#controvery

[radiodormouse]

Response to Recent Neil Gaiman Coverage.

"You could do this with any fantasy book" is a valid retort to criticisms of Neil Gaiman's work. Not every writer will share Neil Gaiman's specific habits. However, you can analyze any writer and say, for example: "Almost every male Garth Ennis protagonist is a laconic, ex-military widower, while every female Garth Ennis protagonist is essentially Ellen Ripley with a name-change, paired with her beta male, Porky Pig-like sidekick. His stories often involve taking real-world military history and turning it into a comic strip or adapting that history into another genre, whether superheroes, sci-fi, or crime. He also relies heavily on gross-out humor, mocking superheroes while continuing to write them for money, shock value, and gore."

And I say this as someone who is a fan of Garth Ennis. The conversation here should focus on criticizing Neil Gaiman's actions, regardless of his merits or lack thereof as a writer. Roasting his writing abilities makes this seem more like a ritual humiliation, targeting someone who's now out of the "Mean Girls" clique, by people who wouldn't care if he weren't famous.

[neodreamgirl]

~Manifesting Seunghan's Return~

I am writing this post so that I can manifest Seunghan's return. Do I think it will work? Absolutely not LMAO however, I do think it is worth trying. For God's sake I just want to see my boy back with his 6 goofy friends ripping stages and making history.

Now, I don't follow any specific template or rules when I want to manifest something. I don't do crystals or do tarot readings for this. I literally put it into the universe by speaking or writing it down and put my trust into all the things I PERSONALLY BELIEVE IN to make things happen. What exactly do I say or write? My gut feelings, hopes and thoughts. That's it.

Mmkay...I shall begin

-Recently a former member of NCT made a comeback that no one was expecting or even wanting...with the exception of his fans. I'm not sure why, but something tells me to expect something similar in the case of Seunghan. There are many people that think he (Seunghan) is going to get kicked out of RIIZE after going quiet for probably as long as the former NCT member. Because SM is...SM, I can understand why some people would believe that and honestly, I don't see why I should throw that option out the door because quite honestly, I don't know what the fuck goes on behind it.

-HOWEVER, in Seunghan's case, if he were to make a comeback and return to our precious RIIZE, I strongly believe it will be after RIIZE has established itself as a group. My gut is telling me that it is likely that he returns after they drop their mini album, however, it isn't clear. My gut is telling me that their management is taking this very seriously because they invested a lot in RIIZE and are hoping that they are the next big group in SM. Also, I am not too sure what my gut means exactly when it says that Seunghan is likely to come back after RIIZE establishes itself as a group. I don't know if it means winning a specific award or what exactly.

-If his comeback is RIIZE's next comeback, which I believe will be their mini album, then we should expect to see random sightings of him, which have already started. Two people claimed to have spotted him shopping in Hongdae in late February. Literally today (Marh 06) an article was released that confirmed RIIZE will have a comeback next month, and in this article they mentioned all 7 members. Then, the article was updated to not mention him... Suddenly his name is making noise again.

-I feel like his team genuinely does not want him to be removed from RIIZE, though. I think many of them believe that the backlash he received was insane and unfair.

-When he comes back, there will 100% be a song about regret

-I think there is a huge likelihood that he will return to us because his scandals were not crimes or morally wrong. I'm mad they're even called scandals tbh but anyway

-I have two images in my head: a twitter post about seunghan in a couple of years praising him for his hard work and remembering the nonsense he was put through in his early debut days. The post praises him for overcoming obstacles that he faced and for becoming one of the most celebrated idols....the second one is another twitter post that feels very sad. The person that wrote the post feels like Seunghan was wronged and is disappointed...The post is also in the future, years from now.

-I don't feel the second post as strongly as the first.

-Idk I keep seeing these images in my head that feel like relief, praise, and bittersweet. Compilation videos of the RIIZE members looking at Seunghan fondly

Okay...Enough about my thoughts and gut feelings...

I hope that Seunghan returns to us very soon. I hope the people around him acknowledge how unnecessary this "hiatus" is. I understand that they probably felt like hiding him because they didn't want to tarnish the group's image (whatever), but it has been far too long. I think they kept him locked away because they realized RIIZE was riding a high wave and they didn't want any scandal to interrupt them.

Actually now that I think about it...What if my gut feeling of them waiting for RIIZE to be more established is actually them waiting for the right time for them to garner enough fans and anticipation to release theirr first mini album? RIIZE has established itself as a pretty powerful rookie group despite all the "backlash" they received (using the word backlash very loosely here btw). They have the entire industry waiting on their mini album so what if now is when Seunghan returns?!

