#i am not acknowledged by anyone on stage or in the audience i'm just there

[patronsaint-ofthedenial]

Releasing an album of Green Day covers where instead of singing I whistle slightly off key sort of like those shittyfluted versions of songs that used to be everywhere

[streussal]

i 100% agree with u about the fight, my question is why do you think they even included that scene? i don't feel like it tells us anything we don't already know & it gives ppl who dont remember the original scene opportunity to believe louis was the aggressor.. don't know how to feel about it to be frank

I got this ask after I made this post. Responding almost 4 days later so I don't know if the anon will see this, but I have some thoughts.

First of all, no matter how strongly a piece of media demonstrates who is the bad guy in a situation, there's always going to be people who side with the abuser, ESPECIALLY if the abuser is a white male and the victim is anyone other than a white male. Louis straight up said in the scene (LESTAT'S VERSION) "like you wrapped your hands around our daughter's neck" so it's pretty clear he's responding to Lestat attacking Claudia. On stage, Lestat goes off script and insists that it was wrong of him to drop Louis from the sky, and that afterwards Louis was "a broken thing. I know, I saw, because I am the one that broke him". He then follows this with the admission that he did it because Louis hurt his feelings, not because of any threats or violence from Louis: “I couldn’t persuade him to return my affections. I could force him to love me. And so, I broke him.” If people don't get that Lestat was in the wrong here, I don't think there's anything else the writers can do.

As for why I think the show gave us that scene:

Playing around with different points of view is neat, and showing different recollections of the same event is a recurring thing in this show. (I'm torn on whether this is Lestat's actual recollection or just something the coven added to make Louis look bad - see my interpretation that Lestat is being coerced into participating in the trial - but either way it plays into one of the themes of the series.) Yes showing the POV of an abuser could backfire if it falls into victim blaming but I think the show handled it very well (and there is a portion of the audience that is always going to see Lestat as the victim even when he straight up says he was the bad guy in a situation).

It shows Louis physically protecting Claudia AND prioritizing her over Lestat. One of the major criticisms of Louis is his failure to do either of these things, so I actually think it made a lot of people like him better. Most of the twitter reactions I saw, from people who accepted the scene as 100% fact, was people talking about how great it was that Louis was ready to kill the guy who hurt his daughter.

It allows Jacob Anderson to do something different! One of the reasons I'm suspicious of this version of events with Louis cackling is that I have not seen Louis act quite like that before. But Jacob definitely sold it! Makes me wonder if maybe this is yet another side of Louis! I don't know! It adds rewatch value.

The acknowledgement that Lestat dropping Louis from the sky really did do long term damage to Louis. Not just physically. He became "a broken thing" - there was serious psychological damage. After he got back together with Lestat, we never really saw him push back against Lestat again. A lot of his time in Paris is a reaction against being in an abusive relationship. (And then he gets in another one, which happens a lot in real life.)

But I think it's also significant that right after this scene, we saw Lestat's remorse. And a much more real apology than anything we saw in s1. Now obviously this does not fix anything. (Claudia highlights this - "Can I cry and say sorry too?" - She and Louis tried to kill Lestat and are on trial, Lestat nearly kills Louis and just gives an apology.) But it gives the possibility that perhaps Lestat has changed or realized that he needs to change. And given that the showrunner has repeatedly referred to Loustat as the central love story of the series (link)... we need to see that Lestat is not going to do the same thing again. We want him to be better for Louis. Not that it would ever be an entirely healthy relationship (they are vampires), but not "drop him the sky requiring months of recovery" level awful. (@awildwickedslip wrote an interesting post relating to this here)

[that-ari-blogger]

Chekhov's Gattling Gun, Part 1

Like a boat, lost at sea With no sails, not a breeze. I am drifting, cold waters No stars to be seen

Life isn't simple. You can't measure every moment in history on a scale of a to b. Life is like a collage, made from disparate materials stuck together, some organised, some more wild. But all of them collaborating into the great picture that is a single human being and their lived experience. This is true for everyone around you, and since no artwork is identical, no person can ever live the same way as anyone else.

Stories work in a similar fashion, with different threads getting tangled and twisted until, with one final pull, the full might of the tapestry is revealed, and the audience can marvel at the beauty, or reminisce about how they watched it come together.

Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical is a fantastically complex and moving story, and two of the final songs, Adrift Reprise and The Trial serve as a climax in momentum, plot, and theme. These are the moments when the tapestry is revealed.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Adrift Reprise needs to be understood in the context of its namesake, the first song in the musical, and in the context of, well, it's context. This sits just before the climax of the musical, just before everything comes to a head, and we get this quiet before the storm. And this is also the moment after our conversation with Freddie (you know the one). So, you bet I'm going to talk about that.

Let me start with the imagery, the stage. This is a bit of a meta metaphor, this is a game, literally a story, and the imagery references that. But what I find interesting is the reason why.

Grace has spent the entire musical detached from reality, directionless, unable to pin down. There's a reason you can make any choice for her and it won't feel out of character. She's a blank slate, emotionally and motivationally. The only thing that can get her to do something is a threat of death.

And then we get here, Grace sits upon a stage. But now she has purpose. Now she has something to look forwards to after the trial. This is a Grace that is making up her mind. So, the story acknowledges it's superficiality at the start, when Grace is the most detached, and now, when she is feeling the most real.

This also serves to contrast her with an earlier version of herself. I keep saying that this is a story about change, and here we are presented with how much Grace has changed over the course of the musical.

And despite you not actually getting to choose anything in this song, you feel like this is the culmination of all of your choices up to this point.

Specifically, I am talking about the choice whether or not to bring Freddie back from the dead. I did, on my first playthrough, so I was met with this very quiet version of the song as Grace and I both reflected on what we had just done. There is a noticeable air of uncertainty, and the resolution isn't "I did the right thing", but "I did what I did, now I have to deal with that".

However, there is another path you can take to get to this song.

If you let Freddie go, you get backup music. And you get shown a different change between now and the beginning. Slightly.

I actually think Grace has changed more as a mortal than as a muse. If that makes sense. As a mortal, she owns up to her decisions, and resolves herself. She is alone for now, but she knows she has people to rely on. But as a muse, I think she has definitely changed, although not quite as much. Grace still feels alone, and still has to be brought from that by Calliope. I think that if Freddie stays dead, Grace regresses to the point she began the story in, and has to be given that final boost externally.

The change is different between the two, I simply prefer the former option because I, personally, find it more interesting.

"In your heart, we remain You do not sail in vain"

All preferences aside, however, this is a cool line. All of the people that Grace has changed have changed her in return. There's another musical with a similar sentiment in it.

I've heard it said That people come into our lives for a reason Bringing something we must learn And we are led To those who help us most to grow If we let them And we help them in return

This is from Wicked, and stay tuned for some analysis of that in the future. But for now, it is the meaning that is important. We grow the most if we accept the help, and we give it back when it's needed. Humans are a communal species, we stay static if left to our own devices, or we spiral.

The question then becomes this: What do you want to do now? How do you want to do this?

If you bring back Freddie, you need to keep her alive through the trial, and if you don't, well now you have to live on in her name. Either way, you need to make a decision.

