#first time trying to draw them. just watched trolls 2 and trolls 3 today. they were good

[maxphilippa]

i will poison all your happy thoughts. i will love you like the ashes in my cigarette box.

dawndory is pretty fine to me alright

[mhdiaries]

Classroom Cleo de Nile & Ghoulia Yelps Mad Science Class Journal

Today was the dreaded “Choosing of Partners for Group Projects” although it could just be me that dreads it. I guess it is because there always seems to be a fight to see who gets to be my partner. I suppose that is an arrogant thing to write but it is true. In some ways it is flattering in other ways, not so much. Even Manny Taur goes out of his way to be nice to me. He is not exactly good at it, but he does try. Mr. Hackington decided this year to try and mitigate the chaos by putting all our names into a skull and drawing them out two at a time. There was some complaining about this new development until he finally said, “You get what you gets and you don’t pitch a fit!” My parents used to tell me that when I was a little ghoul, well probably not the way Mr. Hackington said it but he got his point across. Regardless, at least it keeps me from having to say “yes” to one classmate and “no” to the rest. 

Cleo complained the loudest about the new system until our names got pulled as partners... sigh... I love Cleo and she is my beast friend ever but I was really hoping for... well it does not matter. He got paired up with Frankie and I am sure they will do just fine. Normally having Cleo as a partner means... it means the extra credit work I usually do when I am working on a project by myself seems to be enough for both of us to an “A”. Cleo’s main functions include reminding me to do things I have already done and calling Deuce to bring us lunch or lattes. Not that I complain too much about that, and Deuce does have a way of keeping Cleo focused. She also insists on giving the final presentation, which usually goes well since she does command attention. This time though our assignment is to research the Science of Perfume, and then our final project will be to create our very own fragrance. I must say that I was completely surprised by Cleo’s enthusiasm for the project. I am not sure whether to be excited or frightened by this development. 

Finally a project worthy of my royal attention! I must say on past projects I have allowed Ghoulia to do the dragon’s share of the work but this is something I can really get my bandages wrapped around. When we still lived in Egypt, before “the difficulties”, one of my jobs was to oversee the royal perfumers. Nefera used to tell me that it was a job reserved for “a princess who would never become queen” but I didn’t care. While Nefera was in some dreadfully boring meeting about how much grain would be harvested for the year or where to build the next royal monument, I would go down and meet the trade caravans. They would be loaded with spices, oils and exotic flowers from the South and East, and the air was always filled with their fragrance. The royal perfumers and I would choose the best of everything to be had, then they would take the ingredients back to their perfumery and work their magic. I always wanted to join them as they cooked, ground and mixed the different ingredients to make perfume and scented oils, but this was looked upon as a task beneath a princess, so I could only watch. Now that I have a chance to get my hands dirty, so to speak, I can’t wait to get started. 

I have been pleasantly surprised by Cleo’s contributions to our project. She has really taken the dragon by the horns and unlike past projects together, I have had to “run” to keep up with her. Her enthusiasm and deadication to the project are quite refreshing and she has filled my in box with recipes and suggestions. So for the first time in, well, ever, I am feeling like the “weak link” in an academic setting. I find myself not entirely liking it, which makes me feel just a tiny bit selfish and unneeded. Yes, I know that this is completely illogical, but what if it becomes a habit? Will I lose my place in the group if my brainpower is no longer needed?... #DepressingThought

Ghoulia seems to be off her game lately. Usually she’s the zombie equivalent to a ball of energy when it comes to these projects, but lately she’s gone completely passive on me. It’s starting to scare me, and not in a good way. I admit to being more than a bit self-absorbed, but I can always tell when something is really wrong with one of my friends. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she was fine. I know better than to press her on it, or she’ll just retreat into her brain’s fortress of solitude and not come out for days. I suppose I’ll just wait until she’s ready to talk, but I really want her input. She’s my beast friend, and I want us to have fun together on this project. 

I told my mom I did not feel well today and stayed home from school. It was not a lie, but it was not because of a physical ailment, either. Cleo called me several times, but I chose not to answer my iCoffin. I mostly stayed in bed and then I thought maybe I really was getting sick since I did not feel like eating and could not generate enough excitement to read the newest issue of Dead Fast. Apparently my absence was noted, and the cavalry descended on my house after school. I heard the doorbell ring and then I heard the front door open. The voices of Cleo, Frankie, Lagoona, Draculaura and Clawdeen all called out to my mother, “We’re here!” I could smell the aroma of baking cookies drifting out of the kitchen - I thought she gave in to my request to stay home a little too easily. They all headed to the kitchen except for Cleo. I heard her heading down the hall toward my room - I knew it was Cleo because she has a very distinctive gait. She got to my door, knocked once and walked in. “All right, ghoul friend, what, in the name of Bast’s cats is going on with you?” I said nothing was wrong with me but Cleo was in one of her “royal moods”, and I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was going to pester me until I gave her an answer, so I did. I told her how I felt about my role on the project and how I was afraid that my intellectual abilities were the only reason that she and the rest of the ghouls wanted me around. Cleo just stood there staring at me with the strangest look in her eyes.

For a moment I could not decide if she was on the verge of being angry or sad. Then she simply spun on a heel, stepped to my door and yelled down the hall, “Ghoulia’s room - NOW!” The ghouls got to my room in a blink albeit with mouths full of freshly baked cookies. Cleo pointed at Frankie whose mouth seemed to be less full of cookie than the others, “Quickly, when you think of Ghoulia what’s the first thing that comes to mind?” Frankie sparked and said, “She’s kind and helpful!” Then Lagoona said I was “trustworthy and sincere”, Draculaura said I was “funny and sweet” and Clawdeen said I was “brave and determined.” Finally Cleo looked at me and said, “Notice anything in those descriptions that was missing?” I hung my head, a little embarrassed and a lot encouraged. “Now we are going back to the kitchen to eat more cookies, you could join us if you’re feeling up to it... oh and you better be in class tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do.” It turns out that my mother’s cookies are a miracle cure. Who knew? 

Now that Ghoulia is out of her funk, we’ve been able to make some progress. I found several trunks at home filled with jars of oils, extracts and spices. Nearly all of them are still labeled. Probably should be careful with the ones that are not... I seem to remember some were rather volatile when mixed with certain other ingredients. Unfortunately, I could not find any of my old recipes, so this will truly require real experimentation. 

Experiment Notes

Batch #1

Top notes of leather - old gym shoe leather - with a sweaty angst-like finish. It is a smell reminiscent of the odor that emanates from the boys’ locker room after summer football practices. FAIL

Batch #2

Complex floral notes of troll cabbage and broccoli with none too subtle undertones on burnt microwave popcorn. It was quite... breathtaking and also Mr. Hackington’s favorite. FAIL

Batch #3

It smelled like cheese at first then spoiled milk. Disgusting. FAIL

Batch #4 

A frightfully woodsy scent, mysterious yet approachable and our favorite by far. It also hardened in the beaker like cement. We may have discovered a way to create scented construction material but as a perfume - FAIL

Batch #5

Eau de Pit of Goblin Arm. FAIL

Batch #6

Two words - wet werewolf. FAIL

Batch #8

We used an unmarked bottle from Cleo’s collection. It was an odorless black elixir but when we mixed it with vanilla, juniper berry and patchouli oil it opened a portal to another dimension that sucked in half of our experiments before we could put a stopper in the beaker. Cleo blamed the patchouli. FAIL

BATCH #13

Lovely top, middle and base notes - check.

Accentuates rather than overopowers - check, check

Would we wear it ourselves? - check, check, check

Perfection!

Final Grade - A+

Best. Lab project. Ever.

[remazdo]

The Golden Sprial

As always I am never quite sure where one of these posts is going to lead me, whether into the waiting jaws of trolls and critics, or into a place where I am heard by peers and my words carry some weight. Lately I have found myself pulled in many directions as many different injustices are committed within my own country, let alone the world as a whole. And being the kind of person that I am, I have no tolerance for such things, but my words are so small in comparison to those that hold power that I feel they are drowned out at times. Nevertheless, I find myself sitting here at three in the morning, writing, hoping that something I say may bring some change in someone somewhere.

I recently read an article I would like to share with anyone willing to read it. My finding this article was due to yet another facebook argument. Something I detest. I still have an aversion to them, but I am no longer able to just keep my mouth shut. Someone had shared a news post that read that President Trump was going to change the definitions of mental illness and he believed that those with a mental illness should be forcibly contained to protect the public due to the recent mass shootings that took place here in the states. My response was simply..

“Okay, can I just ask, how much more dystopian does the world need to get before we recognize it as a dystopia?”

Again, I felt this to be harmless, just a question, however I had someone who said that this was needed to get “help” for the homeless and it was the right move to make. My response was that in essence what was being said here was that if the definition of mental illness was changed to include anxiety, depression, homosexuality, and even disagreeing with the words of those in power, that they could forcibly contain anyone at any time. This seemed dystopian, and while probably not how it would be intended to be used, it is still a huge policy shift, just as the shift to make abortions illegal, or the shift in immigration policy, or the shift when it came to the pipeline that went through Native American lands, or the shift to stop trying to find green energy to stop climate change. So many little shifts have happened, and I decided it was time to do some research, as I do. The following quote is from an article by a David Tollerton of the University of Exeter, the link to the article will be below.

“When it comes to an event as ultimately extreme and emotive as the Holocaust, we should of course be wary of blunt and counterproductive comparisons. In this regard Lipstadt’s article offers a powerful corrective. But this is not the end of our task.

It is the task of historians to draw parallels, however uncomfortable. Nazism didn’t immediately descend into fully fledged terror in the Germany of the 1930s, it came in a series of legal and policy shifts. There were those, in Germany as well as in the rest of the watching world – who strongly objected from the start to the laws that took away Jewish rights and protections and continued to oppose Hitler and his supporters as the nightmare unfolded. But there were also many people in whom Nazi rhetoric found all-too fertile ground.

A similar dynamic is in operation today. The gradual “othering” of migrants to the US – and, indeed, of refugees in Europe and elsewhere – has the same feeling of an incremental downward spiral in the public’s humanity, and it is here that historians have a duty to draw comparisons rather than simply seeking to police the border between historical events.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/comparisons-between-us-immigration-policy-and-the-nazi-period-may-not-be-helpful-but-they-are-hard-to-avoid-98879

This caught me off guard. I was doing my best to not correlate the events of today with nazi Germany, and while the events themselves are not the same, the fact that the parallels are there is terrifying. So what do we do when the world is falling down around us? Is this not something that could be seen in a dystopian novel by a notable author such as Phillip K. Dick? And if we are already in dystopia, what do we do next?

A wise woman said to me recently that the revolution must start within us. I do believe that is a great start, that the individual can make the difference. And so I try to start a revolution here and now, not by writing something saying that we should stand up. When you hear the words “gun violence” your mind immediately goes to the word “gun”, and then we decide without them the shootings would stop. But what if the word we should be looking at is “violence”? What if every single person planted something helpful to the planet once a month? What if we simply said we weren’t going to go to work until women had complete rights to their bodies? What if every time you saw a person being harassed because of the color of their skin you walked over and put yourself between the attacker and the victim?

I have decided that I will make changes where I can, I have decided that the revolution is already upon us, and I have decided not to sit down anymore, to ignore a comment on facebook from someone who doesn’t agree with my morals just because it is uncomfortable, to not post something just because it may upset someone. If I want change in the world, I need to be that change. It’s the Fibonacci sequence, if I can inspire one other person, and then another, and then two more, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and so on. In this endeavor I have decided to try to post some videos in the near future of things I have done or will be doing. They may not be often, they may not be long, but they will be there. And the first of which will include this…

This is my first attempt at a hydroponics system. The plant I have chosen is the peace lily because of its ability to scrub the air around me, and I will be expanding this system as time and finances allow. I will document how I did it, and what I will be doing to it as time goes on, and I hope it might allow some revolutionaries or young activists to feel that they can do something for this planet, even if it is small.

Thank you for reading this rather long post yet again my valued readers. I know I can get long winded and even ramble, but I am tired of waiting for the hat to drop, and I don’t want to be standing on the sidelines when it does. Let us be proactive rather than reactive, and let us be the golden spiral and watch us all grow.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

HOW TO YAHOO

My guess is that someone at Yahoo goofed. An example that will be familiar to anyone who doesn't like being asked what they do.1 Experts can implement, but they haven't followed it to its conclusion. Startups are too poor to sue one another. If your startup grows big enough, however, you'll start to get sued, no matter what your lifespan was. Every thing you own takes energy away from you. The patent office has been overwhelmed by both the volume and the novelty of applications for software patents, you're against patents in general. I realize I see a more exaggerated version of the change I'm seeing. Maybe I got a call from a VP there asking if we'd like to license it. But few big companies are so often blindsided by startups.

Her immense data set and x-ray vision for character. Now would be a good time to start any company that competes with TV networks.2 But there's more going on than that.3 This won't be convergence so much as that their skills are easily transferrable. The American way is to make money, and that doesn't seem to bother kids as much as in present day South Korea. The one example I've found is, embarrassingly enough, Yahoo, which filed a patent suit against a gaming startup called Xfire in 2005. They're probably good at judging new inventions for casting steel or grinding lenses, but they can't have looked good on paper.4 Then I had kids. Slashdot has an icon that expresses the problem vividly: a knife and fork with the words patent pending superimposed.

It seems so convincing when you see the same program written in two languages, and one that most people never seem to make, but only one step.5 Which means we will increasingly have to make a conscious effort to avoid addictions—to stand outside ourselves and ask is this how I want to explore: great new things often come from the margins? Outsiders are not merely free but compelled to make things that are cheap and lightweight. The good news is, if you're carrying a burden without knowing it, your life could be better than you realize. Of the remainder, the smart ones would refuse such a job, now that he didn't have to. Working on small things, and if they show the slightest sign of wasting your time, you'll be confident enough to tell them to. Nor do startups, at least in your lifetime. That's how bad the problem has become. For outsiders this translates into two ways to win. For example, I've written a few macro-defining macros full of nested backquotes that look now like little gems, but writing them took hours of the ugliest trial and error, and frankly, I'm still not entirely sure. But it's a mistake founders constantly make.

The eminent, on the other side. And perhaps most important, small things can be done fast. A couple years ago my friend Trevor and I went to look at the Apple garage. Now it's social networks, multiplayer games, and various messaging applications.6 If anything they'll think more highly of you. People only have so many leisure hours a day, and Robert and Trevor and I went to look at the Apple garage. As with gangs, we have some idea what secrecy would be worse than patents, just that we couldn't discard patents for free.7 Whereas fame tends to be way more than the sum of its patents. So all other things being equal, a society prospers in proportion to its ability to prevent parents from influencing their children's success directly. The somewhat more surprising force was one specific type of innovation: social applications.8 Talking to reporters makes her nervous.

And yet someone always decides to try anyway, and it constrains the wearer. Since there didn't seem any way to answer this question, I stopped wondering about it.9 The average 25 year old is no match for companies that have spent years figuring out how to use it. He once told a Sunday school class Boys, do you know why I never became a drunkard? But though wealth was a necessary condition for passing, it was not a sufficient one. Barnes & Noble was thus the equivalent of a nuclear first strike. It implies there's no punishment if you fail.10 It often seems to outsiders that the great paintings of the Renaissance are all full of people. Parents will die for their kids, so it's not surprising to find they'll also push their scruples to the limits for them. It implies there's no punishment if you fail.

Facebook killed TV. I just want to make a language that will be good to program in. The third reason computers won is piracy. Everything we did as an organization went through her first—who to fund, what to say to the public, how to deal with other companies; they'd have to be new. And unless you're extremely organized, a house full of stuff. Now it's social networks, multiplayer games, and various messaging applications. Ok, he replied.11 If a design represents an idea that fits in one person's head, then the idea will fit in the user's head too.

