NHS England:
*Trans staff changing room policy*:

"If a woman is not comfortable sharing female facilities with biological males, she can use the gender neutral toilets"?....

What does that mean exactly?... pic.twitter.com/X9PCZ92z7J

— Jonny Bell (@Jonnywsbell) February 17, 2025

Foids owned

!transphobes

On tonight's episode:

We begin the NewJeans Saga. Join us for a brief look at the history of the major players in the scandal, as well as the opening volleys of a feud that could alter the landscape of pretty ricefoids shaking their hips on stage for ever.

Who is MHJ?

What exactly is, a NewJeans?

Why do I keep using Twice for the OP?

Find the answers to all of this and more, right after these messages from our sponsor:

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programing.

Christmas Thread Theme

Introduction

On the morning of November 28th, 2024, an official representative of the superstar Kpop group NewJeans announced that the members would be holding a press conference to address the ongoing dispute with their record label, ADOR. Two weeks prior, on November 13th, the group sent a letter notifying ADOR of numerous issues that they considered to be breaches of their contract. Per a (standard) clause in the contract, ADOR had 14 days to respond to and ameliorate these breaches. If it failed to do so, NewJeans would have the option to terminate their exclusive contract, without penalty. With the 14 day deadline set to pass at 12:00 AM KST, November 29th, it seemed premature to call a press conference. However, the group was planning to board a plane to Japan in preparation for promotional activities later that evening, and expressed their wish to update their fans on the situation before ADOR could take advantage of their travel to control the media narrative.

They know what they did

And so, at 8:30 PM, the members of NewJeans and a PR representative met with the press to announce their response to ADOR's failure to rectify the alleged contract breaches. What followed was a bizzare press conference that saw members claim their contract was terminated and that they:

• were no longer under contract with ADOR after midnight

• would not need to pay a termination penalty

• would begin seeking other oppurtunities while finishing scheduled events with ADOR

And the really bizarre part...

• would not seek to confirm the termination of their contract via legal action.

This, of course, raised numerous questions amongst the entertainment reporters present who have a solid grasp on how contract terminations work. I'm sure the dramatards in the audience who understand contract law, or are capable of tying their own shoes, have many of the same questions. Thankfully, the girls took some time to take questions from the press.

An excerpt from the press conference. Did you understand?

Always a good idea to check the specifics after terminating the contract

Leaving the world with more questions than answers, the members of NewJeans boarded a plane to Japan to resume promotional activities, setting the internet ablaze with discussion of what was in the future for NewJeans. Well, in order to predict the future, one must first understand the past.

And that past can only be found...

...In the K-Hole.

The Main Players

HYBE

The illegitimate love child of Kim Jong-Un and Xi Jinping Bang Si-Hyuk

HYBE Corporation, initially founded by Bang Si-hyuk in 2005 as Big Hit Entertainment, is the largest of the big 4 record companies in Kpop, with a market capitalization almost 4x greater than that of their next largest competitor, JYP Entertainment. Their success is directly tied to that of their most popular group, BTS, who during their heyday, generated more GDP for South Korea than the Korean domestic airline industry. This great financial success provided Big Hit Entertainment with the opportunity to acquire numerous smaller record labels including Source Music, which would later go on to debut the girl group Le Sserafim, in 2019 and Pledis Entertainment (Seventeen and Formis9) in 2020

With these new labels under their belt, Big Hit Entertainment restructured itself as HYBE Corporation in 2021, structuring all of their various sub-labels underneath the new Hybe Label division. During the years proceeding the re-structuring, HYBE developed plans to debut numerous gril groups, and leading these plans was the former Visual Director for SM Entertainment, Min Hee-jin (MHJ).

Min Hee-Jin

Born in 1979, MHJ began her career in Kpop as a graphic designer for SM Entertainment (one of the other big 4 companies in Kpop) in 2003. Eventually she was promoted to creative director, where she oversaw all visual branding for a number of SM's gril groups, including Girls Generation, Red Velvet, and f(x). Her impact on the industry in this role was massive, as she shifted artistic direction within the industry towards the idea of more experimental "concepts".

You can think of a group's concept as the overarching theme of the group, impacting everything from album art, photoshoots, music videos, and costumes to public behavior and even the type of music the group produces. The concept of an artist can remain static for years on end (think of how Motley Crue have always been party boy rockstars), or change over time (compare the early music and style of The Beatles to their later work.)

Leaving SM in 2018 due to burnout, it wasn't long before she found herself hired by Big Hit Entertainment to oversee the rebranding to HYBE Corporation. It was also announced that MHJ would be the creative lead for multiple new girl groups, as well as the producer for a label that HYBE would launch in the next few years. MHJ took part in initial planning for a new girl group with Source Music, but in 2021 HYBE established the ADOR sub label and named her as the CEO. The first act to debut under ADOR would be the girl group MHJ had begun developing with Source Music, NewJeans.

NewJeans

Upcoming January 2025 Vogue Korea cover featuring NewJeans

Auditions for Mhj's new girl group began in 2019 under Source Music. Initially planning to debut in 2021, this was pushed back to 2022, ostentibly due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Officially debuting on July 22nd of 2022, NewJeans quickly became one of the biggest acts in all of Kpop. Their achievements speak for themselves:

• First idol group in history to occupy the #1, #2 and #3 spot on every chart in Korea for 3 consecutive months with Ditto, OMG, and Hype Boy

• NewJeans surpassed 5 billion total points on Circle Digital Chart in only 64 weeks, second only to BTS (53 weeks)

• First girl group to ever chart 5 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same calendar year in K-Pop history

• Set a Guinness record for fastest artist to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify and also became the fastest Korean act in history to reach 3 billion streams

Newjeans debut single and MV, Hype Boy, released July 22nd, 2022.

