online writer, it’s not easy to earn more than 10,000 yuan a month.

A few years ago, Mengmeng, who had been repeatedly tortured by life in a large 996 factory, accidentally saw a tweet that basically introduced how a group of people working remotely were earning first-world wages while living in the third world. This is the first time Mengmeng has heard the term "digital nomad".

"At the end of 2021, I began to formally think about the possibility of becoming a digital nomad. At that time, I was a marketing leader at a major Internet company, and I was very troubled by the boss's pie and the PUA from my superiors. Because I usually like to write something, I thought I might as well try to be a digital nomad," Mengmeng told Xiaguang News.

With the introduction of a friend, Mengmeng found a website that specifically provided remote work. However, several applications for remote marketing planning positions came to nothing, and only one recruiter for a translation position contacted her. "The job responsibilities were not clearly described when submitting. I thought it was a translation of documents from a foreign trade company. However, the translations given to me during the written test were all proper nouns and passages from science fiction and fantasy novels, such as 'internal force' and 'controllable fusion device' 'Hidden traps' and so on."

This was Chu Chu's first exposure to the profession of online text translation. After passing the written examination, she was quickly assigned a formal job. "At that time, the price was 80-100 yuan per thousand words. When I was a part-time translator, I could only translate two to three thousand words a day, and my monthly income was four to five thousand yuan."

The company where Chu Chu works part-time specializes in translating various online articles, short plays and other films and TV shows. She later learned that the high-quality translators with whom the company has long-term cooperation have higher hourly wages. Some full-time translators can even earn up to 20,000 yuan per month, but Mengmeng always feels that this job is unlikely to be a long-term meal ticket.

"First, I am not sure how long the trend of online texts going overseas can last; second, I feel that with the popularity of various translation software, pure manual translation will gradually be replaced." In fact, this year, Mengmeng has seen a significant drop in the quotations for online text translation. “Many recruiters made it clear that human labor is only responsible for verification after batch machine translation, and the quotation for translating a thousand words has been reduced from 80-100 yuan to 30 yuan.”

Although Mengmeng finally gave up the idea of ​​making a living as a digital nomad by translating online articles, overseas online articles became more and more popular.

Currently, there are three well-known platforms for publishing online articles overseas - Web Novel owned by China Literature Group, Goodnovel owned by Xinyue Technology, and Dream owned by Stary Singapore. It is understood that the three companies have similar incentive mechanisms for authors. The basic perfect attendance award is US$200-250 per month. This translates into an average attendance award of writing 1,500-1,700 words per day. The signing method is almost always applied by the author himself.

"Similar to writing online articles in China, the threshold is not high, but it is very difficult to do well." Newbie writer Pineapple concluded, "The perfect attendance award is just a basic incentive. Most full-time writers definitely want to have higher income, but there are specific income rules. It’s not very clear, you need to explore by yourself. For example, I signed a contract with Web Novel, and they will reward me with an additional $200 when my monthly income exceeds $200. But through my experience and exploration in the past few months, I want to get this money , the number of writing words may exceed 100,000 words, and the collection may exceed 1,000. These algorithms will not be fully disclosed."

"If you write 300,000 words, you can get up to 4,000 US dollars, not counting other shares." Overseas editor Vivian estimated based on experience, "In RMB conversion, a monthly income of more than 10,000 US dollars is a very good income among overseas online writers. In fact, This situation is similar among online writers in the domestic market.”

Only by catching up with popular products can you achieve a monthly income of tens of thousands.

Vivian believes that it is indeed a blue ocean for Internet articles to go overseas at present, and more and more Internet articles are being remade into short dramas. "If your copyright is bought out, it can be said to be a success. However, this requires the author to have a deeper understanding of the tastes of foreign readers." Palace, Werewolf, and Overlord are all published online. Popular themes, different platforms have different preferences, this kind of exploration of cultural tastes is very important. "

2. Internet articles go overseas, bosses and werewolves each have their own interests.

Internet articles are published overseas, each showing his or her special abilities.

As early as 2005, domestic online articles began to explore the way to go overseas. According to public reports, from 2009 to 2013 alone, Vietnam translated and published more than 800 Chinese books, of which 617 were translated from Chinese online literature. By 2017, WebNovel, the overseas reading website under China Literature Group, was officially launched, and online articles overseas began to be exported on a large scale, entering the "2.0 era."

Southeast Asia, because it has a large number of Chinese and is culturally similar to China, has become the first experimental field for online articles to go overseas.

The majority of online readers in Southeast Asia are women between the ages of 18 and 30. Female romance themes such as "Marriage First, Love Later", "Rebirth and Time Travel" and "Contract Marriage" which are very popular in China are also very popular in Southeast Asia. Most of Thailand's most popular film and television works in the past two years are exaggerated and even romantic dramas with a bit of a "bloody" color.

