New love language, signs of trust

Hopefully this puts things in greater perspective because some tourists just don’t get it and need to hear this. For those who are curious and looking to travel in the future I hope you find this is informative! :) We could all use more perspective on linguistics and traveling imho. I have made some of these mistakes in the past too. We can all learn to be better guests/tourists. This mindset people have that not only is it okay for tourists to exploit and mistreat local populations, but it’s something that should be encouraged is wrong. You’re not entitled to anything special as a tourist just because you have enough money to play around somewhere “exotic” for a few weeks. Regardless of where people travel to. As a guest in someone else’s home you should put more effort into not being a total asshat. You will have a better time and you might learn something cool along the way. I will mostly be using France as an example since I live here and have more insight, but everything I say applies outside of France as well. Note: This information only applies to tourists. Immigrants and refugees are a unique situation and thus face different challenges and have different needs. A tourist chooses where to go and has time (and money) to plan for their trip, which is often only a few weeks or days. Immigrants and refugees often don’t have that same luxury and remain in the country for far longer. (in many cases permanently) Moving to a country places a greater linguistic and cultural demand on an individual. Remember to check your privilege. tourism =/= immigration/asylum. A) English is not the only language in existence. It might be a widely spoken language, but it’s not the most widely spoken language (that honor goes to Chinese) nor is it the only lingua franca. Chinese, Hindu, Spanish, French, and Arabic are all widely spoken across multiple borders and where you are on the planet will obviously dictate which one of these people go with. If you expect that to be English because your sphere of the internet happens to put you in that bubble of “my language or bust” ignorance then like... that’s on you pal. Get with the times and stop assuming everyone should just speak English. English speakers are not the only tourists and English, though widely used, is not the only other language a person might need. I have a friend from Laos who speaks absolutely no English. He doesn’t need it and never has. (even now) He speaks Lao (the regional dialects can be as different as Thai is from Laotian btw), Chinese, a bit of Thai, and French because they still use a lot of French for business dealings there. (something I didn’t know ngl) Assuming he should just speak English because “everyone else does” is ignorant. It’s rude. It puts no thought into his situation. It’s entitled. He’s traveled to visit friends in England and he has an English phrase book. He doesn’t need a lot of English so like... the phrase book is absolutely perfect. Most of what he does in England is sight see and speak Chinese with his friends. Be more like my friend from Laos. B) Official languages may not be the only language a country speaks within its borders. Regional and native languages exist and expecting the locals to speak a 3rd language on top of all that is unbelievably entitled. France has a number of them. There are people who are born and raised in France who don’t speak French in their day to day life. (or at all) Basque, Breton, Occitan, Alsatian, Yiddish, Ladino, Arabic and a number of others are all spoken within French borders. Many are at risk of being permanently lost (that’s why our new regional language law is important btw) and as a result a greater emphasis is placed on preserving them as opposed to learning something new. Most people have to learn the official language as it’s the only language a lot of countries will accept for paperwork, but anything else is up to the individual and you can suck an egg if you don’t like that. (this also applies to immigrants and refugees btw) Heck there are places in the US where people don’t even speak English day to day! Some places actually speak French or Spanish. I heard more Spanish in my day to day life than I did English where I grew up in NC! (moved to Florida and Spanish exploded. loved it!) C) Borders are a thing. People working and living across borders exist and English is often not the language they chose to go with as a result. France borders Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, England, and Switzerland. People who share these borders often choose to go with these languages. English is in there, but please note it’s not the only one. D) Culturally speaking a country may not like [insert common language here] and as a result may refuse to speak it. That’s entirely their choice. If you don’t like that then don’t visit the country. It’s really that easy.  Colonialism is often a major factor at play in these situations. Respect that choice. You do not get a say in how people reclaim their identity. As for France? This might come as a shock to some people, but France doesn’t like England. I’m 100% certain these two places exist solely to punch each other in the nuts. (ball tap. an international past time) As a result getting English people to speak French or French people to speak English is about as easy as pulling your own teeth. I’ve been spit on for speaking English because people here just assume I’m from England or they hate “annoying Americans” and after seeing how y’all responded to the last post I made... yeah I totally get it now. Granted, that’s no excuse for someone being hostile, but it is something to keep in mind when you visit and applies to more than just France too. E) Retail workers and small shop owners don’t owe you shit. You have absolutely no right waltzing into a shop and demanding the staff speak your language (I don’t care how common it is) for the two weeks you’ve decided to play around in their home. Always ask them first. If they can’t or choose not to then tough luck. This is why a phrase book is important!

Retail workers and small shop owners get treated like shit enough. Some of y’all have never worked retail a day in your life and WOW does it show. Please respect retail workers and small shop owners. You don’t know what their day or life has been like. If they’re tired and don’t want to speak to you in a foreign language then that’s their right. I have had no issues using my phone or a phrase book to help communicate concepts when there is a language barrier. (and I fucking live in France. I’m not even visiting) Emergencies also happen and a phrase book or medical card in the native and/or official language is absolutely essential! Even if you just have an allergy to something! This is a great way to stay safe! When you visit another country being aware of and researching cultural differences includes linguistic differences. Tourists are guests. You don’t live here, you don’t get a say. Remember, learning a second language (esp if you don’t use it often) is really hard. If you’re visiting a country do not expect them to just use whatever language you speak. Mind you a phrase book is also important because people within a country may not have a strong grasp on English even if they do speak it. You can very easily get lost or injured without a phrase book to help you. These things allow you to better experience a country and communicate without actually having to learn the entire language... or any of it. And, once again, they exist for free online! You do not need to learn an entire language to visit somewhere, but you need to be prepared for there to be a barrier. People assuming I mean you need to learn a whole language are uh... really something else. Like do you guys think half the people bending over backwards to communicate with you know the full language? Go ahead. Fuck around and find out. ;) Obviously I’m not saying you should be treated poorly when visiting if you don’t know the language. Unfortunately no matter how much effort you put in there will always be someone who’s a jerk and I’m sorry for that. All I’m saying is as a tourist you owe it to yourself and others to be better prepared. Trust me. You’ll have a better time in the end. (and if you did the research you’d find that Paris is not the best first place to visit... even if you’re french lol) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS64ZT4eWUA Please watch this guy’s video. It is hilarious and touches on a lot of the same points I just made. Thank you for your time. :) ---------------- Cultural tidbit for those who are curious about where I live in France: I live in Alsace currently! (moved from Lyon, but my spouse is from here) In Alsace you might meet people who speak English, but it’s also entirely likely you won’t! Alsace is also a very tourist heavy area because it looks like a German fairy tale and has a lot of tiny villages with cool stuff to do! I highly recommend visiting here over Paris! We have so many storks! (clackclackclack)

Our logo is a pretzel!

That being said, Alsace has its own regional language!

It’s not uncommon to see bilingual signage or to pass someone on the street and hear them speaking Alsatian. You’ll usually hear it from older people, children, or those from rural areas. It’s really fun to listen to and absolutely wild to see written on museum signs!  Kids here will start school learning French, regardless of what they speak at home, which has resulted in a downswing of Alsatian speakers in recent years. That’s why the new regional language law I mentioned waaaaaay above is so important. It’ll allow schools to teach most of the day in Alsatian instead of French with the goal being fully bilingual adults! :) As of right now, most kids here choose German or English (depending on the school) as their second language. Some kids pick Alsatian and honestly? Good for them! I’m glad!

Make Him Worship You Review: Should You Read It Through?

While many people turn to others for relationship advice, Self Help Skills would like to read books or watch programs about love and life, then get some lessons for myself. And recently, I have just digested an exciting online program named Make Him Worship You by Michael Fiore. It is beneficial, so I can end up reading this Make Him Worship You review.

Keep reading if you also want your lover to love and respect you more.

About Make Him Worship You Program

Make Him Worship You Michael Fiore

Written by a man – to be exact, an expert in the field of relationship and sexual psychology, the Make Him Worship You program with six modules will tell you, from a male perspective, how to seduce a man and make him crazy for you.

Believe me; the program will entirely change the way you take steps forward in your relationship because you now get a chance to see exactly what might happen in his little mind. Then, he will never see any women more attractive than you.

Some Interesting Information about Michael Fiore

Here is Michael Fiore

Micheal Fiore, as I mentioned above, is an expert in great modern relationships. He describes himself as blunt and funny – and most noticeably honest in giving you advice.

He is the author of various popular books and programs such as “6 Simple Tricks To CRACK THE MAN CODE And Get Any Guy To Open His Heart,” “Make Him Beg To Be Your Boyfriend,” or what we will discuss further here.

Some might even have seen him on “The Rachael Ray” show where he introduced his famous “Text The Romance Back Program” and gave many useful couples techniques.

For now, he is living in Seattle and working hard on the useful program “Make Him Worship You” and his publishing platform “Digital Romance.”

You can have a look then.

The Kind of Make Him Worship You

What is included in the program?

Rather than being a book, I must confirm that “Make Him Worship You” is a program, to be exact – a guide, with six modules in the forms of worksheets, materials, and also videos.

Even more, there are some additional bonuses in the packages that are also very helpful to check out, including:

​When To Sleep with a Man: Exactly for those who wonder what the right time to sleep with the man after the first date is?

Unstoppable Confidence: One of the essential qualities of any dating is confidence, which creates the first impression. Then, in this bonus material, you can hear Michael and the fellow expert Griswald’s candid discussion.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Texting Dirty: The author published one of the best-sellers on Amazon, Text The Romance Back Program. Thus, you can definitely learn some useful texting techniques to blow the mind of any guys.

Sometimes, you will also have an extra Man-Melting Backrub or Make Him Beg to be Your Boyfriend. It is based on the promotion offered by the author.

Anyway, you will never get bored with the program. Sometimes, you can lie on the bed and check online tutorials when you wait for your partner, or you can even put on the earphones and hear Michael Fiore share about his experience and useful relationship techniques.

The Content of The Program

Now, get insight into the main content of the Make Him Worship You program. It is divided into six modules; each focuses on different aspects of your male lover’s romantic psychology. Hence, it is supposed to help you understand him better.

No need to check all the modules in a linear. Rather than that, you can start with any of the following topics you might be interested in.

Introduction and the lies you’ve been told about men

The book starts with correcting the misconceptions and misunderstanding of you about men. Instead, Michael Fiore reveals the opinions about romantic relationships and sexual attractions from the view of men.

In the end, it is more important to accept yourself and some negative expectations so that you can become more self-confident in a relationship.

What men mean by I Love You

To make him worship you, you should never be misled by him. Then, you must know whether your partner really means it when he says, “I love you.” In this part, you can understand how a man delivers a deep feeling.

For example, the man often finds himself hard and confused about his real emotion, so communication is usually tough at the beginning.

The secret emotional life of men

Again, I have to confirm that men have a hard time honestly expressing their feelings as someone said this “Men are an ocean of feeling, but we hardly see no drop out of them.”

Thus, it would be great to see the relationships in the men’s pressures, from his life, work, and even your relationship. Take a masculine man, for instance. Showing any vulnerability and softness is against impressions and characteristics that others often put on him. All of those negative experiences can make them afraid of opening.

Accepting Yourself

The next module is about you.

This is tightly knit with the confidence that I mentioned earlier. Then, you must realize and accept both the good and bad sides of yours regarding life, in general, and romantic relationships, in particular.

After that, it is recommended to have forgiveness on your soul so that you will feel the life much less stressful, and you can also quickly move on to new relationships.

More importantly, you decide whether he is worth it or turns out to be an jerk. Real-life examples are available for your reference. Have your red flags and be ready to kick him out of your life forever if he is not well-worth your time, let alone your love.

Feeding his masculinity

While most women desire to be loved and treasured, most men are ready to give them so. They like to be a provider and also a protector when you need it. Hence, always tap into such desires and make your man more confident about himself.

Excitingly enough, Michael Fiore emphasizes the high-testosterone and some proven techniques that can also help to win over your man. Say, it would help if you increased the intimate touching and hypnotic kissing to build the partner up and drive him to do as you desire.

Communication and getting what you want

Never skip the last module, which includes a series of advisable and actionable communicating strategies to persuade him to follow your desire, even in the most difficult or misunderstanding situations.

We all know that miscommunications or toxic questions can end up a broken couple.

How Much Is The Program?

It is around $37 the latest time I check the official website of the digital “Make Him Worship You.” It is not expensive at all, considering how much time and effort the author put into all resources of the program. Truth be told, the price is just as much as the cost of a chocolate bar, and you can get a secret sauce to your relationship.

In case that you just are not satisfied with the techniques suggested by Michael Fiore, you can request a money-back within 60 days.

No worries.

What I Like and Less Like about “Make Him Worship You”

Positive as the Make Him Worship You program review is, I still have some comments to make the guide more realistic and actionable.

Pros:

Written by a man, especially – an expert in relationships

Easy to follow content with specific examples

Diversified on the presentation methods to avoid boredness

Very affordable to get useful advice from experts

Money-back guarantee, so no worries if it does not work

Five bonuses included in the package to understand him better

Cons:

Cheesy and overly-sober language

Possible inward reflection (it’s hard to admit our mistakes!)

Only the digital version available

Michael Fiore Make Him Worship You Reviews

Want to hear feedback on He Will Worship You reviews from other consumers?

Then, I would like to summary some here.

From Jude Paler

She highly praises the program for its step-by-step guide that is immediately applied to almost any case. Far from being theoretical or philosophical, the advice of Michael Fiore is practical!

From Lakeport Chamber

“Make Him Worship You” program, in the Lakeport Chamber’s opinion, is an online relationship. It is helpful as the title. All techniques are easy to implement, as well.

Last Verdict – My Overall Opinion

The Make Him Worship You review above is shown. Those who claim to Make Him Worship You scam obviously have never read it through yet. In fact, the program has a beneficial content that is broken down in easy-to-follow modules. However, the reader should not be stressed too much about self-reflection and get depressed. Instead, take good care of yourself, win over the male partner, and make him worship you to the end.