This groups massive success on the charts led them to become one of the most sought after brand endorsements in the advertising industry , with them eventually going on to work with Nike, Coca- Cola, McDonald's, Apple, Levi's, and Calvin Klein. NewJeans was so successful on this front that In April 2024, Forbes Korea reported that the group had earned ₩30 billion (~$20 million) in advertising in the course of a single year. to put this in perspective, Patrick Mahomes had total estimated off-the-field earnings of $25 million in 2024.

You know you've made it big when even your slop meal gets to go on tour.

Hanni

The Vietnamese-Australian member of a Korean girl group's English male name is Harry.

Born to Vietnamese parents in Melbourne, Australia, Phạm Ngọc Hân's (20) first experience in the entertainment industry was as a member of the Australian kpop dance cover group AEMINA. In late 2019, she was the only person to pass the Plus Global Auditions, the first set of auditions for the girl group that would become NewJeans. Hanni is widely considered to be the best vocalist in the group

Minji

Marcus the Cleanup Queen

Born in Chuncheon, South Korea in 2004, Kim Min-ji began training with Source Music in 2017. She was likely the first member selected for NewJeans, as she was the anonymous face of the Plus Global Auditions that selected Hanni. Often acting as the de facto leader, Minji is the oldest member and one of the best dancers in the group.

Dani

Her male English name is Demitree.

In 2005, Danielle Marsh was born to an Australian father and Korean mother in Newcastle, Australia. Moving back and forth between Australia and South Korea as a child, Dani's first experience in show business was as a child actor in South Korea. She began her kpop career as a trainee at YG Entertainment ( the last of the big four Kpop companies), leaving the company and joining Source Music in July 2020. Probably the most popular member internationally, Dani is a talented vocalist who provided the Korean dub of Ariel for the live action Little Mermaid movie.

Haerin

This Kang's name is Stephen

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Kang Hae-rin dropped out of middle school in 2020 at the age of 13 to begin training with Source Music, later earning her GED. A taleented singer and dancer, Haerin is also a global ambassador for Dior.

Hyein

(Male name) Collin is the reason we need pedobear.

Lee Hye-in was born in Incheon, South Korea in 2008, making her the youngest member, or maknae, of NewJeans. Getting her start as a child model, she also was a member of a kid's group called U.SSO Girl from 2017-2018. She later went on to star on a YouTube children's channel called PocketTV. She eventually joined ADOR as a trainee in 2021. Despite being the youngest member of the group, Hyein has the most showbiz experience in the group.

Now that we've had a chance to meet the stars of our story, we are finally able to see where the NewJeans/ADOR drama truly began. But first, it's time for a...

Cookie Break

After the success of their debut single Hype Boy, NewJeans quickly followed up with the lead single of their self-titled debut EP, Cookie. As @0BS3SS10N mentioned in the comments of our previous episode, there was something a little off about this song.

With most of the song in Korean, the lyrics, once translated into English, are something else:

Now, these lyrics wouldn't be too bad in and of themselves, at least compared to western music, save for one small problem; the majority of the group was underage when the song was released. At the time of release, Dani and Hanni were 17, Haerin was 16, and Hyein was 14(!). Only Minji was over the age of 18 at the time. This generated a great deal of controversy in western markets due to the sexual tone of the lyrics.

https://old.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/wdclrx/newjeans_cookie/

https://old.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/wdd6bg/new_jeans_just_officially_debut_with_the_release/

Link

A solid summary of the drama

As @ftincel touched on above, the scandal was complicated by a report of a pattern of weird, borderline pedophilic behavior surrounding MHJ. She had numerous pictures of underage girls and a 15 year old Brooke Shields on her Instagram, and had also been accused of over sexualizing underage idols while at SM Entertainment.

Link

HYBE, ADOR, and NewJeans themselves argued the song was actually about burning a CD for someone (to bake a CD is a euphemism for burning a CD in Korea) and that the translator who worked on the MV above had mistranslated the lyrics. Most Westerners didn't buy this, pointing out that two of the people in the group (Dani and Hanni) were native English speakers. However, as is common with scandals related to Kpop idols, there were plenty of fans who were ready to eat up the cover story.

Link

https://old.reddit.com/r/unpopularkpopopinions/comments/wrsspn/cookie_by_new_jeans_isnt_as_sexual_as_people_make/

https://old.reddit.com/r/NewJeans/comments/wkle0q/serious_discussion_thread_the_cookie_and_min/

Let's see what /mu/ had to say at the time:

You know it's bad when even 4chan thinks you've gone too far

I think this is a compilation of translated comments from Korean sites. If not, someone needs to investigate this guy.

With all of that background info and the Cookie drama out of the way, we can begin our story in earnest.

The Beginning of the End

The Audit

On April 22nd, 2024, bombshell news dropped that HYBE would be launching an internal audit of ADOR and it's executives, due to concerns that MHJ was trying to attract investors to take the label independent. At the time, HYBE owned about 80% of ADOR, with the remaining 20% being held by ADOR executives, predominantly MHJ.

HYBE alleged that MHJ and a VP at ADOR, identified only as Mr. L, were working in collaboration to "free" ADOR from HYBE. The scheme included Mr. L passing classified info about HYBE to MHJ. Mr. L had previously worked with HYBE, most relevantly during its IPO, before being transferred by the company to ADOR. Once HYBE became aware of the plan, the audit was triggered, executives electronics were examined, and plans to remove MHJ as CEO of ADOR were initiated.