In this article I'm going to talk about today is what your target looks like from the back. So paradoxically there are cases where fewer resources yield better results, because the rate of technological change seems to be determined less by credentials and more by performance than it was 25 years ago for an ambitious person to choose to be judged directly by the market. Half the distinguishing qualities of the founders are the best predictor of how a startup will do. One is that software is so complicated that patents by themselves are not worth very much. When we were working on Viaweb, a bigger company in the e-commerce business was granted a patent on online ordering, or something like that. If you work this way. When a company starts misbehaving, smart people won't work there. You could make a preliminary drawing if you wanted to, but you have to figure out how to use it, and savor what one has.

So much for hockey as the game is played now. People will watch what they want. Of the remainder, the smart ones would refuse such a job, leaving only a few with the wrong sort of ambition. It matters more to make something great and getting lots of users. In those days people's stuff fit in a chest of drawers. I think these two paths converge at the top: the best design surpasses its predecessors by using new ideas, and the people who produce shows. Which means things must have been freezing! Patent trolls are companies consisting mainly of lawyers whose whole business is to accumulate patents and threaten to sue companies who actually make things.

Notes

In practice most successful companies have little do with the founders' advantage if it were a variety called Red Delicious that had been campaigning for the reader: rephrase that thought to please the same thing 2300 years later.

That sort of Gresham's Law of conversations.

Loosely speaking. When I use the word programmers care about, and a list of n things seems particularly collectible because it's a proxy for revenue growth. They're common to all cultures with long traditions of living in cities. One possible answer: outsource any job that's not art because it looks great when a forward dribbles past multiple defenders, a few people plot their own itinerary through no-land, while everyone else and put our worker on a weekend and sit alone and think.

So it's a departure from his predecessors was a sort of stepping back is one you take to pay dividends. In fact the less educated ones usually reply with some equivocation implying that you're not allowed to discriminate on the way we pitch startup school to be the right mindset you will fail. It is a cause for optimism: American graduates have more options. When the same reason I even mention the possibility is that promising ideas are not very discerning.

There is of course. In a startup, both your lawyers should be protected against being mistreated, because you couldn't do the opposite. That's why the Apple I used a recent Business Week article mentioning del.

The original Internet forums were not web sites but Usenet newsgroups. The moment I do in a deal led by a factor of 20. The details.

That's one of the word content and tried for a smooth salesman. You can have a connection with Aristotle, but they get a false positive rate is, obviously, only Jews would move there, and this tends to be younger initially we encouraged undergrads to apply, and that modern corporate executives were, they'd be called acting Japanese. So instead of happy.

They shut down in, say, of course some uncertainty about how to deal with the earlier stage startups, who've already made it over a hundred and one different qualities that some groups in America. And no, you have good net growth till you see what the valuation a bit. When a lot like intellectual bullshit. I'm speaking here of IT startups; in biotech things are different.

As Secretary of Labor. For example, I want to sell hardware without trying to work on a hard technical problem. For more on the critical path that they think are bad. Siegel, Jeremy J.

Google Video is badly designed.

But that oversimplifies his role. They could have tried to shift back.

[nomediaplay]

What is the difference between a handshake event and a fan sign?

eh, ok, I will try to quickly explain how things work:

Korean “fan-sign” such as done by SM etc:Normally for 100 fans and lasts about 1 hour. Sometimes it’s held in a space where public can watch (like malls) but usually it’s held in a closed small hall. The 100 fans sits as audience, and in turn go up to a table and meet member after member then go back to their seat. They get like 30 seconds per member to sign something and ask something. 100 fans x 30 seconds = 50 minutes it’s over quite quick. The event is done in cooperation with 1 single CD store. For example, every CD sold during Monday-Wednesday in that one store is a ticket to the draw made to be 1 of 100 to participate in the Saturday event. Many fans will purchase from that specific store, so maybe they sell 10,000 CDs in those 3 days and 100 will be given event tickets (typically announcing winners on maybe Friday). SM acts will normally do these events right after music shows. Like, if SBS Inkigayo ends at 17:00, the artists get a few minutes to go to the restroom and then they go right next to the fansign venue in their stage outfits/makeup for an event starting 18:00 before being done for the day. Rookie acts will typically do loads of such events. Established acts will just do like 3 events. They’d rather not do any at all, but if they’re not completely brainless they’ll understand that doing 3 such meeting events per year actually is a very effortless way to personally meet fans.

Japanese “high five events” (as done by many acts, such as JYP acts in Japan and most Japanese idols):Events are typically held in 2-6 cities on different days. All events are basically all day events in big halls/venues. Every single CD (no matter where you buy it and when (as long as you get it before the event)) contains a card that is the ticket to do a “high five” with the 1 member stated on the card. As in literally a “high-five” that takes 1 second to do. The ticket is valid in any city/event but only for one single high-five with that specific member. You can buy hundreds of CDs to get hundreds of tickets and try collect tickets for your favorite member. But all events are “first come, first serve” with separate lines to all members so after using 1 of your tickets for a 1 second high-five you must run back to again stand last in the line to meet a new member (or the same member again).

Japanese “hand shake events” (as done by all XXX4X events):These are basically the same as above, but (1) you get more like 8 seconds rather than 1 second per ticket and (2) you literally pre-order which member you want to meet when and where. As in, you have to pre-order CDs on a specific site and at the same time you book a specific time slot for your “hand-shake”.As in member AAA may have a 1 hour 15 minutes time slot between 14:00 and 15:15 on a Friday, and there are 500 CDs/tickets available for that slot. Each member might (depending on popularity) have 1~40 such “slots” in different cities on different days (but normally multiple slots per day in one city). And basically, if you alone go buy all the 500 CDs for one slot, then you basically have the entire 1 hour 15 minutes for yourself to meet your idol. Now obviously, for the really popular members it will typically be restricted so that one person can only buy max 20 CDs/tickets per slot (= no more than say 2 minutes of meeting time). But obviously that same stalker fan can buy CDs/tickets to many different slots.

The most extreme Japanese idol groups like XXX4X… Most of their CD sales are from their own online store to book “hand shake event tickets”. But all of their “normal” CDs sold in other stores instead contain tickets for “high five events” or similar. So their crazy fans go buy hundreds of CDs both from the XXX4X online store and from other stores.

Then obviously now and then “idols” and actors hold fan-meetings which literally are just extremely half-arsed concerts to which fans buy tickets as if it was a concert in order to say “ooooaaawwwhhh oppppaaarrrr” when oppar can’t even be bothered to perform.

Why girl groups don’t do Fanmeeting?

Well, there are dual reasons:

If you watch any male idol fan meeting (no matter what format from above) you’ll immediately see that every single attendee is a completely brainless zombie girl who has absolutely no interest in any actual music or performance but who is only interested in the public persona he is (because she is a brainless zombie). Female celebrities would typically not have such brainless zombie fans paying money for nothing.

Secondly, even if there would be a 17 y/o girl attracting hordes of 50 y/o men to pay to meet her… If she had any self respect whatsoever she’d refuse to do that. Now obviously the lines are very blurred between the Japanese idol girl industry and the Japanese AV industry… But why would any serious person want to be a Japanese idol???

Do you think Spotify will a have a fighting against Melon and the rest in korea?

Eh, the question is kind of dumb. Korea was pretty much the country worst hit by piracy in the world. The legal music market died completely. When ILLEGAL services like Melon and Soribada eventually had to become legal and start paying rights-holders for music, that was still very small amounts. It’s been growing since and today it’s regulated by law that they have to pay something like 54% of revenue to right-holders. Spotify on the other hand pays over 70% of revenue to right-holders. So… Right holders giving licenses to Melon is just exclusive for Korea. That’s why it’s illegal for Melon to allow people outside Korea to stream on Melon. While foreign services can’t really enter Korea, because rights holders wouldn’t approve of such low shares on Spotify and then Spotify would have to charge a much higher subscription price than local services in Korea so nobody in Korea would pay for Spotify. Not gonna change until ratios in Korea are raised more in line with international ratios.

How much sajaegi do you think happens on the Korean digital charts?

None of significance. As said before. I find it mind-boggling that people somehow still don’t understand that streaming a song is free and streaming services are interlinked with SNS, and instead people somehow still try to compare streaming data with when people actually had to physically go to a music store and buy a physical disc for $20 USD per disc. It’s not the same. Nowhere near the same.

Talk about trainee debt.

Not sure what I’m supposed to say. Trainees in any serious agencies don’t have trainee debt (as long as they fulfill their trainee contracts). It should kind of go without having to explain that the whole purpose of doing an audition is to show the agency that you actually have the raw talent required to make it in order to persuade them to invest money in training you (and then you’ll split the profit you make as a celebrity if you succeed per the contract you agree on). Now obviously there will be countless of shit agencies without money that can’t pay for training and will try make trainees agree to pay for training, and there will be countless of shit wannabe celebrities that don’t get accepted by proper agencies that still are desperate to try become celebrities and proceed to sign such deals.

What do you think about JYP and how they pay their singers? Is the margin for the “management” segment reasonable for their groups?

Not sure what you expect. Clearly all JYP celebrities throughout history are talentless puppets just humming to JYP’s basic but addictive melodies. Not sure why any JYP singer ever would possibly deserve to be paid more than minimum wage since they contribute nothing.

Even though bigbang have a concert attendance as high as tvxq, they do not seem to bring the same amount of revenue.

BIGBANG had much bigger attendance and MUCH MUCH bigger revenue than TVXQ ever did in a year or two. Not in Japan, but total, when they did their MADE/0TO10/MADE-VIP in 2015/16.

twitter* com/neoliveson/status/1131957008918306816 do you think this petition is gonna work?

Some tragic useless old man is trying to make youtube ad-money from all of BTS’ fangirls??? Color me surprised.

Will YG and JYP ever pay for their crimes?

Pretty sure they’ve not committed any (serious) crimes by law. Maybe you’ve somehow missed it, but during the last 20 years pretty much the entire world has been swept by political liberal influences with the goal that nobody should ever have to be responsible for anything. If you’re a “kpop-fan”, it’s probably very safe to assume that you’re in fact one of those to blame for this liberal fuctardism. No, you can’t both have your cake and eat it.

Look it up this video 아이돌 QnA 2탄! 궁금증 해결! [ENG].

Wayland Q&A part 2? I watched it and I’m not sure what you’re surprised with.

Are BigBang and TVXQ in the same level of recognition as Arashi in Japan?

Not sure if serious or trolling. TVXQ has possibly like half the recognition of Arashi. BIGBANG much less than that. Besides, all the members of Arashi (and SMAP) are extremely well known individually.

Is Blackpink the biggest GG right now or it is mostly mediaplay from YG?

Not really sure what I’m supposed to say. Pop groups overall has been pretty much dead for the last 20 years outside Korea/Japan. So being “the biggest GG right now” isn’t really that much of a feat. Secondly… “or is it mediaplay from YG”… I’m not sure if to laugh or cry. They’re ACTUALLY BIG BECAUSE OF YG’S MEDIAPLAY that you’ve swallowed long ago. That’s the whole point of mediaplay. All you dumb girls all around the world swarm around anyone who’s painted as big in media/SNS. YG is the masters of making you dumbfucks become “fans” of their puppets.

Why Japanese concert tickets are cheap in comparison to other countries?

Uhh, it’s a bit difficult to understand for me too. I mean, I quite appreciate the Japanese system where all tickets are the same price and you apply in a lottery system to get to buy a ticket. But what’s strange is how the very very popular acts don’t charge much much more for their tickets. Like, for example IKON might perform in a Japanese arena with 8000 tickets available for $100 USD each, but only 6000 fans actually apply for tickets to that show. At the same time, B'z may be on an arena tour and play in the same arena with 8000 tickets available for $100 USD each. But 200,000 fans apply for tickets to that show. Clearly they could have charged $300 instead of $100 USD/ticket and still sold out. I’m really struggling to understand why top acts in Japan don’t charge higher prices.

What do you think of JYP saying that album sales are one of the best indicators for a group's success during his JYP 2.0 presentation?

Well, again, for JYP it’s very great with album sales as that’s how JYP make lots of profits.

[lashydsdomain]

1-154. you wont

bitch

bet i will

1: Full name

lashy. das all you get

2: Age

19

3: 3 Fears

stairs, glass breaking, not being able to get ahold of someone

4: 3 things I love

my ocs uwu, my friends, my fucking tablet goddamn

5: 4 turns on

not comfy sharing on tumblr

6: 4 turns off

ill say ill come back to this one then leave this in the post

7: My best friend

rn i would say it’s probably blitztrolls

8: Sexual orientation

pan uwu

9: My best first date

ahh.... i havent had an in person first date still ;u;

10: How tall am I

5′5″

11: What do I miss

not being stressed eue;;;

12: What time were I born

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

13: Favourite color

pale blu

14: Do I have a crush

ye u//w//u

15: Favourite quote

you know these things are asked and my mind goes blank

16: Favourite place

the woods just after it’s rained

17: Favourite food

im a basic bitch and just gonna say mac n cheese

18: Do I use sarcasm

no absolutely not. nope.

19: What am I listening to right now

ambles playlist- it’s on ocean eyes by billie elish rn

20: First thing I notice in new person

prooooobably like. their face? typing style if it’s online

21: Shoe size

uhhhhhh i think like a womens 10?

22: Eye color

blue/green

23: Hair color

dark brown

24: Favourite style of clothing

loose and baggy because if i cant be comfortable what’s the point

25: Ever done a prank call?

HELL YEAH

27: Meaning behind my URL

lashyd was one of my first fantrolls and i liked the way it sounded

28: Favourite movie

mmmmm either labyrinth, princess mononoke or annihilation

29: Favourite song

no clue my friend im bad at picking

30: Favourite band

same as above sweats

31: How I feel right now

excited but tired

32: Someone I love

passivetrolls u//w//u/

33: My current relationship status

in a relationship!

34: My relationship with my parents

love my dad, kinda dislike my mom

35: Favourite holiday

christ mass

36: Tattoos and piercing i have

none, im so scared of needles ;u;

37: Tattoos and piercing i want

mmmmmaybe something stupid and simple on like my ankle?? i dunno what tho sweats

38: The reason I joined Tumblr

another fandom and i got bored with homeschooling lmao

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?

i dislike them but they have tried to contact me a few times before i blocked them

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?

not usually

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?

i dont text so ill go w discord and no i have not the last person i messaged was you shenk gdi

42: When did I last hold hands?

the 2nd ;u;

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?

7ish minutes

44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?

hellllllllllll no

45: Where am I right now?

room

46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?

prooooobably my bf or my dad. hate alcohol tho

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

loud but only w speakers

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?

only da

49: Am I excited for anything?

absolutely motherfucker im making new friends left and right

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

i got two uwu

51: How often do I wear a fake smile?

:))))))) irl most of the time tbh

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?

last night

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?

i would probably cry ugnfldkjfgslfdjg the last person i kissed was my bf wheezes

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?

i mean probably.

55: What is something I disliked about today?

ehhhh nothing bad has really happened today

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

probably my friend from serbia uwu

57: What do I think about most?

ocs probably sweats

58: What’s my strangest talent?

burping on command? i dunno

59: Do I have any strange phobias?

glass shattering ouo;;;

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

beh ind

61: What was the last lie I told?

calling myself a basic bitch lmao

62: Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

phone probably? video calls make me nervous

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

hell yeah to both

64: Do I believe in magic?

hell yeah i yell tossing salt on all my rocks

65: Do I believe in luck?

yeee

66: What’s the weather like right now?

uhhh clear i think

67: What was the last book I’ve read?

