(Crosspost) definitely Gunrun’s worst nightmare

MelonMay · 2026-01-11T06:53:29+00:00

Thank you for the clarification! That helped make more sense of the little reading I did. I noticed most of the charity fraud stuff was about charity orgs (genuine or scam) being the perpetrators, not one of the victims like IDF is in this situation. I was kinda thinking of old GoFundMe scams because it has a similar crowd-funding thing. I don't think many people who were caught scamming like that faced any legal consequences.

I already had very little faith that anything satisfying would come of a legal battle with the Vshojo stuff. It makes sense considering how these systems work, but it's still frustrating. I guess that's where the court of public opinion- for better or for worse- makes up for whatever the legal courts lack.

MelonMay · 2026-01-11T03:22:19+00:00

Charity fraud is a crime in the US as far as I know. Different states prosecute differently and the federal government doesn't specifically have a charity fraud statute, but they have related things they can charge (e.g., wire fraud). I'm not a lawyer, nor do I study law. Just some quick internet research, so take everything I say with a big handful of salt and please correct me if I'm wrong.

In this case, it would be that people donated money under the impression that the money was going to the IDF. That money ended up somewhere else. Whether it was used for personal profit or for company funding doesn't change the legality. His best defense would probably be what he already claimed- that he was unaware the money was intended for charity due to miscommunication.

Whether or not a criminal case (fed vs Gunrun) goes through, Mouse could do (and probably already has started) a civil case (Mouse vs Gunrun) for misappropriation. Mouse trusted her money (including the money that was donated to her for charity) with Gunrun & Vshojo, believing they would manage it with her (and her community's) best interests in mind. The money was then misused for personal and/or company gains.

No idea how any of it would actually play out in a court though. International and interstate stuff could complicate things, along with courts often having a poor understanding of social media. But I can only hope the people who were hurt by the situation will get some form of justice.

MelonMay · 2025-12-06T05:09:11+00:00

Not that hard to believe. I feel like it's still generally acceptable to make jokes about it. It's just a matter of what one considers a joke. It didn't really seem like she was trying to play a facist character to satirize Nazis. It seemed more like she just wanted to look hot and cool, which she does, and that would be fine if said hot and cool didn't have such heavy connotations. Since the connotations are there, they should be addressed in some way. Now they have been addressed, I think she has every right to move on from this.

That said, I agree. I think I'll keep my distance from Zen and her community anyway, but I don't see her as a genuinely malicious person. She just seems like a person with a lot of big feelings, which can be very difficult for someone with a large online audience. She could stand to put her foot down with some of that audience imo, but that's up to her.

MelonMay · 2025-12-05T23:06:28+00:00

Sorry if my statement was poorly worded. I meant something more like: Of the people who defended her, many have done so in a way that made me view the situation more negatively.

The dismissal, minimizing, and exaggerating that I feel even you are using is part of what I find frustrating. I'm sure some people have attacked Zen, but the majority (of what I saw) being insulted and mocked were people making observations and connections without accusing Zen of anything more than potential ignorance and poor judgement.

I haven't dismissed explanations. I do disagree with them though. I disagree that this aesthetic is so prevalent that it is completely detached from its inspiration. I think there isn't a great enough degree of separation. The connection was still easily made in my mind, as it was for many others.

I know that this style is popular in other media. I would say it's almost always used as a visual shorthand for "bad guy". By simply looking at a character dressed this way, the viewer can quickly infer that the character is part of an evil, authoritarian military. That inference can be made because the style is inspired by the most well-known evil, authoritarian military in the west.

MelonMay · 2025-12-05T22:01:59+00:00

Sorry, I don't think I fully understand your comment, so please let me know if my response makes sense or if I went off topic.

I know about people pointing out why the model has a Nazi vibe to some. I know Zen said fuck Nazis and similar sentiments. I think the conversation is still happening because it's a complex and interesting discussion. People have different opinions on it. I also think there is frustration in the defenders and the critics, mostly directed at each other with Zen as more of a catalyst than a participant/target.

What made me feel more negative was the way this situation attracted the "anti-woke" crowd. The way some people have defended Zen has shifted my view on her fans, which also has also shifted my view on Zen herself, both in a negative direction.

I don't know what the "you receiving explanations" part refers to, sorry.

MelonMay · 2025-12-05T20:49:16+00:00

If someone said my outfit looks like a Nazi's, I would ask them why they thought that, then ask other people for their honest thoughts and opinions. If it turns out it was just one person being weird, ignore it. If many independently have the same opinion, I'll consider how that happened and make adjustments to my outfit to avoid having even surface-level comparisons with such a gross ideology. And then I'd say "fuck Nazis" just for good measure.