Illit

For her part, MHJ released a statement alleging that the audit was an illegal attempt to oust her as CEO In retaliation for her accusing Illit, a new Kpop group under HYBE's sub-label, Belift Labs, and their producers of "copying" NewJeans.

https://www.koreaboo.com/news/min-hee-jin-official-statement/

April 23rd and 24th

The next day, April 23rd, HYBE responded that it had clear evidence that MHJ had been planning to take ADOR independent long before Illit had debuted. The main piece of evidence for this was an unreleased internal document detailing MHJ's plans.

https://m-en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20240423006400315

On the 24th, various ADOR executives tried to distance MHJ from the discovered internal document, but a report from Dispatch (basically the Korean TMZ) revealed that she had almost $73 million in put options on HYBE.

Link

April 25th

The Next day, April 25th, HYBE made public it's initial findings from the audit and stated it's intention to report MHJ to the police.

A leaked conversation between MHJ and another ADOR executive, A

In response MHJ called her own press conference that day, which ran for almost 2 hours.

the entire press conference summed up by mhj lawyers pic.twitter.com/3qrfngiz3H

— 𝓪⁷ (@JlNSONYEONDAN) April 25, 2024

During this press conference MHJ touched on a number of topics, including:

• Reiterating that the only cause of the audit was an internal complaint she filed over Illit's "plaigerism"

• Complaining that her shareholders agreement that she signed with HYBE was unfair and currently being renegotiated.

• Alleging that she was promised NewJeans would be the first of HYBE's new girl groups to debut. Instead Le Sserafim was allowed to debut first. (Remember this one, it will be important later on)

• Claiming that she would take legal action against HYBE for seizing her and other executive's electronics

• Stating that all of ADOR's internal discussions about seeking outside investors and breaking away from HYBE were merely jokes

• Tacitly admitting that she would consult a Korean Shaman to help make business decisions (again, more on this at a later date)

The entire press conference is a trip, and this all is just a snippet. We'll do a deep dive into the press conference and it's after effects next week, but for now, let's see how the internet reacted:

Reddit Reacts

Warning:: May contain spoilers for future parts of the saga.

https://old.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/1ca2gc4/hybe_launched_audit_into_ceo_of_newjeans_agency/

https://old.reddit.com/r/kpop_uncensored/comments/1ccn2j5/my_takes_from_the_min_heejin_press_conference/

https://old.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/1ca90ty/hybe_initiates_audit_of_adors_management/

https://old.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/1ca90ty/hybe_initiates_audit_of_adors_management/

/mu/ Reacts

That's all the time we have for this week, but I hope that I was able to whet your whistle for the drama we have ahead, because theres quite a bit of it.

On next week's "In the K-Hole"

• A deep dive into MHJ's April 25th press conference and auxiliary accusations!

• The parents of NewJeans speak up!

• New legal challenges!

• And much, much more, all next week!

I hope you enjoyed this episode, as well as your upcoming holidays. A very merry Christmas to you all and yours...

... From the bottom...

... Of the K-Hole.

White People Love Kanye West

September 12, 2008

Daniel O'Brian

Cracked pictures replaced by carefully chosen gifs to imitate their clever impact

I think I might've gotten Kanye West arrested, and now I feel like such a doofus. Especially given my history, I mean, this isn't the first time I got a hip-hop star in trouble with the law, (devotees will recall that, several months ago, I may or may not have convinced Vanilla Ice to beat his wife). In fairness, if I had known Kanye was going fly off the handle and get so aggravated that he'd smash an expensive camera at an airport, I probably wouldn't have said what I said. I should back up...

Thursday, September 11, 2008 6:00am I stumbled into Rutt's Inn, this amazing pancake place in LA, and Kanye was already there, waiting for me. He stood up and waved me over enthusiastically. "OB," he shouted, "My man, get over here, we got just oodles of shit to discuss." Ugh. He's a lot of things but, above everything else, Kanye West is a morning person. I am not. I sat down across from him, rubbing my eyes, my head throbbing and my throat dry. "Thanks for meeting me, Dan, this is really-" I silenced him with a hand wave. "I'm gonna stop you right there, 'Ye. This conversation isn't moving another inch forward until I get at least two cups of coffee in me. My eyes feel like fricking pinecones." Kanye started laughing. If I had to guess, I'd say it was because he was picturing two pinecones fornicating. That was, of course, not my intention, but Kanye probably couldn't tell that there was no hyphen between "fricking" and "pinecones." Because this was a spoken conversation.

OGs know this gif

I digress. Aside from the giggling, Kanye graciously allowed me several minutes of silence while I wolfed down two cups of black coffee. Kanye was such a fan of mine and I think he's alright, (I guess), so we both agreed it would be a good idea for the two of us to work on a project together. It was really more his idea than mine, but I figured I'd at least hear him out. I was, after all, writing a pilot for an animated children's TV show about a genetically-enhanced mouse that gets elected president; Kanye could easily do the voice for the sassy bird that becomes the vice president.