There is no inertia in the ocean.

(There is a Part 2 going up at the same time as this that will discuss The Trial)

Previous - Next

[yuesya]

I'm eager to hear your complaints about Fontaine's last story segment.

Haha Fontaine complaints! (Cracks knuckles)

Also: Spoilers ahoy! If you’re someone who plays Genshin Impact and has not finished the Fontaine archon quests, then I do not recommend reading any of this.

I’d also like to add: Fontaine’s main story definitely had some bright spots for me, and there were various scenes and tidbits that I enjoyed. That said, I also had several complaints by the end of it all. This entire thing also... got pretty lengthy, whoops.

… Anways! Without further ado:

1) Furina’s Trial

Personally, I am not a fan of the way that Furina’s trial was handled.

Firstly, the setup involved in luring Furina into their initial trap: The boat/house that was transported to the opera house courtroom. This was accomplished through psychological torment and manipulation, in which people were purposefully incited into targeting her.

When the walls eventually fall down around Furina and reveal her standing inside the stage of the courtroom, the Traveler has a line somewhere around there when she tells Furina that she had her last chance to come clean with her secrets to them, right before these walls came down. Here, I just wanted to ask –clearly there was already a full house in the audience seating, and they literally brought Furina onstage. Even if Furina did decide to come clean in those last few moments, what were they expecting to do? “… Hey everyone, sorry there’s no trial happening after all! You can all go home now, the show’s over!”

Moreover, the trial itself. Furina was driven into a corner and put on the spot, and she was publicly grilled and humiliated in front of an audience. The Primordial Seawater test was also… just, why would you do that? Bringing in a harmful substance and forcing someone to test it on themselves in front of an audience? Sure, it might’ve been diluted to a ‘safe’ level. But instead of just saying that and informing Furina that a Fontaine person would show corresponding symptoms anyways, Traveler & Navia chose to present it to Furina as a lethal substance. Aside from causing mental anguish, I fail to see the point of it.

“But this trial is necessary! Furina won’t tell us what’s going on otherwise.”

Alright, then let’s just commit to that. It’s necessary for everyone to take on an antagonistic role in order to drag Furina to court and make the truth come to light.

But can’t we still… address things, in the aftermath? You can argue that Traveler & co. were trying to act for the ‘greater good.’ The fate of Fontaine was at stake. Still, even if the tactics used in bringing Furina to court and trialing her were necessary, lying and manipulating and gaslighting someone is not the right thing to do.

Except does anyone properly acknowledge that in the aftermath? Is there anyone who admits that this is a terrible thing they’ve done, and makes that clear? Did anyone apologize to Furina for forcing her through such a traumatizing experience? (Side-eyes Paimon in Furina’s character quest.)

Nah, instead we just save a country and give ourselves a pat on the back for doing a great job.

Happy Ending!

2) Focalors’ Death

I want to preface this by saying that I understand Focalors is the Hydro Archon, so in order to get rid of the Hydro Throne her death was probably inevitable, from a godly perspective.

From a human perspective, however, Focalors is innocent. She was not the one who committed the original ‘sin’ of using the power of the Primordial Sea to turn Oceanids into pseudo-humans. And yet she is the one who must pay for it. The only resolution we have to this is that Furina now gets to live her life freely as a human. Now, it might just be me, but for all that Furina was split off and created from Focalors’ humanity, the two of them are essentially seem to be two separate, different beings.

3) Humans vs. Gods

Thematically, Fontaine’s story seems a little mismatched when compared with the other regions.

In Mondstadt, its people play an active role, as seen in how the Knights of Favonius (and Diluc) join Venti in helping Dvalin and restoring peace.

In Liyue, we see the people stepping out from the gods’ purview. With the ‘death’ of Rex Lapis, the Qixing declare that the age of humanity has come, and it’s the people of Liyue working together towards a new future.

Inazuma has people literally fighting a war and rebelling against their archon; in the end, Raiden hears the cries of her people and she is the one who changes, in response to her people’s hopes.

In Sumeru, Nahida is locked up by her people (the Sages) but also saved by her people (Alhaitham, Cyno, Nilou, etc.) And in the fight against false god!Scaramouche, Nahida connects the Traveler to her Akasha terminal (?) and literally uses the collective wisdom of all of Sumeru’s people to assist in the fight.

For all four of these regions, it’s the people who step up and play important roles in resolving their respective nations’ crises.

In Fontaine, we do see its people also tackling various problems –Navia with her Spina di Rosula, Wriothesley and his flying ship– but in regards to the most important issue that’s the ominous prophecy hanging over their heads?

Neuvillette, a Dragon Sovereign, is the one who saves Fontaine’s people from Primordial Seawater by turning them fully into regular humans. Focalors, the Hydro Archon, executes herself in order to give Neuvillette the power to do so –and that’s not even mentioning her meticulous plan to fool Celestia, and the 500 years of silent suffering that Furina endured.

Focalors’ sacrifice is essentially what saves Fontaine, in the end. Divine intervention.

4) Meropide Detective Arc

This is a lot more minor, but it feels like we spend a lot of time running in Meropide looking for clues and learning about useless things that didn’t play any significant role towards the main plot of the archon quest.

You spend days and days running around the prison, and in the end you find out it’s only important because Wriothesley wants to test your observational skills. My dude, that is really not the most important thing here!

Personally, I think Sigewinne’s thing with cooking suspicious-looking food would’ve made a better character quest than a side tangent in the main story. I don’t even remember what the betting ring was about anymore.

I think I would’ve liked a stronger focus on what we originally came there to look for –investigating Childe’s disappearance– which might’ve wrapped up the jail arc a lot quicker, true. But maybe we could’ve gone back and spent more time with Furina instead? Maybe discover for ourselves that Furina is hiding things, and talk to her more, get to know her better? … It would provide more context and an extra ‘oomph’ for the upcoming Furina Trial, at the very least.

5) Powerscaling?

Okay this is definitely a LOT more minor, but. Powerscaling. It feels like things just escalated very, very quickly in Fontaine.

Childe. We know he’s strong, we fought him back in Liyue. Except Neuvillette crushes him in his Abyss form in, what. Less than a second?

Eventually, we encounter Skirk at the end. We find out that the space whale responsibly for nearly destroying Fontaine is just her master’s “pet,” which implies a whole other level of terrifying power that exists out there, along with whatever faction Skirk happens to be a part of.

It would be cool if we get to learn about Skirk more in the future, but overall there seems to be a lot of higher power appearing after higher power in Fontaine. Maybe that's just me, though.

[taulun]

Hiiii it’s your anonymous-au-obsessed freak once again! You have no idea how grateful I am for your answers, I love building images in my head for such things and it’s so great that you’re an author who provides very detailed answers ❤️

Okay okay okay so I have more questions and I didn’t even entirely comprehend all the previous answers. I’m not sorry tho this time haha:

1. At what point did they release Crystalline? Stable times of their relationship or rocky times of the situationship? And again - was For A. and Yours released during T H E. M I G H T Y. B R E A K U P??