A student studying in Southeast Asia told Xiaguang News: "Many domestic students will recommend their favorite online books to their classmates. Many of my friends have similar tastes to me, and are especially interested in palace, campus, and city themes."

And when domestic online articles gradually enter the European and American markets, they face another environment.

Xiao Fei, an international student from North America, believes that European and American paper media culture is still quite popular today. People often read newspapers and paper books on buses, and physical bookstores can often be seen on the streets. The European and American book markets are actually very receptive to foreign literature. Even in small private bookstores on the roadside, there will be translations of authors from other countries, and those books are not necessarily hits. "I remember buying an English-translated novel by a Japanese author when I was in school. It was about a girl dealing with her mother's death. I haven't seen this book on any platform since then. In fact, it's not famous at all."

Unlike Southeast Asian readers whose literary tastes are similar to those of China, European and American readers have different tastes. "The 'Werewolf' concept is a very popular concept in North America." Vivian said, "Since the popularity of "Twilight", countless novels with vampires and werewolves have emerged in North America. Any time you walk into a bookstore, Among the books displayed on the facade, there must be one or two vampire versus werewolf plots.``

However, Vivian also pointed out that unlike traditional print media, online readers read more in fragments, and their desire for "sensation" and "explosiveness" is actually similar to that of domestic readers. Therefore, compared to the noble stereotype of vampires, werewolves seem to be more direct, simple and rough. "Many of the short dramas and online articles that are very popular now are in the shell of a werewolf and tell the story of the boss, so they are collectively called the 'Werewolf' model."

In the European market, influenced by its own culture, readers prefer the "palace +" model. The core of male videos is "diaosi counterattack" and "dragon king's son-in-law", while the core of female videos can be "cool heroine" or "time travel book".

Although readers have different needs for background setting and scene conception in different local cultural soils, the underlying needs that online articles meet overseas have not changed - to kill time, have a low reading threshold, and have full emotional value.

In addition to Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, with the continuous improvement of AI translation functions, more and more small-language countries such as Spain and Mexico have become target markets for online publishing.

3. The short drama became popular + AI boosted, and online articles went viral

In 2023, AI and short dramas will be extremely popular and are expected to have a considerable impact on the pattern of online articles going overseas.

Short drama overseas will explode in the second half of 2023. The short drama "Never Divorce a Secret Billionaire Heiress", which is less than 2 minutes in each episode, became popular after the launch of ReelShort, and drove the download volume of ReelShort to soar. As of November 11, ReelShort has successfully ranked among the top three App Stores in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

In the entire film and television chain, short plays and online articles belong to the upstream and downstream relationships. Purchasing online texts, or purchasing Chinese online texts and then translating them, is one of the important sources of scripts for overseas short plays. The popularity of this wave of overseas short dramas will influence more producers to start arranging overseas short dramas, driving the corresponding demand for online articles and increasing the income of overseas online article authors, and positively stimulating the overall industry.

The explosion of short dramas has fed back the demand for online articles going overseas, while the advancement of AI capabilities has improved the efficiency of online articles going overseas from the technical side.

As GPT continues to surge, generative AI will be widely popularized in 2023, and efficiency will be greatly improved from the perspective of creation and translation.

Different authors have different attitudes towards the application of generative AI in the creative field. Mengmeng believes that on the one hand, the advancement of AI translation technology will reduce the income of pure manual translation, but from the perspective of overall industry development, the more mature AI translation is, the more efficient it will be to publish online articles overseas, but it is limited by areas where small language translations are scarce. The layout can also be accelerated. Overall, the impact is more positive.

Pineapple is less receptive to content created by generative AI. "There are indeed some editors who have already acquiesced in the GPT + manual writing mode when signing contracts. I myself have also tried AI continuation in my creation. It is undeniable that sometimes the things written by AI are really good, but I personally think that AI writing will From a creative perspective, I personally don’t like to put my ideas into a framework.” However, she did not deny the positive role of AI in promoting the publication of online articles overseas. “From an industry perspective, I think generative AI will be used in the future. It can be used as an assistant to the creator, and can help the author to complete the work very efficiently in some non-creative aspects, such as background information collection, key document extraction, naming of unimportant supporting characters, etc."

Data shows that online writers currently cover more than 100 countries and regions around the world, among which the United States ranks first in terms of number of online writers. The rapid growth of online writers has led to a flourishing original ecology of overseas online articles. As of October 2023, Qidian International has launched approximately 610,000 overseas original works, a year-on-year increase of 280% three years ago.

Judging from the overall trend of going overseas, the overseas export of culture must be behind and more difficult than the overseas export of products. Nowadays, as the three crucial elements of platform, author, and technology become increasingly mature, a new chapter for the publication of online articles overseas is being written...

[hua-fei-hua]

if a space’s only rule is “don’t be weird” i’d call that a red flag