"Now," I said, after I'd finished my coffee, "what kind of project did you have in mind?" His eyes lit up. "First off, I just wanna say how psyched I am that you're meeting with me. I'm such a fan of the blog and your early mixtapes, from back when you used to rap. I mean, you're the Statutory Rap, man! I am so honored to be in your presence." "Settle down, Kanye." "Right, my bad. Anyway, I was thinkin' we could do an album together. You and me, you know, I bring you outta retirement, and we change the game, you know? You're still tight with Jay-Z, so I'm sure he'd be down to guest on a few tracks. It'd be tight, we'd get Weezy in there, Swizz Beatz. This shit's gonna be hot!" Rapping? That was the last thing I thought this meeting was going to be about. To be honest, I had no interest in the project and I made no attempts to hide my dissatisfaction. Kanye noticed immediately. "What's wrong," he asked. "You can still spit fire, right?" "Don't be a child, Kanye, of course I can. That's not the point." "Well, what is the point?" Now, before I go any further, I want you to know that I didn't think I was saying anything revelatory. I honestly didn't think I was telling any tales out of school, and I didn't mean to surprise or enrage Kanye West in any way. I mean, he says things like "psyched" and "oodles." I figured what I was about to say was common knowledge... "Well, Kanye, I was considering making a comeback, but I'm just not sure it should be with you... I mean, I want to make rap music but, you know. Not for white people." Kanye seemed positively shocked. "I don't understand," he said after some time. "Oh, uh, it's pretty simple. White people love you." I thought he was gonna have a heart attack, but it's true. White people love Kanye West. So much so, in fact, that I find it amazing that the foremost experts on stuff white people like have never mentioned it.

that was a real website in 2008 that white people posted on Facebook

Kanye West, still somewhat in shock, was ready to speak. "You're messing with me. This...this can't be. I'm... I'm from the street, I-" "Everyone knows where you're from, Kanye. And, hey, it's nothing to be ashamed about- you're selling a ton of records, you're a dynamite producer and you've sold out shows all over the globe. And there's nothing wrong with making music white people love, plenty people have done it in the past. James Taylor comes to mind." Kanye West threw up all over the table. "You lyin', DOB, you must be lyin'." Has he seriously never suspected this? "You don't believe me? Alright, as an experiment, go ahead and ask any average, suburban middle class white person if they're into rap. Go ahead. Right now. Pick someone off the street, anyone, and ask if they like rap music, and I'll tell you, (unless they're an actual hip-hop fan), they're gonna say 'Eh, I'm kinda into rap. I think Kanye West is great.' Trust me. Just about every white person who's worried about coming off as either uncool or a racist, which is to say, 'every white person,' will say almost that exact sentence, verbatim."

white hands at the ye show

"Stop it. Stop it! I don't believe you." "Well now you're just being a baby. Kanye, man, do you have any idea just how many high-maintenance white girls have 'Stronger' memorized? Fricking all of them, man. And, I mean, haven't you noticed that the way you dress informs the style of idiot white guys everywhere?" He put his fingers in his ears and started shaking his head violently. "Look, there's just something about you. You're just gangster enough that white people will listen to you and feel cool and edgy, (yet comfortable), but not quite gangster enough that white folks will be afraid of you. Or, you know. That anyone else will actually like you. There's nothing wrong with being liked by white people. Heck, some of my best friends are white. But I'm just saying that if you decided you wanted to feature Regina Spektor on an upcoming single, two things would happen: no one in the hip-hop community would be surprised or impressed, and white kids at colleges across America would absolutely lose their shit.

and it could be on the 500 days of summer sequel soundtrack

" Seriously. U-Mass Amherst might have to shut down while all the students clean up after their simultaneous orgasm. Kanye was, understandably, having a difficult time with this new information. "But...but I'm from Chicago, man, the streets of Chicago." His eyes started to well up. "Oh, right, that's another problem. You reference Chicago a lot, and in your songs, sometimes you call it 'Chi-town,' which is fine, but other times you call it 'The Shire.' Now, uh... I know you think that's a cool nickname but...I don't know if you know this, but the Shire is where the hobbits lived in Lord of the Rings....Do...do you know what type of people love Lord of the Rings, Kanye? I don't think I need to tell you." "Oh my God." "Yeah. It's pretty awful." "I don't mean to rap for white people. I don't want to make white people happy." "Of course you don't, Kanye, nobody wants white people to be happy." "But why do they like me so much?" "Love, Kanye, white people love you. And I guess it's because you're catchy, uncomplicated and generally inoffensive. Let's be honest, all of your hits are pretty mom-friendly. Also you're very clear. White people are crazy about diction." "But still, my lyrics. I rap about life, man, and the streets. Doesn't that count for anything," he pleaded. "B-word please. You rap about working at the Gap, smoking pot and having s*x with drunk chicks. Those are the only things white guys do." "Why are you saying this," Kanye said with tears streaming down his face.

"Because I figured you knew!" Honestly. I assumed everybody knew. White people love Kanye West, Middle Eastern people love Lionel Ritchie, and Chinese people are afraid of Smash Mouth. These are Pop Culture Commandments, I don't presume to understand them, but I acknowledge them all the same. I spend plenty of time around white people, I've even been mistaken for white. But I'll never quite get why white people are so fascinated by Kanye West. Also Michael Phelps. White people are obsessed with Michael Phelps, I just don't get it. "But I sold so many records...." "That's true, you've got some insanely catchy joints, no one's taking that away from you. But, you know...Blink182 had some catchy shit too, but I don't think anyone would argue that they helped out punk music in any way. Do you see what I mean?" He did. And it hurt. He looked practically catatonic, sitting at that table, watching his world crash around him. I tried cheering him up. "Hey, on the bright side, you're bringing rap music to the whole world. You're introducing an entire generation of pasty, soccer-loving white folks to rap. Music History will look back on you fondly but, uh...the same way it looks back on Hammer." If the Rutts Inn had sharper knives, I think Kanye probably would've used one to stab someone at that point. I never was too good at comforting depressed hip-hop stars after a pancake breakfast. I know, that is an oddly specific flaw to have, but it's true. It's my one weakness. "Listen," I said, paying the bill, "I guess this a lot for you to digest, so I'll just leave you alone. I think you have a plane to catch anyway. But, hey, gimme a call if you have any interest in voicing a cartoon vice president named 'Dan Quail.' Do...do you get it?... Okay, I'll leave you alone." An hour and a half later, Kanye got arrested for flipping out at an airport and breaking a paparazzo's camera.