2. Is Mari an astrological freak like you (it’s a compliment, I swear, I love it in you!)? Or maybe Adrien (odd maybe but you said he likes the stars but maybe only in astronomical way)?

3. Were they ever diagnosed by a psychiatrist BEFORE they started therapy as a couple to build a healthy relationship? Like, did they know officially they’re mentally f-ed up? I don’t want to offend anyone with those words, I myself struggle with diagnosed bpd and it’s really easier just to say it like that

4. I know Adrien does not bond easily with anyone but would he consider Luka his best friend? I thought about Plagg (Peter) for a moment too but I think that maybe the fact that he’s always stoned and he does not acknowledge what’s going on in the situationship (as per one of your recent memes) and the age gap is there but maybe I’m in the wrong here??

5. What are their go-to songs for a karaoke night?

6. What’s the aesthetic of their rooms? Do they have any sentimental things there or are they plain-hotel-room types of people?

7. And as for the sentimental things - what are the things that when they see anywhere make them think about each other?

8. Is Mari an only child? And what would be the age difference between Adrien and his brother if he didn’t pass away?

ALSO I LOVE YOU SO FREAKING MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA AAAAGH IM LITERALLY OBSESSED

HELLO DEAR ANON AKA MY FAVOURITE ANON HERE ❤️❤️ sorry for taking so long to answer but I was gathering ideas all this time, so I could give you a detailed answer!!

So here it goes, under cut because it's gonna be a long post, BEWARE:

1) Actually they released Crystalline pretty fast. It was like 1 month after they met at Exitium's concert that they started writing it - lyrics by Adrien alone, with only some additions from Marinette, music by Luka btw - but it was supposed to be just another metal ballad for Exitium's upcoming album, nothing fancy. When Adrien and the band went on tour with their newest album (which I'm gonna make a cover for because "From Here To Eternity" came out even later, since it includes "Yours"), they invited Ladybird for the song, BUT those were already "the rocky times of the situationship", like you said. So a generic love ballad turned into some pretty angsty shit, especially when they performed it on stage for the first time. Even their audience was like "ummm that be looking suspicious ". Sometimes their live performance of the song was angsty af, other times it looked like they're trying to seduce one another with "hungry eyes" they were giving each other while singing. The song was also one of the reasons why Mari became so delusional about their relationship - the lyrics were written by Adrien, and especially his part hits hard and basically indicates that the guy's ready to fully engage in a relationship with a girl, sooooo. They realised the actual message of the song long after the breakup, and it became much more meaningful then. 

And for the second part of the question - yep, "Yours" was released after the breakup, when Adrien was left alone with his thoughts and feelings that he could no longer deny (lol "the sound of her voice leaving me with no choice" basically). "For A." was written some time before the breakup, but Marinette decided to keep it for herself until she heard "Yours" for the first time. She then released her mini album as a musical answer to Adrien's song.

2. Oh no, she's not, but Juleka kinda is! (Ahaha I took it as a compliment, don't worry ) She's actually not that crazy about it, but she knows a thing or two, and sometimes is like "I mean it makes sense for you and I to be complete opposites, Mari, because that's what we are astrologically - Cancer is the opposition of Capricorn, right", and Marinette absolutely loves listening to shit like that even though she doesn't really get it that much. Adrien's more of a "that shit can't be real" guy, so is Luka.

3. (I didn't get offended at all, I'm fucked up myself, BPD here as well, high five)

 Uhh yeah, Marinette was diagnosed in the past. At first she was diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depressive disorder as a teenager. Her mom noticed immediately when her problems began, and made sure she was getting psychological help as soon as possible, but when Mari turned 18 yo, she made a stupid ass decision to quit therapy. Her mom couldn't really do much about it, Marinette was already an adult after all. Later when she was 21-22 years old, she went to a psychiatrist to get some medication, BUT medication is only temporary solution for BPD. She sometimes even forgets to take her meds, so.

Adrien was never diagnosed with anything, and I don't think he suffers from any particular disorder or mental illness. He's got commitment issues, that's for sure. He knows that his way of "bonding" with other people, mostly when it comes to romantic relationships, is not considered normal, but he doesn't know how to change it, and just doesn't feel like changing it in general - until later, of course. Being truly vulnerable with someone is completely out of his comfort zone. It's easier for him to create an image of an asshole who's only up for sex and nothing else, than actually face his own fears and deal with them.

4. Luka is the only person who Adrien calls family, period. And that's only because they've known each other since childhood, so they're basically brothers (no blood relation of course). Friendship is the only type of relationship that Adrien actually understands, and it is within his comfort zone. He never had a good example of a romantic relationship as a child, after all his parents never really loved each other :") 

Oh, the age gap between Peter and the rest of the band isn't really that much visible. Well, of course Plagg is more chill than the rest of them since he went through some ups and downs of "his 20s" already, but he's a big kid at heart. And yeaaah, he likes smoking weed and getting intoxicated one way or another, but he's not an addict. He just enjoys the feeling of it, I guess. He thinks he's a connoisseur because he treats alcohol and drugs as "something that he doesn't need, but enjoys", but then he drinks literally anything they give him, so XD He's more like that "older friend who's not very serious about life, but makes some pretty intense and wise comments from time to time" to Adrien, but he's not as close to him as Luka. He is pretty close, though.

5. OHHHH MY GOD okay okay so: 

 Adrien: Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden, Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi, Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi AND Bed of Roses (just because Nils Molin from Dynazty covered it), The Show Must Go On by Queen (also bcs of Nils covering it), Hardcore by Beast in Black, and many many more actually but he only participates once he's drunk af

Marinette: Gods and Monsters by Lana Del Rey (honestly anything by Lana lmao), Self Control by Laura Branigan, Bubblegum Bitch by Marina, Little Talks by Of Monsters And Men, some classics by Elvis and The Beatles too - she LOVES karaoke in general

6.  Okay so for Adrien - he lives in a small flat, not super fancy or anything, just a normal one-person apartment (I'm gonna make it in the Sims 4 later and show it to you all); he's got his keyboard there, his guitar (yeah he can play it, too), some vinyls because he's a huge music lover (duh), one photo album that includes mostly photos with Luka and the rest of the members of Exitium, a little note from Marinette that he keeps hidden somewhere because God forbid him to admit his feelings - it's a note written on a piece of pink paper that says "toss your dirty shoes in my washing machine heart  - M"; he also keeps a skull of his cat that died when Adrien was a teenager, aka his best friend besides Luka; in general his apartment is a mess most of the times, and he doesn't have much there anyways.

And for Mari - she's got tons of clothes, TONS TONS TONS of dresses (she seems to be a little addicted to buying clothes) - some also made by her mom (yes, Sabine can sew) that she loves the most; she's got plants in her room, too, but sometimes she forgets to water them and if it wasn't for Sabine keeping them alive, they would already be pretty much dead; she's also got a nice collection of crystal gems and jewellery (she loves pearls the most), a teddy bear named Buttercup that Juleka gave her (see what I did there...), and lots of other stuff; her room is full of everything and nothing, basically.