Credit by: https://selfhelpskills.net/make-him-worship-you-review/

Survey #378

“come as you are, as you were, as i want you to be”

Have you ever dreamt in another language? No. How long will you try out something you don’t enjoy before giving up on it? It really depends, but in most cases, admittedly very quickly. What’s something you recently realized or discovered about yourself? *shrug* What’s the most interesting news you read or received recently? What about the most depressing? Not in a good way really, but it was certainly interesting to learn I have such severe sleep apnea. Like, I was certain I didn't. The most depressing would be uhhhh... I guess Jason's mother's death, but I don't know how "recent" you'd consider that by now. Would you let politics get in the way of a relationship? It depends. Some beliefs I absolutely would not tolerate (like anti-LGBT), others I would just agree to disagree with. What is one way in which you need to learn to control yourself? I need to get better at controlling my mouth when I'm extremely upset. Do you use a photo editor? I use Lightroom and Photoshop for photography. Is your dad overweight? No, I think he's actually underweight. Ever been honked at? Yes. What’s the name of the most recent baby a friend has had? Easton, I think? An old middle school friend had him. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster? Yes, but they never work for me. How did your parents pick your name? I dunno. If you had to move to another country, where would you move? Canada. Do you have a balcony? No. Who is a singer that has given you chills? Man, I get chills easily with music. David Draiman from Disturbed, his cover of "Sound of Silence" is BREATHTAKING. That's number one. There are many others, they're just not coming to me at the moment. Do you have a drone? No. What was the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten? Some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. I got some crazy hot sauce. Have you ever discovered something gross in your food at McDonalds? No. What was the last thing you used sliced bread to make? A sandwich. How long did your shortest relationship last? Like a day lmao. Would you rather have a trampoline or swimming pool? A POOL!!!! I've talked before about how I want one so, SO very badly to exercise my legs without having to worry about sweat, and I can take a break the very moment I need to. Do you own a Snuggie? Yeah, somewhere. Do you listen to any unsigned bands/singers? Who? Yeah, quite a few on YouTube, but my favorite in Jonathan Young. He is SO damn talented. Who is your favorite video game character? Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill franchise. What kind of pictures do you post on Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat most frequently? Mostly of my pets lmao. Have you ever been on vacation with a significant other? No. Have you ever considered “unplugging”/taking a significant period of time away from technology? No. I know I'd never stick to it. Do you prefer to watch a documentary that is about a situation/event or a documentary that is more of a personal character study/biography? The latter. Meerkat Manor comes to mind with that, and everyone knows how much I adore that show. There was also one about rhesus macaques I fell in love with. Basically, I love animal docs, haha. Can you think of a recent time in which you might have been better off resisting, but you did something because you “just couldn’t help yourself”? Probably eating something. When you are getting to know someone, do you tend to worry that the other person will lose interest in you once they get to know the “real” you? Yyyyep. What is something that you would like to do, but really aren’t able to because of your location? (e.g., see art or get a certain job) Man, a lot of things. Photograph meerkats is a biggie. What sort of job do you think is best suited for your skills? Is this an in-demand position or something you’re unlikely to actually get? If I could actually handle the heat and was in good shape to traverse the outdoors, I think I'd be a great wildlife biologist. Even more though, if I could beat my social anxiety, I would ADORE being an animal educator with kids. Do you believe it is the responsibility of businesses, or prominent business leaders (think Bill Gates) to take the lead on social issues whether by using their influence or their money? Saying it's their "responsibility" sounds unfair and puts a lot of weight on their shoulders, but I do feel they should by their own volition and kindness use their position for good, such as through monetary assistance and other things. Have you ever gone to a job interview and realized that you didn’t want the job? Yep. Have you ever asked that someone sacrifice something (a habit, relationship, job, etc.) for you? A habit, yes. Looking back it was stupid as shit. What would you call your body type? Ew. Has anyone ever hacked your accounts before? Yes. Do you enjoy big holiday dinners? Considering I spend them with my sister's bigoted, homophobic, and racist in-laws, not especially. I always feel very uncomfortable and disliked among everyone for being the "black sheep" among 'em. Is your vision good? God no. Even with my glasses, it's very poor. I need a new prescription badly. Do both of your parents have jobs? Mom has something of the sort, like she cleans a local church for a small pay, but it's not really a "job." She's still recovering from cancer, getting her strength back up and such before she can handle a consistent job. Dad's had a job for as long as I've lived. What is something you’ve always wanted a boy to do for you? How heteronormative. But whatever. It's so fucking cheesy, but singing a cute song to me while slowdancing sounds so super adorable to me. What food are you craving right now? I am craving something sweet like you wouldn't believe. It's annoying. Have you ever been in a car accident? Yes. Do you have a lot of scars? Yes, but most are very negligible. I just scar extremely easily. Last person you saw other than your family? My primary doctor. Last movie you’ve seen in theaters? The The Lion King remake. Who was the last person you played a video game with? Ummm I think Girt. Last game you played at an arcade? Zero clue. What was your favorite nursery rhyme as a child? I THINK I particularly liked "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider?" None stand out strongly, though. What is your favorite cousin’s first name? I don’t have a favorite cousin. Would you prefer to travel around the world by yourself or with a friend? I think with a friend to prevent loneliness, but at the very same time, I see a great beauty in traveling on your own. Just taking new things in, seeing so many different cultures, beautiful scenery... I feel it'd be a great chance for exploration of insight. Remind yourself how small you are, that there's a much, much bigger picture than your own problems, that people are so unique but hopefully share common morals... I see a lot of poetry in it. Do you like the smell of coffee? It's one of my favorite smells. If you have a favorite photographer, can you describe their work? I can't possibly pick. I watch literally hundreds on deviantART, and many of them absolutely blow my mind. What’s one aspect of your life that did not turn out as you expected? My lack of a career. Outside of school, have you ever used a thesaurus? Well, online ones for writing. When you see a good-looking girl in skimpy clothing, what is your initial thought? I envy her confidence, like gotdamn girl. Have you ever been in a lighthouse? No. Are you on a laptop or desktop? A laptop. What color is your shower? White. Where do you order your pizza from? Domino's or Little Caesar's. What was the name of the last dog you pet? We've been calling the dog we're holding right now Zoe. Have you ever had anything stolen from you? Yes. Have you ever seen the White House? I don't think so, but it's possible I have when we've driven up to New York, but from a distance. How about Niagara Falls? No. What do you like in your salads and what dressing do you prefer? I just like regular iceberg lettuce with some bacon bits and ranch. Man, that sounds good right about now. Any posters of a band on your bedroom wall? Yeah, Metallica and Marilyn Manson. Do you think it’d be cool to have your body mummified after you die? No. I couldn't rock the mummy look even if I tried, haha. Can you tell the difference between a Scottish & an Irish accent? Not really, no. Can you read music? I used to be able to. Do you work the night shift? I don’t have a job, but if I did, I absolutely do not want to work the night shift anywhere. Have you ever slept over at your best friend’s house? Yes. Is your mother diabetic? Are you? She is, but I'm not. Would you like to learn how to make ceramic pottery? It'd be cool, sure. Ever sang someone to sleep? No. Who did you last kiss? My cat. Why did you last lie? I don't recall. Probably to just avoid confrontation with Mom. What do you put on your hamburgers? Cheese, ketchup, and mustard, generally. Who do you think cares the most about you? My mom. Have you ever sent a dirty picture? No. What’s at the center of your dining table? Honestly, we sit in there so rarely that I don't even know. I think we might have nothing, actually. Have you ever started a rumor? No. Do you like being outside? If it's cool, yes. What’s your favourite condiment? Maybe ketchup. Or honey mustard. Who sang/played the last song you listened to? Chris Motionless is the singer of Motionless In White. I don't know if that's his real last name, though. Do you like yoga? I used to. Now all the bending and shit would make me dizzy as hell with my "how are you still alive" level of low blood pressure. Do you always carry breath mints? No, but I do carry Tictacs with me, but they're for my dry mouth. It forces you to salivate, so it helps. What do you think your reaction would be upon entering the White House? I don't really know. I honestly don't even know how it looks inside. Thinking about it, I'd probably be more scared than anything, waiting for a bomb to drop or some shit lmao. Have you ever grown your own sea monkeys or dinosaurs? OH MY GOD I LOVED those!!! I definitely did! Have you ever thrown a game controller (or the game) and broke it? No, I've never been the type to do that. If I'm SERIOUSLY getting mad, all I do is tighten my grip. Did you ever own an Etch-a-Sketch? Yes. Do/did you ever have glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling? I believe so. What movie were you really worked up for that ended up disappointing you? My answer is Warcraft, but only because the fucking orcs' voices were so baritone that I couldn't understand them almost ever lmaooo. Like I had a mild idea of what was going on because of the game, but still. What part of a paper is hardest for you to write? The intro, or the conclusion. Both are difficult to me. Like I want to compose a gripping beginning as well as an end that doesn't just repeat everything I've already said and ends on a strong note. Does it bother you that almost everything is done on computers now? No. KFC Chicken: original or extra crispy? I don't like fried chicken. Think about your first kiss. Did you have any idea what you were doing? I mean, I guess? Like I'd seen kisses enough to know how to give someone a peck. It just came naturally. Did you get Happy Meals just for the toys as a kid? Not just for the toy, but it's the main thing I wanted, sure. Have you ever seen your parents cry? If so, how did it make you feel? Seeing my mom cry absolutely destroys me. I don't want her to hurt EVER. Especially if it's seriously unfair bullshit that has her upset, I also get very angry (not at her, of course) and protective. I've seen Dad tear up once, back when he was telling us about his mother's funeral, and I felt immense surprise more than anything. He does NOT cry. How do you feel about animal testing? It's fucking disgusting and barbaric. Find a different goddamn way. Do you add condiments to your ice cream, or just eat it plain? If I'm having vanilla, I'll usually add chocolate syrup. Have you ever witnessed a crime? Yes. What’s the coolest personalized license plate you’ve ever seen? I'm forever gonna get a kick out of this one that just said "omw," haha.

Mai Nakahara at ACEN Recap

I’ve been wanting to make this post for a while, because my last post about Juvia’s Japanese voice actress Mai Nakahara got a good response (I’m happy to see more fans of hers!!). For those who don’t know, Mai attended the anime convention Acen this past May. 

A few kind fans on twitter documented some of her panels, and a couple of people interviewed her. Not to mention Mai herself talked about Acen on twitter. So, this post will compile all the info that I’ve found online (sadly I couldn’t go to Acen to see her myself ;_;). For the FT/Juvia fans, she talked about Juvia, too, and how she’s the character who sticks out to her the most of all the ones she’s done! ^-^ 

So please keep reading if you’re interested! ^^

First of all, Mai posted on twitter when she arrived in Chicago. Apparently she was impressed and excited by the apple pie welcome desserts and American chocolate lol (Mai loves sweets).

Mai was not attending the con alone. There were a couple of other junior (to her) voice actresses who were with her. But when it came time to participate in the opening ceremony, while her juniors were grouped together, she had to go on stage on her own, and she said it made her nervous lol.

During her time at Acen she participated in two panels, and had 3 signing events. On twitter, parts of her panels were documented by fans who had the chance to ask her questions.

Here are Stereometric’s tweets about one of Mai’s panels/Mai’s answers:

Inoue-san is the veteran voice actress who played Nagisa’s mom in Clannad. She and Mai are still super close friends even after all these years.

BTW, as to the “personal question” that someone asked her, despite the rules, it was “are you single?” ^^’ I imagine Mai was probably wondering what was asked, and I doubt if they even bothered to translate that for her lol.

Also, the person she asked for help about her audition for the role of Kashima in Nozaki-kun was Nakamura Yuuichi/Yuukyan who played Nozaki. ^-^ 

astrange_E tweets about one of her panels:

I think it’s really funny Mai is so concerned with people thinking she’s evil. FYI, she has a habit of being cast as yanderes, and recently, villains lol. 

LEGOFChannel tweets from Mai’s panels:

That’s about it from her panels.

There was a blogger that talked about their experience at Acen. I would link it, but tumblr mobile doesn’t like links. >_< Here’s what they had to say about Mai:

Of all the seiyuu at this con, Maisan stands head and shoulder in my opinion above all. She is definitely the most veteran but also literally the face of a voice acting school, plus being a definitive voice and actress for a few big time properties. You can see why I tried for her first.

It was kind of intimidating to go to her panel and stand like 3 feet away to ask her questions face to face LOL. I don’t know what to say other than she is every bit as advertised, in the best way. She also took a different approach to dealing with the challenge of “American Anime Con Panel” and it was a bit of a…not quite show-and-tell but also kind of a teacher-student dynamic. It was good contrast for Todakun’s panel in Canada the week after…

One of the joke we cracked while camping her autograph line was how everything she signed at the con was Mai-Hime, Clannad, or Higurashi. Somehow this is expected.

Ah well, I wish I could have gone to both of her panels. Nakahara Mai was the biggest seiyuu at the con for me....

_____________

Mai also did an interview with Anime Trending in which she mentions Juvia! I would link it, but again, tumblr mobile hates links, so here’s the interview:

Anime Trending: First off, thank you so much for coming out to Anime Central. It’s a real pleasure to have you here. I’d like to ask how your time in Chicago has been so far.

Mai Nakahara: I got to do some shopping yesterday, and it’s impressive how things are big here and so different from Japan, it’s been fun.

Excellent, glad to hear that. I’d like to start with the question about your time working as a voice actor. You’ve done many roles, you’ve spent a lot of time in the industry. I was wondering how things have changed since you first started as a voice actress.

Back when I started, it was a time when female idols were the center stage rage, but today it feels like males idols are the rage, so it feels like the gender roles have flipped.

I see. That’s quite a change that has been a little evident. So, I’d like to ask a question about your role in the puppet show, Thunderbolt Fantasy. When you found out it was a puppet show, what was your first reaction?

When we talk about puppet plays in Japan, what I grew up with was, and what we think of would be shows like Hyokkori Hyoutanjima — I don’t know if you would be familiar with it, but I was very much impressed when I went to the recording for Thunderbolt Fantasy because of the high-quality of the puppets and also there was so much high-tech involved, such as 3D that it was so different and very much impressive.

So on a similar vein, in the same show, puppets have so many restrictions on how they’re able to express themselves, only eyes and not movements and gestures. Did you need to adjust the way that you performed in order to make up for this lack of expression? 

Thunderbolt Fantasy is based on a Taiwanese classic, so it starts off with the timing Taiwanese narrator going as the soundtrack, and for our Japanese voices, our job was not to just come up with the original characters, but to really play along to the narrative.

Excellent. So to transition to another show, the role of Juvia from Fairy Tail. That is a very long-running show, and I’m wondering, as you’ve spent time working as the character, how your approach to playing the character has changed?

Juvia as a character originally starts off as an enemy and later joins on as a friend, so there was a complete change in the way I played her. And she starts off as a character who doesn’t know love, but by meeting someone named Gray, she gets to know love and so there’s a lot of feminine side of her that gets to be put in as the range of her character later on.

Excellent. So after so many roles, is there a particular character or role that sticks out as one that was particularly memorable or maybe a little bit harder to play than all the others?

I love all my characters, but Juvia from Fairy Tail and also, we didn’t talk about her, but Estella from Tales of Vesperia. These are characters that I’ve played for a long time, and I do get lots of fun from a character I get to play for a long time.

Excellent, glad to hear that. One last question, have you ever had the opportunity to listen to the dubs of shows you’ve worked on in other languages?

Not yet so far, and I would be very interested in watching them.

Well, thank you very much for your time.

Thank you! 

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It made me really happy to see Juvia was one of the roles that stood out to Mai! When asked this kind of question in the past, it was Nagisa from Clannad that would be her answer, but I guess things changed. Hooray for Juvia! ^-^

There is also a video interview with Mai from Acen that you can watch here:

Mai also recounted her time at Acen via twitter. 

She posted a farewell tweet in English, thanks to her translator Sarah, who is pictured with her at Dylan’s Candy Bar during some sightseeing Mai did while in Chicago:

Mai met some She-Ra cosplayers while browsing the show floor at the con. For those who don’t know, Mai is She-Ra/Adora in the Japanese dub of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power on Netflix. According to both Mai, and the fans she met in cosplay, she was super excited to see them and asked for photos. She and her translated were apparently very sweet. ^-^

And finally, what did Mai bring back as a souvenir from her time in the US? The only thing she posted about was the fact that her protein bar supply that she bought while in Chicago was starting to run low a few weeks after her return hahaha:

That concludes the recap of Mai’s visit to Acen. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope it gave you some more insight into Mai’s personality. ^__^ I wish I could have gone to the con, too. ;_; I hope she attends another con in the States again, soon. Her next con appearance is actually in China on December 22nd. Any Chinese fans of Mai’s?  ^^

Sun Myung Moon’s One-World Theocracy

by Robert Parry

... A silent testimony to Moon’s clout is the fact that his vast spending of billions of dollars in secretive Asian money to influence U.S. politics – spanning nearly a quarter century – has gone virtually unmentioned amid the current controversy over Asian donations to U.S. politicians.