Whoops. *** So, uh...State of California...hopefully this should explain why Mr. West acted out the way he did. Have mercy on him, this is a tough pill for ole' Kanye to swallow. Please, take pity on him and be lenient in your sentencing. It's like Kanye finding out for the first time that there's no Santa Claus. Or, that there is a Santa Claus, and he just loves Kanye's music. Because he's a fat white guy.

Info about Bellatrix: Bellatrix is the third-brightest star and a candidate binary star in the constellation of Orion, positioned 5° west of the red supergiant Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis). It has the Bayer designation γ Orionis, which is Latinized to Gamma Orionis. With a slightly variable magnitude of around 1.6, it is typically the 25th-brightest star in the night sky. According to parallax measurements by the Hipparcos spacecraft, Bellatrix is located at a distance of 250±10 light-years. And this pic is low quality but magnificent

Most Based Comments

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔥🔘🔘

it's amazing how people will shill terrible design choices like this, and then project that you are being a special snowflake for wanting beauty and consistency in your art. (86)

What makes it a terrible design choice. Women who are mma fighters look like this and she is supposed to be a badass so why wouldn't she look like this. Also it's fiction and the way they look is constantly changing why would you compare for just her when the Witcher himself has changed drastically over the games (-25)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔥🔘🔘

Still ignoring my point of Geralt being 100 years old but doesn't look like his facial features have changed (besides the hair) yet Ciri is the exception I suppose? (6)

Have you seen what Geralt looked like in Witcher 1? His face changes every game 🤣 (-6)

Basedness: 🔥🔥🔥🔘🔘

I think people are getting way too caught up with small differences in a cinematic trailer. Geralt looked different in TW3 cinematic trailers. Heck, he looked extremely different on a game to game basis...https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fb6v7kyeebl6e1.pnghttps://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fciri-from-the-witcher-4-reveal-trailer-v0-pj8n7j3gml6e1.png%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D6d144b369afc36a63315b8d8291a26534520c22aFrom other angles, she looks pretty darn similar to me...like you can't tell me she doesn't look like herself in these shots. People are hyper focusing on some weird shots that were meant to be high fidelity but ended up uncanny, and proceeding to catastrophize.Game is years away and CDPR probably didn't even make this trailer. Calm your tits. (39)

People getting hung up on bullshit like cheekbones.The core issue is that a bunch of dudes don't necessarily want to roleplay as a woman. I don't think there's anything toxic about that.Action movies' and video games' main customer is dudes. It can work ... but it's a risky move to create a video game and/or action movie that doesn't cater to your main customer base. If design decision 1 is "let's make it harder for our our primary customer base to engage with our main protagonist", it may be worth considering if that decision is worth the risk. (-8)

Angriest Comments

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

That's not lying. That is not by any means what lying is, nor am I lying. If you want a breakdown of the witcher series I can not tell you much besides It started as a book series, then it got taken in for games, and the games went like this1 was good2 was considered bad3 at launch was mixed but after a few patches to fix some issues people had it overall became the best one.The first 3 games lead into geralts full conclusion with ciri being established as a possible follow up to geralt.Comes witcher 4 which was now announced, and ciri is older. Witcher fans KNEW ciri had potential to be the new lead and she became all powerful with her magic. Now she is a supposed witcher and everyone wants to know how. And people are having mixed feelings on her looks, but not really cause this is the first time I have seen this sentiment show up.We been past that topic man, you seem a little lost. Want to sit down and talk slower about it?Edit: it is very abundant you are a troll or someone who i... (2)

How to lie with statistics. Using misleading data sets is one of the first methods.Oh so you don't actually know? How unexpected.I can vouch for the fact that I think her looks are fine. The assertion they "uglified" her is absurd and can be tossed out of hand for its absolute absurdity. I suspect those goofballs are only being used as a weak man (strawman's little cousin) as attempt to cover up the real gripe ... guys don't choose to roll female characters when they have the option not to. Stands to reason they might not buy the game because it's not an option.But you still haven't explained it to me. So I'll keep asking until you do. Why does not preferring to roll a female character in an RPG indicate a lack of empathy?I am not trolling at all. I'm having an open/transparent discussion. I'm merely pointing out all the dishonest accusations and bullshit you're trying to pin on me. There's no reason to get so upset over someone merely disagreeing with you. You stretching so hard to... (1)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

No one says "who cares" to someone and not expect it to be taken offensively. If you find that to be a perfectly sound, civil answer, then I must say you really are the kind of person you're being accused of being, and any further discussion with you would only serve as more evidence.So let's chat, shall we?What's your problem with her reply? Why did it upset you so?You have received exactly zero attacks before I descended upon you sword in my hand. You did dish a few out yourself, though, and plenty of accusations, especially regarding other people's presumed feelings. It seems you really do believe that your opinions are factual. So, you not only seem to lack empathy, but you also don't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed.And besides, I don't care about you enough to become upset. That doesn't mean I won't call you whatever I believe you are. For me, calling people out for their true selves and watching them writhe in refusal is a twisted form of entertainment. And you don't ... (1)