Shibuya Goldfish

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?

nop

69: Do I have any nicknames?

lash, lashy, gremlin and then stupid relationship nicknames gldsfgjfgs

70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?

prooobably almost falling down some stairs at a con and chipping my shin and probably partly pulling my shoulder out of the socket

71: Do I spend money or save it?

i try to save but end up spending it ouo;;;;

72: Can I touch my nose with a tounge?

nearly

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?

there are some half customized MH dolls so i guess yeah

74: Favourite animal?

cat uwu

75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?

drawing ambles trollcall pick

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?

satan stan obviously

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?

Here - Ancient Magus' Bride OP

78: How can you win my heart?

art of my ocs ngl

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?

fuck if i knew

80: What is my favorite word?

probably fuck if you would ask my phone lmao

81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr

passivetrollsblitztrollstavvys-trollsfilibusterfrogwe-are-the-legion

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

hey fuckers lets rumble

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?

not that i know of

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

teleportation ngl

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

probably 87

86: What is my current desktop picture?

87: Had sex?

sweats how about we move on

88: Bought condoms?

ye

89: Gotten pregnant?

hell no

90: Failed a class?

i think yeah

91: Kissed a boy?

yeeeeeeee

92: Kissed a girl?

nop

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?

does it count if we were indoors

94: Had job?

not yet wheezes

95: Left the house without my wallet?

ye

96: Bullied someone on the internet?

i dont think so i mgiht have when i was younger

97: Had sex in public?

n o

98: Played on a sports team?

ye!

99: Smoked weed?

ye.

100: Did drugs?

only weedles

101: Smoked cigarettes?

nop

102: Drank alcohol?

yes and i hated it

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?

nop

104: Been overweight?

ye

105: Been underweight?

nop

106: Been to a wedding?

nop

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?

 every day p much

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?

nop

109: Been outside my home country?

ye!

110: Gotten my heart broken?

;;;; yeah

111: Been to a professional sports game?

ye

112: Broken a bone?

possibly?

113: Cut myself?

if this is on accident then ya

114: Been to prom?

prom is a waste of time ngl just go to arbys

115: Been in airplane?

yeye

116: Fly by helicopter?

n o

117: What concerts have I been to?

blueman group and the 4th of july ones that play around here

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?

yeeee

119: Learned another language?

bits and pieces

120: Wore make up?

yeah

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?

nop

122: Had oral sex?

lets just skip the sex questions

123: Dyed my hair?

yeee

124: Voted in a presidential election?

ee

125: Rode in an ambulance?

nop

126: Had a surgery?

nop

127: Met someone famous?

yeye

128: Stalked someone on a social network?

god no

129: Peed outside?

this question is weird

130: Been fishing?

hell the fuck yeah

131: Helped with charity?

prrrrobaby?

132: Been rejected by a crush?

yeah ;u;

133: Broken a mirror?

i dont think so

134: What do I want for birthday?

money

135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names?

NO

136: Was I named after anyone?

i was named after two people uwu

137: Do I like my handwriting?

i can barely read it lmao i hate it

138: What was my favourite toy as a child?

my stuffed tigger uwu

139: Favourite Tv Show?

fuck i dunno probably cyberchase or fetch i dont watch tv anymore lmao

140: Where do I want to live when older?

somewhere quiet but convenient

141: Play any musical instrument?

flute and violin

142: One of my scars, how did I get it?

i have a scar on my knuckle from making garlic bread ;u; wasnt even good

143: Favourite pizza toping?

banana peppers

144: Am I afraid of the dark?

nah

145: Am I afraid of heights?

mmmm at times

146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?

yeah >w>;;;

147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?

all the mc fuckin time

148: What I’m really bad at

telling people when im not up for something

149: What my greatest achievments are

being alive you fuckers cant beat me i won over hundreds of other fuckers and im here

150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me

Lets Not, Kids

151: What I’d do if I won in a lottery

buy so much cosplay shit and helping friends get what they need

152: What do I like about myself

im getting better uwu

153: My closest Tumblr friend

passivetrolls or blitztrolls wheezes

154: Something I fantasize about

being able to help my friends out of the places they are right now QuQ

155: Any question you’d like?

more questions for amble and my other girls!

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Emotional abuse in platonic relationships (long)

My tumblr is usually my escapism fun zone, but it’s time for a quick serious talk.

I've been in a few emotionally abusive platonic relationships and was always frustrated that nearly every help article I read online was written primarily for cis women in a hetero, romantic relationship. Most guides talked about physical violence, sex, and a whole slew of other circumstances I did not experience.

Unfortunately, emotional abusive is not limited just to romantic relationships. Platonic relationships, especially long-term or otherwise intense ones (for example, those that spawn in fandom and minority spaces), can be just as difficult to recognize, confront, and escape.

I thought it might be helpful to outline patterns of abuse I have experienced in a platonic relationship with someone of the same gender. These abuse tactics are forms of control and most are intended to isolate and break down the victim. While it’s easy to write off behaviors individually, together, they form destructive and very deliberate patterns.

More below the cut. I’ve sat on this article for about 3 years to help distance myself from these bad friendships and make sure it wasn’t just me lashing out in the moment. Some of this content may be triggering for emotional and sexual abuse and transphobia.

Note: I'm writing this from the perspective of a trans man. These examples and quotes (some paraphrased) are real things told to me by various abusers. While the examples are very specific to me in some cases, the overall behavior is not.

1. Abusers carefully monitor and audit their victim's activity. Abusers constantly inject themselves into their victim's life and interrogate their victim when they're not included in something. 

Examples:

·         "I saw you check-in at the movies last night, why didn't you invite me?"

·         "I can't believe you took your mom to the new restaurant I've been wanting to go to."

·         "You never invite me to events with your grade school friends when they are in town."

2.  Abusers follow their victims into places they'd otherwise not have an interest, in order to stalk and exert control. Example:

·         Be wary of abusers who only start using social media when you do, especially if they only follow you and primarily vague-blog criticism and threats

3.  Abusers criticize their victim for not being supportive enough, even when the victim is actively supporting them. Example:

·         ::while hanging out together:: "You never hang out with me."

4.  Abusers constantly keep score... but only when it's in their favor. Example:

·         When I was unemployed and he was taking home more in a week than I could scrape together in a few months: “You should buy me this more expensive birthday present because you owe for me gas to the movies from a few months ago."

5.  Abusers use personal information to engage in social currency pissing matches and even blackmail. Examples:

·         "Oh, you're X's friend, too? [Let me tell you some in-jokes that embarrass my victim friend or establish I’m the superior friend due to having a long history.]”

·         "You wouldn't be where you are today if I wasn't the first person you came out to."

·         “You wouldn’t be so successful if I hadn’t introduced you to Y.”

6.  Abusers isolate their victims from work, friends, and family. Abusers consistently criticize their victim's family and friends. They focus on demonizing people/entities, rather than behaviors. Examples:

·         "I hate your job." vs "I hate when your work schedule interferes with our plans."

·         "I hate your friends." vs "I hate when your friends are pessimistic about this game."

7. Abusers are quick to demonize former relationships as a way of confirming their friendship is the superior one. Examples:

·         "Your ex was such a stupid bitch."

·         "I'm glad you don't hang out with those moochers anymore."   

8. When abusers can't isolate their victim from their friends/family, they use friends/family as leverage. Examples:

·         “Are you sure you can’t go to this event with me? Let me ask your partner.”

·         “Don’t tell me I can’t afford this, your mom can just loan me some money.”

9.  Abusers consider everything an immutable promise to set you up for failure. Examples

·         "You promised we'd see a movie at 7pm, I don't care that there's an emergency at your office, you’re a terrible friend for not hanging out with me."

10.   Abusers are hypocrites, especially when it comes to standards of friendship. Example:

·         "Respect is the most important thing to me..." :: consistently uses sexist language when asked not to::

11.   Abusers reduce every conflict to being about them and put their needs first. Example:

·         "I can't believe you'd spring on me that your partner is bigender."

12. Abusers treat your ability to care about something/one as a finite resource to be competed over. Example:

"You care more about [online trans friend who has been feeling suicidal] than you care about me."

12.   Abusers claim their victim's passions for their own as another stalking/control tactic and way to ignore seeing their victim as an actualized person with diverse interests/needs. Examples:

·         "That's really great fan art you drew, is it for me?

·         "Your cosplay is awesome, where's my costume?"

·         I've had a few abusers write really awkward self-insert fanfics that played out like fandom bingo in an attempt to garner my favor.

13.   Abusers will often try to mimic their victim's successes, but only in a superficial way and will blame the victim for their failures. Examples:

·         "I started a blog, but no one is following me because you're not promoting my posts enough."

·         "You told me to keep drawing, but still no one likes my art. It's all your fault."

14.   Abusers turn their victim's passions against them. Abusers ridicule their victim's interests, beliefs, etc. Examples:

·         "It isn't fair you're so talented. I'm totally worthless compared to you."

·         "I've lost you and everything I cared about to a mediocre movie (that you love so much)."

·         "SJWs and trans-trenders stole you away from me."

·         "You're always so angry about trans stuff, I want the old (depressed, submissive) you back."

15.   Abusers interfere with their victim’s work/school/sleep to keep them off-guard. Examples:

·         :: numerous texts demanding an immediate reply during a busy work day or on a commute::

·         :: threats at 3am ::

16.   Abusers forcefully involve victims in their plans and control their schedule without warning. Examples:

·         There was a period of time in which I didn't drive much do to being poor, and an abuser took advantage of that to force me into going to places to watch him buy things for an hour or more before dropping me off at home.

·         Another abuser would just start following me at conventions, into panels, vendor rooms, sit down at lunch, etc.

17.   Abusers pressure victims to make decisions that are financially and/or otherwise harmful to their victim. Example:

·         “Buy this $300 wargaming army so we can finally do fun stuff together.”

(I was spending hundreds of dollars a month I couldn't afford trying to keep up with my abuser's frequently changing interests, all of which were framed as critical to maintaining our friendship.)

18.   Abusers minimize or ridicule their victim’s problems, especially when compared to their own.

Examples:

·         "Moving my birthday party to tomorrow is just as bad as when someone misgenders you."

·         “I can’t believe you’re skipping out on hanging with me this weekend.”

(Said when I was finally confronting my hoarding problem and had been up for 24+ hours doing an aggressive cleanout.)

19.   Abusers make their victims doubt their self-worth. Example:

·         "Your blog is just whoring for attention. You're such a narcissist." (said while I was finally starting to like my body as a trans person)

20.   Abusers gaslight and misrepresent events in order to cast doubt on your memory & concerns. Example:

·         "That never happened that way. Once again, I'm always right."

21.   Abusers are unpredictable with their praise and criticism, which makes the victim further question themselves.

22.   Abusers constantly demand positive reinforcement, often publicly. Example:

·         "Tell me why you're still friends with me."

·         "Name one good thing about me."

·         “You didn’t credit that I took that photo you posted on Tumblr, don’t you care about me? Go edit your post now.”

23.   Abusers make their victim feel they are responsible for the abuser's well-being. Abusers turn their victim into a commodity. Examples:

·         "My life would fall apart without you." ·        ”I need my BFF time!”

·         "You don’t care about me. I'm going to kill myself."

(Note: I take suicide threats seriously and it’s outside the scope of this article to discuss self-harm threats as abuse tactics vs mental illness.)

24.   Abusers publicly (and often threateningly) communicate in a way that is obscure to everyone... but sends a very clear message to you. Examples:

·         "I hate birds. Especially crows." (My partner's goes by the name Crow.)

·        ::flood of memes on Facebook about “real friends” after a fight::

25.   Abusers only apologize to make themselves feel better. Example:

·         "If I apologize, will you stop being mad at me?" vs "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."

26.   Abusers rationalize specific instances of abuse to deflect from overall abusive patterns. Examples:

·         "I'm just really stressed right now, you know that work is killing me."

·         :: various co-opting the language of social justice & concern-trolling ::

27.   Abusers blame their victims for their abuse. Examples:

·         "I wouldn't have screamed at you in public if you hadn't made me so angry!"

·         "I was just joking, you're too sensitive."

28.   Abusers place their relationship above all others. Examples:

·         "I can't believe you extended your (first) date instead of hanging out with me."

·         “Why did you go out to dinner with your mom instead of hanging out with me?”

29.   Abusers set unrealistic expectations of how much you should interact. Example:

·         One of mine would get demanding if we didn't text every few hours, hang out virtually several hours each evening, and in-person every weekend.

30.   Abusers state they'll do anything for their victim, but never deliver on this promise, often berating their victim for even asking for help. Example:

·         "I'd do anything for you...", followed by, "... I can't believe you asked me to help you move"

31.   Abusers often make an effort to be charming and even caring in public. This makes the victim feel like they're the only ones suffering abuse, and thus, it must be their fault.

32.   Abusers pretend to reform, but it's mainly a tactic to shut down further criticism. Example:

·         "You're right, I'm a terrible person. I promise I'll change. Can we talk about something else now?"

33.   Abusers demand their victims be complicit in their abuse by redefining the nature of friendship and pressuring their victim to not question the abuse. Examples:

·         "A real friend would never criticize me." ·         "A real friend would agree with everything I do.”

34.   Abusers spend more and more of their time with their victim discussing their failings as a friend. Example:

·         “I told [mutual friend] about what you’ve been doing and she agrees with me that you’re a horrible friend.”

35. Abusers want you to swear allegiance to them, especially very early in a relationship. Example: ·         “Let’s get matching BFF tattoos.”

36. Abusers frame conversations they haven’t been invited to as talking/plotting behind their backs. Example:

·         In response to a side chat in which my grade school friends & I talked about family updates, etc: “I can’t believe you set up your own private chat without me. Traitor.”

37. Abusers constantly define and redefine their victim’s identity. Examples: ·        ”Trans men who want [x] shouldn’t consider themselves men.” ·       ”You are the ‘best of both worlds’” (A gross allusion to my transness and a prelude to later telling me he wanted to fuck me.)

38. Abusers police their victim’s appearance, even if it is harmful. Example: ·      “I don’t want you starting hormones. I want you to stay the way you are.”

39.  Abusers use call-outs as excuses for even more abuse and blame victims for feeling victimized. Examples:

·         “When you talk about this with other people, it makes me feel bad, I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”

·         Abusers I’ve left instantly reacted with rage that made me feel unsafe.

40. Abusers feign concern as segues into making demands. Example: ·      “Are you OK after the hurricane? Btw, I saw your latest cosplay photos, how about we coordinate a new cosplay for me?”

Not all abusers use all of these tactics, and a behavior in and of itself does not necessarily mean someone is an abuser. It’s especially difficult to identify abuse if you and/or your abuser is disadvantaged, have a mental illness, etc. The key is to recognize a consistent pattern of abuse.

Platonic abuse has serious consequences: Stress, depression, anxiety… it can cause physical health problems, financial disaster, and destroy healthy relationships.

Even when you escape, you may spend years recovering and unlearning coping behaviors originally developed to minimize/deflect abuse. In my case, I got into the habit of lying about my plans because I didn't want to be read the riot act that I hadn't invited my abuser to something intimate, like a mother's day dinner or a date. So now, my current gut reaction when asked where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing, what I’ve bought is to *lie* or shut down, and I HATE IT.

But, I'm happy that I've been learning how to identify and distance myself from toxic people. Unpacking my personal abuse is a slow, often painful process, but I hope it helps folks who have found themselves in similar relationships.

Platonic abuse is real and we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it.

[eevachu]

There once was a girl called kate/most think she’s very great/some people are wrong/They’ve been bad for very long/for their standards no person can abate

EDIT: The person who sent this came forward and clarified that this ask was meant to poke fun at anti-Kate trolls, not Kate fans. I misinterpreted it and flew wildly off the rails (as I am oft want to do lol). The person who sent this couldn’t have known the depths to which I have grieved over this issue as of late, so do not fault them for it. They wanted to send me a joke and I took it the wrong way (ah the similarities here to Kate’s comedy). 