With unintended irony, Moon’s Washington Times repeatedly has featured stories about secret Asian money going to Democrats. “More than a million dollars of this foreign money is believed to have been contributed to the Democrats, putting the election up for auction,” charged Times’ editor Wesley Pruden in a typical column. [Oct. 18, 1996]

The blind spot on Moon is especially curious since there have been U.S. government allegations dating back to the 1970s that Moon’s organization fronted for the South Korean CIA and funnelled money to Washington for right-wing Japanese industrialists. For the past 15 years, The Washington Times has been the most obvious conduit for this foreign money. The newspaper and its sister publications – Insight and The World & I – have cost Moon an estimated $1 billion in losses. Yet, Moon has never accounted for the sources of his money.

Moon’s jingle of deep-pocket cash also has caused conservatives to turn a deaf ear toward Moon’s recent anti-American diatribes. With growing virulence, Moon has denounced the United States and its democratic principles, often referring to America as “Satanic.” But these statements have gone virtually unreported, even though the texts of his sermons are carried on the Internet and their timing has coincided with Bush’s warm endorsements of Moon.

“America has become the kingdom of individualism, and its people are individualists,” Moon preached in Tarrytown, N.Y., on March 5, 1995. “You must realize that America has become the kingdom of Satan.”

In similar remarks to followers on Aug. 4, 1996, Moon vowed that the church’s eventual dominance over the United States would be followed by the liquidation of American individualism. “Americans who continue to maintain their privacy and extreme individualism are foolish people,” Moon declared. “The world will reject Americans who continue to be so foolish. Once you have this great power of love, which is big enough to swallow entire America, there may be some individuals who complain inside your stomach. However, they will be digested.”

During the same sermon, Moon decried assertive American women. “American women have the tendency to consider that women are in the subject position,” he said. “However, woman’s shape is like that of a receptacle. The concave shape is a receiving shape. Whereas, the convex shape symbolizes giving. ... Since man contains the seed of life, he should plant it in the deepest place.

“Does woman contain the seed of life? [“No.”] Absolutely not. Then if you desire to receive the seed of life, you have to become an absolute object. In order to qualify as an absolute object, you need to demonstrate absolute faith, love and obedience to your subject. Absolute obedience means that you have to negate yourself 100 percent.”

Evil Hamburgers

These pronouncements contrast with Moon’s lavish praise of the United States disseminated for public consumption during his early forays to Washington. On Sept. 18, 1976, at a flag-draped rally at the Washington Monument, Moon declared that “the United States of America, transcending race and nationality, is already a model of the unified world.” He called America “the chosen nation of God” and added that “I not only respect America, but truly love this nation.”

Yet, even as Moon has soured on America, his recruiters continue to use that flag-draped scene of the Washington Monument to lure new followers. The patriotic image struck powerfully with John Stacey when the college freshman watched a video of that speech while undergoing Unification Church recruitment in 1992.

“American flags were everywhere,” recalled Stacey, a thin young man from central New Jersey. “The first video they showed me was Reverend Moon praising America and praising Christianity.” In 1992, Stacey considered himself a patriotic American and a faithful Christian. He soon joined the Unification Church.

Stacey became a Pacific Northwest leader in Moon’s Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles [CARP]. “They liked to hang me up because I’m young and I’m American,” Stacey told me. “It’s a good image for the church. They try to create the all-American look, where I think they’re usurping American values, that they’re anti-American.”

At a 1995 leadership conference at a church compound in Anchorage, Alaska, Stacey met face-to-face with Moon who was sitting on a throne-like chair while a group of American followers, many middle-aged converts from the 1970s, sat at his feet like children.

“Reverend Moon looked at me straight in the eye and said, ‘America is Satanic. America is so Satanic that even hamburgers should be considered evil, because they come from America’,” recalled Stacey. “Hamburgers! My father was a butcher, so that bothered me. ... I started feeling that I was betraying my country.”

Moon’s criticism of Jesus also unsettled Stacey. “In the church, it’s very anti-Jesus,” Stacey said. “Jesus failed miserably. He died a lonely death. Reverend Moon is the hero that comes and saves pathetic Jesus. Reverend Moon is better than God. ... That’s why I left the Moonies. Because it started to feel like idolatry. He’s promoting idolatry.”

One-World Theocracy

Despite growing disaffection among many longtime followers and other problems, Moon’s empire still prospers financially, backed by vast sources of mysterious wealth. “It’s a multi-billion-dollar international conglomerate,” noted Steve Hassan, a former church leader who has written a book about religious cults, entitled Combatting Cult Mind Control. At his Internet site, Hassan has a 31-page list of organizations connected to the Unification Church, many secretively.

“Here’s a man [Moon] who says he wants to take over the world, where all religions will be abolished except Unificationism, all languages will be abolished except Korean, all governments will be abolished except his one-world theocracy,” Hassan said in an interview. “Yet he’s wined and dined very powerful people and convinced them that he’s benign.”

Hassan argued that perhaps the greatest danger of the Unification Church is that it will outlive Moon, since the organization has grown so immense and powerful that other leaders will step forward to lead it. “There are groups out there that want to use this organization,” Hassan said.

A couple of years ago, Moon shifted his personal base of operation to a luxurious estate in Uruguay. The church has been investing tens of millions of dollars in that nation since the early 1980s when Moon was close to the military government. In a sermon on Jan. 2, 1996, Moon was unusually blunt about how he expected the church’s wealth to buy influence among the powerful in South America, just as it did in Washington.

“Father has been practicing the philosophy of fishing here,” Moon said, through an interpreter who spoke of Moon in the third person. “He [Moon] gave the bait to Uruguay and then the bigger fish of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay kept their mouths open, waiting for a bigger bait silently. The bigger the fish, the bigger the mouth. Therefore, Father is able to hook them more easily.”

As part of his business strategy, Moon explained that he would dot the continent with small airstrips and construct bases for submarines which could evade Coast Guard patrols. His airfield project would allow tourists to visit “hidden, untouched, small places” throughout South America, he said.

“Therefore, they need small airplanes and small landing strips in the remote countryside. ... In the near future, we will have many small airports throughout the world.” Moon wanted the submarines because “there are so many restrictions due to national boundaries worldwide. If you have a submarine, you don’t have to be bound in that way.”

(As strange as Moon’s submarine project might sound, a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Japan, dated Feb. 18, 1994, cited press reports that a Moon-connected Japanese company, Toen Shoji, had bought 40 Russian submarines. The subs were supposedly bound for North Korea where they were to be dismantled and melted down as scrap.)

Moon also recognized the importance of media in protecting his curious operations, which sound like an invitation to drug traffickers. He boasted to his followers that with his vast array of political and media assets, he will dominate the new Information Age. “That is why Father has been combining and organizing scholars from all over the world, and also newspaper organizations – in order to make propaganda,” Moon said. Central to that success in South America is Tiempos del Mundo.

http://consortiumnews.com/archive/moon1.html

______________________________________

How Sun Myung Moon’s organization helped to establish Bolivia as South America’s first narco-state.

In order to rule the world, Sun Myung Moon had to start with Korea.

Sun Myung Moon’s desire to take over the League for his own financial and political ends

Fraser Committee Report on Moon org.:  “these violations were related to the overall goals of gaining temporal power.”

My experience within the hierarchy of the Moon cult during its years of expansion in Russia and in the CIS

Press Release on the FFWPU by the Department of Communication, Nizhny Novgorod province, Russia

Sun Myung Moon was eager to infiltrate the European Parliament

Group Founded by Sun Myung Moon Preaches Sexual Abstinence in China

Robert Parry’s investigations into Sun Myung Moon

Production Bias and OWL 2020

There’s… admittedly… a lot the Overwatch League has to iron out and polish in how they run, produce, and broadcast the league if they want the league to live up to the vision that they believe is possible in the long term.

I could be here forever if I wanted to go into all of it, but I want to focus on an insidious problem that I don’t think the broadcast/production staff realize is hampering the full potential enjoyment a lot of fans could have watching the games. (As the majority of league viewers are based in North America, I will be focusing on the American, or the “main” broadcast stream and social media channels.  I can’t comment on the other broadcast streams in other languages because none of them are in languages i am fluent in, so I won’t.)

That problem is Bias.

Bias emerges in many ways in OWL production.

There are overt examples:

Montecristo’s relentless dunking on the Houston Outlaws and insisting the team, its players, and its fans are trash during official broadcast and even as he is commentating Outlaws matches in a role he should be neutral in. The unified desk beating the “NYXL choking in all playoffs meme” to death while conveniently forgetting NYXL are the only two time back to back stage champions in league history, and even when the term “choking” technically isn’t relevant because they are simply being outclassed by a team that has consistently shown they can handily beat NYXL meanwhile few other teams get negative treatment as enduring Bren’s fervent backing of the Shanghai dragons, reason be damned Soe’s blatant favouritism of the Atlanta Reign in all situations because she simply loves that team more than any other.

Some of these examples can be entertaining as hell.

Others are annoying to have to be subjected to, especially if your team is the target.

There’s also much more subtle examples of bias, and these emerge more in the choice to include or omit things in production, the manner teams are discussed in desk segments, and with a whole season of footage and posts, clear patterns emerge:

The desk discussion about san francisco shock being notably more hype than discussion about vancouver titans despite both teams having the same trajectory and success over the season as a variation of above: framing every titans match as “who can defeat the titans???” meanwhile every san francisco match is “can the shock continue their streak of dominance?” as if one team inherently is a villain who must be beaten down and the other is a protagonist whose dominance is expected and accepted as the new normal as a caveat under this: being very respectful of super’s tears after stage 1 finals, and mocking bumper’s tears after stage 2 finals the desk’s respect and levity given to taimou’s mental struggles being a bench player in a meta that doesn’t cater to his skills and celebrating his return, while his teammate, EFFECT was not afforded the same respect when he had to go home for his mental health in season 1, and his return to season 2 was very much lukewarm in comparison trend towards mixed teams being lauded for performing well in a majority of their games, meanwhile full korean speaking teams get lukewarm responses even when they’re doing well, and downright mean responses when they don’t do well (there are exceptions because sometimes the records speak for themselves, ie: justice and mayhem) notable difference in how successes and failures are presented when discussing non-korean players and korean players the fact Montecristo keeps being scheduled to cast Houston Outlaws games despite his obvious and very vocal disdain for the team (this could be scheduling chance rather than choice, but even so, it makes it much harder than it needs to be for outlaws fans to enjoy watching their team play the game and the fact this isn’t seen as a problem is an unconscious issue) comparatively little or no footage of teams who don’t do comms in English being featured on the incredibly popular comms check videos, thereby hampering fan engagement and ability to relate to at least 1/3 the teams in the league (how hard is it to hire a translator to sift through footage and add subtitles?? the dragons and spark seem to do this with ease? and official broadcast shouldn’t be lacking in such resource??)

Generally, having bias isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Bren’s fervent belief in the dragons, even carried over as a meme from stage 1, is incredibly entertaining with the props and the ribbing, and in a way, Bren has his own redemption arc when the dragons really broke through that wall this season and won their first game, then kept winning until they won stage 3 entirely with stellar hardcore play.

The pre-show picks for the day are an entertaining segment, and gives the desk and analysts a chance to justify to the viewers and each other why their pick to win is the correct choice.  Sometimes it gives fans insight into what past performance, play style, and analysis should be accounted for.  Sometimes it’s just a blatant show of bias, and you know what, that’s fine. Sometimes it’s even entertaining as hell.

But sometimes Bias isn’t fun, and when the running joke about your team, or your favourite player keeps being featured even when the context is no longer there, or the talent who clearly doesn’t think much of your team keeps getting airtime to dunk on your team because some portion of viewers or production thinks it’s funny, the show stops being fun to watch.

The problem is amplified when it becomes apparent that you can’t avoid this bias if you intend to continue watching the league.  As there is only one single official English stream, featuring the same rotation of commentators and analysts and desk talent, fans have no choice but to listen and go along with the flow that the main production has set up for them, or avoid tuning into pre-and post game coverage and discussion, and watch on mute, missing out on content and strategic analysis that allows them to engage with other fans, or better understand the game at an esport level and why results turned out the way they did.  (Or watch Avast’s stream instead, which doesn’t show league footage and isn’t beholden to professional standards like official broadcast and also it’s not the OWL official broadcast which means fan disengagement.)

As an extension of that, with what the league chooses to post and broadcast, there’s also no way to access additional content the league chooses to omit to post unless your team takes the initiative to make that content themselves (Hangzhou Spark  and Shanghai Dragons open mic are both treasures and official comms check is missing out by not including their footage, among other teams: where is mayhem? dynasty? NYXL?)

So why am I discussing this? OWL is doing okay, and you can’t please everyone, right?  I obviously have my opinions, but otherwise it’s fine??

Well the thing is, OWL still very much has aspirations to grow.

I haven’t forgotten that 20 million dollar buy in.

Neither have the investors, I don’t think.

With the shift to a travelling rotating homestead schedule in four divisions next year to directly hit hometown markets and grow local communities, OWL clearly means to grow and get bigger, and that means attracting more fans and viewers and consumers, and keeping the existing fans they have.

Next year, leaving the Blizzard arena, bias no longer becomes an asset, it becomes an active, growing problem.

A significant portion of fans already find it very hard to watch and engage with pre-and post game coverage.  Fans that no longer engage with desk talent centric content, and maybe even watch games on mute are very much on their way to disengagement from the league entirely.

Furthermore, it will be significantly harder to recruit fans to support teams if the official league broadcast makes a point to tell them, before they are even engaged, that their home city team is trash and they should feel bad for thinking of supporting them for x, y, and z reasons.

Additionally, with the shift next year to local market games, the attention on the league will be amplified, and with it will come an expectation of professionalism.  There’s a clear lack of polish in this area, notably.  What happens when the Outlaws Homestead happens and Monte is not only scheduled to cast, but spends the entire time dunking on the Outlaws?  How does that look to local stakeholders?  How are Outlaws fans gonna have a good time at their own homestead while the official broadcast does them dirty?  How welcome does the broadcast feel to fans who don’t have means to attend their team’s homestands, and must engage via the official broadcast stream?

Given the single official broadcast in this language, and no announcement yet to expand the casting and desk talent cast, production needs to iron out their problems with bias, and that starts with stepping back and realizing they have a very obvious bias problem in the way they present narratives, decide what content is shown and promoted, and how often the talent team overtly supports certain teams while on air in an official capacity.  Professionalism also needs to level up, because a recent debacle on air already received negative response in the twittersphere directly from team organization stakeholders.

If the overwatch league wants to reach out to more fans, and continue growing while retaining the fanbase they already have, broadcast needs to become far more neutral in how they present the esport with this singular official broadcast, or create local based versions of official broadcast.  Unfortunately, option two is unfeasible because there is a lack of such experienced casters in the sport at this time to have the equally biased 20 local commentator broadcasts going at once.

With the singular official broadcast, this means neutral commentating without snide comments about teams casters obviously dislike.  This means desk consciously making the effort to present equal narratives to teams with similar trajectory, or equally flipping back and forth over time so a “villain” narrative isn’t constantly only dumped on one team all season.  This means hiring Korean and Chinese speaking editor or translator to help get equal team representation in fun quirky “get to know the team” segments like comms check in an official capacity instead of making the non-English speaking teams do extra work within their organization to pump their own versions of official content themselves. (Hangzhou and Shanghai may do their own open mics, but the point is they shouldn’t HAVE TO to get the same quirky fun coverage out that English speaking teams get to take for granted)

They’ve done a lot this year, expanding Danny and Emily’s roles beyond that of simply translator to give that extra interviewing representation to players who don’t feel confident speaking English, and giving them airtime to connect with their fans.  This is already mitigating the interviewing bias of last year, and giving more screen time to players who don’t speak English primarily (the Diem Carpe segment comes to mind).