7.  THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BUT SO HARD TO ANSWER BECAUSE I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT ANYTHING LIKE THAT but lemme think..... Marinette associates Adrien with specific scents, actually - she thinks of him whenever she smells the air after a thunderstorm and the scent of pavement after heavy rain (because it was raining after Exitium's concert and when they went to a bar later); the scent of leather, cigarettes; Adrien, however, "sees" Marinette in the sound of a singing nightingale (the thing is that Luka used to call Mari - and still calls - "birdie"/"little birdie" because she reminded him of a bird when they were dating, and Adrien kinda started associating her with birds as well). Oh, he's also got one of her crystal gem rings (a rose quartz one) that she left in the  pocket of his leather jacket once and forgot to take it back, and so it stayed with him. So that's one thing that reminds him of her.

8.  Marinette is the only child! Adrien's brother would be 5 years older than him, so he'd be 32 in the AU.

PLEASE ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO ASK ME MORE, I LOVE YOU, GOODNIGHT <3

[nextstopparis]

Has the fandom addressed the parallel between Uther and Arthur’s death where they are both stabbed in the gut and held by one of the most important people in their life and they have to sort of tell the person not to go or get them help (“stay with me” and “just hold me please”) and they have their final “I should have appreciated you more you’re so important to me” speech?

anon i am SO sorry this took like two days sakjnxakx i dont know whats been wrong with me kjdnsncs

also. OH MY GOD?????

(4.03) (5.13)

first thing i can think of is:

ARTHUR: I'll go get help.

UTHER: Stay with me.

vs,

MERLIN: I'm not going to lose you.

ARTHUR: Just, just - just hold me. Please.

(YES I CRIED TYPING THE 'PLEASE' OK LEAVE ME ALONE) which is just. a father telling his son (often described by canon as a person who uther treasures unlike anyone he's treasured before) (erm. idk if i agree with that buT ANYWAY) to stay with him (hold him) in what he believes are his final moments. and also arthur asking his best friend to *just* hold him in HIS final moments.

UTHER: I'm sorry.

ARTHUR: No. Don't say that.

and

ARTHUR: ... For the kingdom you helped me build.

MERLIN: You'd have done it without me.

to me, in both scenarios, it just feels like. arthur is trying to reassure his father before his death ('no, don't say you've been a bad father. dont die thinking i blame or hate you. no.') (which i personally disagree with but ANYWAY). and merlin trying to reassure arthur before his death ('no, you didn't need me. don't die thinking you're worth any less. no, you could have done all this yourself') (which i also talked about here).

there's also:

ARTHUR: You can't die.

and

MERLIN: You're not going to say goodbye.

five stages of grief, beginning with denial, anyone?

after this, as you said, both arthur and uther give like. this mini speech. which at first i couldnt find any parallel between UNTIL. UNTIL I REREAD WHAT YOU WROTE ABT THE APPRECIATION. because uther talks about how arthur has always made him proud, how arthur is ready and HAS BEEN ready to be king for some time. which 1) is, from my understanding, the one affirmation from his father he has ALWAYS craved, literally since season one ("i always thought i was a big disappointment to you") BUT ALSO 2) it's almost. exactly what we as an audience need to hear? like, ok. i dont think anyone much CARES for uthers opinion on who's ready to be king but. still. if he's going to say anything, if he MUST, this is what the best thing he could say? this serves as like. one last confirmation i guess? like the "official" approval? arthur's father FINALLY saying something fatherly to him. lmfao

and, to parallel that, arthur THANKS MERLIN!! he acknowledges all the work merlin has done for him (whether he knows abt it specifically or not. i also wrote abt that here) and THANKS HIM!! again, at first i was thinking, idk how these two speeches parallel besides the timing and general sentiments but. LOOK. just like arthur has been dying for his father's approval since season one, merlin has also been dying for arthur to know about his help since season 1 too!!!! AS WELL, it's exactly what the audience wants to hear from arthur!! like we can talk about timing and execution and whether it was enough or not, but... more or less, it's what WE have been waiting for as well. arthur is FINALLY aware (to enough of an extent, imo) of how much More(TM) merlin is, you know?

and,

UTHER: I've always loved you.

this, to me, is kind of the same thing as:

ARTHUR: I want to say something I've never said to you before. Thank you.

because it's like this big. FINALLY. moment, you know? as well, it's their final words to the other person. idk if that made sense i hope it did. ANYWAY.

one interesting thing is that, unlike arthur (that we now know), that wasn't actually uther's death scene. BUT THE PARALLELS DONT STOP. BECAUSE MERLIN IN 5.13 THOUGHT HE STILL HAD TIME TO SAVE ARTHUR, JUST LIKE ARTHUR THOUGHT ABT HIS FATHER IN 4.03.

so the other parallel is: merlin begs kilgharrah for one last favour to take them to avalon just like arthur begs dragoon for a favour to save his father.

arthur's already dead by the time they get to avalon, unfortunately, and uther (not so unfortunately) has his fate sealed bc of morgana's neckless.

OH AND ALSO

dragoon gets a ride from a pendragon and

pendragon and dragoon get a ride from a dragon. which is the best/most serious parallel i think but. anyway.

[feral-radfem]

I tried to respond to this before I realized the op of the original post had me blocked. So I'll just do it here and tag you: @crunchycorn

It was fairly unrelated to what we were talking about because it distracts from the fact that I was mad about the association of kink and homosexuality. That being said it is also a poor interpretation of my post. If you believe me supporting one law and mentioning that what OP is suggesting is against the law with a specific name as me supporting anything as long as it's on the book is stupid. Obscenity laws have been used against women inappropriately because we are an oppressed class, which kinksters are not. The law applied poorly in the past does not mean the law as a whole is bad. I think almost every American can agree that the public should be a space for children and people who do not want to see explicit acts taking place can go. When good laws are applied unjustly, we aim to correct the oberreach not get rid of the good law entirely.

What is actually a bad argument is jumping to the conclusion that support/acknowledgment for one law means support for all laws no matter how bad because they are laws. It's a straw man and a slippery slope fallacy and it's coming across incredibly online with a shallow understanding of how politics functions. In the nicest way possible, I don't want your advice on how to argue. I did this for years on stage and/or with an audience. I am willing to bet actual money I have more experience and training in this than you.

Also, you cannot imply that my reasoning is that because "it's a law it's good" and then implied that I did not support women being forced to cover their hair wear skirts, and cover their breasts. Those two thoughts are connected, you can't come to one conclusion without the other. So, you either believe that my argument was not that because it's a law it's good and you're just being a contrarian, or you do believe that is my argument and that I would support any and all of those things should they still be on the law books.

Which, if anyone is confused, I do not agree with any law simply because the law. I agree with changing and creating new laws because I'm a political activist with an understanding that there are laws on the book that I will and do already support. I'm a little flabbergasted I had to explain this.

[buddha-in-disguise]

Nothing is as it seems.

I've talked about this away from social media at length, but wanted to just put the thoughts down properly about the overall Supergirl Season 5 plot - not about cast or characters per se, since I have covered this a few times in numerous posts.

Supergirl was touted as being a Black Mirror season, where nothing is as it seems, and the dangers of technology and certain social media platforms.