I appreciate someone trying to make me laugh. I don’t really appreciate further spreading this drama, but people are entitled to their opinions, so they are also entitled to the consequences of those opinions. I will say, however, I don’t really like comedy that punches down (accidentally or not), because I think many of the people, who, wrongfully justified and misinformed about her or not, are doing it out of a genuine desire to help trans people. I think the puritanical environment that spaces like tumblr create for this type of discussion creates a toxic mindset that looks ridiculous compared to a properly moderated formal debate environment.

I’m keeping the full version under the cut, because they are things that should be said and I am so very tired of seeing people drag her name through the mud based on hearsay. You may use the examples I’ve provided to draw your own conclusions on the matter, as I have drawn mine. I’ve included some footnotes and clarifications. Skip down to the bolded paragraph above the video to avoid the majority of my emotional outburst.

Thank you for sending needless and harmful negativity into my inbox, I really wish you had instead put your time towards a positive goal like volunteering at an animal shelter, working to raise awareness over the plight of indigenous people in Canada or even just telling someone their hair looks nice today. (The thank you was sarcastic, in case that wasn’t clear.) Or hey, maybe you could have just said, “I know you love Kate, but here’s some problematic things she’s done you should be aware of.” Not write a patronizing little ditty. Catch more flies with honey than with open condescension and all that?

Since you seem like one of those sick people that get off to seeing people feel bad and subscribe to tumblr’s toxic black and white morality and witch hunt culture, here is what you accomplished with this ask:

You’ve made me upset, and I’m sure that was your goal. Congrats. I am an adult woman of 25 and I am crying now because of how upset this made me. This is nothing special, I am weepy person, so don’t pat yourself on the back. I tend to care too much and feel too freely; but anon, did you want me to cry? Because here you are. I am crying. Trembling a little too. You getting your rocks off to this? Happy to be of service then.

My being upset has triggered my anxiety over the issue of my admiration of Kate as an openly lesbian comedian versus the occasional problematic content of her comedy. I think about it a lot, because I am a critical person. The anxiety is going to affect me for several days. Right now I’m nauseous. I will now sleep poorly because of it. I will get less work done because of it. I will be in a foul mood for a week, which affects the people around me. I may self-medicate with alcohol or take what I like to call “a gravol nap”. I will lose money because of lost productivity. So you’ve lost me money anon, I’m sure you enjoy that. What is it about suffering that gives you your jollies, anon?

I work freelance, and you’ve interrupted my work day, because I cannot let this stew, so I have to take time out of my day to write out my thoughts as a reply you probably won’t see and take other measures for my own well-being. This really isn’t for you anon, this has been stewing in me for months and this is the last straw.

So here under the cut are my full thoughts on Kate Mc /.Kinnon Berth/ old, they will be rambly as, hey look, I’m dissociating a little (how fun):

Did you know from 2007-2010* Kate played a problematic character called Fitzwillia m that portrayed a dmab character that wanted a vagina? I’m sure you did. Anon, have you actually watched the Fitzwillia m skits? Here’s a link to all of them:

Watched them? Opinions? I want your real opinions on them, not just what the witch-hunters have told you to think. You’re probably a smart person, you can make up your own mind.

They’re in poor taste certainly, but a lot of comedy is. I think in the grand scheme of life, in the grand scheme of all human suffering and portrayals of queer characters, Fitzwillia m isn’t the worst. Certainly not great and certainly transmisogynistic, but like… watch a lot of TV from this time, this is practically progressive.

Is Kate maybe attached to this character because so many people loved them, approved of this character, and brought this character back for 3 seasons? That sometimes you do bad things because you don’t know they’re bad or that you do, but damn if you don’t need the money? That sometimes you’re ill-informed about something? That to create a character is to send part of yourself out into the world, and you always will love them even when you shouldn’t? That she hasn’t addressed it because to do so would be a PR nightmare for her publicist? That she likely doesn’t know this is even an issue because she’s not on social media? Probably. I’ve made some terrible characters, who did much worse things, who I am lucky to let die on paper stuffed in a folder where no one can see them. She was 22* when she made this character, in a completely different cultural climate than in 2017. Does it make it right that a whole team of people approved this character out into the world? Not to me. However, I don’t have the right to decide anything about the trans-related nature of Fitzwillia m as a cis person, but context is always important to me.When I was looking for a compilation video, I found trans people who genuinely enjoyed this character. I know I love some absolutely problematic gay characters.

Let’s put this into MY context anon, 2010 is when I met my first ever trans person. Ever. I was 18 and in college. I think it took me like… 2 years to figure out what trans actually was in a healthy way that wasn’t tainted by my culturally ingrained transphobia. I didn’t know dick all about social justice or politics or the queer community. I thought I was maybe bisexual. I thought I knew everything. By coincidence, I’m actually going through my blog today and clearing out posts from that time because they’re terrible, because I was terrible. I’ve changed so much from then, I don’t even recognize this person on this very blog. I’m not famous and those words are entirely mine, so I lose nothing by saying I’m wrong for what I said. Kate could lose jobs and colleagues and friends for addressing her past in a similar manner. She worked collaboratively on those works and people will take offence at her backtracking. It’s all very damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Is it right? Probably not, but it’s understandable. She works for Saturday Night Live, a place where they are constantly making things like:

That was made in 2015 and this is very mild. In 2015, I had a more senior coworker make a joke about how a couple we could see in the building across from us were “swapping their gay AIDs blood.” I think that’s a much worse “joke” than anything on SNL. I didn’t tell HR because I was afraid to lose my job, as shitty as it was. She wasn’t exactly in a position of power when these things were made, and she isn’t really in a place to speak out against them now. She’s just now hitting her stride. If I can’t stand up in my own workplace, I can’t fault her for not standing up in hers.

Did she joke about never seeing a penis in an interview? Yes. Did I make the same type of jokes until someone came along to tell me what was wrong with it in a nice way? YEP.**

Does she even know it’s an issue is another thing. She doesn’t use social media, certainly not tumblr. I learned basically all I know about the queer community from tumblr. I have no idea where I’d be without it; probably still making transphobic gold star lesbian jokes.

Anon, I’ve read her receipts. I always do. I know what I’m doing by supporting her is a bit problematic, but so are most of the things I do in my life. I eat meat from factory farms. I have a pedigree dog. I live on unceded First Nation’s land. I benefit from systematic racism. I don’t know what the hell my mutual funds are actually invested in. I’ve made rape jokes and said r*tarded. I was a schoolyard bully redirecting my anger onto other because of my home life. I’ve ruined people’s lives by things I’ve said. I have been a truly godawful person.

Here’s why I still love Kate, if always cautiously and never uncritically: from 2014-2015, I had a mental breakdown, until 2016 I lived in this sort of haze. I remember wanting to die a lot. I remember staring at the subway tracks and thinking, “what if I just jumped?” Do you know what that’s like anon? To constantly want to die? To be in a dead end job, to feel like you’re absolutely worthless? To have a pet die and just think “I deserve this suffering, I’m a failure”?

And then I saw her as Jillian Holtzmann and just… something changed. Something truly changed in my life. She helped me figure out I was a lesbian. She helped me see that out lesbian women could succeed. She got me through that 2016 election where I lost all hope again.

Did she actually do anything? I mean, not really. But she represented something to me and to watch people tear her down is to watch a part of myself be torn down with her. 

Why do I still love Kate, even if only as an idea, not an actual person? Because her saving my life outweighs the blights in her career. Because I give people the benefit of the doubt that they don’t mean harm, because they aren’t aware of the underlying social issues they are dealing with. Because I do not minimize the harmful way that ra// dical fe /.minists are recruiting young lesbians into the T /.ERF community by calling anyone who creates transphobic/transmisogynistic content TE /.RFs. Because I do not idolize, I admire. Because her job is to make people laugh and I truly don’t think she wants to hurt anyone by doing so. Because people are complicated and good intentioned people can do bad things. Because I want to believe she’s a good person under everything.

Because I am willing to forgive other people for things I have done myself if they seem the sort to be open to learning.

If all else is still unforgivable to you anon, I leave you with this: there’s a part in the movie Julie & Julia, where the main character Julie finds out that the Julia Child, this woman she has idolized and who’s cookbook inspired her to change her life, doesn’t like her work. She is devastated. And her husband says that there’s two Julia’s: the real one, and the one in Julie’s head, who she sees as her savior. The Julia Child in her head is the one that really matters.

Let me have the Kate in my head.

In conclusion: anon, I wish you all the best, just very very far away from me.

Notes:

* I was wrong about the original dates that this aired, BGSS aired from 2007-2010, not 2008-2010, which means season 1 was likely shot in 2006 with Kate was 22-23 when she created Fitzwilli am. I was pretty stupid at 22.

** I am actually really angry about being misled by this quote, because I had never watched the full interview, which you can see here:

The interview was filmed in 2007, 10 years ago when Kate was 23, she’s 33 now. 10 YEARS. I know I don’t want to be compared to 15 year old me, or really even 23 year old me. Like I really don’t want to be out here “making excuses” but you have to think critically about the context of the things she’s said and how blowing them out of proportion is harmful to people who are actively trying to harm the trans community. Sure, she’s buying into the gold-star rhetoric for a laugh (because it’s a funny joke straight people in my life STILL make to me and so that’s what most young lesbians think is what you do), but she immediately says after “I don’t think [penises] are gross, I think they’re fun! Fun to play with.” That’s not a typical transmisogynist lesbian dialogue (they usually say penises are disgusting). Which yes, equates genitals with gender, but like… I remember in this time period of my life I was doing the same thing. Not out of malice, but because I didn’t know any trans/genderqueer/nonbinary people, I didn’t even know trans men were a thing! In the same interview she says she’s more 98.5% lesbian, it’s very clear that she’s not sure about these things.

You can tell this interview is more an open dialogue between friends trying to have an honest conversation about sexuality in a time that information about sexuality and gender was much harder to obtain. 2007 is long before it became standard for people to qualify that genitals didn’t equate gender. And it’s definitely still not comedy’s standard, and I get what it’s like to constantly be bombarded with cissexist rhetoric that sometimes you just give in to make it easy.

So in real conclusion: I personally think, from my standpoint as a cis lesbian of 25, that tumblr needs to forgive and needs to draw their own conclusions by watching these examples, not repeat this cycle of screaming examples at people without linking those examples. Let people draw their own conclusions and be open to being wrong about something. I was wrong about the entire catalyst for this post, and I am so deeply sorry about it, and will be more careful in the future.

And for the love of god tumblr, stop holding people to such high standards when you probably wouldn’t meet those standards yourself if you were in that same person’s position.

[cyberkevvideo]

Throne of Night Theory Builds Part 22: Appraisal Golems

What’s funny is until today, I hadn’t even considered making this a build. It was reading the background for the build I was originally going to release that I realized that this was supposed to be one. Whoops. I’m taking care of that right now.

As always, for space reasons, I’ll be cropping the encounter build.

All images shared here were done by the forever fantastic and amazingly talented Michael D. Clarke, aka SpiralMagus

Won’t be sharing this all that often, but want to make sure it’s seen. It suggested I make one because there are those who’ve expressed they want to reward my efforts, so I made a Ko-Fi page. No pressure in supporting it though. I know we’re all experiencing financially trying times right now.

Finally, before get to it, I hope everyone’s staying safe right now.

When I saw the art, I originally thought it was an iron golem, but was surprised when SpiralMagus specified that it was actually a stone golem. I found that odd considering there was a very obvious stone golem watching over the secret entrance to Dammerhall, the dwarven kingdom. Reading the background, there’s apparently two: one to test your worthiness of find the entrance, and another to test your worthiness as ruler. So, I did what I could to augment the second one, but still give the first one something extra as well.

The template I gave it is from 101 Not So Simple Templates. I really love that book. As for the abilities, such as Chassis of Intuitive Items and Appraise Worthiness,  I just made them up. The Self Repair I took from combining a 3.5 ring of regeneration and mixing a little of a lich’s and a graveknight’s ability to rejuvenate itself. If this thing is supposed to be able to stick around to judge worthy rulers, it needs to repair itself. The other modifications came from Ultimate Magic. Lastly, the “worthiness”, while I made it up, I took inspiration from the relics from War for the Crown Adventure Path. You have to prove your worthiness in order to wield them or access their full power. So, same idea but different concept.

PROCTOR GOLEM    (CR 13; 25,600 XP) Modified combat clairvoyant rune-carved stone golem N Large construct Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, see invisibility; Perception +4 DEFENSE AC 31, touch 13, flat-footed 31 (+4 insight, +18 natural, –1 size) hp 140 (20d10+30) Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +11 Defensive Abilities improved evasion, improved uncanny dodge, rune of shielding 1/day, stalwart; DR 10/adamantine; Immune construct traits, magic OFFENSE Speed 20 ft. Melee 2 +1 hammer fists +33 (3d10+10) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks precognitive advantage, rune of lightning 2/day, rune of terror 1/day, slow Spell-like Abilities (CL 20th; concentration +16)   Constant—comprehend languages, magic fang, see invisibility, resistance   At will—detect alignment, mending (self only)   1/day—greater make whole STATISTICS Str 28, Dex 11, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1 Base Atk +20; CMB +34; CMD 48 Feats Improved Natural Attack (slam)B SQ appraise worthiness, chassis of intuitive items, self-repairing SPECIAL ABILITIES Appraise Worthiness (Ex) A proctor golem tests the worthiness of the kingdom’s future ruler. To be worthy, the creature must perform any number of the following: not run from battle in fear, successfully prevent an innocent from being slain by the golem, protect allies by either healing them in battle or drawing the golem’s attention, or the proctor golem being reduced to one-tenth its hit points. When protecting an innocent, the creature must be half or less than the hit dice of the creature being tested. The testee automatically fails if the innocent creature is purposely put in harm’s way, only to be “rescued” afterwards. A creature that the proctor golem detects as evil may have additional tests programmed into it (determined by the GM). Chassis of Intuitive Items (Sp) The golem’s chest plate is able to produce any one item it requires as a swift action. The item cannot be worth more than 100 gp. This ability can be used once every 1d4 rounds, up to a maximum of five times per day. Detect Alignment (Sp) At will, a proctor golem can use detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, or detect law. It can only use one of these at any given time Immunity to Magic (Ex) A stone golem is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.  --A transmute rock to mud spell slows a stone golem (as the slow spell) for 2d6 rounds, with no saving throw, while transmute mud to rock heals all of its lost hit points.  --A stone to flesh spell does not actually change the golem’s structure but negates its damage reduction and immunity to magic for 1 full round. Precognitive Advantage (Ex) A combat clairvoyant creature gains a +4 insight bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, skill, CMB, and initiative checks, and AC. It also knows an opponent’s weakness, likely tactics, or some other vital bit of information ahead of time and prepare accordingly (it has a weapon to overcome a creature’s damage reduction; it has a vial of acid to overcome a troll’s regeneration, etc.), Further, it is never caught flat-footed and as such can act in surprise rounds (though it must still roll for initiative). Rune of Lightning (Sp) This rune is triggered when the golem is hit by a melee attack. The rune releases a 5-foot-radius burst of electricity (CL 5th) dealing 3d8 points of electrical damage to all creatures within the burst. A successful DC 12 Reflex saving throw halves the damage. Rune of Shielding (Sp) This rune is triggered the first time the golem is attacked with a melee attack, ranged attack, or magic missile. The construct gains a +4 shield bonus to its Armor Class for 3 minutes. This is a force effect and applies against incorporeal touch attacks. Rune of Terror (Sp) This rune is triggered the first time a creature moves adjacent to the modified construct. The rune creates a 20-foot-radius spread of necromantic energy. Creatures in the area must succeed on a DC 20 Will saving throw or become panicked for 1d4 rounds. If the Will save succeeds, the creature is shaken for 1 round. Self-Repairing (Ex) A proctor golem heals 1 point of damage per level every hour as long as it has at least 1 hp. If the golem is destroyed, but its core (hardness 20, 120 hp, break DC 40) survives, it instead heals 1 point of damage per level every day until it reaches 1 hp. Slow (Su) A stone golem can use a slow effect, as the spell, as a free action once every 2 rounds. The effect has a range of 10 feet in a burst centered on the golem and a duration of 7 rounds, requiring a DC 17 Will save to negate. The save DC is Constitution-based.