I think they can do more, and I believe they have to if they want the League to live up to what they want it to be, so every fan of every team can enjoy watching as much as they can.

Source: Production Bias and OWL 2020

I had so much fun writing my first kid fic with the help of my beta, @heartthrobphilly  and basing it off of @bluevlvvt ’s artwork (the link above!) —— Word count: 2.6k Prompt: Phil offers to drive his friends daughter (lola) to her ballet lesson. he runs into a cute dad with his daughter rosie. he offers to drive lola to her ballet lessons every week after that. (slow plot development lol) Warnings: light cursing, angst —— It’s 3:02pm as Phil waits outside of Brookside Elementary School. According to Ian, Lola usually exits through this door and waits to be retrieved from the playground. So far, there’s no sign of the little blonde girl playing outside.

A shout of “Uncle Phil!” catches his attention and he turns around to the soccer pitch just in time to see the kindergartener running at him, embracing him in a hug when they collide. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking care of you tonight, remember? Your dad has a big business dinner, and your mom is in Wolverhampton for her job, yeah?”

“Ohhhhh, I just thought Grandma would be taking care of me again,” the six year old explains, not seeming particularly fussed.

“C’mon, let’s head home.”

Two hours later when Phil suggests they order Chinese to the brick house, Lola quickly shuts his craving down. “Uncle Phil, we can’t have Chinese tonight, Thursdays are always Kraft Dinner nights, dummy!”

“Hey Lola, are you done with your dinner? You have ballet soon and still need to get ready!” Seeing Lola’s face that has a bit of the cheesy noodles left on it from quickly scarfing down her meal, Phil grabs a paper towel from the roll on the kitchen counter.

“Yeah! Do you have my leotard?” Phil grabs the light green leotard out of the overnight bag that Lola had brought along, handing it to her with the napkin, (“Lols, you’re a mess!”) her slippers, and a pair of tights.

The drive to the Portner Ballet Studio takes about 15 minutes, with Phil accidentally hitting every red light possible. This causes Lola some distress, claiming that the five minutes she has before class “isn’t enough to talk to Rosie, and she’s the only nice one there that I like.”

Nevertheless, when the raven-haired man and his favorite “niece” enter the building, a small girl with fluffy brown hair immediately runs up to Lola and hugs her. “Rosie, this is my Uncle Phil!

“Lola! You’re finally here! Daddy said you might not be coming today because you’re normally here before me,” the brunette pauses, “but you’re here now, see, Daddy? I told you she would come!”

Phil is frozen. The man who walks up behind Rosie is the most beautiful person Phil has seen, and that’s saying something, considering that Chris Hemsworth exists. But no, the curly brown fringe, hazel eyes, tall, lanky stature, and his soft face (not to mention his monochrome aesthetic and “best dad in the world” travel mug) easily outrank even the likes of Thor.

“Um, hey?” Phil is snapped out of his trance, needing to be able to respond to the greeting. “You’re Lola’s uncle?”

“Well, um, sort of? I’m really good family friends with Lola’s dad, and so I’m kind of an unofficial uncle to her.” Had he been responding to anything else, Phil probably would’ve stuttered, but the number of times he’s had to explain the title makes it so he can explain perfectly, even in front of someone this stunning.

“I’m- I’m Dan.” The two men glance over at the young girls who are chattering animatedly.

“Oh, yeah, Phil Lester.” Dan holds his hand out for a handshake.

“Rosie’s my daughter,” he says quietly, but there’s no mistaking the fondness he has when he says it.

“I can tell, she looks just like you, without the black and white.”

“Oh, I guess we do? My parents keep saying she looks like, um, Angie-” Dan’s voice decrescendos as he gets further along his sentence.

“Angie … is Rosie’s mom?”

“Oh, um, yeah.” Phil’s heart drops.

“Cool.” Not cool. Dan has a wife. Dan had a kid. With his wife.

“Have you got any kids?” Dan asks, a light blush still visible across his cheeks.

“Ah, no, I didn’t have time to find someone in Uni and now I’m single with 2 masters degrees.” Phil unconsciously plots a way to make himself seem more interesting.

“What are they in?” Dan asks, looking genuinely curious.

“I got my first one in English language and linguistics, and my second in post-production editing.”

“What do you do with those? How do they fit together?”

“I’m a special effects engineer for Disney, and they don’t really fit together to be honest,” Phil pauses, “although I do make YouTube videos and that kind of meshes them together,”

“Wow, um, cool,” Dan stutters.

“So what about you?”

“Huh?”

“What’s your job, besides ‘best dad in the world’?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m stupid.” Phil giggles, thinking of how his father would reply with ‘Hi stupid, I’m dad!’. “But I’m a writer for Vogue and I dabble in fashion photography. It’s mainly just taking photos of Rosie if I’m being honest, but the photographers sometimes get sick and I end up doing the shoot.”

“Vogue? Like, the fashion magazine?” Phil doesn’t know much about fashion, but he’s seen the magazine numerous times in the Tesco checkout lane.

“Yeah, well, technically it’s British Vogue, but…”

“Yeah.”

There’s a calm but slightly awkward silence as the conversation loses direction. The two men avoid eye contact, not wanting to make it worse.

The silence is broken by Dan’s tenor voice. “So what films have you worked on?”

“I got to work a bit on Spiderman: Homecoming, but the Live-action Beauty and the Beast was pretty fun. You know the scene where the gold leaf comes off of the ceiling to go on Belle’s dress?” When Dan nods, Phil breaks out into a grin. “That was me.”

“Wow.” Dan breathes out. “After she saw that, she kept trying to put stickers on her ceiling in the hopes that they would transfer to her shirt. It was a nightmare.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Nah mate, it was kind of funny as well. I’ve got a few photos that I’ll save for when she graduates.”

“She’ll love that,” Phil chuckles, and the deep, throaty sound makes Dan’s heart stutter. “So you’re into fashion?”

Dan blushes. “Yeah? I mean I can’t really afford any designers, but I’ll turn into a fanboy at times.”

“Why do they charge so much? Like, half of the suits these designers make look identical to something I could buy from a department store for thousands of dollars less.”

“Well, a lot of designers carefully hand-make every piece, whereas the stuff you get in a store has probably been made by a pre-programmed machine and poorly paid workers in a factory. There’s also differences in fabric types, quality, and origins. And, a lot of designers will tailor the suit to perfectly fit you for a slightly higher price. If you go to a department store-”

“I see what you mean when you say you turn into a fanboy, but thank you for the mini lesson on why celebrities are willing to spend so much money on a navy tux. Your insights are amusing.” Phil grins.

“Did you also know that navy suits are better investments than black ones? It’s because the blue fits into so many more settings than a black one.”

While Phil could watch Dan talk about his passions for hours, just watching and memorizing how the lines change across his face, and God, that dimple, Phil supposes his relentless staring would get a bit creepy. “So what are the ballet lessons like? I’ve only been to a few of Lola’s performances.”

“Oh, um, well, they spend the first 20 minutes warming up, and then they move to the barre where they practice a bunch of stuff that’s in French that I can’t remember, and then they start to go over the routine for their next performance.”

“What is it?”

“What?”

“Their next performance?”

“Yeah! Sorry, I’m stupid,” Dan blushes for what must be the fiftieth time since he first met Phil. “The studio is putting on The Firebird.”

“No! Um, I mean, you’re not stupid. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with The Firebird. What is it about?” Phil has heard the name before, but only in the context of movie scores resembling Stravinsky’s composition. “It sounds kind of intense, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, um, I don’t know much, but from what Rosie’s told me, the firebird gets caught by a prince and when he lets her go she helps him defeat the magician to save some princess, but I’m pretty sure I’m missing like half of the plot. I would say to just Google it and not to go by my word,” The nervous laughter emitted by Dan makes Phil instantly worry that he might have made the brunet uncomfortable or misread Dan’s friendliness as a blossoming friendship when it might have been a ploy to gather gossip for the nosy ballet moms.

“Thanks, I think I’ll trust you on that.” Dan offers a small smile at Phil’s response, letting the two men fall into silence as they watch the group of young girls and 3 boys practice their pliés and dégagés. An hour and a half later, the children exit the studio and find their guardians to go home.

“It was nice meeting you, Phil,’’ Dan admits as Rosie and Lola exchange a goodbye hug. The six words send Phil’s heart into overdrive and he feels his cheeks heating up.

“Yeah, you too, Dan,” Phil replies, proud of himself for not tripping over his words. Looking back, Phil’s whole interaction was impressive, considering his track record of ending up injured in some way.

Last time, Phil wound up with a broken ankle, having paid more attention to the cute digital renderer than the set of stairs they were walking down. It wasn’t all for nothing, though, Phil having gained the cute man’s phone number. Not that that did much for his love life, finding out two days that the boy he had his eyes on was dating the very female gaffer of their most recent movie, but that’s not the point.

This time, nothing will happen, because a) Phil dropping Lola off at ballet was a one time thing, so most likely, he’ll never see Dan again, and b) Dan has a daughter, who is his genetically, which means he has (or had) a wife, all summarizing that no matter how cute the brunet is, Dan is straight.

Not that Phil’s brain will accept that Dan is off-limits as a possible partner. Over the next few days, the image of soft brown eyes, curly fringes, and lanky limbs continuously make appearances in the back of Phil’s head. The very effective distractions cause Phil’s co-workers to worry, and PJ’s repetitive “have you been sleeping okay?”s have driven Phil to the point of insanity.

The answer to PJ’s question is quite easily “no”, Phil having only slept well once that week (he refused to admit it but that was the night that he got off to the image of a faceless figure who looked suspiciously like the boy who wouldn’t leave his head.)

By Wednesday, Phil was fed up with his brain’s reaction to not having seen Dan since the previous Thursday. Pulling out his phone, he does the only thing he can think of to satisfy his hungry mind. He calls Ian.

“Phil? Do you need something?” is the answer he gets when Ian finally picks up.

“No, um, I was just wondering, would you like me to take Lola to ballet again tomorrow?” Phil looks at the lines he had written down on a notepad, an effort to keep himself from going into a 20-minute rant about how in love with Dan he is.

“Sure, I guess? Why are you offering?”

“Just thought that you and Pam could use a break,”

“Oh, okay then, thanks! Same as last week?”

“Sure! Talk to you later!”

Phil’s convinced that his squeal of excitement was the reason that the people who lived across the street turned their lights on and not the fact that their smoke detector went off. He probably set that off too, in hindsight. And caused the stove fire.

23 hours later, Phil finds himself standing inside the dance studio again, surrounded by shrieking kids, chattering parents, and the faint sound of the top 20 radio playing in the background.

“Mister Phil! Where’s Lola?” Rosie pulls on Phil’s sleeve, stopping when she sees her best friend walk out of the bathroom.

“Why, Miss Rosie, she’s right there!” Rosie giggles, pulling out of a hug with Lola.

“I know that now, silly.” She and Lola run into the studio, eager to get to do the optional partner stretches before class starts.

“Are you Lola’s father?” A woman dressed in a skirt suit and heels walks up behind Phil.

“Oh, no, I’m just a family friend. I occasionally take Lola to ballet to give her parents some alone time.”

“Ah.” The woman sticks her hand out for a handshake. “I’m Angela Wright, Rosie’s mom.”

Had there been a small creature under it, Phil’s heart would have killed it from the speed at which it fell. He knew that Rosie had a mom, that Dan had a wife, that Dan wasn’t available. So why did it still hurt so much?

“Oh, cool,” Phil responds a moment later, his voice considerably deflated.

Phil’s unspoken question is answered right as it pops into is head. “Dan contracted the flu, and is stuck at home in bed, which is why I’m here this week. I’m normally responsible for taking Rosie to taekwondo while he takes care of ballet lessons, but that evidently won’t work this week. Honestly, it’s just like Dan to get a winter disease in the middle of summer.”

“I was going to ask about setting up a playdate between Rosie and Lola, but…” Angie trails off.

“Yeah,” Phil nods in understanding, not liking this woman any more than he did a minute ago. “I’m gonna go sit down.” No response comes from the woman, but Phil’s not particularly bothered.

Maybe he should be nicer to the wife of the man he’s stupidly trying to woo, but he just can’t. How is he supposed to be nice to his competition, who’s already clearly won?

When he vaguely notices the ballet instructor make a big motion with her arms, Phil decides that watching a group of five and six year olds is an adequate distraction from the turmoil in his brain. After 10 minutes of watching the kids do various tasks, jumping and prancing around the room, he zones off.

“Uncle Phillll, come onnnnnnn!” wakes Phil from his trance, no longer seeing the ballet students in the studio but now milling around the lobby and leaving. “Class ended like, forever ago! Can we leave? I wanna go get ice cream!”

A quick look at the clock told Phil that class had only ended 5 minutes ago, but to an antsy six-year-old, he supposed that could feel like an eternity.

“Lola, we aren’t getting ice cream. I’d rather not have your parents be mad at me for loading you up on sugar, right?” The small girl pouts but grabs Phil’s hand, dragging him to the car.

While it was easy getting Lola into her car seat, getting her out was a whole other task. It took Phil, Ian, Pamela, a blanket, 2 stuffed animals, and a lullaby to successfully remove the sleeping child out of the carseat, into the house, and onto her bed where she could sleep without interruption.

Once he was back in his car, Phil sat in the driveway, resting his head on the steering wheel, regretting ever offering to take Lola to dance lessons at all. Remember back in college when all those crushes were single? You fucked up, bud.

Search for : 5 Seconds of Summer Ashton: 'chicks don't judge my drumming' it's from an interview for Rhythm magazine. You can also watch the interview : Ashton Irwin at NAMM 2016 . My intention is not to hate on him , but he does sound a bit condescending in those, and i hope as of now he appreciates his female audience, because we do support them with love for their music.

The first one you talk about, I could only find this very low quality pic of the article from Ashton’s twitter, and then I found these articles about it: PressPlay and AltPress. The PressPlay article just transcripts what he says and gives no other insight on the matter. The Altpress one is more important and I’ll get to it in a bit. 

The picture isn’t easy to read so I’m gonna transcript what’s said: 

“Rhythm: Ashton, are you comfortable in the spotlight?

Ashton: Chicks don’t judge your drumming., let’s be honest. Fourteen-year-olds aren’t going to be like, “Man, that guy sucks!”. They just like to see a drummer. My stepdad drums, my uncle is a drummer, I’m surrounded by a drumming family and I just want to learn to be the best drummer I can be. 

Karl: That’s a great thing you just said that chicks don’t judge your drumming. There’s a song in that. I would say you’ve probably influenced a lot of girls to be drummers. 

Ashton: I hope we get some people playing guitar and drums again, I thinks that’s a great thing our band could do for people.”

This interview is from August 2015, but since Karl talks about a rehearsal in Portugal and that after it they’ll go straight into the shows, this interview was held in May 2015, right before the ROWYSO tour, so Ashton as 20 years old then. 

From a first read, yeah, it doesn’t sound good, but, just for the sake of it, let’s put ourselves in his shoes for a sec.

A 20-year-old man who wants to be a great drummer and appreciated for his drumming skills being reduced to daddy material by young teenage girls isn’t exactly ideal. The sexualization of band members isn’t news to anyone and we all know that teenagers can be over the top and very vocal about it to the artist’s face (and by face I both mean live in concert and on the artist’s social media), so, and although not exactly politically correct of Ashton, he’s not wrong in his words, in my opinion. 