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but right now would be a good time to bring him up IF what I am saying is true... Anyway,

I hope that Seunghan is able to return to practice with his friends. I wish for him to be locked in and focused in the studio making music with his friends. I want Seunghan to tell the world how cute he thinks Sohee is, how Shotaro is actually the real maknae, I want to see him play around with Eunseok. I want to see him dance with Shotaro and Wonbin. I want him to joke around with Anton. I need to see him talking to Sungchan. I hope that all of these things can be done soon, on camera, for the entire world to see. I want the world to see Seunghan as a member of RIIZE. RIIZE has to promote as a 7 member group.

RIIZE is a 7 member group.

7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7.

Seunghan will return.

7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7.

7

[goldenmusicmoments]

Morgan Wallen:

Morgan Wallen has now become quite the household name and is lauded as a country artist that will definitely be listed amongst the greats. Morgan’s journey began when he auditioned for The Voice USA. He introduced himself as a rock artist on the show and he was eliminated quite early on. A year after that he managed to get signed by a small label under which he released an extended play. He seemed to let go of the rock genre and dive into country music instead. The release didn’t make much noise, however him and his team were persistent and continued sending bigger labels his demos. Not long after Big Loud Records signed him. 

Morgan then began collaborating with big names in country music. He was opening for the likes of Florida Georgia Line and then writing songs for artists like Jason Aldean. That then led to the beginning of his debut albums release journey. The lead single didn’t quite catch on, however ‘Up Down’ which featured FLG managed to make a mark. After that it was only up from their for Morgan. Every single released since has been quite the commercial success. His debut ‘If I Know Me’ debuted at number 72 on the Billboard 200 chart, but it eventually managed to peak at number 10 as his popularity continued to grow. The album was a good effort showcasing his potential as an artist and songwriter. His emotive quality that is vocal possessed was a rare find and it really elevated the feelings behind the lyrics he was singing. 

Then he started releasing new music which was leading up to the release of his sophomore album during the start of the pandemic. The singles were performing quite well and buzz around his next record continued to build. He then went on to make quite the reckless decisions when he was caught partying it up with fans were he even made out with college girls. He was booked to perform on Saturday Night Live the day after everything came to light, however SNL cancelled the performance. Morgan then posted an apology video where he seemed genuine in what he was saying. A lot of his fellow artists showed support and stood by his side during this moment. He also in his apology video stated he’d be stepping away from it all for a while in order to reflect on his shortcomings. He took a break from social media and put promoting his music to a side for a moment. SNL then invited him back to perform later on in the year and he then returned back to his normality. 

Then in January of 2021 he released his second record ‘Dangerous’ which was a double album. It ended up debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with a really good sales figure. The album was met with a lot of love from fans and critics alike. The album held on to the top spot for the following weeks. Then all of a sudden someone had sent TMZ a clip of Morgan Wallen saying a racial slur (the ’N’ word). This led to him being called out for it and as usual with stan twitter trending various hashtags saying he was cancelled and over. His label suspended his contract indefinitely, a lot of radio stations removed his music from rotation and award shows barred him from the awards cycle. Spotify had also initially removed his music from playlists, however a week later they re-added his music to the playlists. However despite that instead of having a negative impact on his popularity or career it actually grew to a new height. His music swarmed the iTunes chart and it led to aiding ‘Dangerous’ to continue its grasp on the number one spot on the Billboard 200. The album went on to become the biggest selling album of 2021. He went silent on social media and took a moment away from it all again.

He eventually came back with an apology similar to the one the year before and here is where it became hard to take it as a genuine one. He obviously didn’t think that he’d be caught or that someone would have filmed him in the moment and shared it with the world. He did tell his fans not to excuse his behaviour and that he would work with organisations that tackle issues like racism. He even donated to various charities. Then everything seemed to have been forgotten. He also claimed that his indulgence in drinking was a part of the problem and that he’d work on staying away from it. He was then invited onto Good Morning America where he was interviewed in regards to his use of the slur and what he has learnt from everything that transpired since. His main take was that he was ignorant and that he spoke loosely with that particular friendship circle. Morgan didn’t really have anything worthwhile to offer in the interview and on most part was trying his hardest to seem sorry. What he should have done in that moment is use the opportunity to educate his cohort on racism and the stigma around the slur he had used. That it is unacceptable regardless of how and when it is used. Since the majority of his fanbase didn’t seem to find any sort of issue with him using the word and they still seem to believe that it is just a word. 