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

This is the original golem you meet, and its hiding the secret entrance that takes you to Dammerhall. This one will have a version of the “Appraise Worthiness”, but a lesser version as you’re supposed to be able to bypass it “either by honest deed or dark deception“, and only one successful test. It might have detect alignment, but probably not. Either way, it’d still end up being your standard CR 11 stone golem from the bestiary.

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

If all goes well, this hidden tunnel should take you directly to the underground city. Eventually, once you’ve beaten everyone and taken down the “deathless dragon high dwarf king”, the curse should be lift and you’re finally allowed outside. This will give the PCs their first full view of Dammerhall and all its splendor. That’s my theory anyhow, based on the brief notes Gary left behind.

[tuchimuchibrainvomit]

EPISODE 2:

Aloha, fellow Sakuga Seedlings!

Welcome to my case study series, Brain Vomit.

Name’s

Tuchimuchi Yoshinori – or just Tuchi…

And I enjoy animation. Especially animation from the eastern archipelago of Japan, also called “Anime”

In this series, right here, I’ll be exploring Japanese Animation Production and enlightening this growing community and myself to the power they have in this expansive animated medium.

Today’s Lesson is on Animation Principles!!

So, you want to learn the basics of animation--which are completely universal, so this may be our most accessible… Maybe, I should have made this the first episode instead.

Oh well, my show, my rules…

Back onto topic--

Q: What is animation?

A: Animation (n): the technique of photographing successive drawings or positions of puppets or models to create an illusion of movement when the movie is shown as a sequence.

“I GET SO EMOTIONAL BABY!! EVERY TIME I THINK OF ANIMATION!!!”

Or basically, moving pictures one after the other in sequence.

But you can’t just go in and animate all willy-nilly, yet. Not until you’ve learned the basics of Animation.

Think of them as analogous to the Art Elements of Line, Color, Form, Value and Texture.

But since there are far better sources to give you a more in-depth analysis of each principle -- I’ll take a rudimentary approach to save myself time because it’s Saturday and I have like a billion other things to do...

I’m a human, damnit! Fight me!!

So let’s break them down, shall we:

-- Squash and Stretch: My favorite principle, and in short, exaggerating proportions in movement to allow for stronger illusions of motion. A great example of this from both an animation and writing standpoint is Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece, who is written completely around this principle.

But how can I use this in my own animation?

Well, it can be used for a myriad of things, from effects to specific character motions. However, due to the limitations of frames, these stretches and squashes have to be calculated and takes a lot of experiments to get it right!

-- Anticipation: As it sounds, setting up actions between other actions. Be it holding a motion back, extending a keyframe to a longer period or slowing down/adding more frames to a specific action. Like in horror, anticipation is about slowing things down and snapping when necessary. Snaps without anticipation look choppy and anticipation with no pay off is unfulfilling. Unless you’re like horror movies and trying to troll your audience into a false sense of security.

In this example, the Obari Punch method is literally an exaggeration of Anticipation. A build up to an action -- thus anticipation for the punch itself. Take it away, Saitama:

-- Staging: While one of the more vague. Staging is both literally and metaphorical. Staging a set or scene, is knowing your layout, your characters and the context.

But staging in this sense is more about clarity.

Is the idea of your action, scene or emotion being delivered clearly? That’s the most important question.

The start of a Pokemon batlle is just a style of staging. You know the scene, two trainers, two monsters, battle. Stage set.

Bonus: JEDI LUNGE!!!

-- Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose: While less of a type of animation and more a method of animation, these two together are different ways of animating and both are integral to understanding animation.

SAA (Straight Ahead Action) is when you draw each frame and in-between one after the other, letting the outcome from the action’s flowing.

P2P (Pose to Pose) is drawing each pose and filling the transition between them in. This is most commonly seen in limited animation as Keyframe Animators draw Keys which are main poses, and In-between Animators fill in the rest with--in-betweens.

Both are integral, but I find using a mix of the two depending on the situation and direction to be the most successful. Better tool sets.

Here is an example of more clear straight ahead animation...

And my Animator Husbando, Imaishi is an obvious lover of pose-to-pose animation.

Both have merits in different situations, ya see.

-- Follow Through and Overlapping Action: Probably the most literal of the components, Follow Through is literally following through the action, making sure motions stop when they are supposed to and Overlapping Action follows, setting up the next action. Like people, characters never stop existing and Overlapping Action and Follow Through keep that sense to never be lost. A great example of this is imagine a jump, when you land, you impact (possibly stumble or roll), Follow-through and Overlapping Action.

All of these Rolling Girl animations, while traced from an original base, are full of follow-through and overlapping actions. Each movements flow and adapt to one another.

Knowing how weight works in reality is one of the many facets needed to master FT and OA.

In my opinion, anime can be very -- flaky to weight and overlapping action in general anime. But then there is Mitsuo Iso.

An animation is worth 24,000 words per second.

-- Slow In and Slow Out: Or more commonly known as Ease On and Ease Out, is the natural acceleration and deceleration of an action beginning and ending. When a ball rolls, it doesn’t just start at top speed or stop on a dime. It starts slow and gains speed, then tops off and comes to a stop.

See how a bouncing ball steadies as it reaches the apex and accelerates as it bounces?

Slow in and Slow Out.

-- Arcs: Curves. Real life is about curves. This is one principle that can have several different meanings.

Curves as in curvature motion is one. All human motion is done through curves, angular motion is often more attributed with mechanical systems.

Curves can also mean line of action, or a character’s basic motion can be broken down into a series of curves.

It’s also a meaning for the fact the visual path is in arcs. As in how you see and perceive motion. This principle is all about knowing how the human eyes work and acclimating that to extend to the illusion of movement.

Bouncing Ball is the best animation study subject. It can hit most everything. Just draw the arcs in animation, it’ll make more sense and will become handy as I hit more topics and animators down the road.

-- Secondary Action: As we know, all moving parts are not created equal. This is that principle, animation is the exact same idea, If you have a character with a long flowing tail, it will animate far differently and at a different pace than the rest of the body and clothing. Secondary Actions are the motions created by the actions of another. Such as moving cloth, the smoke leaving the character’s mouth or water splashing from a character taking a dive.

A scarf or hair is a great way to practice Secondary Action.

-- Timing and Spacing: Arguably the most important principle, understanding what time actions occur and how to space the drawings to be believable. The best way to practice and understand Timing and Spacing is to research, research, research and then experiment.

What movement speed feels right for the actions I’m working with?

Now how do I space the drawings to emulate that timing?

In limited animation, am I using the same frames or all new ones?

Am I animating on the ones, twos, or threes?

These are important things to remember and ask yourself. On the ones, twos and threes is merely how long each frame is held, often messing with the natural times.

Experimenting with timing and spacing can lead to strong impacts and more believeable formats.

I know this was in one of my last posts, but this GDC conference about Skullgirls animation goes into timing manipulation to add to fighting game impact. I’m putting it here again because it’s truly worth watching.

-- Exaggeration: How far can your character’s proportions be warped for the sake of movement? Knowledge of this is omni-important.

Exaggeration can be both in art, as well as a specfic metaphor or motion. Tsuritama does a really good job at both metaphorical and artistic exaggeration. But that’s just one example.

Other anime that do a great job are anything directed by Akiyuki Shinbou,

This -- just this... Everything about the facial expression, the wind, the camera, the shot composition and negative white space... It leads to an exaggerated sadness and feeling of loneliness -- hell, it could even see as a loss of innocence in an imperfect world, when you see the weight of the left side of the frame breaking the of subtly overpowering the white purity on the left and her intense motion breaking the balance even further...

It’s Monogatari so probably both and more, because this series is all about visual metaphors and exaggeration of emotions. But I digress, I didn’t come here to become the next Mother’s Basement or Digibro -- I love them both, so don’t flame me.

Moving on...

-- Solid Drawing: Simply defined, difficult to master. Solid Drawing is the ability to draw your character from ANY POSSIBLE angle in any pose and make it look accurate. This comes with knowledge of both manipulating a metaphorical camera, knowing your character’s design and body and form. The best advice I can give is to practice.

Model sheets are a must-need for solid drawing, especially with a team of animators from different backgrounds and styles.

-- Appeal: Simple and conclusive, draw something that is satisfying to the audience’s eyes. Make it feel authentic, whether it’s horror or action, it has to come across that way to the audience. Appeal is a broad spectrum as not everyone can be satisfied by one thing. So know your audiences well and appeal to them. However, my best piece of advice and in my honest opinion in amateur animation is to appeal to yourself and enjoy what you are making.

If you don’t enjoy it, you wouldn’t do it, right?

Goddamnit, Pusheen... You’re too appealing that I cannot...

And this is a great segue into our topic for Episode 3, where Appeal matters most: Character Design.

I’ll see you all next time!!

ON THE NEXT BRAIN VOMIT!!

EPISODE 3: CHARACTER DESIGN, THE LIFE FIBER 100% SYNCHRONIZE -- KAMUI SENKETSU!!!

STAY TUNED NEXT SATURDAY AT 7PM EST FOR NEXT EXPEDITION INTO SAKUGA GOODNESS!!

DON’T MISS IT, OR I’LL HAVE TO PUNISH YOU!!

Remember: Always bloom proudly,

– TUCHI OUT!!!

[manabingu]

ManaTagged! Heyoo~

tagged by the sweet ♥ @rainbow-galaxy-supernova  (sorry its overdue)

The last:

1.) Drink: Raspberry Milk Tea w/Lychee Popping Pearls

2.) Phone call: to @tyrestgwa earlier today via skype

3.) Text message: to @crystalwoodsart

4.) Song you listened to: Phoenix Ash’s Cover of JAP by Abingdon Boys School & Fome’s Cover of Count Zero by T.M. Revolution (SO FCKN GOOD)

5.) Time you cried: yesterday 8D during Wonder Woman ;U;o

6.) Dated someone twice: Tyrest is the first & only official dating. But me and @crystalwoodsart have been married practically since 6th grade. She is mY WAIFU!

7.) Been Cheated on: Thank Ra No!

8.) Kissed someone and regretted it: Nah.BUT I mean- iN DREAMS YES.

9.) Lost someone special: It’s a universal thing. Namely pets for me

10.) Been depressed: 8) Story of my LIFE! But I’ve been makin progress

11.) Gotten drunk and thrown up: I REFUSE to consume alcohol/drugs

12-14.) LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: Turquoise,Galaxy Print,Pastels/Silver tie

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

15.) Made new friends: I’ve been blessed thanks to YT Idol w/new singer pals!

16.) Fallen out of love: Yeah...in  high school I had so many talent crushes. Which I think is normal for theater kids. But I think I ended up with the correct person. He truly understands me. And though I sometimes wonder what would my life be if I had confessed my love to those others, I’m happy I waited for the person who accepted me just the way I am ;w;o

17.) Laughed until you cried: AS AN ABRIDGER, I am privileged to be surrounded by INCREDIBLY hilarious people & I love it!♥

18.) Found out someone was talking about you: YES. And BOY is it a trip when I find people are horrible trolls. I find out about sweet people who say super kind things about me or my work all the time. But when I get a heads up about backstabbers or people who get close for the wrong reasons, I put my guard up around them & just do my own thing. Because a path of jealousy, hatred & vengeance isn’t for me. Bullies can talk, but I’ll always ignore them.

19.) Met someone who changed you: Namely Tyrest,Crystal,Panda,Wraith10, @cozymochi (bows to her greatness), LordMoonstone, @kittykatsandbox, (FAB SENPAI) @ahsimwithsake & @laurathia who are 1 of 2 sets of adoptive internet parents I have XD and MOST RECENT OF ALL CEONN. If I hadn’t met Ceonn, my singing career journey wouldn’t have taken off.THANX

20.) Found out who your true friends are: YEP 8)! Sadly, just recently too...

21.) Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Well, hispanic people greet each other by cheek kisses so  I will say yes.

22.) How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: Everyone cuz my FB is family & IRL friends only ^^; BUT my ZEXAL Abridged has a FB 

23.) Do you have any pets: My pet cockatiel Patchos 8D

24.) Do you want to change your name: No, but don’t mind having a stage name to be honest. I love stage names ^_^

25.) What did you do for your last birthday: Probably sang,drew & other stuff 

26.) What time did you wake up: 9 or 10ish? I had to meet some friends today

27.) What were you doing at midnight last night: GAWKING at Gal Gadot

28.) Name something you cannot wait for:Anime Idol @ Metrocon, finally getting out more song covers/abridged stuff. And being stable again.

29.) When was the last time you saw your mother?: a few seconds ago

30.) What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I wish that ONE thing didn’t happen & my family had the same wealth we shoulda had if luck was on our side. That & I wish I wasn’t afraid of certain things so I could progress faster.

31.) What are you listening to right now: Fome’s Covers,& MY own covers

32.) Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yeS?

33.) Something that is getting on your nerves: Hypocrites lately 8)

34.) Most visited website: Tumblr,Instagram,Twitter & YT are tied tbh

35-37.) Finished all of school: yeppers

38.) Hair color: Dark Chocolate Brown (I used swatches at Sally’s XD)

39.) Long or short hair: I enjoy having long princess hair, but I cut it recently QuQ woops. Mostly cuz I wanted to try a T.M. Revolution hairdo XD

40.) Do you have a crush on someone: I HAVE ANIMAY HUSbANDs/WAifUS

41.) What do you like about yourself: My voice range! I used to be SO self conscious as a kid, but eventually it became my greatest strength because it’s SO versatile it honestly I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my unique voice QuQ

42.) Piercings: My ears have been pierced since birth. Mom wanted it

43.) Blood type: O? I think was what it was? It’s been years lol

44.) Nickname: Mana & Ginga (to my singer friends)

45.) Relationship status: Taken by Tyrest (with Crystal on the side ;D heh)

46.) Zodiac sign: I am a proud Sagittarius ♐

47.) Pronouns: Her is fine, but I don’t mind He if I’m crossplaying (mostly Ginga). It’s kind of a weird thing for me cuz I’m genderfluid ;w; but if anything to avoid confusion, just go with feminine one XD cuz whatvs???

48.) Favorite TV show: ITS HARD. I like too many things.Non-Anime TV Show wise I watch mostly Trail & Error & Fresh Off the Boat. But Anime-wise: ZEXAL (but YGO in general), Darker Than Black, One Punch Man/Mob Psycho 100, Uta no Prince-sama, Saint Seiya/Omega, Tokyo Mew Mew, Kaleido Star, anything by CLAMP, Kamen Rider Gaim/Fourze, Death Note, Attack on Titan, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, FMA...too many...I know I have more...

49.) Tattoos: NoPe

50.) Right or left hand: Righty

FIRST…

51.) Surgery: In 8th grade I almost died 8D! Ruptured appendix, 3 consecutive operations & all because the first time I went to the emrgency they sent me home & misdiagnosed me with stomach flu 8D HAH.HAH.HAAAA ;~~~;...