Being sexually attracted to a drummer and appreciating their skill isn’t something that’s mutually exclusive, that’s a fact. However, young teenagers, and I’m including myself in here because I’m not imune to this phenomenon, can and will focus on the sex appeal of their idols before being able to appreciate their skills. I did that. I was one of those people who “just like to see the drummer”, so I can see where Ashton is coming from when he said that. Should he have said it, probably not. Did he say it and meant it the evil way people try to portray it, most likely not. 

As the Altpress article reads “What they are is good dudes, and good dudes sometimes say bullshit.” because nobody is born perfect. Then the article goes on saying: 

“It became something of a hot topic on 5SOSFam internet, girls attempting to dissect what the drummer meant. Some thought it was indirect commentary on their young, female fanbase’s obsession with their personal life over music. Others were offended, tweeting at the musician that though they might not be able to label the anatomy of a drum kit, they still appreciate his musicianship. Whatever the reasoning, the use of “chicks” here is concerning as is the statement. Why don’t they judge your drumming? Is “judge” here used more like “criticizing”? Because a girl isn’t going to scream “You suck” at a 5 Seconds Of Summer gig, she doesn’t know about the mechanics of drumming? It might be misguided language in the way their recent single, “Good Girls,” was, with a chorus of “Good girls are bad girls that haven’t been caught” meant to symbolize independence and an exploration in identity that, to the unknowing person (aka someone who doesn’t worship at the altar of this band) kind of reads like sexual objectification.”

I’d like to bring your focus to that last part about misguided language, because that’s important. Sometimes people say things without meaning harm that end up being harmful. We can try to dissect it all we want, but we’ll never know for sure. I would say he didn’t mean to be sexist, but I also agree that it did come out a bit condescending. 

The second one you mention is this interview for Altpress at NAMM 2016 when he was 21 years old:

They are talking about the event and how there are a lot of people there who are older and more experienced music people and the interviewer says that he thought it would be easier to get a hold of Ashton because there were more important musicians there than him, to which Ashton responds that he’s just chilling and that there isn’t anyone in the 5SOS’s fanbase demographics there and finishes it off with “I don’t think any of the chicks or anything would come to check out some gear or some moog boards or anything like that so”. 

I wasn’t sure about it so I had to check it on a dictionary, that many women find “chick” an offensive term, so we can ask: why is he using it? Maybe he is just as unaware as I am and was using it simply to refer to young teenage girls; maybe he isn’t and was being rude, which is, in all honesty, not likely. Ashton is known for spitting out words without giving two thoughts about them and we all know that, but I also think he has grown out of it, at least a bit, by now. But, back to the full statement. 

“I don’t think any of the chicks would come to check out some gear...” can be interpreted as sexist and condescending, and I’m not going to deny that, but you have to look at the full conversation to understand what he meant. Context is important. They’re talking about the people who are attending the event, who are, as I understood it, experienced music people who’ve been in the field for a while and their fans, who, by extension, are also older people who have an interest in the drumming world. So, Ashton saying that can’t, in my view, be shoved into a corner and interpreted as it is being interpreted by so many people. 

Firstly, I, personally, don’t believe he’s using “chicks” as a derogatory term and is simply using it to refer to the majority of the 5SOS fanbase demographic, which was (and still is) young girls and young women. But you guys can think that all I’m saying is a bunch of bullshit and say that it doesn’t matter what he meant and how he meant it, what matters is what he said, and I’m sorry but I disagree. He’s human and human beings often say shit without meaning it in a certain way that then other people come along and twist their words to paint them as the incarnation of Satan itself. I have said things that come off rude and not politically or morally correct in my life without meaning them that way, and I’m absolutely certain that so have you.

Then, there’s the possible interpretation that young girls, being only interested in seeing the drummer, aren’t judging the drumming skills and don’t know or aren’t interested about drumming gear hence not being there at the event, which is, in a way, true. Is it a bold and somewhat sexist generalisation? Yes. Is he wrong, though? No. Many teenagers aren’t interested in the gear band members use. 

I remember when that interview with Ashton talking about his drum kit came out and I was fascinated. I wasn’t fascinated about the gear or fascinated about how many things he had on his kit or what they did; I was fascinated about his love for it. I didn’t understand shit of what he was talking about but he was speaking with such passion that I didn’t care. Same thing happened when Michael’s video with Gibson talking about his guitar dropped. I don’t know anything about guitars or how they work, but I know Michael was happy as hell to have that guitar out and I’m here for it. 

I think what Ashton missed when he said those things was that we may not understand anything about how to make music or how good of a drummer he is or about drumming gear but we do know he worked hard to get where he is right now and we value and respect that, and I think that’s why people went crazy about this. They felt betrayed in a way and that’s completely understandable. They felt like their respect was disregarded. That their love was minimised. 

But he does know how important a female audience is. The band has mentioned it several times. Here’s one from Billboard last year when talking about Youngblood:

“Being a band of all guys, what have you learned over the years from having a fanbase that’s largely female?

Irwin: A couple of delicate things, but most of it is just sensitivity. Lyrics are important to younger women who are trying to understand relationships, or just feelings in general. I grew up without a dad. I just have a mom. A lot of my lyrical process is based on seeing my mom suffer, which makes me quite sensitive towards how younger women feel. I think that’s an important thing. That took me a long time to realize as to why I feel almost asexual at times towards… I don’t really get along with men that well. It’s all because of my upbringing. In lyrics I wrote when I was younger, there’s a lot deeper meaning than I actually thought. I didn’t understand it when I was younger. When I was writing with you guys [I'd think], why do women like these lyrics? Then you get older and look at your lyrics and go, “This makes a lot of sense, why people would have liked that.”

I think where a lot of young male bands go wrong is they get caught up in women liking their band. There’s a bunch of women hanging around who might sexually desire you. That can be confusing to a young man, but it’s all just about respect. 

Hood: You never want to [be patronizing towards] younger fans, in particular female, because that’s what our demographic was, and still is in large part. So in lyrics, we always overestimate our fans. The lyrics on this album are very deep. 

Irwin: We don’t actually focus on who likes us that much… I really enjoy meeting male fans as well. To all my favorite bands, the Rolling Stones and stuff, the younger female fans always come first because they know what's good.”

They know how important we, the female fanbase, are. They know we put them where they are now, that we gave them the platform to thrive in the music industry. They know we love their work and support them in whatever music path they choose to take. They see us like people with brains and not sex objects. They write lyrics for our brains and our hearts. 

Ashton has grown so much as a person and I think we shouldn’t keep him back on a sentence he said four years ago without looking at ourselves first and thinking about all the dodgy things we did and said when we were four years younger. I have a few I’m not proud of, and I would like people not to use them to define who I am today because I am a completely different person than I was in 2015 and nobody is judging me harder than myself.

I suppose this could be considered a part 2 or redux of my original bias list which was posted more than six months ago. The blog has changed a lot since then and I appreciate all of you sticking around for this long; through every revamp and rewrite, periods of inactivity, and general nonsense.

Of course, it’s not possible for everyone to be listed. If you’re not mentioned please don’t take it personally, it likely means that we simply haven’t interacted much; which can always change! 

1. The Deku Squad (i.e. portrayals that have been absolutely crucial to the development of Izuku as a muse, and the AU as a whole)

@amplifyingtrace

Kit! One of the very first people I interacted with on here, back when I was still building my timeline and even had a different url. I don’t think it would have been possible for me to predict that that random ‘first meeting’ thread would snowball to where we are today. I know I tell you this a lot, but I absolutely adore Leia as a character. To the point where she’s so ingrained in my portrayal of Izuku that I honestly can’t imagine what he’d be like without their dynamic. The wonder trio is a central theme to the AU as a whole and Izuku truly is a stronger character with Leia’s presence. All the scenarios, both written and plotted out, are absolutely integral to my timeline. I am so grateful that you’ve allowed Leia to become part of this world, and the amount of time and effort you’ve spent building it with me, thank you.

@invisiquirk / @rrenao

Cinder; you are a truly creative and wonderful person. I am, of course, incredibly attached to your Tooru, but each and every single one of your muses is always such a unique take on the character in question that I am always blown away without exception. I can make a thousand jokes about Stanning Cinder but it’s important that you know that i’m truly grateful that I’ve met you through this RPC. Sometimes it feels like we share a brain we’re so in sync. Tooru is a realistic and dynamic character, and sometimes (frequently) I forget that your portrayal isn’t canon to the point where watching the anime gives me whiplash at times. Izuku wouldn’t be the same character without their dynamic, and even when you’re breaking my heart I adore your writing. In particular, they bring their own unique brand of recklessness to the table which has tested Izuku’s ability to handle situations well beyond his control (such as Tooru’s past) and continues to hold a mirror to his own terrible habits. Not to mention that he just? loves Tooru with his whole heart.

@steelhardpecs / @defrostiing / @sweatbombhands / @dcrkpassenger

Soda; You are kind, patient, and brilliant. I will always admire the way you speak your mind, and your amazing insights into your muses. Each new blog and each new character are completely different, but equally wonderful.Not all of your blogs are tagged here, though I love them all, I stuck with tagging the muses that have been the most central to building the Quirkless AU and Izuku as a character. Tetsutetsu, who has played a crucial role in helping Izuku recognize that he isn’t as unaffected by his past as he pretends; and continues to be a pivotal emotional support. Todoroki, who has helped flesh out large scenes within the story, such as the sports festival, and has forced Izuku to confront that not everyone with a quirk has it easy. Bakugo, who also has a major role in a lot of scenes in the AU (such as their confrontation in the elevator) and who’s growth is parallel to Izuku’s own. And poor, long suffering, Colby who’s a father figure and trying desperately to help Izuku form healthy coping mechanisms. There is a lot more, but i’m getting a bit long winded, so let me just end with this; I can’t wait to hear your next idea

@sappines

Kona! Your writing and art are both phenomenal, and drawing your own icons is such an indescribable power move. Just, the time and effort that takes in and of itself! is amazing! And beyond that, Kazue is a well rounded and well written character. She’s kind and strong, but not invincible and not infallible. And you, yourself, are delightful to talk to. I love plotting with you or just discussing your characters. Our interactions both out of character and in character have really played a huge role in how Izuku interacts with other muses; not just Kazue. In particular, when it comes to physical affection. It’s something that she’s helped him become more comfortable and open with. She’s also one of the few people who’s openly gotten him to admit that he was shaken by his encounter with Shigaraki. (she’s just got a way of getting under people’s skin I guess, in a good way) I can’t imagine writing here without you, and without Kazue as a character. As far as i’m concerned, her being in 1-A is canon.

@aemulo

Ish; Our actual in depth interactions have started just recently but I’m already incredibly attached to your take on Monoma as a character. You’ve stayed true to the source material for the most part while also building upon it and making a completely new and complex character in the process. Your edits are outstanding, and it’s difficult not to appreciate the amount of effort and time you’ve put into them in order to provide visual context to your portrayal. I absolutely mean it when I say you’re doing a better job than canon, and I know you’ll only continue to improve even more over time. Monoma himself in such a short time has had a profound impact on how I approach Izuku as a character, as well as his dynamic with other characters; particularly those from class B. Even interactions in AUs (which, side note, every single AU you come up with is incredible) help build their dynamic.

@yuugxn

Cereal; There are a lot of unexplored dynamics in canon that RP gives us a chance to see and write where they will go, but I don’t think any friendship was as unexpected (yet incredible) as Jirou and Izuku. I absolutely love the way they interact, their similarities and their differences. I love that it started with a joke about Jirou stealing Izuku’s phone so he won’t continue to destroy his eardrums and I adore that I can tag you in videos of people doing the macarena to Every Time We Touch and have it somehow be a perfect depiction of their dynamic. Your writing and portrayal are fantastic and you’ve made me cry more than once not only in our threads but in your interactions with other people. Jirou has forced Izuku to confront not only how his actions affect himself, but how they affect those around him via imitation, and also via just plain worrying about him. And the whole Blue Rose imagery? I’ll never be over it. I love flower language and I love the idea of ‘unattainable’ for Izuku, because of how he views himself; and also how Jirou views him as well.

@needlxd

Deedee; I don’t care what you say you can pull Kitiara Itou from my cold dead hands she’s a babey who needs to be protected at all costs. Villain babey, evil babey. Ok, in all seriousness; Deedee, I love Kit so much as a character, she’s a wonderfully complex and believable villain to the point where I can’t help but root for her a little bit. Even out side of her redemption verse. I also, already love Trina, but we haven’t interacted too much in character yet (emphasis on yet). Writing in a language that’s not your first is incredibly difficult, especially one as unnecessarily complicated as English. And it is, frankly, impossible to tell based on your writing that it’s actually been translated. Your writing is fantastic in and of itself, and that’s already impressive in and of itself but you literally put twice as much effort into a single reply than just about anyone else and the kind of dedication that takes is just as impressive if not more so. Kit forces Izuku to confront his morals and his views of villains as a whole, and that’s as important as it is painful. Plus, autistic solidarity.

2. Team Plus Ultra (aka blogs that I love and admire even though we haven’t interacted much in character)

@obliterus // @quirkgifter // @oneshockyboi // @bcdtouch // @ksri // @explsnmrdr // @iinko // @ukubi // @aidonneus // @katsubi // @eighthilles // @floatsaver // @gxlitxr // @hcwks // @empyrrrean // @negatiiv // @dimensionalprinter // @inneall // @shintsohi // @b-nnyhero // @inventii // @icyht // @round--face // @hero-hopeful // @amazetm // @pyrrhe

3. The Greatest Hero (aka duplicates that I absolutely adore)

I don’t want to tag any duplicates, as I know that can make people uncomfortable. However, I absolutely adore these portrayals and so I highly recommend that you give them a follow!

tikkvn // noquirk // herosname // quirkdysfunction 

Christmas Gift Guide for the Christian Anime Fan

What do you get the anime fan in your life for Christmas? An already difficult task is made even more challenging if you’re looking to gift something that fits within the boundaries of faith, items that are safe to give in a Christian household but still fun for the receiver. If you’re faced with that dilemma, we’ve got you covered this Christmas season. Below are nine gifts that the anime fan in your life will love, that are also safe—and some even spiritually uplifting!

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1. Shonen Jump

If you have a manga reader in the family, one of the best things you can get them is a Shonen Jump subscription. Shonen Jump (SJ) was one of the foremost shonen manga publications in print the U.S. Now, as a digital magazine, it’s even better. For $1.99 a month, an SJ subscription grants you access to SJ’s entire current lineup as well as a huge archive of historic manga. Want to read all of the Dragon Ball manga beginning in the early 80s? SJ has you covered. Interested in learning more about the romance manga Boys Over Flowers? It’s there along with the most current Season 2 chapters. Enjoy the nonsense of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure? Parts 1 through 3 are there in full and VIZ is slowly adding all of Part 4. As part of the greater VIZ manga family, more and more options are being added all the time to the SJ vault. Currently, VIZ does not offer gift subscriptions to SJ, however, you can pay for your subscription month to month. We recommend getting your friend or family member a $25 Google Play or iTunes gift card and tell them to enjoy all the manga at their fingertips for a full year.

Google Play or iTunes Gift Cards can be purchased from Amazon.