I was excited for this. As my husband can attest, I love these kind of puzzles or plots in TV or film (hello, Interstellar anyone? Or 12 Monkeys. Or from books, the likes of Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, or Shutter Island - I've not seen the film so, no idea if it follows the book closely. Or TV, Black Mirror).

So much to my husband's annoyance I often will catch onto clues long before he does when watching things (I do try to keep quiet when I watch things with him so as not to spoil it, but I slip up and suddenly say 'did you see that?' As he gives me a bemused look and the 'no.' falling from his lips with practiced ease). I might not always know the full relevance to certain things, but I see cohesion that I can then map towards a conclusion, or it helps me understand if an ending is more open to interpretation.

Supergirl this season has left me struggling to catch any clues or their relevance. Sure they're there. Hope offering to kill Kara even though her prime directive was to do no harm in episode one for goodness sake, as an immediate red flag went up for me, plus Lillian and the Earth they controlled comment to Lex suggesting she wasn't Earth 38 Lillian, particularly with Lex's reaction, Leviathan leader is female - not a surprise if they're following the comics, but it feels far more weighted as a clue than that. Lena decidedly working against Lex (including appearing to press the button on the cube as he walked away, facial expressions as he leaves or has left etc). These are the most immediate things just off the top of my head.

So I know if I'm struggling to bring things into any cohesive threads, then I can only imagine some are struggling to do even that and can't get anything of the whole season plot from the episodes thus far.

I think this would be fine over a short run, but the problem seems to have become 2 fold.

The first is, Black Mirror or most films of a similar ilk only last around 60 to 90 minutes on average. Perhaps a little longer, sometimes less.

That's all well and good, but to then try and bring that over to around 20 hours of television?

Think of this another way. Black mirror has had 5 seasons. The same as Supergirl. However, it has only had 22 episodes in all that time, so only one seasons worth of episodes compared to Supergirl. Each Black mirror episode was self contained. Plus any Easter eggs or themes they brought into later episodes were done in such a way, that knowing earlier episodes wasn't essential for understanding any new episode.

While the premise was sound for Supergirl, I think now the execution has suffered because it is over too many episodes.

Add in the Crisis episodes and then 2 hiatus' coming in almost on top of one another, and that has been compounded. It has made it far harder to remember nuances that might have been given in the early episodes, that would now make more sense. Because they haven't been outright smacks over our heads with a piece of 2x4 in terms of how clues have been given, or even which scenes might actually be relevant and others have no real meaning to the later plotline.

Behind the scenes, they know how this is going to play out (or at least, they have a broad arc outline), but the viewer doesn't have that. It is one thing to watch back once all pieces are in place, to understand it. It is entirely another when you expect an audience to understand what you are trying to achieve when there is so much that is confounding people.

This is leading to frustration. Add in other issues being raised, and it can only compound the situation.

Truly I want nothing more than to be able to get the full season screened, to look back and finally understand what it all entailed, and hopefully say: Shit okay, so that was how it was. Well done. It frustrated me all to hell, but damn you pulled it off. *applause*

But honestly, to have it over a full season feels excessive. I think it would've been far better served to have more of Crisis in the lead up into those episodes, and allow the 2nd half of the season deal with everything else. Just compact it up a bit more. It feels far too complicated for far too long.

Plus I'm also just not sure how they're going to be able to bring it together with the number of episodes left, especially if it is a shortened season number as being suggested.

Remember I am saying this is as someone who loves this kind of thing!

We are now at the stage of the season where we need more than subtly on how this is going, but good solid moments of momentum that we know are part of the ending somehow, even if we still don't have full context. Otherwise I sense the discomfort for viewers in not understanding what is trying to be shown to them will become even more discord.

Right now it feels messy. I've not felt this adrift on the overall plot in previous seasons of Supergirl as I have in this one. Sure we know, nothing is as it seems. We have some puzzle pieces outlining certain things. We know Leviathan are involved. We know Lex has a part to play. We even know Lena has a part to play (you can tell she is looking to take Lex and Lillian down, let alone the other problems with Kara that are nowhere being addressed either). We know Brainy has a part to play. We know the broader strokes. But the middle is still a jumbled mess of pieces that have nothing that looks even remotely like the picture on the box.

I want nothing more than the season to succeed. The earlier half of the season had overall solid views. Since Crisis it has suffered (and let me tell you, if you think SuperCorp can reach across a 200k to 300k drop in viewership *after* the last episode began airing, you are completely blinded by your desire to blame them for everything. It might be a big fandom, but it is nowhere that large. Step back and at least acknowledge that is not logical or feasible).

So. I think they had a great idea, I really do. I think though the length of time to try and make it come to fruition has been detrimental overall.

I truly hope the rest of the season pulls back what it did earlier, and it solidifies the whole season as it reaches its conclusion.

[itsrishikasinghthings]

Role of social media in the Fashion Industry

Acknowledgment

It is always a pleasure to thank all who have been a part of my capstone project journey. This project was a part of my specialization course which gave me a wonderful opportunity to interact with the people of the fashion industry and other experts.

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents who always encouraged me to take risks in life and are the pillars of my strength. Without their encouragement I may not have been able to complete this project.

Secondly, I would like to convey my deepest thanks to Bennett University and my mentor Prof. Sumita Vaid Dixit for providing invaluable guidance, suggestions throughout the project, and by helping me in putting this project together.

Thirdly, a big thank you to fashion experts Mr.Rahul Toppo from Chennai, Ms. Kriti Chawla fashion stylist from Popexo, NIFT graduate Prof Pratik Kumar Singh, Prof. Neelam and Kashish from Ranchi who is an aspiring fashion designer. Their opinions and insights helped me get a better perspective of the fashion industry.

In the end, I would like to thank all those who I have not been able to name in the acknowledgement but they have played an important role in my project. Personally, the opportunity to write this capstone project is a big milestone in my career development. I hope I'm able to get another opportunity to interact with all of you again.

Sincerely,

Rishika Singh

LA17MC061

Introduction

 India's fashion industry is currently estimated at $70 billion, of which up to $9 billion is already digitally influenced, as in, shoppers are searching, browsing, and buying stuff online. Globally, and in India, fashion is the third most-followed topic among Instagram users after (movies and music).

Kashish from Ranchi who is aspiring in Fashion designing has said that being in the fashion industry and neglecting social media can be a great loss for anyone's career. "Social media plays a very important role, helps in learning the new trends, and motivates us to create good content, " she said. 

Over the past few years, social media and digital media have drastically changed how people consume the content or any sort of news, especially in the fashion industry. Both fashion blogs and social media have recently made an elitist industry more available and relatable to regular customers. Social media has created an open channel of communication between organizations and citizens. Nowadays, content is expended online and individuals are not only reading content, but they are giving their inputs through comments and social media. Numerous sorts of fashion blogs overseen by regular people are giving customers an interior look into what utilized to be an elite, fashion-experts-only industry.

Rahul Toppo, a fashion designer from Chennai said, “Social media platforms play an important role in fashion today, we can showcase our collection, content, designs and we can connect and reach to many people”. Some of the young designers like Amit Aggarwal, Dhruv Kapoor, and many more are tapping on social media mainly active on Instagram.