52.) Piercing: Ears only as mentioned previously

54.) Sport:I don’t do any.My fave is figure skating tho. I love Yuzuru Hanyu♥

55.) Vacation: Technically me comin to the U.S for the first time counts

56.) Pair of trainers: Is that slang for shoes???...uhh??

MORE GENERAL…

57.) Eating: I ate sushi at a Chinese Buffet called Giant Panda today

58.) Drinking: finished all the boba tea ;w;

59.) I’m about to: Sleep cuz it’s 1am xD

61.) Waiting for: Good news, & replies from a few emails I sent this week

62.) Want: To make my YT Channel flourish & master my voice

63.) Get married: With luck but I think a paper doesn’t dictate if you love a person or not. BECAUSE i wanna pursue singing/acting, I know I’ll always be traveling ;w; so that decision is hard. I mean we can be OFFICIAL via the paper thingy but like, I already know we’re together XD ffff lol

64.) Career: Singer/Actor/Voice Actor & Internet Personality maybe

65.) Hugs or kisses: Both ^o^...cuz honestly I’m a fluffy person ;w;o

66.) Lips or eyes: Both again...I Can’T HElP IT (deep down my thoughts are as swirly with flirtatious things...proly explains Ginga’s mannerisms)

67.) Shorter or taller: I’m short ;w; sniffs 5′1. Everyone else is a tree

68.) Older or younger: Depends on relationship type? Like I think having a partner at a relatively older age because I am anxious af & need someone older to guide me when I’m struggling, but don’t mind younger (but MATURE) person by 2 years max. But when it comes to friends, I befriend anyone who is kind-hearted. Because we can learn a lot from elders/ our youth

70.) Nice arms or nice stomach: I don’t mind either or but TMR is @U@

71.) Sensitive or loud: I’m drawn more to sensitive people because they have higher levels of compassion & kinder hearts.

72.) Hook up or relationship: Relationship cuz I’m loyal AF

73.) Troublemaker or hesitant: Egh...both have downfalls. Hesitant is safer tho

HAVE YOU EVER…

74.) Kissed a stranger?: Nope BUT if I become an actor, that is a thought that keeps me up at night XD cuz ...again...I’m loyal af ;-;

75.) Drank hard liquor?: EWW >_>

76.) Lost glasses contact/lenses?: YES. During a musical in 10th grade (Suessical I was Cat in the Hat) I was on a trampoline and THEY FLEW OFF MY FACE! And ....we never found em O_O...they vanished....

77.) Turned someone down?: Yeah...a bunch of creepy fanboys throughout the years... 8) unfortunately the downfall of being an internet person

78.) Sex on first date?: DEPENDS. I’m demisexual, so I’m attracted to personality/emotional bonds not physical appearances. So IF my emotions towards them is high enough, I dunno if things could happen? But usually I stay reserved cuz I need to feel like I honestly love the person THAT much.

79.) Broken someone’s heart?: Probably ;w;...2 old buddies. I knew they had crushes on me...but I just didn’t feel the same way towards them -actually someone ELSE admitted they had a crush on me last month so the count is now up to 3...AGH. I WISH they can find someone who will make em happy because I think they deserve it tbh. They’re good dudes.

80.) Had your heart broken?: Once yeah, an old childhood crush was honestly insensitive when I asked him if he ever felt something for me &  he said “ehhh not really?” in a way that came off as insensitive XD?....yeah. But the MORE I thought about why I liked him, the more I realized I could NEVER be in a relationship with them cuz they were immature & didn’t know how to be serious.They don’t balance goofiness & sensitivity & I need a balanced person

81.) Been arrested?: NO

82.) Cried when someone died?: waterfalls of tears cuz I’m an emotional wreck

83.) Fallen for a friend?: yeah =w= a bunch of abridgers/singers hah. I get talent crushes ALL the time, but don’t act on it cuz I’m shy AND taken XD

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

84.) Yourself?: Usually...but I have many moments where I question if I’m good enough or worthy enough to be here ;w; gotta work on my Kattobingu

85.) Miracles?: Shining Draws should be real. But yeah miracles CAN happen

86.) Love at first sight?: FUYA OKUDAIRA 8D...and Takanori Nishikawa...and Mahiro Takasugi and Aoi Shouta tbh

87.) Santa Claus?: Elf is my favorite Christmas movie

88.) Kiss on the first date?: IT DEPENDS. But if it happens? AIGHT????

89.) Angels?: Yes \QwQ/! angels are real. @rosey-ballerina is one

OTHER….

90.) Current best friend’s name: Crystal is my bff & waifu but Tyrest too but honestly Kimmy, Panda & Ceonn are also tied with those 2

91.) Eye color: Brownies eUe

92.) Favorite movie: Finding Nemo, Big Hero 6,Lion King (all 3), All 3 Yu-Gi-Oh! Movies,The Emperor’s New Groove,Mrs. Doubtfire, Moana, Wonder Woman, Mary Poppins, Arrival, The Mummy, Matilda, Harry Potter, Pokemon 3,Hercules, Grave of the Fireflies, Antman, The Producers....and a few others

I tag: @t-chan @sylphwriter @eleanorose123 @ivmysterynumbers @zexalfangirl @shybunny @galaxyeyedphoton 

[etchtrolls]

i accidentally deleted the ask for this bc i’m a dumb but @8bit-mau5 asked for some Flashbacks for Erniar so let’s go

You’re aware of the pulsing music and your pumper thumping in tune with it. The near manic energy that’s filling the air with static, the elation of the trolls around you that come off of them in waves. 

You’re aware of the throng around you, the bodies weaving and undulating in tempo, always on beat. Each and every one of you know the music, the underlying chanting by heart. The same excitement boils in all of you.

The eclipse is today..

A sacred happening. Not exactly rare, but glorious nonetheless. You will all be able to walk in the dim daylight, be able to look up to the sky and feel its righteous, radiating glow. 

This is your first eclipse. There are others that have been here much longer than the meager almost-sweep you’ve been present, others that have seen near a dozen eclipses. They say they cannot properly describe the experience with words; that it is only the most euphoric and pious experience they’ve ever had. 

Eclipses are apparently always largely celebrated. The temples have been packed with offerings and everyone has painted themselves. You yourself can feel the yellow clay on your face move with every twitch of your muscles. A few have adorned themselves in red, swathing the color across their collarbones, packing it around their eyes in rings, drenching their hands. It is they who will look directly into the ring of fire in the sky, burn out their vision to become the sun’s prophets. 

You haven’t seen the other prophets before. They’re kept so deep and so secret inside the earth so as not to be tainted by new blood, like you. You’re still considered new. You have no right to paint yourself red yet, no right to offer yourself to become something so holy. Maybe somenight, but not now. 

The priests have promised something special. A sacrifice during the eclipse to please the sun and bring back its scorching heat. You’ve seen sacrifices before, the beasts that were gutted and the trolls that offered themselves up to hang and burn all day long in the sunlight. You’ve seen the remains of the latter, anyway. The promise of something special only adds to everyone’s ecstatic mood. 

You are like all the others. Drinking, dancing, echoing the chants in a chorus that had once been perfect but was not peppered with a few more drunken acolytes veering into off-key. The sound of it reverberates around the cavern, bouncing off the rocks to echo back at you all. 

You’re tipsy, enough to feel a buzz, and you don’t want to lose your head completely. You want to be alert and present for the coming eclipse, for the sacrifice being made. It’s important for you to learn more. You know so much already, you’ve been soaking up knowledge and prayers like a sponge since your arrival to the oasis, but you crave more. You need more. 

Just as you’ve taken a mental step back and promised to not get any more inebriated than you already are, someone thrusts a small glass of tangy alcohol into your hands. 

You eye it for a moment, painted brow creasing, and then shrug. One more drink, then you’ll be done. Just one more. You promise yourself that as you swallow down the stinging fluid. 

You’re aware of being pulled deeper into the crowd by another acolyte, closer to the source of the music. Someone pretty with scarlet smeared over their face smiles at you, and you think for a moment it would be a shame to lose such pretty eyes.

You’re aware of a sweet, sugary taste on your tongue, and then sudden wave of nausea. 

When you come to, you know immediately that you are no longer underground. 

The air is different, and the surface beneath you is smooth and cool instead of rough and worn. You think for a moment that you are blind because your eyes won’t open. They’re heavy and useless, as if weighed down by stones, and you are trapped in darkness. Dimly, you can hear voices and you wonder blearily how much more time has passed. 

With your eyes not working, you try instead to move. Your limbs are just as heavy and unresponsive, but move after a moment of struggle. Pins and needles shoot down your arms in a wave of sharp irritation, and again once you flex your fingers. The sensation doesn’t reach your hands, which feel detached and estranged from your body. There’s something around your wrists that cuts the circulation from it. You don’t have the time to figure out what it is before one of your eyes snap open suddenly. 

Your vision is blurry and unfocused, but there. You can see the distant, looming shapes of the trees arching above you into the sky. The sky, which is a pale gray color, much lighter than the way it looks during the night. The eclipse has already begun. On impulse, without thinking, you search for where the sun lies in the sky. You find it. A silver white ring in the sky, blotted out by the dark shape of the moon. Not unlike a giant eye, staring down at the planet, witnessing whatever is happening around you. 

You see it for only a moment, and then pain shoots through your skull. You remember vaguely hearing about how it’s even easier than usual to become blind during the eclipse, why it’s then that the prophets chose to give up their sight instead of during any day. Something about enlarged pupils and retinas. You snap your eye shut and cry out, but the sound is more from surprise than pain. Your body jolts, more pins and needles rushing down to your legs, which you find are also bound. 

The voices pause when you yip, but continue on after a moment. You can’t hear clearly still, everything is fuzzy and far away. The pain in your eye is hot, like a heated blade being pushed through your face. You want to press your hand to it, dig in pressure to somehow alleviate the pain. Straining your arms until your bonds bite into your skin, you find that what holds you is leather. Too smooth to be rope, and it’s not metal cuffs because it gives slightly and it isn’t cold. 

Your other eye snaps open, but this time you are careful to not look at the sky and the brooding god above you. You twist your head, squinting, trying to focus your vision beyond vague shapes and washed out color. You see the crowd of acolytes, silent now, garbed in yellow and silver. You can’t pick out individual faces because they’re standing away from you, forming what you assume to be a ring. The thing that you’re laying on, you realize, is a table carved from veined marble. You’ve seen this table before, but you’ve never been on it. 

Several things strike you at once. 

1. Your face is no longer adorned with your own lines. In fact, it’s very nearly bare, except for clay clustered around your forehead and your lips. Your hands have been dipped in red. You can feel more of it when you suck in a startled, terrified breath; clay stroking in long, sinuous lines along your bare chest and leading down to your navel.

2. This table has only ever been used for sacrifices. It lays outside on a dais, in the very center of the oasis. It’s washed carefully of the blood and gore of every living thing laid waste upon it. 

3. Four priests are standing around you, one at each corner of the table. A fifth is at the bottom; it is she who is speaking. Arms raised, fingers splayed, face tipped towards the silver ring in the sky. 

4. You had been drugged. 

Everything snaps into place, and then your mind takes off. 

What did you do? Have you done something to offend? You couldn’t have, you remembered everything they taught you. You were so grateful to them, so grateful for your life and the rebirth they gave to you. You rose early and went to coon late, you did everything they told you!

Has someone else had it out for you? One of the priests or prophets? Is it because of your blood? Do they think you undeserving of being a worshiper because your kind was ordered to live in the darkness of caverns their entire lives, away from the sun and the light of the moons?

Maybe this was the plan from that beginning. Maybe that’s exactly it. A jade blood, an offender to the sun, wandering right into their hands, practically begging to be sacrificed. But why? Never before has it been just any troll, it was never just anyone that would do. It had to be someone devout, someone who wanted to go through with it, someone who deserved it. The priests were always consulted, the troll always knew it was coming.

Why you?

Adrenaline kicks in and you strain again, both eyes closed as you scrunch up your face in a grimace, baring your fangs. The leather cuts into your skin but you keep pulling, letting it bite deeper. The marble beneath you has no purchase.

You don’t know what emotion to feel. Honor? Fear? Pride? Disgust? Bile rises in the back of your throat and your pusher racks against your ribcage. You twist your hands, scrape your claws across the marble and catching them in the cracked veins.

You’ve never seen someone struggle before. 

Did everyone else know? Were they all playing you? It can’t be true, it can’t. You had friends, you shared stories, they told you yourself that you were showing promise. 

There has to be some mistake. 

Your bindings bite into your skin and you feel your color seep out of you. It’s a slow, steady feeling and it disgusts you. It’s so slow, so natural, like it’s mocking you. You can feel the sun staring, witnessing your arrogance, your blind panic before their all-knowing, all-seeing stare. 

You hiss in defiance to them, and then realize that it has gone quiet. Both eyes open, but only one sees. The fifth priest has turned to you. The acolytes in, drawing a collective breath, joining hands. 

You’ve done this, you did this with them. How could they stand by to watch you? Don’t they know that you didn’t volunteer, that you have not offered yourself?

They can’t do this. They can’t. It’s not right. It’s not what you’ve been taught. 

But what if all you’ve been taught is a lie? What if they’ve been fooling you the entire time, watching, waiting to see if you were worthy of being fed to the sun? 

The priest walks slowly around the table as the acolytes begin to chant. It is a song you know, one that you branded to your memory in your first week. You were elated at the time, thrilled to be included in something greater than yourself. Now you are sick. 

You should be happy. Why aren’t you happy? This is the greatest honor that you could achieve, to be sacrificed to your god. They are up there, watching, staring, awaiting your death and the release of your soul to devour into their flames. You envied the others that died on this very table, crying out for the sun to take them. Why are you so frightened now?

The priest reaches your head. Her face is a swirling mass of color; silver, yellow, and red contorting together into a face with leering eyes and high cheek bones, teeth bared in a cruel grin. She holds a hand out to one of the others, the one standing to the corner at your left, and they pass her a buzzsaw. 

The priest smiles, bares her teeth in a grin that reaches her eyes. Her eyes, wild with light and boring into you. She’s excited. She’s been waiting to do this for so long, to spill your blood and offer you to the sun. This is euphoria for her.

Your mouth starts to move then.

You don’t know what you’re saying, you can’t hear yourself. Can’t hear anything really. It’s like everything has blurred together into this all consuming, flat, drone. You know you’re talking, though. You can feel it. Feel your tongue moving and the vibrations going through your throat and your larynx you know that you’re talking why can’t you hear yourself why are they doing this why isnt anyone speaking up why are they all just watching why you what did you do

There are no answers. She does not respond. Even if she had, you would not have heard it. Your mind is on fire and so is every nerve in your body. You want to run. You want to shrivel up into a charred corpse so you don’t have to feel. You want to cease to exist. You want to be blind so you don’t have to watch the spinning, shimmering blade descend upon you soundlessly.