2. Cool anime clothing and streetwear

There’s an episode of Genshiken, the classic series about an anime club, where super otaku Madarame goes out shopping for clothes in an attempt to be stylish. It’s not only an uncomfortable experience for him; it leads to a real questioning of who he is and how he identifies because, after all, being an anime fan means dressing cheaply and sloppily, right? Well, if it ever did, it does not not—you can look good while sporting threads that show off your fandom. While Amazon and other outlets sell shirts anime-related shirts that don’t look particularly great, you’re better off doing a little research to find stylish clothing developed by real fashion designers. Take for example Wooji, whose clothing would be at home on a runway, but is priced well. Imouri, on the other hand, has a bright, cute design that more outwardly demonstrates a fandom. Go with a brand that would fit the person you’re gifting, and check out other stores as well by searching through tags like #animeclothing and #streetwear.

We’ve personally sampled items from both Wooji and Imouri, and highly recommend both.

3. Manga Majesty

If ever there was a portion of scripture that would fit into manga format, it’s the Book of Revelation with its imagery of good and evil, and redemption and love. And that’s exactly what the folks at Next Manga have adapted for their latest release. Manga Majesty artfully and scripturally illustrates the final book of the Bible, including the powerful prophecy that makes up much of it. While this manga makes for a wonderful study resource for Christian readers (and potential evangelistic material), it’s also just plain well-made, and engaging from a reader’s perspective. It unfolds like the powerful narrative it is, compete with full-colored illustrations that capture both the majesty and fear of the end times. And thus, it’s a double gift of sorts, one that’s a feast for the eyes and good for the soul, and really, what else more could you ask for on Christmas?

Manga Majesty is available for purchase from Amazon.

4. Crunchyroll Gift Membership

If you are buying for an anime or manga fan, chances are they watch their anime on various streaming services. Maybe they have Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video (or all three). However, if you are looking for a streaming service that specializes in anime, look no further than Crunchyroll. From classics like Fist of the North Star to current ongoing series like My Hero Academia, Crunchyroll has something to offer for every anime fan. Have anime fans who are children? No problem. Crunchyroll has some great series like Shonen Ashibe! GO! GO! Goma-chan and Bananya that offer up fun for the whole family. In addition to their anime offerings, a premium Crunchyroll subscription offers access to a decent catalog of manga. While their manga app is imperfect, web reading works very well and a number of currently ongoing series are simul-published by Crunchyroll.

Gift subscriptions can be purchased directly from Crunchyroll.

5. Anime DVDs and Manga volumes

Of course, it seems natural to buy the anime fan anime for Christmas—the barrier, though, is that there is so much anime out there that it can be difficult to determine which your recipient will like. And how do you select series that avoid content which you find inappropriate? We’ve got you covered. We have an anime recommendation list which provides titles that are both entertaining and spiritually enriching; we also include content information so that you won’t be surprised by levels of violence, sexualization, or other material in the series. We recently expanded the list, giving the full rundown on a number of shows, but also giving quick recommendations for dozens of others. We also encourage you to just search through our website, looking for topics that pique your interest (ex. grace), to find other series that might be specifically made for the person in your life.

Check our anime series and anime movie recommendations.

6. Dragon Ball FighterZ

Did you know that 2018’s Fighting Game of the Year at The Game Awards was an anime based game? ESPN”s “Game of the Year” was the same anime game in 2018. What was that game? Dragon Ball FighterZ. Dragon Ball FighterZ is a fantastic fighting game taking characters from throughout the full Dragon Ball franchise and making it incredibly fun. Arc System’s game mechanics remind you of the first time you played Marvel vs Capcom. It is a lot of fun for fans of the Dragon Ball franchise and newbies alike. I (MDMRN) bought it for myself last year on Black Friday as a non-Dragon Ball fan and, frankly, it turned me into one. Get it for your friends or family members who enjoy fighting games and anime if they don’t already own it. Believe me, they’ll thank you after trying it out.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is available for purchase from Amazon for the Nintendo Switch, XBoxOne, and Playstation 4.

7. Gear for fans of anime and gaming

Speaking of games, chances are that the person in your life that you’re buying for is probably not only a fan of anime, but a gamer as well. The two often go hand in hand, so in addition to the recommendation for Dragon Ball FighterZ we gave above, we also encourage you to check out Fan Gamer, a store that has a ton of wonderful merchandise that gamers will adore. We can attest that they carry products that hit that sweet spot of being both cool and high quality. You could surf the site all day (and you might want to!), but we’ll give four products we’re liking right now: Okami and Samurai Shodown t-shirts, a book about the history of the NES, and a set of awesome playing cards.

Give Fan Gamer a visit and check out their selection!

8. An Anime Convention Pass

pc: arthur yao

If there’s one thing that unites all high school and college otaku, it’s this: They’re broke. The anime fandom for many fans, young and old alike, isn’t based necessarily on TV series and manga—its centered on the convention scene. Facebook and Twitter feeds relating to conventions are absolutely filled with griping about the cost of conventions—remember that besides the entrance fees, which can easily go over $100, attendees have to pay for food, parking, hotel, souvenirs, and their own cosplay. It adds up and leads many to skip out on events they dearly want to attend. You can encourage them and help defray the costs by looking ahead and buying tickets to an event. Also note that many conventions occur during the spring and summer, so there’s another advantage to making this your gift—at this time of year, you might be able to get an early bird discount as well.

Check out some of the conventions we attend and cover here on Beneath the Tangles.

9. Reading material

You don’t necessarily have to look to a TV or video game screen to find series for your anime fan to enjoy. Just as in the west, and even more so, anime films and shows are adapted from previous works, mostly divided into two categories: manga (Japanese comics) and light novels (serialized books that contain illustrations). And just as with anime, we’ve got you covered here, too, with plenty of recommendations for both accompanied by explanations about the content within. These make for great gifts because all of these series have at least several volumes in release in the English language, meaning that you can pick up several issues as a present. And here’s another insight: manga and light novels are often (usually?) more addicting than anime series. Chances are that if you buy several for your loved one, they won’t be able to put the tomes down until they finish!

Check our manga and light novel recommendations.

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And there you have it—we did 90% of the legwork for you. Now there’s no reason to indulge your anime fan at home with something that they’ll love without worrying about neglecting or breaking your faith values. Go forth and purchase! And have a wonderful Christmas!

Whatever It Takes: Chapter Two

A Loki x Reader based in the Tesseract fic universe! Avengers: Infinity War follow-up fic. Next in the Tesseract fic series. Links to Tesseract, Lokasenna, What Heroes Do, and Fidelity. Also to my AU Feel You.

I WOULD LOVE FEEDBACK! Want to be tagged in updates? Let me know!

@malignentmac @fandomsfanman @i-am-supermerwholoked221b @markusstraya @sincereleygmg @pandaqua​ @person-born-winchester

Just a forewarning, this one has a major POV shift from the past entries, since Reader was Dusted at the end of Fidelity! Keeping with my recent trend in fic titles, it’s named after a track on the official soundtrack. I also constantly watch this Video, and recommend it to hype you up!

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Banner groaned, running a hand down his face, “You’re telling me that not only is Tony still gone, but Fury disappeared too?”

“It would seem that way.” Striker mumbled. “The only thing we’ve found at Fury’s last known location is some sort of pager. We fear the battery might run out soon though.”

“Send it here.” Steve said, “We will find a way to keep it running. If that’s all Fury cared about when he started dusting, that means it must be extremely important. Is the pager flashing any words or coordinates?”

“We’ll send it to the Avengers Compound now.” Striker confirmed, handing the object off to someone outside of the projection’s range. “You should receive it within an hour. And as far as any clues on the pager, the only thing the screen is showing is a strange symbol with a star of sorts at the center. At first we thought it was an older design of your suit, Cap, but after some research we found that to be inaccurate.”

“So you have no idea who this device is calling?” I asked, “Or if whoever at the other end is even around after all that happened?”

“Listen here,” Striker snapped, “We don’t exactly have much to go on at this point, and if it was important to Fury, it’s worth a shot at keeping around. You are on some THIN ice, and if it wasn’t for Roger’s steadfast defence of you and your apparently “changed” character, you’d be on your way to the Raft right now.”

“That’s enough.” Steve said, stepping between myself and the projection of Striker, “Thank you, sir. We’ll get that thing hooked up to a generator of sorts ASAP and let you know if we hear anything back.”

Steve shut off the projection, taking a heavy sigh as the blue light fizzled out.

“Thank you.” I said, surprised that he would have defended me in any capacity. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know.” he replied, a smile briefly flashing on his face, “But you really have changed. I think that deserves a second chance alone, notwithstanding that I don’t like it when people bully others. I’m also not Striker’s biggest fan, so it made the whole ordeal easier for me to begin with.”

Steve leaned closer to me, lowering his voice to a hushed tone, “And Thor needs you here, not locked away somewhere leaving him all alone.”

Thor sat in an adjacent room, his brooding features the only external indication of the trauma that had occurred days prior. A bowl of rolls sat in front of him, untouched but waiting should he change his mind.

“I want to make sure he doesn’t start self-destructing with guilt after the way things happened.” Steve said, “If there’s anything you think will help, we could really use your insight.”

I paused, taken aback with Steve’s sudden complete trust, and his reaching out for my help. While the experiences of the past few days had been nothing short of devastating, I had a hard time comprehending that someone who once viewed me (and perhaps rightly so) as an enemy was treating me with such empathy and compassion... almost as a friend.

“If there’s anything we can do to monitor where half of our remaining people might be, that would be a good place to start.” I said, gesturing to some of the readouts that were projected along the walls. “One of us was able to get a group of our people away from Thanos’ ship and should be heading this way. If they send out a distress signal, we will need to be able to assist them in their journey here.”

“On it.” Natasha said, “Would you guys send out a distress signal in whatever language it is that you guys normally speak, or is it english?”

“It would be in Allspeak, so you’ll be able to understand it.” I clarified, “I don’t know where they ran to though, so it would be best to scan in a general radius outwards from earth to ensure we pick up any signal they send.”

As Natasha and I set up the monitoring frequencies that we would need, Banner went about producing a generator for the pager that would soon arrive.

“I hope that whatever Fury had in mind with this pager, it works.” Steve said, sitting in one of the nearby office chairs.

“For everyone’s sake, I agree.” Bruce mumbled.

We all sat around the conference room days later, watching the global missing persons count steadily ascend as the pager beeped away in its container down the hall.

“This is a nightmare.” Steve signed, his eyes trained on the growing number projected in front of us.

“I’ve had better nightmares.” Natasha replied, sighing.

Rhodey walked in moments later, breaking our attention away from the screens.

“Hey.” he said, leaning against the door frame. “So that thing just stopped doing whatever the hell it was doing.”

We all followed Rhodes into the other room, where Bruce stood by the pager, its screen dead and blank behind the glass.

“What have we got?” Natasha asked.

“Whatever signal it was sending finally crapped out.” Bruce responded.

“I thought we bypassed the battery?” Steve countered.

“Oh, we did, it’s still plugged in.” Rhodes answered, “It just stopped.”

“Is there no way to turn it on again?” I asked, “Surely there’s a power switch.”

“Reboot it, send the signal again.” Steve agreed.

“We don’t even know what this is!” Banner said, irritation lacing his voice.

“Fury did.” Natasha said quietly. “Just do it please. You tell me the second you get a signal, I want to know who’s on the other end of that thing.”

The second Natasha had finished her statement, my blood ran cold. Something powerful was closeby, and we were nearly defenseless…

Natasha and I turned at the same time, but I was the only one holding a knife up in response.

A woman stood before us, her appearance seemingly completely human, but an energy radiated from her the likes of which I had only seen once before. There was something extremely familiar about the power, but it was also different in a way that I could not yet discern. Whatever it might be, she was most definitely a force to be reckoned with.

“Where’s Fury?” She said, staring all of us down.

“You’re the one he called for?” Steve questioned, and pointed to the symbol on her suit. “That’s the symbol that was on the pager.”

I lowered my knife slowly, “Fury has met the same unfortunate demise as half of this universe.” I said, “Not before sending the message that has undoubtedly brought you here.”

“Do you know what happened?” she asked, her stance relaxing slightly. “And my name is Carol Danvers. I’ve known Fury for a very long time.”

Bruce interjected, “You ever heard of a guy named Thanos?”

“Can’t say that I have, the universe is a big place.” She quipped, irritated with how long it was taking to get the information she desired.

“Well he’s the reason everything’s happened.” Bruce responded, “He took all the infinity stones, the power stone, the mind stone, the tesseract-”

“The tesseract?” she interrupted. “I thought Fury had that safely tucked away.”

“A lot has changed since you were with Fury.” Steve said, sighing. “I know all too well how fast things move when you’re not around to see them. We’re trying to formulate a plan to find him and bring him to justice, whatever justice we can manage. To find out where he is, we need to find out if Tony Stark is still alive, and if he is, we need to bring him home.”

“Where was he headed last?” She said, “I’ll find him.”

“He was last seen following a giant donut spaceship out of the atmosphere.” Rhodey said, “He followed because some squid looking thing had taken Doctor Strange and the time stone, but we don’t really have a heading.”

“If that’s the case, he’ll be on Titan.” I said, sighing. “Maw was doubtless trying to bring that stone back to Thanos so he could pursue the other that remained on earth.”

“Titan it is.” Danver said, marching outside quickly before shooting into the atmosphere and out of sight.

“Who the hell is she?” Rhodes snarked.

“Whoever she is, she has nearly the full force of the Tesseract’s power within her.” I said, turning to face the rest of the Avengers. “Yet it’s in a different form than the kind that resided in (Y/N).”

My heart sank and was pulled at by another wave of anger and heartache merely mentioning her name again. Before I could control it, my face flickered with the emotions that I did not want to deal with in front of anyone. I had dealt with grief many times before, of course, but this time I couldn’t simply run away and be alone. I saw the appeal of Thor’s choice to seclude himself even in the Avengers compound.

“Let’s just be glad she’s on our side, then.” Steve said, gripping my shoulder in support. “Maybe there’s a chance she can help us find him and make him bring everyone back.”

Nietzsche’s “Thus Spake Zarathustra” (part II/II)

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Iran between Zoroaster (زرتشت) and Islam

Last Thursday night (June 20th), Trump approved an attack on Iran after a US drone was shot down, yet he suddenly changed his mind and pulled back from the attack. (5) While Trump almost attacked Iran and started a new area of war and misery in the world, Iranians inside Iran and around the world are frightened by this escalation. Today, Iran’s Jewish community is the largest in the Mideast outside Israel – and feels safe and respected. (6) 

Iranians in the diaspora have a variety of ethnicities, languages, religions, and political views but with different intensities, they all share the common Iranian-something else identity. There are many different political oppositions to the current Islamic Republic which in itself is one of the most straight-forward opponents of the United States hegemony and its imperial projects. Politically, Iranian Left has a wide spectrum; from the ultra-radical MEK which is supported by no one else but John Bolton, to Tudeh Party of Iran. Iranian right-wing opposition has also a wide gamut from ultra-right nationalists such as Persian Renaissance, Jason Reza Jorjani who hangs out with American white-supremacists Richard Spencer, to the good old monarchists, and of course the recent infamous Mohamad Tawhidi a fake Muslim cleric educated in Iran who is now a hero for the white-nationalists and Islamophobes. (7) (8)

Iranian nationalists see themselves as Caucasian or white. This might be in part due to the fact that etymologically the word Iran means “land of Aryans”. The Avestan name Airiianəm vaējō "Aryan expanse", is a reference in the Zoroastrian Avesta (Vendidad, Fargard 1) to the Aryans’ mother country and one of Ahura Mazda's "sixteen perfect lands". (9) Before the Islamic Revolution of 1978, Shah of Iran was seeing himself as a descendant of the great ancient Persian kings. In 1971, Shah decided to organize a huge event on the 2500-Year Celebration of Persian Empire (officially known as the 2500th year of Foundation of Imperial State of Iran). Many historians argue that this event resulted in the Iranian Revolution and eventual replacement of the Persian monarchy with the Islamic Republic. If you fancy watching some part of the event, there is good propaganda video narrated by Orsen Welles. 