His fans have continued to back him and defend his actions. They excuse him using the racial slur by saying that it is just a word. That if black people use the word then they should be able to as well and that they aren’t using it in a derogatory way, but as a joke between friends. They clearly don’t understand the stigma and connotation behind the term. It has been used as a way to belittle and be derogatory towards black people. It still to this day is used in that way, those that believe it no longer is live a very sheltered life. Those claiming it is just a word disregard its significance because they have never in their life experienced any sort of real oppression. So they find it difficult to know the weight words have. If you aren’t someone who is black or someone who’s went through what they have, you have no say on the matter. Why is it that you are so keen on using the word? To then try and silence people by telling them that they are either ‘sensitive’ or ‘snowflakes’ is rather disgusting. They keep saying ‘Haters failed to cancel Morgan Wallen’, when the aim is never to cancel someone. It is for accountability, that people deserve to be held accountable for what they say or do. Cancelling someone doesn’t provide opportunity for growth, however accountability does. It doesn’t matter whether something is done behind closed doors or in front of an audience. The weight of your actions are the same. Yes when you are famous it feels heightened due to the fact that you are someone who has a big audience and thus have a responsibility to be a positive influence. That you need to be aware of how your actions will then have various implications. 

People claim that people weren’t so easily offended back in the day as they are now. Back then social media didn’t exist, so they didn’t have the chance to voice their thoughts for a greater audience to see. So it isn’t much different it is just that now with social media things have the ability to reach a bigger number of people, thus things seem more heightened. We should however give people a chance and help educate them rather than attacking them. As that is what will allow for positive progress to occur. Morgan Wallen should be given another chance and it on some part has been given to him. He is a talented artist with a successful career ahead of him. His career is back on track now, his record deal is no longer suspended and award shows have unbanned him. He has since done a string of commercially successful collaborations and he is slated to perform at the upcoming Billboard Music Awards. Hopefully he has truly learnt from his mistakes and doesn’t make anymore. 

Another thing in relation to the above is that we’ve seen that there is a difference in how great the implications are based on gender. Female artists seem to suffer a greater deal than their male counterparts. You look at artists like Camila Cabello or Sabrina Claudio who even to this day are still being called out for their past mistakes. Double standards seem to find a way into everything and anything. You look at Lil Nas X and his Islamophobic tweets. No one held him accountable for it and neither did he apologise. His sexuality and his openness from the start of his career seemed to overshadow that. Making it an exempt card for him. There are more examples of similar instances. You also would have noticed that it is female artists that often speak out in these moments when their fellow members of the industry act out. The males on most part stay quiet. 

[sporks-and-stars]

saying gender is a social construct is ignorant and transphobic

change my mind

[dailybehbeh]

Behbeh

[im-really-just-here-for-the-food]

okay what I’m gonna say is super super hard to do. not being sarcastic or anything, this might sound impossible.

regarding the current abortion debate, do not get angry.

you can be as mad as you want internally, you can scream into your pillow at night, but when you’re actually having these discussions, remain calm and rational.

let yourself explore both sides. ask critical questions. see where both sides are coming from, what their arguments are, and find actual data and statistics to support your argument. don’t rely on anecdotes or isolated cases.

I know it sounds ridiculously hard not to get angry over something like this, but people will ultimately respect you and listen to you more often if you are a calm voice of reason who respects and listens to both sides.

use logic and kindness to win. don’t turn such an important issue into a shouting match, please.

[gottabescientific]

So uh, anyone getting the distinct feeling that the whole James Charles fiasco was orchestrated for publicity?

All the random celebs who jumped into the mess just to "call out" James, get a few thousand new followers for being messy and spilling tea, and then they quietly rescind the comments a couple days later, happily taking the new fans with them?

Fuck, Tati's subscriber count doubled in 5 days and James has barely taken a hit (I think he's back at 14.5 mil by now?)

Just...it all feels so insidious. These people aren't our friends. They don't know us, and they use our attention--good and bad--to make money. We shouldn't be trusting a single thing they say, especially not the more out there stuff that gets a shock reaction. Not when beauty community scandals are basically twice a year like clockwork.

[connorrosemain]

Fun fact: The whole gold star lesbian thing is ugly and creates conflict in a community that's supposed to celebrate our sexuality

Like newsflash: you can have had sex with a man and still be a lesbian!!! The gold star thing honestly just shames lesbians for being forced to pretend they were straight or exploring their sexuality in a way that led them to their decision

It's pride month we're supposed to be loftong eachother up not attacking eachother for stupid shit