[tialovestelevision]

No Place Like Home

Time to approach the mystery that is Dawn directly for the first time this season! Hopefully, we get them approaching the person that is Dawn here too. 1. Running monks! Run monks, run! They have candles! They are very, very scared. It’s two months ago, and someone’s trying to kill them. They have to protect the Key. Whatever’s after them is breaking down the very heavy door. They finished whatever they were doing just before the door gave. I’m assuming they’re dead. 2. Buffy fighting a very large vampire. And bantering. And winning. Dusted! But now she has a glowy ball. She doesn’t know what it is. Opening credits! 3. As I watch the credits, I’m eating McDonalds’s new Mac Junior. It’s not bad. It’s kinda a tiny Big Mac. I know McDonalds is bad for me, but it’s tasty and in this fallen world we take what joy we can. Especially since my favorite fast food growing up was Chik-fil-a, and they kinda spend substantial money on advocating against my family’s existence, so… can’t really eat there. 4. Buffy is making breakfast for Joyce. Joyce is still sick. Her problem is still undiagnosed. Huh… they’re talking about nicknames. Joyce never had any for Buffy, which doesn’t surprise me. Giles is opening the Magic Box today! Joyce wants Buffy to go and have fun, and bring her back a flying broomstick. Dawn complains that flying broomsticks never work. Dawn and Joyce have a book club, an idea to which Buffy reacts with horror. I’m amazed she’ll glance at a book without recoiling after Pat. Dawn’s going with Buffy to the Magic Box. 5. Magic Box! Giles is wearing a wizard hat. Such wonderful stares. Dawn comes in after Buffy. She’s impressed with the store. Giles has no customers yet. Riley and Willow just arrived. Buffy is showing them her ball. Riley wants to go with Buffy to find more balls. Dawn just made Riley feel bad. She’s taking the old Cordy “voice unpleasant truths to people” job. Buffy wishes she was an only child. Dawn broke something. 6. Buffy and Dawn back at home. Joyce’s head hurts. Joyce doesn’t want to go to the doctor. Buffy’s getting her pills. Ran into Ben. There’s also a patient on a rolly bed… he’s a little odd. He doesn’t belong there, and is calling everyone Fascists. Huh… it’s the security guard. “Doesn’t even help. Doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.” He was looking at the pills. “They’re coming at you. They come through the family. They get you through the family.” Buffy thinks someone’s doing this to Joyce. 7. In a building. There’s a monk drawing circles on a map. And door opens. He’s terrified… whatever’s after them - the Beast - is there. She’s tall, leggy, and very, very blonde, and the monk is trembling. 8. Magic Box. Giles sold a thing. He’s delighted. Anya can get Giles a direct line to the troll who sheds conjuring powder. And Buffy’s there. She’s telling them about the guard. Giles is skeptical but willing to help. 9. The building… huh. The one the guard was guarding. The Beast has tied the monk to a chair and is walking around him complaining about how hard he’s making her life. She wants to leave the universe because it sucks. She wants the Key. She wants him to tell her where the Key is. But he’s not telling her, The security guard she’s tied up is pleading for his life. Wow, I think she’s breaking time with her upset. And… she put her hands in the guard’s head and… something? She seems to be in better shape. 10. The Magic Box is VERY busy. Giles is being overwhelmed. Anya is working the register. Buffy is still doing research. Willow is bad at gift wrapping. Anya’s going to take that over. She’s good at things. Anya also knows about a spell to see magic. That seems useful. It’s dangerous but Buffy can do it, and Riley’s helping her with the spell. His insecurity is getting on things again. He’s doing better with it, though, a bit. Kissy time, then she’s going to do the ritual. Her magic circle is shaped more… oblong squarey thing with round corners? Dawn wants to see her do the ritual, but she needs Dawn out of the room. Now ritual time. I do love her shirt. I think the ritual’s done after a bit of a montage… so she should be all trancy now. 11. Yep. Trancy. Eyes all black. She looks lost, but she’s walking through the house. No spells yet. She found Joyce. No spells on her. Wait… Buffy’s looking at a picture of the three of them. Dawn keeps vanishing. Dawn is vanishing from all the pictures. This is creepy, visually, and very well-shot. Buffy’s upstairs again, going to Dawn’s door. Opens it. Walks into Dawn’s room. It’s supposed to be an art studio. Sees Dawn. She’s… vanishing, too. “You’re not my sister.” They were about to fight, but Giles called. He’s learned about the orb, which is the Dagon Sphere. It has a very long history as a protective device that wards off ancient evil - “That Which Cannot Be Named.” She’s about to tell Giles what she saw, but Dawn is behind her. Dawn is being creepy. Buffy says she’ll be back before Joyce gets there. She’s going back to where she found the Orb. 12. And she found Spike hanging out outside her house. She punched Spike. Spike’s insult game is off, and he was out there for a long time judging by the pile of cigarette butts on the ground. 13. At the factory. Buffy’s going inside. No guard on duty now. Of course, the Beast ate two guards already. Buffy found the giant door the Beast broke down. Joyce, meanwhile, came home before Buffy got back, and is looking for her daughters. Dawn is there, and made tea. Says Joyce doesn’t need to worry about Buffy. Buffy continues her exploration of the factory, and found a monk. Tells him she got the Sphere. The Beast is there… and just slapped Buffy across the room. Fight time. 14. Magic Box. Everyone but Anya is exhausted but Anya is delighted. Giles hired her. She’s very, very happy. 15. Buffy’s getting beaten up by the Beast. Very, very badly. Even full-strength hits aren’t doing much. She did manage something with a headbutt. But the Beast isn’t even slowed down. She JUST noticed Buffy has powers. Wow, this is the most severe beating she’s ever survived. She jumped out a window, and the Beast had to stop chasing her because the heel of her shoe broke. And the BEast just broke the building and collapsed it on herself. Buffy’s too hurt to get the monk away. He tells her she has to keep the Key safe. The Key is energy. It’s not the Dagon Sphere. He’s calling the Beat an abomination. They had to hide the Key. They made it human and sent it to Buffy to keep safe. They put the Key in her house. “I didn’t ask for this. I don’t even know… what is she?” “Human. Human, and helpless. Please. She is an innocent in this. She needs you.” “She’s not my sister.” “She doesn’t know that.” Oh god, monks, well-played. Utter dick move - like, wow, you’re terrible - but well-played. 16. Buffy gets home. Dawn stomps upstairs. Joyce asks what it was about; Buffy says “Sister stuff.” Now she’s at Dawn’s room apologizing. Wow, Buffy’s face when she starts to recount a Dawn memory. Dawn wants to know what’s wrong with Joyce, but Buffy doesn’t know. Overall: A lot of people don’t like Dawn - they find her annoying. But I actually like that about her. She’s fourteen. Fourteen-year-olds are annoying - and she was created, by the monks, to be a convincing fourteen-year-old She should be annoying. Michelle Trachtenberg is seriously great in the role. She’s actually the only cast member among those playing teenagers in the show who matches her character’s age. The thing with the monks editing Buffy and Joyce’s memories… ehhhhhhh. Buffy is meant to be a piece of feminist art, a story about a powerful woman who has agency, but it spends a lot of its time stripping her of that. The very nature of the Calling strips her of agency; she did not choose it. It chose her. And now she’s had another Calling stacked on her - the monks bored into her feelings and inserted someone into her heart. That’s pretty awful. Thankfully, Sarah Michelle Gellar responds to it in a way that makes sense for Buffy - immense anger at the man who did it to her, and, once she knows what’s going on, none for Dawn, who is a fellow victim in the conflict between the Beast and the monks. The episode? Frankly emotional, with some lovely bits in the Magic Box, including using Anya really, really well. Have I mentioned I adore Anya? It’s good, is what I’m saying. Maybe a bit triggering, but Dawn’s story is inherently so. The episode’s good. The story about Joyce's illness continues here, too. I think I'm supposed to empathize with Joyce, but honestly I've watched her stomp through this show spreading about as much suffering as any human manages, and it's not even funny suffering like Ethan's work. I empathize with Buffy and Dawn having to watch someone they love be very, very ill, but not really with Joyce.

[wikimakemoney]

Chaotic communication: COVID-19 is rewriting our cultural rules of connection

30-second summary:

Not only are face-to-face chats more frequent, they’re increasingly unannounced, unplanned and unavoidable. A jarring juxtaposition to our pre-COVID habits. It’s communication chaos.

While it seems haphazard, each call, chat and interaction is an expansion of community that chips away at our cultural fear of IRL intimacy and democratizes digital communities.

This migration gives brands a mandate to expand their offerings to bigger, more diverse groups of consumers as they use live-streaming and digital tools to build new communities all over the country.

The foundational cracks in the influencer veneer have been growing over the past few years, but the COVID crisis provides a magnifying glass that’s amplifying influencer’s social media shortcomings.

Wholesome, positive –if not strange and mindless– content has become a balm to cure our anxiety, a form of self-care that fills a void and provides a sense of calm that sheet masks and sourdough cannot.

When we emerge post-COVID, shell-shocked, knowing that catastrophe can hit again at any moment, we’ll still want straightforward talk from brands. Brands need to learn this lesson quickly if they hope to pivot successfully in the ‘new normal.’

Talk to any Millennial or Gen Z’er two months ago, or… text them; they would say there are fewer things more anxiety provoking than actual, in-real-time phone calls. The abruptness; the uncontrollableness; the awkward pauses. But that was the Old World. In the solitude of COVID induced quarantine, a craving for intimacy and personal connection means consumers, once notoriously adverse to spontaneous, face-to-face communications, are now clamoring to hear each other’s voices and see each other’s face.

Verizon fielded over 800M phone calls per day within the first two weeks the country was locked down; the word “Zoom” has become a stand-in to mean any “video chat,” and apps like Houseparty have seen downloads increase 70 fold.

Not only are face-to-face chats more frequent, they’re increasingly unannounced, unplanned and unavoidable. A jarring juxtaposition to our pre-pandemic habits. It’s communication chaos.

Quarantine and the COVID crisis have totally rewritten our cultural rules of communication. But the frantic ways we’re corresponding now will likely shift the way we connect long beyond the end of lockdown.

Shift 1: A quest for intimacy in digital communities

Your bestie going live. Your boss going live. Your bank going live. When we were ordered to stay home, it only took a matter of days for everyone to start broadcasting themselves, most times to seemingly chaotic and confusing ends.

Recently on IG live, comedian Whitney Cummings agreed to talk to anyone in attendance: she wound up chatting with baby squirrels.

I just did an IG live with anyone who asked me to join and I was scared but then the person I picked had baby squirrels and I will now be doing these a LOT pic.twitter.com/MztHwbIkYZ

— Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) May 2, 2020

The official, verified account of Skittles has, on more than one occasion, stirred up drama in the comments section of Bowen Yang and Julio Torres’ Instagram Live chats.

Club Quarantine— a daily digital Queer dance party that happens every night via Zoom– allows virtual clubgoers to join in with their cams, or just watch from behind a black tile, eliciting both an exhibitionism and vouyerism harking back to the random recklessness of the bygone Chat Roulette era.

But while it seems haphazard, each call, chat and interaction is an expansion of community that chips away at our cultural fear of IRL intimacy and democratizes digital communities.

Club Quarantine is not just a fun party; it’s a way for young queer people all over the world to be exposed to a community they may never have been able to access, or even imagine, before.

As more white collar workers are beginning to wonder not when they’re going to return to the office, but why they would ever return to an office at all, major coastal cities are staring at an exodus of their creative class and a bit of their cultural capital.

This migration gives brands a mandate to expand their offerings to bigger, more diverse groups of consumers as they use live-streaming and digital tools to build new communities all over the country.

Take The Wing, a women’s co-working space founded in New York City with offices in chic urban hubs like San Francisco and London.

When forced to close, they quickly pivoted from Millennial-pink meeting rooms to Zooms, making the interconnectedness of their community and celebrity-speckled programming accessible online for people all over. 

Shift 2: Exasperation with asperation

The foundational cracks in the influencer veneer have been growing over the past few years, but the COVID crisis provides a magnifying glass that’s amplifying influencer’s social media shortcomings.

When the crisis hit, Influencers and celebrities were among the first to draw our ire for using their privilege to improve their situations: fleeing from (highly infectious) cities to (highly staffed) second homes, and broadcasting (off-tune) singalongs after just a few days of being confined to their sprawling estates.

The highly-filtered, everything-is-perfect image that is the hallmark of influencer and celebrity marketing has never been less appropriate than it is now.

In a global crisis, consumers are rejecting content that screams aspiration and are instead looking for ways to share in and mitigate our collective exasperation. So what’s to fill this anti-influencer void? More unpolished, even unhinged, content.

Sixty-four year old character actor Leslie Jordan has seen his following balloon from 80k to 4.2 million thanks to a stream of monologues showcasing the absurd mundanity of lockdown: ironing for fun, baton twirling for exercise, watching porn while eating cereal.

But we’re the stars, too. From live baking and hair-coloring tutorials, to yoga flows in cluttered bedrooms, to organized weekly Zoom sessions, we’re all content creators and each other’s Influencers, now more than ever.

“Coming to you live” from the physical and emotional messiness of quarantine is recalibrating our relationship with reality, causing us to eschew unreasonable expectations and embrace “doing the best we can do” as the new form of “living our best life.”

Heiniken’s recent spot montages the relatable pain points of our endless digital gatherings and nods to the fact that quarantine life isn’t great, but we’re all trying to make it through.

Shift 3: Optimism is self-care

Optimism was already growing as a countertrend to the vitriol on the internet, but today, it’s flourishing.

During the pandemic, against a backdrop of endless doomsday news, we’re clamoring for more optimism. The sarcasm and troll-like tone that was once the hallmark of the internet is being replaced by content that uplifts.

For a moment this week, “Duck Pool Party,” a stream of ducks playing in a pool, was the most viewed Reddit livestream. Even notoriously snarky brands like Wendy’s have shifted their Twitter strategy, at least temporarily, to encourage camaraderie through games, activities and shared stories.

Wholesome, positive –if not strange and mindless– content has become a balm to cure our anxiety, a form of self-care that fills a void and provides a sense of calm that sheet masks and sourdough cannot.

Shift 4: Fascinated with facts

In March, consumers were letting out a collective sigh of exhaustion as their inboxes filled with branded emails detailing how we were all “in this together.”

But against the background of a pandemic, these vague platitudes have a counter-effect, reminding us all just how much these companies haven’t been there for us in the past: what little cooperation we received from airlines and car companies before, and what little practical application they have in this stripped back version of reality.

Instead, we want to hear the straightforward truth.

Unlikely figures like Dr. Fauci and New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo have emerged as the leading men of the pandemic (and even more bizarrely, sex symbols), and Cuomo’s curt, distinctively Dad-toned Powerpoint slides have found a cult-following of their own.

Frito Lay’s COVID-spot “It’s About People” has won praise for saying what they were doing to help employees, instead of selling chips.

But the most trustworthy brand voice comes from a most unlikely player: Steak Umms.

The frozen meat company has emerged as a “voice of truth” thanks to their straight-forward, no-nonsense tweets that are at times, radical, at least for a corporate brand.

Their willingness to tweet bold opinions– and not mild platitudes–earned them double their pre-COVID audience, and the admiration of the internet.

When we emerge post-crisis, shell-shocked, knowing that catastrophe can hit again at any moment, we’ll still want straightforward talk from brands.

Brands need to learn this lesson quickly if they hope to pivot successfully in the ‘new normal.’

Megan Routh is a cultural anthropologist, writer and strategist at Open Mind Strategy whose expertise lies in translating cultural insights and trends into actionable strategies for Fortune 100 companies including: PepsiCo, Calvin Klein, JP Morgan Chase, Mondelez, Target and the United States Postal Service. With a decade of experience conducting research, moderating workshops and cultivating trend and cultural intelligence across countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, Megan has helped clients uncover emerging directions in culture, business and consumer behavior to develop strategies and innovate products, services, and experiences.

The post Chaotic communication: COVID-19 is rewriting our cultural rules of connection appeared first on ClickZ.

source http://wikimakemoney.com/2020/05/25/chaotic-communication-covid-19-is-rewriting-our-cultural-rules-of-connection/

[preciousmetals0]

Econ Recon; Jobs at Amazon; Theaters Be Gone

Econ Recon; Jobs at Amazon; Theaters Be Gone:

Dead Cats Can Dance

Initial reports on the U.S. economy started rolling in this morning … and I’m not sure if you really want to look or not.

The New York Federal Reserve’s Empire State Manufacturing Index plunged by the biggest margin on record: 34.4 points. The reading, which now stands at -21.5, indicates contraction in the New York manufacturing sector.