Before the Shah, for a short period, Iran had a cozy democracy in 1951-1952. Iran democratically elected its 25th prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh (محمد مصدق‎), who was a supporter of secular democracy and resistance to foreign domination. He nationalized the Iranian oil for the first time in 1951. The oil industry had been built by the British on Persian lands since 1913 through the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC/AIOC -later British Petroleum and BP). Mosaddegh’s government was overthrown in a coup d'état (28 Mordad 1332) orchestrated by the United States' CIA and the United Kingdom's MI6. (10)

Nietzsche and Postmodernism

Zoroaster [Zarathustra as its older form] was the ancient Persian prophet who lived in Iran at some point between 1500 BCE - 1000 BCE. Nietzsche chose the older version of Zoroaster’s name “Zarathustra”. Before publishing the book, Nietzsche included the first paragraph of Zarathustra’s prologue in his previous book Joyous Science (1882). There are two differences between this paragraph and the opening in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. (1) The title Incipit Tragoedia [tragedy begins] and (2) in Joyous Science the lake of Zarathustra’s home is mentioned as “lake Urmi” [today’s lake Urmia] compare to the prologue in Thus Spoke Zarathustra where the name of the lake is left out. We know that the real birthplace of Zoroaster is uncertain. (11)

Nietzsche’s anti-Christian and anti-majoritarian views (it's reversals of Christian morality and values) are picked up by white feminists and queer theorists for obvious reasons. As Michael Hardt wrote in the forward for Deleuze’s "Nietzsche and Philosophy”, postmodernists didn’t just use these concepts to get away from the dominant French Philosophical establishment of ’50s and ’60s but they were also genuinely interested in Nietzsche’s anti-universalities views.

Although very similar in methodology, there are some differences between the Nietzschean concept of solitude (which is very predominant in this work) and postcolonial marginalization and anxiety. Words such as "happiness” and “joy” has a distinctive meaning for Nietzsche which wasn’t unpacked in this book but was the main topic of his previous book Joyous Science (1882). Nietzschean Dionysius is more tonal in this book rather than descriptive and maybe has giving its chair to the bigger umbrella of Eternal Return as the "fundamental conception" of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. (-Ecce Homo, 1888)

Importance of writing as an activist

“Of all that is written I love only that which is written with blood. Write with blood: and you will discover that blood is spirit. It is not easy to understand the blood of another: I hate the reading idler. He who knows the reader does nothing further for the reader. Another century of readers – and spirit itself will stink. That everyone is allowed to learn to read will in the long run ruin not only writing but thinking, too. Once spirit was God, then it became man, and now it is even becoming mob[populace].”

At the end of chapter 4 in Joyous Science, Nietzsche inserted the opening of the Zarathustra’s prologue. He is making his readers ready for a transformation. For understanding Thus Spoke Zarathustra, it is essential for the reader to read Joyous Science first. Nietzsche wants to prepare his readers for his philosophy, so in a way, he is selective about who is he talking to.

“We not only want to be understood when we write, but also just as surely not to be understood. It is by no means an objection to a book that someone finds it unintelligible: perhaps this was precisely the author’s intention – perhaps he did not want to be understood by ‘just anyone’. Every individual with a distinguished intellect and sense of taste, when he wishes to communicate himself, always selects his listeners; by selecting them, he simultaneously excludes ‘the others’. All the subtler laws of style have their origin here; they simultaneously ward off, create distance and forbid ‘entrance’ (or intelligibility, as I have said) – while allowing the words to be heard by those whose sense of hearing resembles the author’s. And between ourselves, may I say that, in my own case, I do not want my ignorance or the vivacity of my temperament to prevent me from being understandable to you, my friends; certainly not the vivacity, however much it may compel me to come to grips with a thing quickly, in order to come to grips with it at all. (The Joyous Science - Book V, 381 On the Question of Intelligibility”)

Anti-Nietzsche writers

Anti-Nietzsche writers usually refer only to Nietzsche’s text from his early period (before the break with Wenger) without taking his later works into consideration. Taking his works out of context is a sign of dismissal of his philosophy and art. Nietzsche met Wagner at the home of Hermann Brockhaus an Orientalist who was married to Wagner’s sister, Ottilie. Brockhaus was himself a specialist in Sanskrit and Persian whose publications included an edition of the Vendidad Sade—a text of the Zoroastrian religion. (12) It was only after the publication of “Richard Wagner in Bayreuth” that he realized who Wagner really was (an anti-Semitic coward). After completion of “Human, All-Too-Human” (1878) and continuation of his friendship with Jewish philosopher Paul Rée, Nietzsche ends his friendship with Wagner, who comes under attack in a thinly-disguised characterization of “the artist”. (12)

“Nietzsche had long hymned the sublime power that Wagner’s music exercised over his senses but now he realised how it robbed him of his free will. The realisation filled him with a growing resentment against the delirious, befogging metaphysical seduction that once had seemed like the highest redemption of life. Now he saw Wagner as a terrible danger, and his own devotion to him as reeking of a nihilist flight from the world. He criticised Wagner for being a romantic histrionic, a spurious tyrant, a sensual manipulator. Wagner’s music had shattered his nerves and ruined his health; Wagner was surely not a composer, but a disease?” 

(Sue Prideaux, “I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Nietzsche”)

To even start talking about Heidegger and Nietzschean metaphysics, is to miss-read Nietzsche, just as taking "Will To Power” as something that Nietzsche actually published is wrong. Will to Power was never meant to be a book, it was put together by Nietzsche’s Nazi sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche and Heinrich Köselitz. They have selected, added and subtracted parts to Nietzsche’s notes in order to compile a book that is accessible to their average readers. (See Will to Power introduction by R. Kevin Hill, Penguin Classics 2017). Sue Prideaux described this perfectly in Nietzsche’s biography "I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche”. And Carol Diethe’s wrote a biography on Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche which gives us more insight into her proto-Fascist mentality.

The Will to Power book, did everything that Nazis wanted, hugely swerving from Nietzsche’s philosophy, the book starts with "European nihilism" and ends with the forceful sentence “This world is the will to power – and nothing besides! And even you yourselves are this will to power – and nothing besides!”. No other philosophy could do better justice to the Nazi cause than this fabricated assemblage.

Majority of Nietzsche’s work can be hijacked by ultra-right and the new alt-right, expect his fundamental critic of Christianity which is at the heart of his philosophy. Fascist and racist white writers such as Jordan Peterson, Oscar Levy (who wrote the introduction to Untimely mediation in 1909 and according to Walter Kaufmann, forged a fake autobiography of Nietzsche titled “My Sister and I”), Richard Spencer and others have tried to utilize Nietzsche in their hatred of brown and black peoples, religious minorities, Muslims and Jews, Queer people, and liberals. (13)  

Methodologically, Nietzsche doesn’t throw away, archaic classical concepts such as; nobility, civilization, and barbarism, he appropriates and instrumentalizes them for his philosophical end. He didn’t have everything perfect, after all, we are talking about a dude who lived his mature period 140 years ago and was using a “writing ball” to type. (14) He has comical and outdated stuff as well. His rejection of vegetarianism is one of them.

Who is living in Nietzsche’s world

It seems to me the worst thing that we can do when reading Nietzsche is to put his philosophy into a functionalist and majoritarian (national) use. He argues in Joyous Science concerning consciousness (which he perceives as a communal category rather than an individual one):

“the growth of consciousness is dangerous, and whoever lives among the most conscious Europeans even knows that it is a disease. As one might have guessed, it is not the antithesis of subject and object which concerns me here; I leave that distinction to the epistemologists who have remained entangled in the snares of grammar (the metaphysics of the people). Even less is it the antithesis of the ‘thing in itself’ and the phenomenon; for we do not ‘know’ enough to be entitled to make such a distinction. We have absolutely no organ for knowledge, for ‘truth’; we ‘know’ (or believe, or imagine) exactly as much as may be useful to us, exactly as much as promotes the interests of the human herd or species; and even what is called ‘useful’ here is ultimately only what we believe to be useful, what we imagine to be useful, but perhaps is precisely the most fatal stupidity which will some day lead to our destruction.”

Nietzsche’s critique of European Universalism and Western Humanism is still valid and timely, yet if we stay within the hegemonic “white domain“ (White-main) our theoretical understanding of Nietzsche, will be centered somewhere between the Alt-right racism, white phenomenology, European Modernist and localists, Silicon Valley accelerationism and Nick Land (which is equally racist). The only way to get out of this binary is to step out of White-main and find Nietzsche in between the lines of the second-generation non-European Nietzsche intellectuals (Fanon, Derrida, Aimé Césaire, Muhammad Iqbal, Ali Shariati) and the third-generation intellectuals (Spivak, Bhabha). At this time in history, Europeans can’t (and shouldn’t) any longer teach or perpetuate Nietzsche’s philosophy for any end. Not for Germany, not for any other white-majority nation. This is simply because they are already living in Nietzsche’s post-God reality.

Bib.

1. NIETZSCHE, FRIEDRICH and HOLLINGDALE, R. J. . Ecce Homo. s.l. : PENGUIN BOOKS, 2004. 9780141921730. 2. Sandis, Constantine. Nietzsche’s Dance With Zarathustra . philosophy now. [Online] 2012. https://philosophynow.org/issues/93/Nietzsches_Dance_With_Zarathustra. 3. Ashouri, Daryoush. Nietzsche and Persia. http://www.iranicaonline.org. [Online] July 20, 2003. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nietzsche-and-persia. 4. Nietzsche, Friedrich. the joyous science . s.l. : Penguin Classics, 2018. 5. Michael D. Shear, Eric Schmitt, Michael Crowley and Maggie Haberman. Strikes on Iran Approved by Trump, Then Abruptly Pulled Back. nytimes.com. [Online] June 20, 2019 . https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/world/middleeast/iran-us-drone.html. 6. Hjelmgaard, Kim. Iran’s Jewish community is the largest in the Mideast outside Israel – and feels safe and respected. msn. [Online] 8 29, 2018. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iran%E2%80%99s-jewish-community-is-the-largest-in-the-mideast-outside-israel-%E2%80%93-and-feels-safe-and-respected/ss-BBMAVgX. 7. Mackey, Robert. How a Fringe Muslim Cleric From Australia Became a Hero to America’s Far Right. theintercept.com. [Online] June 25, 2019. https://theintercept.com/2019/06/25/mohamad-tawhidi-far-right/?fbclid=IwAR25hr0TV8w0erffRrGhccVkC5G0KFwjR3y7tM7n2j-4nx4pp_b5PssuFzo. 8. Schaeffer, Carol. ALT FIGHT Jason Jorjani Fancied Himself an Intellectual Leader of a White Supremacist Movement — Then It Came Crashing Down. theintercept.com. [Online] March 18 , 2018. https://theintercept.com/2018/03/18/alt-right-jason-jorjani/. 9. ĒRĀN-WĒZ . Encyclopedia Iranica. [Online] http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eran-wez. 10. Kinzer, Stephen. All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror . s.l. : John Wiley & Sons, 2004. 11. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Joyous Science. s.l. : Penguin Calssics, 2018. 12. Wicks, Robert. Nietzsche’s Life and Works. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. [Online] 2018. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-life-works/. 13. Illing, Sean. The alt-right is drunk on bad readings of Nietzsche. The Nazis were too. www.vox.com. [Online] Dec 30, 2018. https://www.vox.com/2017/8/17/16140846/alt-right-nietzsche-richard-spencer-nazism. 14. Herbst, Felix. Nietzsche’s Writing Ball (Video). felixherbst.de. [Online] https://vimeo.com/43124993.

(Part II/II)

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4 things I learned when applying for college

So for reference, I only applied to two (2) schools because I did early decision and early application and was lucky enough to get in to my top choice which was NYU. I also got into UMassAmherst which was the other school I applied to. I sort of fumbled my way through the whole USA college application process completely on my own because I go to school in England and my school knows fuck all about American applications. I also just applied this year (2018) so my experience is recent af - I’ll be starting my freshman year of college Fall 2019.

This is just a lil preface/disclaimer so you guys know that this is only from my personal experience and this is not an extensive list of things that can be helpful. 

There are so many lists like this in the studyblr community so please! Look at a variety of them because everyone’s experience is different but still equally valid. I found these lists so helpful when I was applying and I thought that now I’ve done it myself, I should give some of my own tips from what I have learnt.

1. do not leave things to the last minute

I literally cannot stress this enough oh. my. god.

I was a procrastinating idiot and left everything to the very last minute (and I really do mean the last minute - I only just finished my UMassAmherst application in time). The essays especially can be really daunting and I think I just panicked a little bit with them so I kept on putting them off for as long as I possibly could. I promise you, once you start the essays they aren’t that bad. And if you’re smart and don’t leave them until the last moment, not only do you relieve some of the pressure of the application process, you also give yourself time to improve it and to show the colleges the very best version of you.

2. if you can, visit colleges

Obviously this might not be a doable thing for many people, but if you have the opportunity to visit colleges, take it. I was really lucky that my family was able to fly to America and do a college tour as a sort of family holiday, but I 100% recognise that not everyone is able to do that.

When I went, I visited eight (8) in total: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, NYU, UChicago, William & Mary, and UVA. The reason why I valued this trip so much in particular is because of Columbia and NYU.

Before going on this trip I thought I’d love Columbia and hate NYU. For me, the idea of a closed campus was a very big thing that I wanted as part of my college experience and in general, I knew more about Columbia than I did about NYU.

What ended up happening (which you may have already guessed since I’m going to NYU) is that I hated Columbia and loved NYU - a complete switch from what I thought before. I went to Columbia and it immediately just didn’t feel like the right place for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an incredible uni and a cool campus, but I just personally didn’t vibe with it at all. We were supposed to get a tour but ended up leaving before it started because I just knew that I would never want to spend a whole bunch of money and four (4) years of my life there. The next day we went to NYU which I was iffy about from the get go because it’s an open campus and a much bigger school so I just didn’t really think much of it. We weren’t able to get a tour because they had been all booked up the week we went but we got a map and a student drew out a route for us to take. I fell in love with this school so damn quick you have no idea haha. The entire feel of it just clicked with me and even though its an open campus, it still felt like you were on a campus and surrounded by students whilst also being a few steps away from the centre of Greenwich Village.

TL;DR - NYU went from barely being on my application list to being my top choice all because I visited it in person. If you can, visiting can change so much for you.

3. be honest in your application

Going into the application process I had a lot of anxiety over extracurriculars. Activities and extras are a very different thing in England. They aren’t as big of a deal when you’re applying to uni and in general, they aren’t pushed quite as much as they are in America. As a result, I was really worried that I wouldn’t have enough and that I wouldn’t get into uni because I don’t do a million and five after school clubs.

What I realised when I started the application is that a) you probably do a whole lot more than you realise, and b) there is no point in exaggerating or stretching the truth about what you do/don’t do.