Attack my stance with dishonesty, personal attacks, and/or snippiness and I have no qualms returning the favor.There's no correlation with empathy and what kind character you prefer to roll for a RPG video game. Duh? Implying otherwise is nothing more than toxicity with intent to sow divisiveness. Ironic huh.I was accused of being weird and lacking empathy many times in this thread.That has been the core question from the start. You and the other jackasses in here have been trying to manipulate it into something else from the start. You get upset when I point out your manipulation.You seem oblivious that they do care. At the end of the day ... if this was your only gripe with my post... we would've acknowledged our difference of opinion/speculation and moved on with 0 hostility. That's how adult conversations work.This thread only got hostile once the accusations and personal attacks (toxicity, lack of empathy) were launched. (1)

Angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

I'm one who probably won't buy the game on day one. I doubt I'm literally the only person on earth who feels this way. My purchase is at risk. For context ... this is one of my favorite gaming series (only 2nd behind Mass Effect) that I've played since W1 in 2007.It's anecdotal ... as someone who's played RPGs in various forms for decades, it's hard to not notice that most people roll characters of their own gender when given the option. Take away that option ... and there's a risk folks will be less inclined to buy the game.You should be aware ... saying there's a risk doesn't imply any specific outcome is inevitable. So I'm not entirely certain what you think I'm here to "prove". (1)

I mean, I won't either, but my reasoning is that I simply don't trust in any game's quality before seeing plenty of reviews from actual players. Is your reasoning primarily centered around Ciri being the protagonist? It has to, otherwise it wouldn't really serve as a point in this argument.Except that the literally don't. Girls tend to roll male character more often than you think, and it's a pretty well known mantra among guys that they'd rather watch a girl's butt for 100 hours of gameplay. You're ignoring everything but your own experience. Which makes for a rather weak argument.Fine, I'll give you a hint. Prove to me that games in the past have achieved less success for the sole reason of having a female protagonist. The important part being "for the sole reason". Failing while woman is not enough, you gotta show to me that it failed because of woman. Cause, you know, if you claim there is a risk, there must be precedent to warrant that risk. Obvious, isn't it? (1)

Biggest Lolcow: /u/GravyMcBiscuits

Score: 🐮🐮🐮🐮🐮(+2🐮)

Number of comments: 36

Average angriness: 🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘

Maximum angriness: 😡😡😡😡😡

Minimum angriness: 🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘

NEW: Subscribe to /h/miners to see untapped drama veins, ripe for mining!

autodrama: automating away the jobs of dramneurodivergents. Ping HeyMoon if there are any problems or you have a suggestion

🇬🇧 British farmers protested today!

In addition to tractors, military equipment appeared on the streets of London. Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

It is unclear where the farmers got them from.

1/ pic.twitter.com/gvdLo4DEvM

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) February 10, 2025

Those can be bought by any individual

— Gutsa (@gutsa_ma) February 10, 2025

Can't buy pointed knives but you can legally buy a tank from Temu, what a country

Wow how shocking and strange and unusual. https://t.co/ed7jbj9oh1

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) February 22, 2025

I'm a petty beefy guy. Have been for most of my adult life. I'm changing my eating and hitting the gym again to get healthy, but I don't think I'll ever be super thin again.

There seem to be a decent amount of men who find plus size women sexy, which I think is fantastic. But as a man, I can't say that my experience has been proportional or at all similar. Outside of fetish communities, I've not encountered a woman who was sincerely attracted to someone with my body type, and thats... hard.

I don't want to be a fetish. I don't want to be in a feeder-type relationship. I want to be healthy, but I also accept that healthiness for me might still be a hefty body type. The BHM communities I've found on reddit are very sexually oriented. I'm not here to kink shame anyone, but that's just not me.

I'm a man with a deep capacity for love and connection. I'm very connected to my feelings and really would like to find a meaningful relationship based on mutual interest, attraction, and compatible personalities.

I just don't know where to find women who would be interested in dating a guy like me. The apps are out. So are the popular dating sites. I just feel like modern dating isn't made for the plus sized man.

Does anyone have some good advice for me? I'm a 46 year old man, who at this point, is kind of at a loss.

!foidmoment !moidmoment

UPDATE: Middle School IT tech Mason David Luxenberg aka "MasonL87" has deleted his Reddit account after researchers discovered credible death threats and other extremist commentary on his profile.

Follow @JR_Newswire https://t.co/ILTEwszU7y pic.twitter.com/hDFNl4WznF

— Justice Report (@JR_Newswire) February 7, 2025

Almost as if it isn't actually child safety that they care about

Welp, don't bother with Protonmail.https://t.co/oNTxq62hnz

— InRange TV 🏴 (@InRangeTV) February 5, 2025

https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i1zjgn/so_that_happened/m7ahrlm/?context=8

The Rapport had been the premier Afriaans newspaper for over 50 years, but like so many physical media over the world, they've taken a nosedive when confronted with the competition of instant access digital media,

which could broadcast stories instantly, and for no physical printing costs. Newspapers all over the world have also struggled with the competition in terms of people having become used to "free" news sites (with banner ads) versus a weekly/daily paper's upfront cost.

Additionally a lot of faith have been lost in mainstream media, of all countries - where the predominant pattern appears to be that ground level plebs tend to be more conservative/right-wing than than the more liberally oriented Journ*list class which had some hand in influencing national or international conversations.

This divide between liberal journ*lists and more conservative/rightoid laymen is hilariously apparent for ALL the fricking races in Safrica, but not in the way you would expect, or as similar as you would think as in Burgerland lol

Examples:

For black peeps, like the Zulus especially ( the largest ethnic tribe/group of the country), there has been decisive differences in public perception between the everyman, and the more liberal Zulu Upper Class.

Foreigners would make the mistake that because of the dominacy of the ANC, that liberalism/leftism is the dominant train of thought amongst black peeps, when in reality the conservative Zulus and Xhosas only support these parties/policies because it benefits them personally, like land grabs and gins, and BEE affirmative action.