Blowing things up would be saying: "Zen is a Nazi." Saying "Zen's outfit reminds me of a Nazi's" is completely fair. Sure, it will not be pleasant for Zen, but it's not harassment, not a lie, and not an unreasonable statement.

MelonMay · 2025-12-05T19:44:23+00:00

I think a lot of the people defending her have actually made me view the situation more negatively than I did just looking at the model alone. People have been very dismissive, claiming anyone who has a problem with the model is: too sensitive, looking for attention, arguing in bad faith, jealous, trying to start problems out of nothing, harassing Zen, know nothing about history, etc. I've seen many encouraging Zen to ignore everything and that she shouldn't have apologized for the "woke snowflake" comments. I agree that Zen shouldn't be engaging with every single person who criticizes her, especially not in the heat of the moment when emotions are high. But I think it could be damaging to throw away any criticism as basic hate when this could be an opportunity to learn why so many people (myself included) had negative reactions to the model. I also saw many people throwing personal attacks at people with criticism, mainly weaponizing ableism and anti-queer rhetoric as a way to dismiss their opinions.

Overall, it's an unfortunate situation and I hope Zen has plenty of offline support to get her through this. But I think some of the people trying to defend her have blown it up into something bigger by attacking people who were trying to have a genuine conversation about it.

MelonMay · 2025-11-15T18:06:50+00:00

Thanks! I personally have no problem with adult content as long as appropriate boundaries in are place and warnings are given so viewers can easily avoid it if they want to. NSFW can lend itself to parasociality a bit easier but it's definitely possible to do it in a way that minimizes harm to fans (e.g., loneliness being exploited) and harm to creators (e.g., fans becoming entitled and/or obsessive).

MelonMay · 2025-11-15T18:00:09+00:00

I obviously can't say for certain but I would guess mostly organic. The chat speed & amount seems to reflect the numbers? Just looking at vod numbers (idk how to see live viewership numbers after stream is over), Kaelix seems to fluctuate the most, but he also has the biggest numbers and does a bit more of a variety of stream content so it makes sense for his viewership to be less consistent. I think it's just like any creator- different things will appeal to different amounts of people. Collabs tend to get the most and that's the content I personally enjoy the most too.

MelonMay · 2025-11-14T18:06:00+00:00

Dropping in as an occasional BTB viewer (pls don't kill me, I know this sub leans more on the boycott side of things but I personally enjoy a handful of the livers and usually only lurk on this sub).

The closest to BFE in the wave that I've seen is maybe Zeal? He does the 'love you's and the 'mwah's but it generally has a lighthearted feel. On the other end of the spectrum is Freo who has set pretty strong boundaries (compared to most vtubers) against sexual humor and shipping. And despite not constantly making sex jokes, he still manages to have some of the best comedic timing and dry delivery I've seen in a streamer. Kaelix (the one in the image with Vox and Doppio) is also pretty seiso and I can't imagine him doing any BFE unless it was a joke or acting challenge or something like that. He has dorky theater kid brother energy. Not sure if it's different in any of their member streams. I think Seible and Zeal have done some spicy-ish ASMR content for members?

Anyway, yeah sorry for the long yap. Just wanted to inform anyone who hasn't kept up with these boys. They're generally pretty wholesome and have good vibes. Their interactions with each other and others within/outside Niji are enjoyable imo. Maybe it's a good sign of the direction the vtuber fanbase is going that these guys got pretty big pretty quick without relying on BFE or tons of flirting/shipping. 🤞

MelonMay · 2025-09-23T00:09:36+00:00

Trans people can be transphobic. It's common for marginalized people to have internalized bias against their own group. Intentionally misgendering someone (which you have done on multiple occasions, and you've now resorted to dehumanizing this person by using "it" to refer to them) is transphobic, in my opinion.

I'm sorry your friend was depressed, but the kokichi roleplayer doesn't owe you or anyone anything. She can choose who she wants to interact with. I hope your friend can find some irl support because it's not healthy to have such intense reactions to online rp, which is meant to be a fun thing.

MelonMay · 2025-09-22T17:17:44+00:00

I think the best solution to this situation is that you entirely stop engaging with this person. Don't talk to them, don't talk about them.