CHAPTER 1

Why are the fashion designers tapping in the world of social media?

In 2012, Facebook spent $1 billion to acquire what was then just a photo-sharing app. Over the years, however, Instagram has not only added a slew of features that attracts more users but also become a marketing and selling platform for business.

Everyone has been obsessing over the old designers like Manish Malhotra, Sanjay Garg, Rohit Bal, and Sabya Sacchi for forever now. Even though they’re evergreen designers in India who all the people in the country wish to wear and admire. The designs and work of these legendaries have always inspired others to work more and more and know the audience wants. The Indian customers are now becoming modernized and more open to the labels from such upcoming Indian fashion designers.

Preeti Verma, founder of an Indie label Runaway Bicycle, managed to go courtesy Instagram. Verna says keeping her Instagram buzzy and updated is more work than managing the website of fashion.“We put a great deal of thinking into our Instagram feed. We have a writer and an art director who manage the quality of content. We shoot our products specifically for the app. We push out one post every day, and it certainly is a more live medium to maintain, unlike our website,” she said.

Pratik Kumar, a professor of Fashion Designing has stated, “I’m in this fashion industry for around 10 years now and can say that in the early time, designers lacked the internet, the age of information technology but now everything is digitized and even the industry is turning into robotics.”

Manish Malhotra talks of fashion in the age of Instagram, “Brand experience today is just a click away. Digital media has revolutionized a hyper form of window shopping. Earlier, the only people privy to what I was showcasing were those who attended the show or came across it in the newspapers the next day. Today, everyone has a front-row seat to my shows via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Livestream.”

Caption: The instagram account of Manish Malhotra (Source: Instagram)

What advantages do Social media have?

Fashion brands on social media, it is a modern platform for interaction between brand and customer. Before the arrival of the internet, all the programs for launching any design or any clothes or any brands were done through glossy magazines, TV, etc. And social media is ruling many facets of businesses and their impact on their lives is enormous.

It gives low to zero overhead cost

There’ll be no need for expensive expenditures any more in the digital area. Creating and implementing top social media campaigns and strategies are free and cost-effective. Signing up and making a profile on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc is completely free.

It increases customer engagement and loyalty

 People spend a lot of time on social media, it's not a tough task to attract new consumers through social media. Social media allows us to interact with recent customers and old customers, but what keeps them loyal? It is the content that the user posts on their social media platforms. 

It reinforces brand awareness and credibility

Social media is the best platform to showcase the fashion studio and it acts as the best medium for brand recognition. Enhance the brand’s awareness and increase the following in all social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest by presenting all the designer collections.

Social networks impact buying decisions

The vast majority of the individuals look for designing trends and latest fashions and are aware of them through social networks only. It acts as a word of mouth so any matter can spread in no time. The business pages' preferences, shares, remarks, and so forth will impact and be an immense effect on the clients' buying choices.

Demographic targeting

Millennia is the targeted customer for the fashion industry and social media could be a customized stage where fashion retailers can target the audience demographics wise such as sex, age, area, hashtags, etc. Other than, it is exceptionally simple to track client behavior patterns online.

It is an effective marketing tool

Whether anyone wants to get high traffic, brand loyalty; provide better customer service; increase sales volume, social media acts as a marketing tool for the fashion and apparel industry.

In the survey of 110 consumers, 82.7% agree that social media is the biggest medium from which they get influenced.

Kashish from Ranchi who is aspiring in Fashion designing stated, “I have just started my journey and Instagram is really helpful because it helps me in reaching more and more people and I can create a good gallery by posting pictures and videos. I am also learning from other designers as well as knowing  the latest trends.”

Caption: Kashish trying to engage with the audience by posting her designs on Instagram (source: Instagram)

The best media to target people for promoting various designs and labels on this Pratik Kumar has mentioned, “We can use any media whether its Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or twitter but it all depends on the targeted consumers. For example, if we target the age group of 15-25 then they’ll be mostly on Instagram but if we target the age group of 35- 50 they’ll be mostly on Facebook. So the use of media depends on the targeted consumer. ”

Neelam Patel from Ghaziabad who is a client in fashion designing and also a professor. She says, “I won’t prefer to promote as I am not a designer but being a client I would prefer Pinterest as they cater a large segment under one roof. I don’t have to like and follow the pages for what I want but by just one keyword I will type and find lots of options related.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDNaZgCYzkM&feature=youtu.be

Caption: Kriti Chawla currently working in Popexo as Fashion stylist has expressed her views on the importance of social media in Fashion industry.

Social media has transformed the shopping process. From research to brand interaction to promoting the designs to actual purchasing processes, the entire situation has seen significant changes.

CHAPTER 2

The Impact of fashion industry on people and on market

Success story of Kresha Bajaj Zaverias a famous fashion designer

Kresha Bajaj Zaveri, an Indian Fashion designer was born in Mumbai, India on March 7, 1988. Kresha has studied fashion from London College of Fashion, Parsons New York, Parsons Paris, FIDM Los Angeles, and now try to bring all that knowledge to the streets of India. Fashion designer, influencer, and hairess whose clothing line Koesch and Haute taste have won her commercial success and a huge following on social media. She has over 168,000 followers on Instagram, and her stories on Instagram and her posts encouraged and gathered the attention of fashion publications like Elle Magazine. Her designs have been showcased in the Lakme Fashion Week 2014.

Koesch originally started as a website in 2013 and specializes in bespoke western and bridal women wear. She’s famous for what is called her “LOVE STORY LEHENGAS” where they map out the couple’s journey on the garment bringing alive their love story.

Caption: Kresha Bajaj Zaveri (source: Instagram)

In her blog, Kresha has shared her experience with social media for her career and she thinks that luxury and social don’t go hand in hand. “Social media platforms, and in my case Instagram specifically, being an extremely visual platform is the perfect tool to create an online presence for Krésha Bajaj, the brand”, says Kresha. Kresha believes to post the original content, ensuring that it is attractive enough for people to gush over it.

On social media, the feel, the look, the textures of the fabric will be missing. Not only on social media but no online shopping websites or apps can give that feel or the emotion of the fabric or the material of the cloth which is given in the stores or the showroom of these clothes. As Kresha’s store is only in Mumbai and she says, “it is important for us to help an online viewer feel that they are in actual space while browsing through our online posts.”

Kresha wants her consumer to believe in their imaginary world of dresses of their choices and on this she said, “For us, we want to use Instagram as a look book of a wonderland that people enter through their phone, but feel the need to come to explore in person. ”

Only posting good content, and promoting designs are not enough. According to Kresha, to gain more and more consumers and their attention the important thing is to engage with the audience, answering their questions and giving them as much information as necessary. Having a beautiful page is irrelevant if it doesn’t garner the right kind of attention and encourages conversation.

Caption: Kresha Bajaj promoting her brand by posting her designs and modals on social media (source: Instagram)

Marketing of fashion in the market in this decade

In this modern era of cut-throat competition, it is important to take care of every aspect related to marketing in the fashion world. The word media indicates the meaning of the main source of communication, these can be in the form of writing, images, visuals with narrations, or clips. Now, talking about the media there are many mediums from which the message of the designer or any influencer can be sent to their consumers and can attract more and more audiences. 