But liberal notions like pan+African racial unity gets thrown out of the window 🪟 when competition, when foreigners from middle Africa, like Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Angolans are often frequently attacked by Zulus in xenophobic attacks, due to the desperation in a country where there's a near 30% unemployment since COVID.

The Zulu king got "in trouble" from the black national newspapers, because he had invited xenophobia and violence unto Zimbabwean refugees and migrants, yet the consensus amongst Zulus, those amongst the majority poor rural class shared in his opinion, stark contrast to the liberal journ*lists who condemned him.

https://www.npr.org/2015/04/26/402400958/south-africas-xenophobic-attacks-vile-says-zulu-king-accused-of-inciting-them

=====

For the just under 1 million Indians in SA, they are the most self-segregating and anti-black demographic, with their upfront racism towards blacks going relatively unnoticed because majority of social capital spent against whites

For reference, look at @Sneedman's recent sneed about Indian racism

https://rdrama.net/post/321001/south-africa-and-the-indian-question

Oh yes, in Safrica, Indians are upper middle class, and look down on black peeps, the way Canadians look on sexy Indian dudes.

=====

For Boer whites you guys don't need introduction on how we are out of sync with the dominant global liberal orthodoxy, it's more Bongs in general whom are usually one standard deviation more liberal than average that's interesting 🤔

The fabled harmonious racially peace 🕊️ ✌️ ful Rainbow 🌈 nation of past Mandela's dream, has failed to realize these past 30 years, due to entrenched ANC corruption and even these Bongs on average are now much more right wing than the average than the usual English journ*list.

Additionally English journ*lists have themselves been in the forefront with exposing systemic government corruption

====

For coloureds, the coloured dominant Cape Town based media, like magazines and Newspapers, were utterly shocked this year's May 2024 election

When a monumental upset occured, with the ANC losing its supermajority, to the new Zulu Ultranationalist party MP, and the DA getting decent numbers, yet also being similarly cucked in the Cape Town municipality

By losing large blocs of coloured votes to the PA (Patriotic Alliance) a Coloured ethnic nationalist group.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_South_African_general_election

Who felt that neither black nor white dominant parties of ANC/DA represented them. They often feel they were too brown for Apartheid and too light skinned for the ANC, as they get shafted by BEE - a legalized affirmative action legislation which can only exist in a nation state where one racial group vastly outnumbers the others.

The breaking and thus weakening of the DA caused intense sneed amongst coloured journ*lists who wanted a unified front against Anc corruption, and that they were surprised by those events are symptomatic of how out of sync their respective journos are with their ground level peeps.

====

Point is every conceivable demographic in SA is hilariously more chuddy in some unique fashion, than the journ*list class from that demographic in SA.

As is similar in Burgerland and Europe, but what has made the divide between the global modern liberal orthodoxy even more extreme has been social media, especially Facebook which dominated Southern Africa, compared to twitter in the West.

Many dramatards here are likely more Reddit addicts than Facebook, which has a more boomer/3rd world demographic

In Facebook, even with so much banning and censorship, chudthink rise to whatever counts as the front page, in spite of jannies or Facebook sexy Indian dude mods

In these insane slapfiights, with people often under their ACTUAL IRL identity 🆔, you'll find opinions which make 4chan and 9gag look meek ,and you'll find how decisively the everyman of Indians/coloureds/Boers/sothos/pedis/Khoisan/Zulus/Xhosas are all just one ragebait post away from chipping out and showing the veneer of civilization is a Journos fantasy 😇 😈

Thus trust in journ*lists/Media to represent the interests of every group appears to have eroded away the past decades, as social media proliferated along with cheaper internet and smartphones, allowing the bypass of media orthodoxy

During COVID the death knell of physical papers were sounded, as during lockdown people were prevented from going outside to buy their weekly papers, and even the technologically illiterate were pushed through boredom to buy large internet, fibre, or download news apps and join Facebook news groups

Many peeps were thus in a nation wide scale exposed to the convenience and ease of news on their smartphones or computers, and even when lockdowns lifted in 2021, sales never recovered across the industry.

Publications like News24 which jumped ahead with the rapidly changing events were the 1st to rapidly program the best apps and gained a large market share, and thus rode on fire chariots the change from physical to digital media, like Zoom became dominant instantly as the premier online meeting app/program for SA businesses.

Other papers like the Rapport reacted or realised too late the need to have a digital presence to survive in this new world and for the past 4 years have been chugging along on fumes.

The Rapport was hardest hit and most tragic, because it was considered the most impressive and prestigious newspaper in the country, even when democratisation in 1994, when English became the most common tongue, and 10 other languages because part of the recognized official languages.

The Rapport had the intergenerational experience, infrastructure and prestige.

Important world changing events were often sought after specifically in the Rapport, because the best journ*lists wrote there, even Bong journ*lists, because many SA Englishman can speak Afrikaans.

The weekly format actually gave the newspaper credence because unlike daily rags chasing the daily story to make ends meet ,the weekly format allowed the experienced Journos to really do their research and make higher calibre articles.

When the 9/11 attacks occurred the entire nation would wait for the Rapport to a make an extensive and in depth coverage of the events made understandable for plebse

Even English and Sotho newspapers would source or share the Rapport articles afterwards, due to it's influence.

Yet as the internet proliferated, the format of waiting a week to read substantial important news as much as a week later became untenable and unpopular

Independent online news publications became increasingly competitive and competent, and the BEE for forcing it's way into all institutions, meant that white new reporters would seek their fame online instead.