On the CommonApp they give you 10 spaces for activities. I originally thought I’d only have 3 things - I ended up having 6. It isn’t just about what you do as clubs after school, it’s how you help out in general at your school, it’s what you do to expand on learning outside of school, and it can just be stuff you do for fun. I have squash lessons and let me tell you guys something - I suck at squash. I do it purely for fun but it was another thing I could put on my application because all that section is for really is to show the colleges what you do and how you expand yourself beyond your grades. You don’t have to be a star athlete or national level debate competitor - you just need to demonstrate that you do something other than lessons and trust me, everyone does something other than lessons whether they realise it or not.

Another thing that made me go shit i have done nothing with my life was the personal essay. I read so many example essays before writing my own and some of them probably did more harm than good. Not because they were bad, but because they were next level good. There were kids who helped teach refugee kids how to read, who had lived in 12 different countries and spoke a bajillion languages, who were champion chess players, and who had lived insane stories and lives that sounded like they belonged on an episode of Ellen. Now, if you are one of those people, a) congrats! you’ve lived a super dope life already and i’m jealous, and b) this does not apply to you. 

If, like me and many others, you are not one of those people, don’t panic and write a fake super human story. It isn’t worth it and it won’t get you very far. Even if you don’t realise it, there is something that is interesting about you that you can write 600 words about that will give a better insight into who you are for colleges to see. I straight up wrote about my anxiety disorder and how I like to relax by snacking and watching NCIS. That is not a joke. I am serious, I wrote about binge watching TV and somehow still got into NYU (trust me, I’m confused too).

My point is, find something that you’re passionate about, something that is unique to your experience of life that others might not have, something that makes you think. If it’s provoking thought from you, it will provoke thought in the admissions officer.

4. try not to get hung up on one (1) school

I think a lot of people are guilty of this and I am going to go ahead and put myself in that same box. My heart got set on NYU pretty quickly after I visited, trolled the NYU website and watched every youtube video I could get my hands on. I was so fortunate that I got in because despite many efforts, I was totally obsessed with the idea of NYU and wanting to get in. If I hadn’t gotten in, I honestly think I might have had a breakdown and that isn’t an exaggeration. Even when I found out I got in, I still felt sick to my stomach for the entire night because of how unbelievably worried I was that I wouldn’t get in.

My point here is that I wish I hadn’t gotten to that point because there are so many universities out there and so many incredible ones and I think that you end up where you’re supposed to go - truly. I didn’t even think of NYU as a serious thing at first and now I’m going there. Your validity - both academically and personally - is not based on a college acceptance or a high GPA or a great personal essay. By getting hung up on a single school, if they don’t accept you, I think it can really hurt your confidence and it isn’t worth risking your own mental health because of one institution.

That ended up being waaayyy longer than I anticipated haha. I really hope this was helpful and gave a little insight into the process. 

If anyone has any questions about anything - my college application, school in england, study tips, grades, my cats who i love to talk about - pls pls pls do ask me!

Real li(e/fe)

This is sick. Truly, inexplicably sick. Shifting attention from one stimulus to another. From messaging your loved ones to replying customers. Checking Instagram, while deciding to book a flight and then in a moment of recall in mind that you wanted to see that deep movie.

Oh.

What a pity.

You don’t have enough time for everything.

I spilled my coffee on the table while typing this. My hands are slightly shaking — although I’ve taken 3 pills of tranquilizers today.

Wait, and we (me and a friend of mine) wanted to make a podcast.

This is too much.

All of these.

Too. Fucking. Much.

We should stop.

We should stop posting so many “content-in-order-to-create-even-more-content”. We should talk less. We should do our jobs without switching to small talks every ten minutes.

We ought to stay sane.

We need to stay focused in order to stay alive.

In the morning, I was looking out of my window and staring at the schoolyard nearby. And there was something that drew my attention. The gateman was withdrawing mobile phones from kids. I stared at this scene and a thought rushed in my head: “I wish I went to this school.”

Afterward, I did my usual morning routine — ten minutes of yoga, coffee and — opening my Mac in order to start checking emails and dive in the online world of my usual job tasks.

I woke up at 8 pm — no, I didn’t sleep during the day, but my mind went automatic — I was replying to my work emails, cooking, washing my clothes, I even talked to my loved ones — and yet I felt like I slept for the whole day. My brain was in a stupor. My hands were shaking.

I was confused.

Multitasking, they say.

Gosh.

I felt I needed even more tranquilizers.

I don’t like an exaggeration. I don’t want to lie — not every day is like today. Sometimes I manage to work until late at night and stay fully awake while having a lot of things on the go. I manage not to have enough sleep and yet perform well in my daily life.

And yet — today’s condition is rather normal, than rare.

And I ask myself — what should I do? I turned off almost all notifications.

Trust me, I’m not a newbie in psychology — I am quite familiar with a concept of deep work and I read “Flow” by Csikszentmihalyi (although, I had to google his surname again).

But still — how much discipline does it take to stay awake and be present?

How do you separate your work from your relationships, when both are 80% in your iPhone?

Should we delete messengers when we work?

I do a lot of stuff to clear my weekends — I don’t check Facebook, I turn off all notifications from Outlook, I try to read more (although, I still use my iPhone for this).

Regardless, I quite often find myself lost in thoughts and misfocused from a current task, whatever it is.

There is a place for great insight — “Eureka! I have found a solution!”

But I haven’t.

I try to implement enough discipline in my life — yoga, reading every day at least 20 minutes, long walks, almost no notifications from messengers (unless I push the button and check it deliberately), regular uninstalling of time-consuming apps (Instagram mostly), never installed Facebook app on my phone and I even found a widget for unfollowing everyone there (including groups and pages).

It’s better now.

But the battle is still going.

And what happens nowadays?

We use social media as platforms for selling. We use it for propaganda. We use it for sharing our views on eating, sport, exercise, a way of living, our political views and, moreover, we post too much. The first second you are bored — the next second you’re posting some memes/selfies/quotes on your Instagram page.

That’s still okay (!).

We can use social media for self-soothing. For raising awareness. We communicate through social media. We influence. We shape thoughts. We create ideas. We can post whatever we want.

But the more followers you have — the bigger is your power of influence. If you follow someone — you are ultimately vulnerable. You can read some post at the wrong time. You can perceive a wrong idea of someone’s life. When sad or lonely, you can beat yourself mentally even more by looking at polished and perfect pictures of your friends/bloggers/anyone you follow. When in a creative crisis, you can shut down your authentic voice just by contemplating too much information from other artists.

The list is never-ending.

If we have accounts, if we follow — we should stay vigilant. We should be aware.

Information is the power — and it’s a time bomb too.

When you wake up in the morning and grab your phone — stop for a moment. Are you truly ready to perceive tons of opinions, thoughts, advice, states, ideas, comments, pictures, etc.?

Did you check how you feel? Did you complete your own morning routine before entering a world of information — which is determined to shift your attention from important things — just because it’s supposed to function that way?

Just because every application is made with a purpose to hold your attention longer.

To make you feel comfortable and stay for a while. Checking your friends’ photos. Then following this inspiring influencer. Then learning some skills through social media (languages or even psychology).

I recently understood — I learned very little from years of following micro-influencers or yoga-accounts.

Real studying happens in real life.

I do not in any way discredit online-studying. Trust me, I prefer a good informative webinar to courses where I have to wake up early and go the opposite end of the city in order to understand that, in fact, this lecture is a total waste of time.

We’re not talking about these cases.

This is about social media.

That is simply not designed in the way that your brain is able to focus. You see a huge long-read from someone wise and yet you have this “heart” and “add a photo” buttons on the bottom. And your brain simply can’t focus fully — so you’re wasting your energy by trying to focus so hard (oh, and someone-you-never-met just started a live video! what great news!)

You got the point.

If you want a long read — go on Medium, The New Yorker, buy a Bookmate subscription, check your favorite news websites.

But don’t expect anything truly profound from social media platforms. Use it as a tool or as a place to communicate with your friends. But don’t expect that following “Easy-English/Spanish/whatever” accounts will make you more proficient.

It won’t.

Social media are not designed for any kind of deep and concentrated work — and this is a relief.

We can post cat pics.

We can stare at nice outfits.

But let’s not replace learning anything from social media. Real skills require real efforts.

So, if your hands are shaking like mine today. If you feel lost and confused and yet find yourself in scrolling an Instagram feed in a search of answers or your daily-dose-of-philosophy.

Better read a book or some article. Watch a good movie. Go for a long walk in the park. Talk to your loved ones — or go meet them in real life.

If you want to learn a language — start with books, not with accounts on Instagram that will be lost in a news feed among photos of cute cats and your classmates that you haven’t met for years.

This is a very trivial truth, and yet it takes a lot of courage to stop pinning your hopes on the small orange icon on the screen of your smartphone.

Pop singer Aurora strikes a chord

SPECIAL FEATURE: Aurora Aksnes is a 22-year-old Norwegian pop singer who’s been steadily gaining international popularity in recent years. Calla Duffield is a 14-year-old fan and aspiring journalist from College Station, Texas, who got a chance to interview the singer known simply as “Aurora” before a concert in Liverpool this summer. Here’s the unabashedly starstruck Duffield’s account of the encounter, which offers insight into how and why Aurora has struck a chord with so many followers around the world.

Interview: Aurora for News In English by Calla Duffield (July 22nd, 2018)

At the Liverpool International Music Festival last July, staffers led me to a secure area behind the stage where the performers’ trailers were located. I caught a glimpse of Aurora as we passed her trailer and cried a little to myself (I know it sounds cheesy, but she has that effect on me).

Her assistant told us that Aurora wanted to sit outside for our interview because it was unseasonably hot that day and her trailer was sweltering, so we did an awkward dance around some folding chairs (or at least I did) before settling in to talk in the shade.

In person, Aurora is slight and tiny—just 5’3”, like me. She was wearing a sunny yellow dress over layers of tulle skirts along with sunflower wristbands and sneakers (Aurora usually goes barefoot or wears flats onstage so she can run around and dance more easily). She has said she dresses the way she feels; I hope yellow that day meant happy!

Aurora asked my name; I was almost too starstruck to move my mouth. While speaking, she gestures expressively, just like when she performs, with hands flying in the air. Her voice was soft and she was kind, and although I had just 10 minutes to ask questions (another interviewer was waiting and Aurora would soon take the festival stage), while we were talking, I felt like we were all alone.

Before we met, I had watched many of her performances online: Onstage she projects a kind of Viking power, storming around like a warrior stalking her enemy. Her presentation is soulful but energizing, and looking out at the audience, Aurora seems to grab fans with her eyes, dancing with them even though they are far apart. Watching her is like watching a play: her lively pale face expresses the meaning in her lyrics, and her melodies and dancing amplifies it.

I first encountered Aurora’s music when I was 12 while sitting on the floor folding paper cranes at my friend Gloria’s house. We were listening to Aurora’s Murder Song, which tells the story of a mercy killing. The haunting melody entranced me because of how well it fit the story.

At first I was drawn to Aurora’s persona: a mix of warrior princess, wise and noble poet, and wild and free fairy, and to her strange style of dancing, of storytelling with her body—jerking her hands around to paint a picture in the air as she sang.

Her songs weren’t about love or heartbreak, unlike most other songs on the radio; they were about love for the earth and humanity and navigating life. And I could relate to them because, being 12, I was far more interested in nature and the meaning of life than anything about romance.

After that, I played and sang her music constantly and made sure my parents knew I would jump at the chance to see Aurora in concert. At the beginning of the summer, I learned from fan sites that she’d be performing at the Liverpool festival in July—around the time we would be visiting my grandmother who lives just outside of London. “Was there any chance we could go?” I asked my parents.

They immediately confessed, much to my surprise, that they already had acquired tickets. And because I had previously expressed an interest in journalism, my mother, a professor of journalism at Texas A&M University, had been trying to arrange for me to interview Aurora.

I composed an email that included a short bio, reasons Aurora should grant me an interview, my photo, and a few sample questions. I emailed it to the festival’s press office, and crossed my fingers. Just a few days later, I got my answer: Aurora said yes! My mom and I jumped around our kitchen screaming.

Just a week after that, I was sitting inches from Aurora asking questions, posing for photos and even getting multiple hugs. I started off by asking about her theme for the show.

“Everything”, she said — a very Aurora-like answer; with fans and reporters, she can be both playful and vague. I tried not to have any preconceptions of what she might be like, but her distinctive child/sage personality comes through very clearly in her music and in previous interviews.

Celebrating diversity Her recently released song, Queendom, is about feeling a sense of belonging and “about celebrating all the differences in us,” according to the description on her YouTube video. It is about “a place where we can come and be lonely together and then not be lonely anymore.”

At a time when many people seem so hateful, I asked, what gives her hope for such a place?

“People are quite angry,” Aksnes agreed, “but I think it’s because people are bored … and they are restless and need to feel they are part of something bigger…”

Queendom is also about Aurora’s feeling of connection to her fans, she said. “I feel that we are all family … Queendom is that kind of place, and kind of attitude, that we [should] have towards people.” To Aksnes, Queendom is about spreading kindness and compassion.

Support for ‘the weirdos’ What advice would she give to kids who might feel weird or out of place?

“I always felt like I was a bit of a strange thing when I was little… ” Aksnes said. “I’m still strange. Some people like it and some people don’t.”

Kids who feel they don’t belong should keep in mind that school is “so small, such a tiny world, and there’s so much more, bigger things waiting for you, especially (for) us weirdos…” Aksnes said. Weirdos are “going places, because they are different.”

In previous interviews, Aksnes described growing up in a small town outside Bergen, Norway, without smart phones and computers. “I think it helps with creativity,” she told me. No gadgets means “more time…to just kind of force yourself to make something out of nothing.”

At the same time, Aksnes said, “it would be sad to say that (electronics are a) bad thing because it’s the future, all those phones and screens. I guess we will have to try to embrace it as much as we can, and kind of find the positive sides of it.” Among those positives, she said, “we can connect with people and learn about cultures, [and] you can get to know another girl in Egypt and become best friends.”

On the other hand, Aksnes said, “I thought (technology) would bring people more together than it actually has so far. But let’s hope that it will evolve in the right way.” At the moment, she added, “it doesn’t teach us to appreciate our (lives), it just teaches us to compare our lives (with others), which is very unhealthy.”

Aiming for ‘a long, long career’ Before leaving for England, I had asked Aurora’s fans on Instagram what they would want to ask her. This brought only one response: when would she be performing in Romania?

“Oh it’s ok,” Aurora said, laughing. “Maybe all the others were sleeping.”

Asknes doesn’t organize her schedule, she said; “I have people doing these things for me, because … I have other things to think about. I have a booking manager, a booking agent, and he does everything.” The team behind Aksnes “all have each task for ourselves, that we can be good at and contribute to our main goal,” she said, “which is me having a long, long career.”

Her band is made up of extraordinary musicians in their own right, but they came together in a random way, she said. Bergen is a small town and “they were the first people we found and also the best … and we are still together!”

Although her first language is Norwegian, she writes almost all her songs in English. Will she ever release the two songs she has written in Norwegian?

“Maybe one day, because it’s nice to listen to songs without understanding the words,” she said, smiling and clearly referring to her fans outside Norway.

Some listeners may perceive a spiritual quality in Aksnes’ music. She doesn’t follow any particular religion, she said, but “as long as it does not cause harm, or become an excuse to do harm, then I’m all for (religion),” she sad. “I am very spiritual,” she added, “but not in a material way.”

Last and most importantly, I wanted to know, when is Aksnes coming to Texas?

“I’ve been to Austin once, and I loved it!” she said, smiling. “The margaritas there are very good! I’ll be back,” she added, grinning, before giving me another hug. “Probably next year.”