Mediums like radio, television, newspaper, banners, billboards, websites, magazines, social media, or fashion show events like these. In this passage of time fashion has made its place in the culture, slowly and steadily people are accepting and following the latest trends and want to know the updates and latest upcoming fashion which is mostly provided by various mediums.

Television has a wide influence on its viewers.it affects not only, the knowledge of the audience but also the attitude towards many things. For example, the desire for the products and their brand preferences have been changed. In general, TV has higher credibility than newspapers, People are most likely to believe in what they see, not what they read. TV as a medium influences the dressing of youths. Audience members tended to make changes in their appearances, value, attitudes, and other characteristics to become more like the admired celebrities.

This data suggests, most of the consumers find their latest trends of fashion which is going on the market from social media then comes to fashion blogs and friends' families and then goes on.

In magazines, more than any other medium, advertisements and editorial content flows together to create an experience. 

Magazines, being the media that attracts the most specialized audience can have a powerful impact on its niche audiences. Vogue, Lucky, W and many more are the most readable fashion magazines. Women are the most targeted for this medium of fashion. For women especially, reading magazines is related to the internalization of societal ideals and self-objectification.

Caption: Priyanka Chopra being featured for the cover page of Vogue India Magazine (Source: Pinterest)

In the Fashion show, in the first era of the fashion industry, designers had to show their new designs to the client through sketches. At that time, fashion designers used fashion dolls which are also known as dummy; this was the only medium to illustrate the new upcoming designs. In the second era of the fashion industry, the fashion dolls or the dummies were replaced by the living mannequin and then the models gave an entry in the fashion industry.

Captions: Soha Ali Khan walking gracefully on the rampwalk (source: pinterest)

Celebrity has backed the fashion industry 

Taking cues from international celebrities, Indian film actors and cricketers are increasingly launching their own clothing and accessories brands to cash in on a category  that industry executives and analytics believe has remained untapped so far in the country. Social media like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter  and more all the inextricable parts of being famous in today’s world.

In the survey of 110 consumers, 85.5% believed that the consumers are influenced by their favorite celebrity. In this survey, most of the consumers were attracted towards lead actors like Shahid Kapoor, Hritik Roshan, Sonam Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and many more.

Chapter 3

Future of the fashion industry 

The year ahead is likely to be challenging. Winds of change are sweeping the fashion industry, and many markets are set to see slower growth and declines in consumer confidence. Indian consumers and their apparel preferences are gradually changing, which in turn is altering the shape and size of the apparel business.

Indian customers and their apparel choices are gradually changing, which in turn is altering the shape and size of the apparel business. The changing demographics and psychographic profile of he Indian customers is today, supported by the apparel market which is moving away from tailor-made clothes to ready-made clothing. In India, people are shifting from rural to urban areas in search of jobs and some to find better education at a continually increasing rate. By 2025, the middle class consumers which will form 48.5 percent of the total targetable consumer base will contribute about 55-60 percent share of the apparel market size.

The increasing access to digital devices and internet is enabling the masses to have online shopping experience irrespective of whether they are living in urban or rural areas. The market growth and continuous shift towards brands will support new ventures, given the strength of the product and a clear growth strategy based on real consumer insights. 

How do the fashion industry is coping with COVID-19 pandemic?

Several apparel makers and fast-moving consumer goods companies had stepped up to produce medical-grade masks as philanthropic acts when Covid-19 struck but now it is apparent that the pandemic is set to alter lifestyles at least some time to come.

“Masks are expected to become a habit over the next few months. We are also working on neem and tulsi treated fabrics for Peter England for a greater degree of wellness,” said Vishak Kumar, CEO of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle. The covid-19 pandemic has created a crisis across all the business barring those of essential commodities. India’s largest fashion body, theFashion Design Council of India (FDCI) cancelled its bi-annual ready to wear fashion week in early March 2020.

Shopaholics, on their part, are keeping their shopping carts ready for delivery once the lockdown for Covid-19 gets over.

Delhi-based fashion designer Manish Tripathi designs khadi face masks to fight with this covid-19 pandemic.“I am preparing these masks for the people who can’t afford to buy masks. Then I will try selling them online and whatever amount is collected will be contributed to the PM-CARES Fund to fight the coronavirus,” he said. In his social media (twitter) account he promoted his idea and social work.

Caption: Manish Tripathi contributing in this covid-19 pandemic (source: Twitter)

“Make your social media more creative. This is the perfect opportunity to redesign your Instagram or declutter your desktop. Tidy up your photo gallery and, most importantly, unburden your Whatsapp media”, says Fashion designer Abhishek Dutta. 

Popular fashion designer Manish Malhotra is known to share his eccentric work across social media platforms and this time he used his social media account to engage his fan following by showing them a throwback of one of the famous fashion shows. In this amid Covid-19 lockdown, the ace fashion designer has shared an unseen picture from his early days in the industry which has taken social media by storm.

In Instagram, he posted a throwback picture of back in the days when he was a model. He also dropped  the sweetest picture featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the fashion show and is setting friendship goals.

Caption: Manish Malhotra with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the fashion show #throwback (Source: Instagram)

Since India went into lockdown on 24 March, it seems more and more of the people are turning to social media to consume news and communicate with their friends or to see what is trending whether it is fashion or any other source of entertainment.The first week of the lockdown saw citizens spend more than four hours a day on social media — an 87 percent increase compared to the previous week, as per a poll conducted by Hammerkopf Consumer Survey.he poll conducted on 28 March with 1,300 respondents in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai found that 75 percent of people spent more time on Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter compared to the previous week, largely to consume news and remain in touch, and that social media usage jumped from 150 minutes per day prior to the lockdown to 280 minutes a day during that first week.

“As everyone knows due to COVID -19 most of the businesses are in the worst situation. The fashion industry is one of those. Stores are closed and all agreements are stopped”, says Rahul Toppo a fashion designer. He also stated, “It will take time to recover  But there is a good advantage for social media as due to lockdown everyone is spending more time in social media like Instagram, Facebook & YouTube, many brand and designer are connected to their followers they are using this time to promote their present &  previous work, as we are also connected to our followers showing illustration, design process all behind the scenes and promoting previous work”.

Conclusion of the project

The world is becoming digital and with the advent of information technology, the ways of communication and work have been revolutionized completely. over the last decade, social media has become an effective marketing tool, it has not only created a new dimension of marketing but also provided many opportunities to the marketers to create brand awareness among consumers. 

Social media is a compilation of online platforms and communication channels that are used to share information, profiles, promotion of any sort of event or designs, or any exhibition.

The fashion industry will get great help through social media to reach a height and can attract more and more consumers.

Bibliography 

This project has been written with the help of multiple articles that have been proven as a credible source. And with the help of survey of 110 consumers which was conducted by the writer.