Worsening the cycle of decline was that the Rapport and other news papers became more expensive to make up for the decline in sales ,from 11rand to 20rand, to 30rand, to eventually 39rand, almost the price of a high grade magazine.

But worst of all was that the editors leadership went full r-slur, and began to focus on Daily Mail tier slop, the paper got a reputation as a gossip rag for SA celebrities, which even South Africa doesn't care about, when superior Bong/Burger musicians exist.

Thus the Uber prestigious reputation went to shit. There was a time when the Rapport had special editions with extensive and fabulous resourced articles, with sketches maps and diagrams.

Like their infamous coverage of the killing Saddam or Bin Laden, with extensive details about the special forces involved. Visiting yanks were so impressed, that they claimed the coverage of the events were better than American news networks which were sensational junk news, whilst the Rapport was measured and neutral.

By the time, 2020 pandemic arrived, there was no loyal reader based.

Now this doesn't mean that physical papers will forever be gone, perhaps only that weekly formats are likely in a permanent decline.

Additionally other papers are still going strong, and perhaps only because Afrikaans has declined as a language worthy of catering towards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_South_Africa

After all there's always gonna be peeps enjoying physical media, just like Kindles will never completely replace physical 📚📖📚📚📚📚 books

But the fact remains that physical media is deeply in distress and only continually declining for various complicated reasons.

https://dailyinvestor.com/business/54653/plan-to-close-beeld-and-rapport-newspapers-confirmed/

Earlier this year in June the news went under the radar and most didn't even believe it

https://www.bizcommunity.com/article/beeld-rapport-city-press-daily-sun-and-soccer-laduma-to-close-670291a

A shit load of publications are eating shit

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1033243152150182&id=100063935197932

!latinx !moidmoment !male feminists !coomers

Neighbor has already been arrested, TMD:

https://www.infobae.com/mexico/2025/02/05/detienen-a-hombre-que-mordio-a-mujer-en-un-gluteo-en-guanajuato/

Please, I'd just like to talk.

!friendsofspiderman

Feel free to invite your enemies here as well. I would like to talk to them.

what in the frick

!firearms

Imagine whatever you think the "male" version of this behavior in the workplace is like - maybe some performative jocky behavior between men - then ask yourself if women feel welcomed or alienated working in that environment. https://t.co/3loqq4u7mz

— AnechoicMedia (@AnechoicMedia_) February 1, 2025

Do you think if your boss posted a video of himself dancing at the office and chanting about his peepee this would dismissed as "guys having fun"? There is a lack of equal standards for workplace behavior for women.

— AnechoicMedia (@AnechoicMedia_) February 1, 2025

Someone manages to work in Visualizing The Apple and The Heatmap into gen z boss and a mini criticism

Visualize the apple + heat map

When you realize the vast majority of them cannot imagine what the other side thinks, you begin to understand why things are the way they are pic.twitter.com/MjvVAWMi5p

— Judefetzen (@mistermugabe) February 1, 2025

He missed incorporating the BQ but someone else has his back

This is the "How would you feel if you didn't ear breakfast this morning?" Question for women.

Some won't understand, but many will just answer "it's ok for us to behave this way, but not men, because muh patriarchy or muh made up wage gap."

— QuietStorm (@AudibleStorm) February 1, 2025

YWNBAT is a novel take

What Armand feels rage about is not being a "cute girl" having fun at the office

— Brian Little (@BrianSculling) February 1, 2025

SPAL jumpscare

Facts

We live in a matriarchy, not a patriarchy

And it needs to end

— Alex (@Marsey_Le_Tigre) February 1, 2025

This is the first time I've seen anyone rightly call out the scrote menace with regard to this though. So even after like a year on, the discourse is still evolving

The real problem is that guys want the cute girls in their workplace even if the girls destroy the work culture because they think there's a chance they might bone them.

— Dr. hbd nrx 🐸 (@HbdNrx) February 1, 2025

!misandrists

This is a follow up to my post last week.

https://rdrama.net/h/toomanyxchromosomes/post/343365/most-masculine-moid-booktuber-falsely-accused

Naomi King posted a handful of videos apologizing and doubling down on her accusations against booktube strag Daniel Greene. She ultimately ended up deleting all of these videos soon after upload. Luckily, archives exist.

This is an archive of a schizo letter she wrote Greene's then girlfriend now wife.

After she deleted these videos things were quiet and it looked like it was over, with Daniel uploading a video more in line with his usual content with a brief part at the beginning talking about the drama.

However yesterday he uploaded a video that demonstrated Naomi's malicious intent behind the accusations from the beginning.

This seemed to push Naomi into publishing an hour long video in which she denies ever accusing Daniel of r*pe while simultaneously accusing him of r*pe.

Please thank @Kongvann for this or else

Also there's a new furry award in the shop, as you can see here on this post not limited to just the house! Now everyone can dabble in yiffing OwO

We'll be unveiling the GBVSR Character Pass 2 trailer at the Evo Awards! 👀

Tune in at 5 p.m., Feb 15 (PT) to join us in celebrating the best of fighting games and be the first to experience the reveal.

🏆️ More about the Evo Awards:https://t.co/0TyMRVf7go#GBVSR #EvoAwards https://t.co/F9QwGADcRZ

— GBVS/Granblue Fantasy Versus (@gbvs_official) February 14, 2025

Not entirely unexpected, they are following Crapcum's steps. I expect most if not all FG devs are going to start doing the same

At least two characters are pretty much confirmed

Ilsa

Siete / Seofon

The other two are wild cards. They could go with a Divine General rep

Six Dragon rep (I want the fricking cat)

And some others but I got lazy halfway in.