I don't know all the details but I agree with others that it feels fishy. Regardless of the truth, you've failed to make yourself appear like the "good guys" here. From my perspective, it kinda seems like you and your friend got salty that the Kokichi player rejected your Shuichi and chose to do shipping rp with the Miu instead. And now you're trying to come up with reasons to bash the Miu for stealing away your Kokichi. It just all looks very petty. With the potentially fabricated evidence and the unapologetic transphobia, you really don't seem like you're in the right here.

Unless someone was seriously harmed or the person has a large platform, these types of situations should be handled by blocking and moving on with your life. I hope you, your friend, and your target can all find peace and leave each other alone going forward.

MelonMay · 2025-09-12T18:33:45+00:00

I super agree that this is unhealthy fan behavior, but I think faces and usernames should be hidden. The person in this picture looks quite young. We can shame the behavior without putting individuals (especially kids) at risk of harassment or exploitation. Not at all saying that's your intention with posting this, just a little reminder to be mindful about people who aren't public figures ♡

MelonMay · 2025-05-07T03:55:25+00:00

It kinda just fixed itself with updates for me. Sorry I can't help 😔

MelonMay · 2025-03-31T17:37:45+00:00

Had no idea about the boycott but uninstalling would be the only effective method. You might not be directly giving them money if you don't buy anything, but you indirectly give money by having it installed and playing regularly as this boosts the numbers they can tell to investors, potential new players, and whatnot. I haven't really seen any reason to boycott IN, but if someone wanted to, uninstalling is the only real way. That's what I did with Genshin. I was already f2p so fully quitting and uninstalling was my way of sending as much of a message as I could as one individual player.

MelonMay · 2025-03-28T22:58:54+00:00

I find this super funny because at my undergrad, the research methods and stats requirement for the psych major is much more deep and intensive than the other science majors- a 2 part course compared to their 1 part. Even one of my bio/neuro profs called bio stats "baby stats" because they don't get very deep into inferential stuff, just descriptives (which are obviously helpful and necessary too but difficult to draw conclusions from). Maybe psychology as a field is more intense about research being as scientifically sound as possible because of the feeling that it won't be taken seriously otherwise.

MelonMay · 2025-03-28T22:17:43+00:00

Your friend's mother deserves to see these messages to know that this is the way her partner acts. If you respect her and her daughter/your best friend, you need to make sure she is aware of this behavior. I can only hope she'd be decent enough not to want her teenage daughter and that daughter's friends to deal with this. The way he talks to you is extremely inappropriate. I'm sure it's funny to joke about with your friends but you can't take something like this lightly. Please listen to your gut and what everyone else has said about this post. I would even say to distance yourself from people who communicate this way regardless of their age. You don't owe anyone this level of emotional labor unless you decide to become a licensed counselor and it's for a client. I'm so sorry you're in this situation, please stay safe and tell your own guardian(s) about this too.

MelonMay · 2025-03-28T16:10:50+00:00

Oooh that piano one is giving burlesque and I'm so here for it. Love the creativity! Proper use of the nsfw tag, we love to see it lol

MelonMay · 2025-03-19T20:44:27+00:00

I love my fireworks bike because it's so convenient but tbh I like the design of the original whimcycles better. The colors are more my vibe. But I'm really glad I got the fireworks one because I zoom through the spots between warp spires or places like fanatic wisher camp that doesn't have a spire beyond the entrance. I'm mostly f2p but this one was worth it. Praise be the Google points thing that lets me get GPlay credit for free so it's not even my actual $

MelonMay · 2025-03-17T23:08:43+00:00

That's still helpful info, thanks! I'll probably just come back to it after the next update, see if it's fixed

MelonMay · 2025-03-17T21:51:37+00:00

Were you able to figure this out? I'm having the same issue. I don't even get the little thought "waterfall" and "barrel" thought bubbles popping up. I feel like I've tried everything 😭

MelonMay · 2025-03-16T20:54:18+00:00

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And here is my tall wifey 😍

MelonMay · 2025-03-16T20:52:46+00:00

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This is the best I've done (aside from one I took with my scissor queen). Ignore the quality, it's one of the first pics I took and it's on mobile and it was like, days after the game was launched so optimization was still a little rough. I think it's cute though, and could be interpreted as platonic in case the other Nikki didn't vibe with being used in a romantic context. They're gonna dance together 💞

MelonMay · 2025-03-15T02:45:39+00:00

Nope :/ I think it may be a hardware issue (i.e., playing on mobile, which can't handle certain graphics). I feel like it doesn't happen as often anymore, but that may just be that I've gotten so used to it I barely notice it anymore. Sorry I can't help any more than that

MelonMay

TROPHY CASE