Chapter 1

Livemint

https://www.livemint.com/Industry/jtjpWRTMUqKRvtT72sX1PJ/Digital-footprint-in-Indias-fashion-market-more-than-double.html

Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/how-instagram-is-driving-fashion-business/articleshow/62771925.cms?from=mdr

Chapter 2

Lukebox

https://www.luxebook.in/fashion-designer-kresha-bajaj-shares-the-secret-behind-her-brands-massive-social-media-following/

Livemint

https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/uhBCZvMWKcE4vjs6c8ztHL/Celebrities-association-with-fashion-labels-see-a-surge-in-I.html

Chapter 3

Indiaretailing

https://www.indiaretailing.com/2017/06/18/fashion/5-trends-will-define-future-indian-apparel-industry/

Economic times

https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/apparel-fashion/apparel/covid-19-impact-stylish-face-mask-is-the-new-focal-accessory-of-indias-top-fashion-brands/75639614)

Firstpost

https://www.firstpost.com/health/media-usage-during-covid-19-lockdown-indian-users-flock-to-fb-and-whatsapp-general-news-sites-see-numbers-rise-8242811.html

[twiddlebirdlet]

1/2 I'm the anon who talked about the possibility of being a family event. Another anon mentioned that I am lucky to not have family with healthy issues and cancer treatments. I had two grandmas with utherus cancer and my father passed away with stage IV brain tumor. I know pretry well how those stuff work. Much more than I would like to know. What I meant to say is that IMO if it was sth that serious, there would be no possibility of him knowing the future in the next months,

2/2 so there is no way of talking about future dates or he would not manage to write in a light way. Just my opinion. In no way I was trying to attack him or dimiss whatever is happening. The same way it would be sad to attack him for that, it is unnecessary to sort of attack me for just showing another point of view. Mood, I know it was not you that did that. My answer is for the other anon. I understand if you choose not to post  this.

You have a right to defend yourself, but I’d rather not argue over who’s had more difficult issues in life. Trauma should never be measured by a yardstick, in my opinion. Life is hard enough as it is.

I do think the line about scheduling another comic con very soon was just as vague, and fairly ambiguous. When he does it, it’s going to be on his schedule, and we don’t know when that will be. To me, it’s more of a placating sentence, that says he doesn’t have anything against the comic cons in general, but he can’t do one right now.

Has anyone noticed that he hasn’t acknowledged his Broadway.com Audience Choice award? I’d have thought he would have thanked everyone that voted by now. Again, I just hope everything’s okay. Sorry for being a worrywart.

[heddagab]

Please please please spill the tea on Bex! I am so curious what made you sort of dislike her! (Actually, I would love to hear all your tea on all the cast members, but I understand if you don't want to open that can of worms.) But I'm dying here to know what you know about Bex that I don't. :D Sorry.

I assume this is about the 100 questions for Oncers I answered the other day on Twitter and I mentioned Bex when the question said to name an actor you dislike (in my case: have some issues with) but love their character.

Right off the bat I’m going to say that I don’t know any of the actors personally. So the only issues I can have with them is through what they allow (or what gets out) in the spotlight/public talk. So this isn’t exactly a blow at their true character, more like the way they behave which can or cannot indicate their true character: we can’t know.

My issues with Bex started when the cast was promoting s6 and she repeatedly insulted Golden Queen, its fans and even veinly Rumple as a character at times. Putting up a show on stage, immitating barfing, making disgusted faces when she had no idea if some people who were at the con AND PAID liked Golden Queen or not. Also since the cons are getting recorded and they all know it, it’s more than the audience attending, it’s something that affects all of us. But I find it very infuriating for someone to go to an overpriced con and have to sit through insults. It happened to a GQ fan I was talking to back then and she rightfully told me that it ruined her whole day and she never went to another con again. 

Considering that a lot of GQ fans finally wanted their ship to be talked about in a thoughtful or even funny and lighthearted way like all the other ships were up to this point (while we had gotten practically nothing even if we shipped since day one), this stance was at the very least obnoxious and insulting. And before we mention Lana and Bobby, yes, it includes them as well at some points. But Bex made a whole show out of it when it wasn’t even her storyline. No other ship/no other shippers had to sit through that kind of disrespect and you know very well that ALL ships are loved and hated. All of of them. Antis would laugh at shitty things being said about the ship they hate from any corner. I didn’t see anyone from the cast being THAT obnoxious and quite frankly unprofessional in relation to other ships/shippers. And I’m saying unprofessional because ma’am, if I had paid to go to a con only to get insulted I would have made an enormous fuss and I would consider my carefully accumulated money wasted (let alone what effects that would have to my psychological well being)*

*If I actually wanted to pay to get insulted -which I don’t don’t personally but kinks are kinks- I’d rather give the money to a professional dom and get my choice of aftercare, thank you very much, that’s money well spent indeed

I mentioned her stance to Rumple as a character as well because I have allergic reactions towards hypocritical statements (which is one of the reasons I don’t like some characters in Ouat) and I remember her giving interviews in s3 and being delighted playing villain!Zelena, praising Bobby up and down, not having issues with the Zelena and Rumple’s kiss-on the contrary. And that was because she was acting perfectly normal, as an actress who loved her role and the storyline she was in and her costars and wasn’t trying to “make a point” other than enjoying her character. But suddenly in s6 and after it was like an internal narrative was being set up and she followed the cues wherever she went.

I’m also very very tired of seeing Lana-Bex-Sean all together simply because Julie books gigs for her clients so we “have to” take a package deal no matter what and that comes with the narrative that goes along with it.

Generally I’m pretty tired of the fabricated promo that has been going on for quite sometime from a lot of corners.

PS: Since the Michael Coleman issue resurfaced recently, I would just wish they would stop acknowledging him even with simple likes or retweets, especially since the issue involves underaged girls from the fandom, the fandom that they claim they love. In conclusion, (as I’ve said before) things that can be viewed as hypocritical annoy me, always. That’s all.

[wrex-writes]

I wanted to let you know that I got a copy of The Now Habit and read through it. It was pretty helpful, and I can see where it's influenced some of your advice! Gotta admit, though, I like your writing more than I like Fiore's. I'm glad that you put things in a framework of disability and neuroatypicality, and I personally find your focus on writing very helpful. ...Which is a long and fussy way of saying, thanks for doing what you're doing! I really appreciate it. :)

That’s so sweet of you to say! Yes, I think Fiore is writing for a very specific professional/academic audience—which may include writers, but maybe not creative writers? There’s a rhetorical emphasis on “productivity” that can be a little alienating, for instance. This ain’t a writing book in, say, the Natalie Goldberg vein. It was recommended to me in the context of dissertation-writing, which gives you a sense of its emphases. I’ve found it super helpful for that, though!

For all that I bring up disability and neurodivergence, I really am drearily qualified to talk about either, so I wish more writing books addressed them. Where are the books for writers with ADHD or autism or bipolar disorder or chronic pain? For that matter, where are the writing books that acknowledge how a writer might be impeded by, say, racism, or misogyny? Not just at the “selling your work” stage but at the very moment of writing? For plenty of my students, their only problem is that they don’t see themselves as people who have any right to write—but obviously, that’s a huge problem. How do I help those kids? (If anyone has book recs, let me know! Maybe I just haven’t found this stuff yet.)