Elsewhere, U.S. retail sales fell a greater-than-expected 0.5% in February. According to the Department of Commerce, February’s weakness stemmed from a 0.9% drop in auto sales and a 2.8% plunge in gasoline sales.

In other words, the U.S. economy was on shaky ground even before the coronavirus’ rolling mass retail closures. In fact, when you throw COVID-19 into the mix, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) believes that the U.S. economy will show zero growth in the first quarter and a 5% decline in the second.

It’s no wonder that the Fed cut interest rates to zero. It’s also no surprise that the Trump administration is now pushing for $850 billion in economic stimuli to limit COVID-19’s economic havoc.

The Takeaway:

Despite today’s poor economic data, the S&P 500 Index is in rally mode, gaining roughly 5%.

Don’t believe it.

This is what we in the industry call a “dead cat bounce.”

It’s a complicated technical term that deals with math, velocity … and cats. The gist goes like this: If you drop something (anything … even, say, a dead cat) from high enough, it will bounce.

Yesterday, we saw the markets suffer their third-worst plunge ever, only behind 1987’s 22% plunge on “Black Monday” and a 13% drop in late 1929.

After a drop like that, even you’d bounce … and you’d probably join the cat in the choir invisible. But I digress…

We’ve had a few of these reactions in the past couple of weeks. Plunge and bounce. Plunge and bounce. It’s happening so often that this dead cat isn’t just bouncing … it’s dancing.

It’s a deadly dance that lured many investors who are used to buying into the 10-year bull market’s dips.

But we’re not in a bull market anymore. We’re in a bear market that’s headed toward a potential recession.

Now more than ever, you need a strong guiding voice in the market. Great Stuff has strived to be that voice, recommending solid action and investment ideas to protect and grow your wealth — even in these trying times.

But I know that some of you want a more diversified approach.

Enter Banyan Hill expert Ted Bauman (or “Cassandra,” as we call him these days).

Ted diversifies like no one’s business. In fact, his readers in The Bauman Letter had diversification at their fingertips long before this mess began…

That’s why Ted’s model portfolio in The Bauman Letter is actually three diversified model portfolios in one:

The “Base Hits” portfolio for investing in long-term gain opportunities in solid, financially stable companies … the ones that should outlive viral markets.

The “Home Runs” portfolio for impressive shorter-term opportunities — those quick stock rallies that most investors will miss in a blink in these volatile times.

The “Endless Income” portfolio for opportunities to generate income in the meantime.

Trust me when I tell you that Ted is the man to have in your corner when volatility like this hits the market.

Click here to learn more!

Going: Cat-ching Up to Demand

Great Stuff constantly talks about holding on to well-run companies with solid business models. These, as we say, are the stocks to not sell in the current market downturn. But we never really mention any names, do we?

Shame on us…

Well, here’s one to add to your list: Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is doing so well right now that it’s having trouble keeping warehouse shelves stocked and meeting delivery times. It should come as no surprise that the biggest online shopping center is outperforming at a time when everyone’s confined to their homes.

To remedy the situation, Amazon will hire 100,000 new full-time and part-time positions. Furthermore, the company also announced that it will raise wages by investing more than $350 million, increasing pay by $2 an hour in the U.S.

Now that’s a well-run company with a business model designed for the COVID-19 scare.

Going: The Cat’s out of the Bag

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) has done the unthinkable — something so taboo that there may be no putting this genie back in the bottle. No … it didn’t raise your cable prices again in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The company’s NBCUniversal unit is skipping the “theatrical window” for movie releases. In layman’s terms, that means it will release feature movies directly on demand … at the same time those films arrive in theaters.

With coronavirus quarantines roiling the movie theater business, now’s the perfect moment to break this final taboo.

“Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” said NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell.

Let’s not kid ourselves: NBCUniversal (aka Comcast) isn’t doing this out of kindness. It’s because movie theater revenue is in the toilet right now. What’s more, Comcast is set to launch its own streaming service (Peacock) in April.

The company has said that first-run movies will be available on a number of streaming partners. You can bet that Peacock will strut its stuff with new movies in no time.

My only misgiving is that Trolls World Tour will be the first movie to hit on-demand and theaters at the same time. Let’s be honest here … this movie would’ve been direct-to-DVD back in the ’90s.

Regardless, once NBCUniversal gets a taste of that oh-so-sweet on-demand cash, there may be no going back to the old way of releasing movies.

Gone: Cat-astrophic Development

When NBCUniversal opened the seventh seal, there was silence in the theater for about half an hour. And I saw the seven online media giants standing before Hollywood, and to them were given seven blockbuster films. And the seven giants with the seven movies prepared themselves to stream. — Comcast Book of Revelation, 3:17

With NBCUniversal’s announcement, no longer will people go to the movies just to see a movie. The advent of the “direct to on-demand” model means that the tide has finally turned. Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) pioneered this model, but no one really took it seriously. NBCUniversal’s move lends this model credence like nothing before.

This is catastrophic news for theater owners, such as AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) and Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK). These companies aren’t totally lost, however. They have long known their time would come.

Both AMC and Cinemark offer monthly subscription packages for movie-watching, stealing from the Netflix model. Both have also moved toward enhancing the “movie experience,” offering in-seat catering, drinks and superior video and sound quality. Not to mention … those nice, reclining leather seats!

The bottom line, however, is that “going to the movies” is no longer about the movies per se. It’s about the experience, convenience and luxury.

“It’s going to be hard to go back once they get a taste of it,” said Tom Ara, law firm DLA Piper’s co-chair of entertainment. Tom is talking about the increased revenue and lower marketing costs for movie studios.

Once NBCUniversal’s move takes hold, there’s no going back. Companies like AMC and Cinemark need to act now or be left in the dust.

If your business is closed it will make less money than if it is open; if it is closed for months it will make a lot less money. If you are buying the future earnings of businesses, you should probably pay less now than you would have last week, never mind a month ago.

— Matt Levine, Bloomberg Opinion financial columnist

Sometimes we need to be brought back to life, back to reality … back to the here and now, yeah. (Soul II Soul break for the win!)

Seriously, though. I get asked all the time why I think the market is crashing and why I think it will continue to go down. And now, I’ll probably be asked why I think a recession is coming.

Matt Levine sums up my line of thinking in plain language. Companies are making less money right now due to coronavirus closures and quarantines. They will continue to do so for the next several weeks … possibly months.

It doesn’t matter that China’s supply lines are finally flowing. Demand in the U.S. is falling off a cliff. I have friends who were already let go from their jobs due to the coronavirus. They’re drawing unemployment now. That demand is no longer there, and the same story is happening across the country.

That means less earnings for companies right now and lower future earnings in the coming months. Consequently, this means lower price-to-earnings ratios and lower stock prices (assuming anyone really traded on fundamentals in the first place during the past 10 years).

You have a chance to prepare for what’s coming now. Don’t squander it.

Great Stuff: Let’s Catch up Right Meow

I think we’re long overdue fur a paws in the action … a chance to lick our battle wounds and claw back a meow-ment of respite.

It’s only Tuesday, if you can believe it…

And that’s my cue to call on you! Write in to GreatStuffToday@banyanhill.com and let us know how you’re faring in this wild, whacky week!

Purr-haps you’d like a few conversation starters:

Are you stimulated by the White House’s stimulus plans? Or is the White House scratching up the wrong cat tree?

How will mass isolation in the U.S. affect your personal line of work? For my retired folks out there … did you ever experience a work disruption like this?

What are your go-to recession stocks to hold? (If you aren’t the “cash in the mattress” type, that is!)

You know the drill: You have just two days to spin a yarn to GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com to make this week’s edition of Reader Feedback.

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out Great Stuff on social meow-dia. If you can’t get enough meme-y market goodness, follow Great Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

[goldira01]

Dead Cats Can Dance

Initial reports on the U.S. economy started rolling in this morning … and I’m not sure if you really want to look or not.

The New York Federal Reserve’s Empire State Manufacturing Index plunged by the biggest margin on record: 34.4 points. The reading, which now stands at -21.5, indicates contraction in the New York manufacturing sector.

Elsewhere, U.S. retail sales fell a greater-than-expected 0.5% in February. According to the Department of Commerce, February’s weakness stemmed from a 0.9% drop in auto sales and a 2.8% plunge in gasoline sales.

In other words, the U.S. economy was on shaky ground even before the coronavirus’ rolling mass retail closures. In fact, when you throw COVID-19 into the mix, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) believes that the U.S. economy will show zero growth in the first quarter and a 5% decline in the second.

It’s no wonder that the Fed cut interest rates to zero. It’s also no surprise that the Trump administration is now pushing for $850 billion in economic stimuli to limit COVID-19’s economic havoc.

The Takeaway:

Despite today’s poor economic data, the S&P 500 Index is in rally mode, gaining roughly 5%.

Don’t believe it.

This is what we in the industry call a “dead cat bounce.”

It’s a complicated technical term that deals with math, velocity … and cats. The gist goes like this: If you drop something (anything … even, say, a dead cat) from high enough, it will bounce.

Yesterday, we saw the markets suffer their third-worst plunge ever, only behind 1987’s 22% plunge on “Black Monday” and a 13% drop in late 1929.

After a drop like that, even you’d bounce … and you’d probably join the cat in the choir invisible. But I digress…

We’ve had a few of these reactions in the past couple of weeks. Plunge and bounce. Plunge and bounce. It’s happening so often that this dead cat isn’t just bouncing … it’s dancing.

It’s a deadly dance that lured many investors who are used to buying into the 10-year bull market’s dips.

But we’re not in a bull market anymore. We’re in a bear market that’s headed toward a potential recession.

Now more than ever, you need a strong guiding voice in the market. Great Stuff has strived to be that voice, recommending solid action and investment ideas to protect and grow your wealth — even in these trying times.

But I know that some of you want a more diversified approach.

Enter Banyan Hill expert Ted Bauman (or “Cassandra,” as we call him these days).

Ted diversifies like no one’s business. In fact, his readers in The Bauman Letter had diversification at their fingertips long before this mess began…

That’s why Ted’s model portfolio in The Bauman Letter is actually three diversified model portfolios in one:

The “Base Hits” portfolio for investing in long-term gain opportunities in solid, financially stable companies … the ones that should outlive viral markets.

The “Home Runs” portfolio for impressive shorter-term opportunities — those quick stock rallies that most investors will miss in a blink in these volatile times.

The “Endless Income” portfolio for opportunities to generate income in the meantime.

Trust me when I tell you that Ted is the man to have in your corner when volatility like this hits the market.

Click here to learn more!

Going: Cat-ching Up to Demand

Great Stuff constantly talks about holding on to well-run companies with solid business models. These, as we say, are the stocks to not sell in the current market downturn. But we never really mention any names, do we?

Shame on us…

Well, here’s one to add to your list: Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is doing so well right now that it’s having trouble keeping warehouse shelves stocked and meeting delivery times. It should come as no surprise that the biggest online shopping center is outperforming at a time when everyone’s confined to their homes.

To remedy the situation, Amazon will hire 100,000 new full-time and part-time positions. Furthermore, the company also announced that it will raise wages by investing more than $350 million, increasing pay by $2 an hour in the U.S.

Now that’s a well-run company with a business model designed for the COVID-19 scare.

Going: The Cat’s out of the Bag

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) has done the unthinkable — something so taboo that there may be no putting this genie back in the bottle. No … it didn’t raise your cable prices again in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The company’s NBCUniversal unit is skipping the “theatrical window” for movie releases. In layman’s terms, that means it will release feature movies directly on demand … at the same time those films arrive in theaters.

With coronavirus quarantines roiling the movie theater business, now’s the perfect moment to break this final taboo.

“Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” said NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell.

Let’s not kid ourselves: NBCUniversal (aka Comcast) isn’t doing this out of kindness. It’s because movie theater revenue is in the toilet right now. What’s more, Comcast is set to launch its own streaming service (Peacock) in April.

The company has said that first-run movies will be available on a number of streaming partners. You can bet that Peacock will strut its stuff with new movies in no time.

My only misgiving is that Trolls World Tour will be the first movie to hit on-demand and theaters at the same time. Let’s be honest here … this movie would’ve been direct-to-DVD back in the ’90s.

Regardless, once NBCUniversal gets a taste of that oh-so-sweet on-demand cash, there may be no going back to the old way of releasing movies.

Gone: Cat-astrophic Development

When NBCUniversal opened the seventh seal, there was silence in the theater for about half an hour. And I saw the seven online media giants standing before Hollywood, and to them were given seven blockbuster films. And the seven giants with the seven movies prepared themselves to stream. — Comcast Book of Revelation, 3:17

With NBCUniversal’s announcement, no longer will people go to the movies just to see a movie. The advent of the “direct to on-demand” model means that the tide has finally turned. Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) pioneered this model, but no one really took it seriously. NBCUniversal’s move lends this model credence like nothing before.

This is catastrophic news for theater owners, such as AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) and Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK). These companies aren’t totally lost, however. They have long known their time would come.

Both AMC and Cinemark offer monthly subscription packages for movie-watching, stealing from the Netflix model. Both have also moved toward enhancing the “movie experience,” offering in-seat catering, drinks and superior video and sound quality. Not to mention … those nice, reclining leather seats!

The bottom line, however, is that “going to the movies” is no longer about the movies per se. It’s about the experience, convenience and luxury.

“It’s going to be hard to go back once they get a taste of it,” said Tom Ara, law firm DLA Piper’s co-chair of entertainment. Tom is talking about the increased revenue and lower marketing costs for movie studios.

Once NBCUniversal’s move takes hold, there’s no going back. Companies like AMC and Cinemark need to act now or be left in the dust.

If your business is closed it will make less money than if it is open; if it is closed for months it will make a lot less money. If you are buying the future earnings of businesses, you should probably pay less now than you would have last week, never mind a month ago.

— Matt Levine, Bloomberg Opinion financial columnist

Sometimes we need to be brought back to life, back to reality … back to the here and now, yeah. (Soul II Soul break for the win!)

Seriously, though. I get asked all the time why I think the market is crashing and why I think it will continue to go down. And now, I’ll probably be asked why I think a recession is coming.

Matt Levine sums up my line of thinking in plain language. Companies are making less money right now due to coronavirus closures and quarantines. They will continue to do so for the next several weeks … possibly months.

It doesn’t matter that China’s supply lines are finally flowing. Demand in the U.S. is falling off a cliff. I have friends who were already let go from their jobs due to the coronavirus. They’re drawing unemployment now. That demand is no longer there, and the same story is happening across the country.

That means less earnings for companies right now and lower future earnings in the coming months. Consequently, this means lower price-to-earnings ratios and lower stock prices (assuming anyone really traded on fundamentals in the first place during the past 10 years).

You have a chance to prepare for what’s coming now. Don’t squander it.

Great Stuff: Let’s Catch up Right Meow

I think we’re long overdue fur a paws in the action … a chance to lick our battle wounds and claw back a meow-ment of respite.

It’s only Tuesday, if you can believe it…

And that’s my cue to call on you! Write in to GreatStuffToday@banyanhill.com and let us know how you’re faring in this wild, whacky week!

Purr-haps you’d like a few conversation starters:

Are you stimulated by the White House’s stimulus plans? Or is the White House scratching up the wrong cat tree?

How will mass isolation in the U.S. affect your personal line of work? For my retired folks out there … did you ever experience a work disruption like this?

What are your go-to recession stocks to hold? (If you aren’t the “cash in the mattress” type, that is!)

You know the drill: You have just two days to spin a yarn to GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com to make this week’s edition of Reader Feedback.

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out Great Stuff on social meow-dia. If you can’t get enough meme-y market goodness, follow Great Stuff on Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff