#swap implementation plan

[cursedcola]

Prompt: Couples will evidently begin to mimic their better half after some time. What traits do you steal from him, and vice versa? Fandom: Twisted Wonderland Characters: Everyone - because I want to and I’m amidst fleshing out all my Yuu/Character dynamics + designs Format: Headcannons. Masterlist: LinkedUP Parts: Heartslabyul (Here) | Savanaclaw | Octavinelle | Scarabia | Pomefiore | Ignihyde | Diasomnia A/N: Putting all my brain rot from my notes into something cohesive. Contrary to my love for ripping your hearts out, I've come with some fluff this time around. BTW you may or may not already do things mentioned - I write my works with a specific Yuu in mind for each character so this is based on them. Just a reminder.

Habits you steal:

Plan-Books (Inherited) : Riddle habitually carries a planner with all his tasks. A physical one, not an app in his cell phone like most students choose. You find it easier to manage and swap to paper-and-pen alternatives at his recommendation.

Tidiness (Inherited): Riddle is a nit-pickier when it comes to physical presentation. His habits of pressing his uniform, laying his clothes out every night, and dressing conservatively rub off. He has a point - ironed trousers do make a difference. Every morning he will redo your uniform tie. It's never knotted to his 'standard', and is his preferred excuse to greet you before class.

"Now, isn't that better? Surely you are more comfortable in ironed linens than those rags you'd been wearing as pajamas. You seriously found them lying in Ramshackle? Were you not given an allowance to buy basic needs? Ridiculous! The Headmaster's irresponsibility holds no bounds!" <- Utterly appalled that you've been sleeping in century-old robes. He supplies you with seven sets of pajamas, a spare uniform, and an iron + board for Ramshackle. All after reaming the Headmaster for neglect in the last dorm-head meeting - either Crowley coughed up the marks or Riddle will supply from his own bank. Seven have mercy if he chooses to become a lawyer instead of a doctor.

No Heels (Developed): Riddle has a height complex. He won't make a show of it, but you wearing heels does emasculate him. Especially if you're already taller naturally. For his sake, you choose to slay your outfits in flats.

"Are those new loafers? Oh - no, they're lovely. The embroidery is exquisite and I can see why Pomefiore's Housewarden models for their brand. I merely thought you preferred the heeled saddle-shoes we saw during the past weekend trip. I must have been mistaken. Never mind me. You look wonderful."

Playing Brain Teasers (Inherited): Riddle has this thing with memory - you don't know if he's really into preventing old-age Alzheimer's or what. He carries a book of teaser games like Sudoku, etc. for when he has downtime and you eventually get into them too.

"Oh! My Rose, would you care to join me for lunch? Trey's siblings recently mailed in a large collection of cross-words. You'll find they are both educational and entertaining - hm? I do not seem the 'type' for word-games? I assure you, even I can relax on occasion. There is no need to look so surprised." <- Riddle's been making a grand effort to do things he enjoys and become more personable. Trey's siblings did not send the collection. Riddle went into town and picked it out on his own. He also found a book on organizing excursions since he's big on quality time. He is dead-set on not being a neglectful or 'boring' partner.

Swear Jar (Developed): Tired of Riddle collaring Ace for his vulgar tongue, you suggest a Heartslabyul swear jar. When the jar gets filled, the money can be used to fund things like study materials and renovations for the dorm. Riddle liked this idea, but now implements it on anyone who sets foot in the Heartslabyul. Considering you spend most of your time there, you've had to develop a vast vocabulary beyond swearing. Oh - you also unironically use the word 'fiddlesticks' now.

Habits he steals:

Useless Expenses (Inherited): You are an enabler without a doubt. Riddle has always functioned with the bare bones - with function and efficiency being the number one priority. Ever so slowly - you've spoiled him with aesthetically pleasing stationary. At first all the needless purchases felt redundant - why buy the pillowcases with flowers when plain white is cheaper? You can invest in a higher quality this way. Yet you've ruined him with gifts that he had no choice but to use. Now he needs to buy the pens with little hedgehogs on them because studying doesn't feel the same with a plain ballpoint.

Slang Dictionary (Developed): With each passing day, all the students in Heartslabyul get more creative at bending the rules. That includes you. Riddle takes it upon himself to carry a 'little-black-book' full of all the sang words he is unfamiliar with. He does want to be a bit more 'hip' to understand you more, but at the same time he wants to bust any student being a smart-mouth. It's an ongoing battle *sigh*.

"Apologies, could you repeat that term for me? Surely it must be relevant to my lecture if you and Ace are whispering. 'Let him cook'? Do you think we are in a culinary lecture?! Have you not been listening to - ah. So it's in reference to letting me finish before interrupting...One moment. I need to make a note."

Chewing Gum (Developed): This is an ode to psychology. In short, eating is tied to a person's fight-or-flight. Instincts dictate that our bodies need to be in a calm state to eat comfortably. One day when Riddle was at his wits end, you tossed him a pack of sugarless gum and told him to chew. Disregarding Trey's unholy dental screeching, Riddle develops a gum dependence for when he's stressed out. On the bright side, his jaw has never been so sharp.

“Mimicry? You must be mistaken. Even if my influence has affected their person, surely there are only positive developments” == Riddle denies any changes if confronted. In truth, he’s well aware of how much you’ve helped him grow. It’s the opposite accusation that spikes concern. Riddle does not want others thinking you’re a mini-version of him. Rumors are not kind and neither is his current reputation. Making those amends is his burden to bare. He is flattered to see you paying attention to his mannerisms, and secretly proud that your bond is strong enough to affect the psyche.

Habits you steal:

Whistling (Inherited): Trey whistles while working in the kitchen or doing general chores around the dorm. He's not very loud with it, so not may students are bothered. Since you laze about in his shadow the tunes he goes through do become repetitive. Now you do the same when cleaning up Ramshackle. Grim wants to knock you both out because he can't take it anymore.

"Ah -- How'd you know it was me in here? Just because I bake for the un-birthday parties doesn't mean I live in the kitchen, you know. My whistling? Huh. Never thought that would be my calling card but there are worse things, haha"

Head-Scratching (Inherited): Trey's got a habit of scratching the back of his head when he's uncomfortable or nervous. That, or rubbing at the nape of his neck while adverting eye contact. You start doing this too whenever you're being scolded or put in a tough situation.

Dental Hygiene (Inherited): By far the most obvious shared trait. Trey enforces his dental habits onto everyone- you are no exception. You now own four different kinds of floss, two toothbrushes (one being electric), and have a strict hygiene routine. Your pearly whites have never been so clean. Eventually you become somewhat of a secondary enforcer, policing anyone who sleeps over your dorm to take care of themselves before bed. All of Heartslabyul learns that there is no going back when you scold Riddle for not brushing after his teatime tart, and live to tell the tale.

"Hey - uh, weird question? Were you handing out floss to the Spelldrive Team yesterday? Seriously? I though Grim was pulling my leg - oh, no! It's not weird at all! Those guys should have a better routine for all the meat they eat when bulking. I'm just shocked you got through to them." <- Very proud. Mildly cocky. He's been itching to get those negligent jocks to floss after their banquets his entire tenure, but steered away from that conflict like the plague. Thank you for making his dreams come true. Now if you could maybe get them to stop picking their gums with toothpicks?

Habits he steals:

Overbuying Food (Developed): Being a baker's son, Trey's good with finances and money. He's also meticulous with the ingredients he purchases for his bakes. You are not. You go to Sam's shop, buy whatever is on sale, and then bring it back home to improvise. This ends poorly more often than not, and behold! Trey has two Ramshackle sluggers snooping around his kitchen for eats. This is unpredictable and therefore he now never knows what amount to buy. You've ruined him.

Phone Calls (Developed): Texting is easier. Especially since phone calls can be a commitment that Trey dislikes being wrapped up in. Whenever Cater's name pops up as the caller, Trey knows he's getting an ear full. The thing is that you never. answer. your. phone. Either the text gets lumped in with the hundreds of missed messages you have, or Grim stole your cell to play mobile games. So Trey gives up and only ever calls. Either Grim will answer or you'll pick up thinking it's the snooze of your alarm.

"Hello? Prefect, where are you? It's me, Trey. Just calling to see if you're still coming to the Un-Birthday party? Riddle's getting a bit nervous since the schedule's set for the next hour. Grim's already here with Ace and Deuce - uh, want Cater to send a double to pick you up? I have a sinking feeling that you're asleep...Call me? Please?" <- He was correct. You called back not a moment after, half-asleep and hauling ass not to be late.

Speaking in Propositions (Inherited): Trey's normally good at keeping neutrality in a conversation, but getting a clear answer out of Yuu you is like solving a rubix cube. Either it's easy and instant, or a long game. Eventually your habit of indecisiveness rubs off on him and he asks questions more than answers them. Evidently this gets his younger classmen to stop asking for favors unless they really need to.

“Aha - really? I didn’t notice at all. Okay. Okay, I picked up on a few hints. What’s so wrong with them taking after me? It’s cute, right?” == Trey is the observant sort that picks up on his influence quickly. Not just anyone carries floss in their pocket at all times - and the looks from his dorm-mates when you offer some up is enough for the realization to click. Trey’s used to playing the respectable sort, and finds it endearing that you’re taking his good notes to heart. In truth, most of Trey’s mimicry is intentional. He’s a flexible guy who doesn’t mind altering his habits to fit your needs. Easier this way, y’know?

Habits you steal:

Speaking in Acronyms(Inherited): Now this is scary. The first time it happened, you had to take a pause and just re-evaluate your entire life. You don't use them nearly as often as Cater does, but somewhere along the line your brain must have rewired to speak in internet lingo. O-M-G you're TOTALLY twinning with him right now, period :)

Nicknames (Inherited): Again, frightening. You once swore against ever calling him Cay-Cay. It isn't very slay-slay. Yet you can only hear him use nicknames for so long until you're unconsciously calling people by them too. Especially since he's always dishing gossip. It starts in your head, which is fine. It's not like they know. Then you call Lilia 'Lils' and that old fart is just grinning behind his sleeve because ohoho~ young love <3

"Did you just- AHA! OMG DO IT AGAIN?! Wait, gotta get my camera out for this - wha? Oh, that's totes not fair! C'mon. Call me Cay-Cay. Just once! I won't even post it to Magicam, please? Lils won't believe me without proof! Pleasssssseeeee - " <- He actually doesn't want you to call him Cay-Cay all the time. Cater likes you using his given name, since it's more personal. Although the way it obviously slipped out on accident is just too cute to ignore.

Reality TV (Inherited): At first you don't like the gossip. It's cheesy, a bit annoying, and the shaky camera-work for nearly every show is headache inducing. Cater likes his dose of drama in his free-time, and Ramshackle has a tv that no one is using. It starts with him watching while you do other things around the dorm. Yet each time you pass the living area, you take longer to leave. Lingering around like one of the ghosts. Then he pulls you in with snacks and starts giving the low-down of what's going on, pulling out a bottle of tangerine shimmer polish to paint your nails. It's just one episode, watch it for him? Please? Oh no. No. No. Suddenly you're invested in who's the baby-daddy of little Ricky and what Chantel is going to do because her sister just lost the house to foreclosure.

"#KingdomOfDeadbeats - am I right? Ugh. I'm so glad we met if that's the dating scene back home...What?! I know it isn't real! Don't be a dummy, I was just joking! Ah! Stop! Don't hit me!" <- Half-hearted jokes about going on one of those talk-shows one day. You're an alien, after all - imagine the juicy drama and views his account would get from doing an interview? It's all jokes though. Cater likes spilling the tea, but hates being it. Don't ever abandon him and go out for milk though, kay? He doesn't want to pay Grim's child support. Otherwise he might have no choice smh

Habits he steals:

Phone/Web Games (Inherited): Cater's phone is mainly full of social media. He's not too into the gaming scene, it's not his peeps y'know? Alas, you download a few dress-up games and one MMO on his phone. First off - props on getting his phone. That's Cay-Cay's lifeline and not just anyone gets to play with it. Pray tell - what is this Wonderstar Planet (props if you know what is being ref.) and how can he become the most influential digital streamer on it? Congrats. He's addicted.

"Who's this Muscle Red and why's he bombing our raid - AH! He just tea-bagged me! So not cool...Prefect? STOP LAUGHING WE HAVE BETS ON THIS MATCH! There goes my collab opportunity, big fail" <- Muscle Red continues to make an appearance. Eventually he becomes Cater's official rival on stream, and Lils is all to invested in the tea cater drops during club meets. Side note. You're the one who gave 'muscle red' Cater's domain code. The lore thickens.

Internet Caution (Developed): This goes without saying, but Cater's well-known in the Magicam scene. He's very forward and knows his way around using charisma. Since you're not in the scene as much, he becomes more cautious of where and when he does streams. The change is so subtle that only the most observant people will pick up on it - but Cay-Cay doesn't want any creepos popping in if y'know what I'm saying. His sisters were the ones to instigate this change.

“Awe~ SRSLY?! That’s fresh news to my ears but good, right? Ne, are there any clips or pics? I need my evidence, y’see. Especially if my cutie is off taking notes from their one and only. C’mon, spill the tea!” == Cheeky Cater is well aware of what’s happening. He’d humor anyone out for some light teasing - after all, he isn’t by your side at all hours. His walls are probably the second most difficult in all of campus to bypass, so he’s both sweetened and nerved to see you picking up on his mannerisms. That’s proof of a strong attachment, after all.

Habits you steal:

Knuckle Cracking (Inherited): Deuce still does this from his biker days. It could be because joint pain from past fights, or possibly air retention in his knuckles from studying. Regardless, Deuce cracks his knuckles at least once every few hours and you began to mimic him. Some people groan at the popping sounds but it really does feel good to release the tension. Let's just hope neither of you dislocate any fingers on accident.

"Stop that! G-geez, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Thought you broke a finger...your hands are stiff? That just means you're studying a lot! I think...uh, let's break? I think there's some leftovers in the kitchen." <- Deuce 100% gets needing to pop those air bubbles. His hands get stiff from studying all the time, but don't crack them too much or you might dislocate something. Side note - he shows you how to wrap your fingers with a soothing salve. He used to do it after fights, but now it's a great help after class.

Double Notes (Developed): Deuce tries. He really does. Yet the lad just isn't great when it comes to book smarts. Seeing that he is dedicated to turning over a new leaf, you make a habit of copying all your notes. He isn't allowed to share them with Ace or Grim - else all bets are off. Sometimes you leave little 'good job' stickers on the last page for him. Is he a toddler? No. Does he peel the stickers off and save them? Totally. He is a good noodle. Suck it Ace.

Sewing (Developed): He breaks things. Most of the time it's an accident. You've learned to carry a mini-sewing kit for all the rips in Deuce's uniform. Same for mini remedies for stains and other problems. It's not like he's trying to get grass stains all over his under-shirt or to split the seam in his gloves (nearly every week). It just happens, and every time he comes to you with a kicked-puppy look with a promise of it being the last time. It is never the last time.

"Uhm...hun'? It happened again. I'm so sorry for bothering you but Housewarden is going to kill me if he sees the tear in my blazer! Can you fix it?! I can't handle another collar with my exam tomorrow! I need to breathe to focus! - really!? I owe you one! Snacks are on me tonight."

Habits he steals:

Bottomless Stomach (Developed): Have leftovers from dinner? Bring them over. He'll get the tubba-ware back in 1-2 days. Coupon for buy-one-get-one at Sam's? He'll take the extra and polish it off in less than a minute. Deuce becomes a human garbage disposal and is taking the unwanted condiments off your sandwich to eat. Just pick them off and leave 'em on the corner of his lunch plate. Even if he dislikes it, he'll down it so you don't have to.

"Mm. Oh, thanks hun' - its that all you're eatin'? You don't like the steam bun? It is a bit dry, but wasting food is disrespectful to the cooks! I'll finish it for you so have my fruit instead. You still need to eat" <- 10/10 very thoughtful and not picky at all. He is grateful to eat your cooking and will gobble up all leftovers at Ramshackle, but doesn't think twice to sharing meals in the cafeteria. He will notice though if you do not eat enough. Restocks the snack cabinet if he sees it's empty. Is touched if you routinely share things you know he enjoys, like saving half your frittata on purpose.

Early Riser (Inherited): See - even if you hate the mornings, there is no choice at Night Raven College. As Ramshackle Prefect you need to be up to take care of business before class. Deuce becomes your personal alarm clock because he wants some time with you before everyone else joins in. Mind you that he lives with three other dudes who threaten to end him every morning because his alarm wakes them up too. Eventually he can wake up without it, but the time leading is unpleasant.

"W-what? Seriously? I've been trying to be more like them! They're a good person and responsible so I've been trying to follow their example. To think we've been doing the same thing this entire time...." == Why would you ever imitate him? He's been trying his damn best to become an honor student worth respecting, and has a long way to go. To think you're comfortable enough with him to mimic his mannerisms? It's a pipe dream, one he doesn't grasp until it's put right in front of his face. You don't let anyone else pick off your plate other than Grim. The next time his clothes tear, he's already handing off his tie before realizing just what's happening. When you wrap his knuckles after a six-hour lock in at the library? He can't help but feel proud at how neat the bandages are. Suddenly the dark memories of hiding bruised knuckles from his mom are pacified with healing balm. Deuce views this development as a gift, and is grateful. Very, very grateful.

Habits you steal:

‘I owe you’ cards (Inherited): Ace's favorite social invention - the 'solid'. Nothing spells new-low like getting your friends to do stuff in exchange for a favor in the future. Most of the time Ace counts on people forgetting he owes them one, but you're not so gullible. The only difference between you both is that while Ace never fulfills his solid, you have a conscience. Give it a few more years. He'll get ya.

"I know this is the third ticket this week but - Oh! C'mon, cut a guy some slack, would you? I'm sorry for bein' late to our date. Yeah, it was shitty. I'm not trying to fight it, aright? I'm here now so let's have some fun and you can chalk three strikes on my tab. I'll even buy ya some candy - Ah! Okay! Two candies but that's where my charity ends!" <- Evidently, the 'I-owe-you' tabs cancel each other out from how often you both call in favors. It's just an excuse to do acts of service or express apologies without being too mushy. Ace is definitely keeping a track record of them though. Expect an ongoing log that dates back to the week you met, when he showed up homeless, collared, and looking to couch surf.

Profanity (Inherited): Ace swears like a sailor. Maybe not so much in his dorm because *cough* he's being policed. He holds no such reservations when you're both alone at Ramshackle. Unfortunately his potty mouth has a mind of it's own - it taints you, and you are a sham of a prefect. Ace earned a week-long collar for teaching you some Twisted-Wonderland exclusive curses. Riddle is not pleased.

Leaving the Windows Unlocked (Developed): There are only so many times he can sneak in through your window before the adrenaline-induced charm wears off. You have class in the morning, and can't be bothered to deal with him on nights he can't pass out in his dorm. Thank seven you have all of Ramshackle to yourself - because Heartslabyul sounds like a nightmare with the roommate situation. You can't leave the front door open for obvious reasons, but most nights the guest-bedroom window will be left slightly ajar in case he needs a place to crash.

"Pssst! Oi! Prefect! ...ugh, Grim! Wake them up, man! The latch is stuck. Don't go back to bed you furball! HEY! IT'S FREAKIN COLD OUT HERE SO LET ME IN ALREADY" <- Please let him in. If Ace has to spend one more night in that stinky dorm with three dudes, he'll string one of their dirty gym socks over your bed. No mercy.

Sleeping with Earplugs (Developed): Bitch Ace snores.

Habits he steals:

Notes Memo (Developed): Ace is bad with remembering things. Anniversaries? Dates? Allergies? He admits to not putting in a great amount of effort, but you can't say he doesn't try at all. He has a notes block on his phone dedicated to things like your go-to takeout orders and preferences. He even has a few alarms set days before any important events because even if you say no-gifts or plans...yeah, he's not that stupid.

Excessive Yawning (Inherited): You're always tired - it wasn't Ace's problem before but now he does feel a bit guilty. Dragging you into his messes felt different when you were just the prefect, y'know? Regardless, it's human instinct to mimic each other's demeanor so he'll openly yawn all the time - normally in succession of you.

"Hey...you're dozing off again. Am I seriously that boring to hang around? - Nah. Just messin' with you. I'd suggest taking a nap during next period but I doubt a goody-goody like you is gonna take that advice. Let's just ditch juice at lunch and go back to the dorm. Don't get mad if I forget to wake you up though"

Medications (Developed): Ace is the last person to become a human apothecary, but he's always got a pack of pain-reliever meds in his pocket with a few bandages, etc. He also attached one of those tiny capsule bottles to his keyring with some stomach meds inside. You took a spill running laps? Dang man. That sucks. Here's a band-aid for your knee. Curse you for making him the slightly-more responsible one.

"Eh..what, like it's a shock? You saying I'm a bad influence? Cause yeah, that checks. Nothin' I can do if they want to take a card outta my deck though," == Ace is entirely neutral on the topic. He is definitely smug that you're coming over to the dark side, but he doesn't need anyone to point it out. He was your first after all. Maybe the start could have been a bit better - but hey, you came around. It's not like he's hurting anyone by helping build your backbone. Although Ace will instantly deny going soft for you in any way, shape, or form.

[lonely-coconut]

New blinkie credit system idea

Heyo, new idea for my blinkie site today! So, right now for each blinkie they are linked to their source, and then it also says the source when hovered over, and it has a screenshot of the source (in an html comment) in case the credit link dies one day.

The problem is, that’s a whole lot of bologna. With this current system, I will have to swap the credit link for a screenshot link whenever an old link dies. And, well… how am I supposed to know when a credit link dies?? I’m not checking random blinkies 24/7. (Well, I kind of am… but that’s because I’m coding my blinkie site. Shh.) Would I make some kind of reporting system so users can tell me when they find a broken credit link? Or, will I have to tell the users that if a link is broken, to go into the code to find the screenshot?

No, those are both ridiculous and inefficient. Ideally, I won’t have to update a blinkie’s code at all, and the site should be accessible and intuitive to everyone. Once a blinkie’s in, it’s in, and good to go forever. That’s how it should be anyway. So my solution? Give each blinkie a link to it’s source AND a link to it's screenshot! I didn’t think this would be possible or easy, but with some css I think I’ve figured it out! Check it out gang:

(Blinkie source btw)

When you hover over a blinkie, you get three options. A link to the source, a link to the screenshot proving the creator, and a link to view the blinkie at full size! And, the blinkie itself is still linked to the source as well, so a simple click will still take you there. With this new system, I won’t have to update anything. Instead, on site I will explain like “Hey, each blinkie is linked to it’s source, but if the link is broken, you can view a screenshot which proves who the creator is by hovering over the blinkie!”

This goes so hard. I’m very happy about it. This means that I won’t have to update the site for credit over time, and the site should ideally still work perfectly fine without my intervention for years to come! The credit for every blinkie shall be immortalized, and accessible to all. It’s very exciting! Things are going just so swell right now.

Edit: Posting this today since I forgot it in my drafts lol. Since then the dropdown css looks a lot better, and I also made variations for each blinkie color! I’m not going to have this on day one (focusing more on quantity over quality right now), but I plan to go back and implement this at some point!

[goddessinnerglow]

Become Your Best Version Before 2025 - Day 16

Digital Detox and Mindful Living

Today, let's talk about something we all struggle with: our relationship with our devices. You know the drill: endless scrolling, bouncing between apps, answering notifications like your phone’s your boss. It’s exhausting! I’ve been there, too. One moment, I’m looking up a recipe; the next, I’m deep in a rabbit hole watching “hot girl morning routine” vlogs or reviews of the trendiest Stanley cup dupes.

And then I’m left wondering, where did my time go?

But this isn't about making you feel guilty or telling you to throw your phone away. Instead, let's explore how to create a healthier balance between our online and offline lives.

Simple Ways to Start

When it comes to digital wellness, small changes can make a big difference:

Put your phone in another room while you sleep

Turn off non-essential notifications

Use grayscale mode on your phone (it makes those colorful apps less tempting!)

Set specific times to check social media instead of constant scrolling

Creating Phone-Free Zones

Choose spaces in your life where phones aren't invited:

During meals

The first hour after waking up

While having coffee or tea

In conversations with friends

Your bedroom (or at least not right next to your bed)

Mindful Moments

Replace mindless scrolling with mindful activities:

Take three deep breaths before checking your phone

Look out the window instead of at your screen during breaks

Notice the sounds around you while walking

Feel the warmth of your coffee cup in the morning

Observe the colors and shapes in your environment

Screen Time Swaps

For every digital habit, create a fulfilling alternative:

Instead of morning scrolling → journaling or stretching

Instead of bedtime TikTok → reading or gentle stretching

Instead of lunch break Instagram → eating mindfully

Instead of endless news scrolling → reading one quality article fully

The Art of Being Present

Practice presence in simple ways:

Notice the taste and temperature of your food

Feel the sensation of water on your skin while washing your hands

Listen to the sounds in your environment

Observe your breath for a few moments

Feel your feet connecting with the ground as you walk

Creating Better Digital Habits

Make technology work for you:

Use app timers to limit social media use

Schedule "do not disturb" hours

Organize apps by purpose, not habit

Delete apps that don't add value to your life

Move social media apps off your home screen

Reconnecting with Reality

Fill your offline time with meaningful activities:

Start a hobby that uses your hands

Have face-to-face conversations

Spend time in nature

Write letters to friends

Cook a meal from scratch

Read physical books

Practice drawing or coloring

Your Daily Digital Detox Plan

Start small with these daily practices:

Morning: Wait 30 minutes before checking your phone

Work: Take regular screen breaks (try the 20-20-20 rule)

Evening: Set a digital sunset time

Bedtime: Create a phone-free bedtime routine

The goal isn't to eliminate technology, it's to use it intentionally.

Today's Challenge

Choose ONE phone-free zone to implement

Try a 10-minute mindful activity instead of scrolling

Notice how you feel during and after this change

Every moment you choose presence over distraction is a gift to yourself. You don't have to be perfect, just a little more mindful each day.

See you tomorrow for Day 17!

♡ ☆:.｡ Keep glowing, babes! ♡ ☆:.｡ With love, Goddess Inner Glow.

[miyuka1709]

Good afternoon!...

Anyway here's a cute little Cold, and some pen-tasting.

Pretty great stuff.

(There's a pretty long rant ahead about an STP swap AU!!!!!)

I think it's so interesting that there are 5 very different Princesses in the Stranger; I heard from somewhere that their names are The Hopeless, The Sinister, The Snide, The Kind, The Blank.

I imagine it'd be fun if a swap AU implemented those Princesses as "bases" based on the first thing the player says upon being told about the cabin and the Monster.

I mean Voice of the Sinister could be like Nightmare and Tower. She might appear when you first say the "Sweet I've always wanted to off a monarch!" Dialogue in the base game? It'd just be "I've always wanted to off someone!" Instead maybe cause TLQ isn't a monarch and it's definitely pretty sinister to just outright say that.

Voice of the Snide would be like Prisoner/Sharp Princess. Could be a "Why would I listen to you?" "Have you ever considered that I'd be okay with the world ending?" defiant type voice.

Voice of the Kind is obviously Damsel/Soft Princess. "What if he's going to end the world BECAUSE he's locked up?" Or smtg like that, morality talk and whatnot.

Voice of the Hopeless could just be.. Broken? But a girl, I guess? I'm not sure what she'd say but it's something that Broken would say - like "What's the point of doing this? The world will end one day anyway."

They sound so cool and I'm sure anyone can work with that, but Blank Princess? That could probably happen if we outright try to leave like in Stranger so the Monster can't perceive us.

But what would she say? Would she act or speak like Cold? She'd generally have minimal opinions, wouldn't she? Would having her even change anything? Would she be completely pliable or changeable? Would she be like Opportunist, but sincerely ever-changing and not just for self reason? Is she just a shell and says things just for the sake of it like Deconstructed Damsel? Would she just follow along the Princess as the main character and mirror her actions? Would she be as moldable as we (Princess) are to TLQ?

Again, I think the "Base Princesses" might work really funny if they were a byproduct of SOLELY your first ever choice in the narrative, and it sticks, and they act like Voice of the Hero who accompanies you throughout the entire run.

So instead of having different TLQs, you get different You's at the final Heart scene? That's a pretty funny concept to think about - but it sounds like it'd be painful to work with in a game because you'd have to make all the routes compatible with each of the 5 Base Princesses and make it not feel too clunky or too different.

I'd honestly want to write or plan a whole thing with this kind of story, the only problem is I don't know how to make the Narrator want to kill TLQ.

The Echo's literal purpose is to get rid of change and death with it while leaving a sliver of TSM in TLQ so the world could still move along and people could have lives that aren't completely stagnant and devoid of growth and change.

Would this swap-Echo's job be to protect TLQ and tell the Princess/Player to save him? Or would His view change entirely so He'd oppose TLQ by saying"The world will be doomed to eternal stagnancy"?, instead of death, would he be afraid of the constant and stillness? Why would he want to rid the world of it specifically? I'm really not sure.

Just a little idea I had, y'know!.. phew, I didn't mean to write a whole thing but yeahh..

[mattscoquette]

𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄/𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎 ⸝⸝ matthew sturniolo

in which a quiet introverted girl attempts to befriend her popular neighbor

warnings cursing, matt x fem!oc

wc 2.2k

introduction chapter 1 chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7

matthew sturniolo,

woke up the following morning in a frenzy. being one of four boys, his mom implemented a strict morning routine when the triplets started kindergarten, that they have been following right up until now, their senior year of high school. this morning however, matt was awoken about five minutes before he had to leave to the sound of chris and nick’s yelling to hurry his ass up. matt scrambled to pick out whatever clothes he could find, a pair of grey nike sweats and a fuzzy brown hoodie, and hurried downstairs to brush his teeth at record breaking speed before he was out the door heading the the mini van.

as he was throwing his and his brothers hockey bags into the trunk, he caught a glimpse of addilyn leaving her house and starting to walk down the block to the bus stop. as if his thoughts were being read, chris out loud wondered “what senior is still taking the bus?”

before matt could even open his mouth to make a rude comment, nick was already calling her over to offer a ride.

“dude what the fuck,” matt muttered under his breath to nick as addilyn approached the van, “i don’t wanna drive her.”

addilyn’s appearance totally switched from what she was wearing when matt saw her last night. her slim fitting dress was swapped out for a pair of mom jeans and an oversized sweater, her curly brown hair held back by a clip. “are you sure?” she breathed, looking at nick, “i’m okay with taking the bus, really.”

“we don’t mind at all, do we matt?” nick smiled through gritted teeth, nudging his brother in the arm.

“we don’t have time to mind,” chris interrupted them, climbing into the passenger seat, “we’re gonna be late.”

matt huffed, telling addilyn she could sit in the back seat with nick. he quickly plugged his phone into the aux cord, playing circles by mac miller as he backed out of the driveway and made his way to school.

*₊˚ 𓂃✧

it was only fourth period, and matt was already pissed off. the start to his day had been thrown off by waking up so late, and addilyn richardson being in his van this morning did not help one bit. he wasn’t sure what it was about that girl that bothered him so much. maybe it was the way she shut out the world by indulging herself in a book or in a drawing she was working on. or maybe it was the way her curls would stick up and fly away from the rest of her hair sometimes making her look like a mad scientist. or maybe it was the way she was the only girl who didn’t pay one ounce of attention to him. being the school’s best hockey player alongside his two other triplet brothers definitely made matt one of the most popular guys in school. he never had any trouble when it came to girls, because all of them already wanted him. except addilyn.

get yourself together man, she’s weird matt thought to himself as he entered his physics class, sitting next to his best friend nate. as he plopped his backpack down beside his friend, matt looked up at the white board and read in all big letters:

PARTNER PROJECT ON ENERGY OF MOTION - DUE IN TWO WEEKS

matt and nate grinned at each other, beginning making plans to pair up. the bell rang, and the teacher began to lecture. matt pulled out his notebook, already struggling to follow along with his teacher’s presentation. he had never been a straight a student, but he needed to keep his grades decent to stay on all his teams. however, physics was bringing his overall average down, and he needed to do well on this project to be able to start in his upcoming hockey games.

as the class made its way to an end and the students began to pack up, the teacher started to explain the project. “it’s quite simple really,” he began as he was erasing his notes from the board, “you and a partner will pick your own type of demonstration to show how kinetic energy is used in everyday objects.”

“this project will be worth a quarter of this semester’s overall grade, for both you and your partner, so it is crucial you all do well on this.” he explained, looking directly at matt. “before i let you all leave, i will be assigning your partners.” the entire class groaned.

he pulled out his class roster and began reading off names paired together.

“alexa and william… michelle and quincy… peter and xaiver… isabelle and ryan…”

please let me be with nate, matt thought. please let me be with nate. please let me be with nate.

“matthew and addilyn… louise and theresa… nathan and catie…”

no fucking way. of course addilyn was matt’s partner. he didn’t even know she was in his class. he looked around, annoyance written all over his face and he locked eyes with the curly headed girl sitting in the back of the room. she didn’t look too pleased either.

“this is an out of class project, so i suggest you start working on this asap.” the teacher announced just as the bell was ringing.

matt headed straight for the door when he felt a small tap on his shoulder. “what?” he snapped, looking down at the girl who tapped him.

“sorry,” addilyn said in a hushed voice, “its just- do you want to work on the project after school? we can go to my house, or i can come to yours or-”

“yeah, thats fine.” matt cut her off, walking out of the classroom, trying to shake her and walk with nate.

“which one?” she called out to him, her voice barely above a whisper.

“my house, but don’t expect anymore free rides from me. take the bus home.” matt told her angrily. she simply nodded and let him walk away from her, watching as he laughed with his friends in the hallway.

*₊˚ 𓂃✧

it was currently 3:30p.m., and matt was sitting at his kitchen table waiting for addilyn to come over. he had his laptop and textbook open, with messily written notes scattered all across the table. he found out later on in the school day that if he failed physics this semester, not only would be not be starting in his games, he would be benched for the rest of his hockey season. so to say he was stressed about this project was an understatement. he was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a tiny knock at the door, yelling for one of his brothers let addilyn in.

she wasn’t too excited about this project either, to be quite frank. but not for the same reasons as matt. addilyn simply hated working with others. she felt her quiet and introverted nature caused her to not work well when came to partner projects, so she typically opted to do these assignments alone. she even tried emailing her physics teacher after class, begging for him to let her work alone. he insisted that this was a two-person project for a reason, and told addilyn to stick it out. so here she was, at 3:30 on a monday, in matt sturniolo’s kitchen.

addilyn wasn’t sure why matt didn’t like her very much, but she wasn’t exactly is number one fan either. all the girls in the school loved matt. star hockey player, good looking, what wasn’t there to like about him? addilyn never looked at people surface level, though. she was a hardcore people watcher, mainly due to the fact she was almost always alone. she saw right through matt’s act and knew he was mean. she wasn’t sure how on earth he was related to nick and chris. they had only started talking a day ago, and she was greeted with smiles and waves every time she passed one of them that day. nick had even gone as far as switching his seat in art to sit next to addilyn. “i never liked sitting by the window, he had told her, “it’s always too drafty.”

addilyn quietly put her belongings down at the chair opposite from matts things, trying her best to be careful and not do anything to piss off matt even more. she was already on edge having to work one on one with him in his own house. matt didn’t even bother to look up at her. he mumbled a small “hi” as be started to type away on his laptop. addilyn pulled her belongings out, a stark contrast to matt’s. her notes were all written perfectly, with all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted, in a small cursive font that looked identical to if it were typed. matt took slight note of this.

“how do you write so neatly?” he genuinely asked, then realized he sounded nice, following up with “you probably so much free time on your hands because you have no friends” after addilyn told him quietly she re-writes her notes during lunch.

addilyn simply rolled her eyes. “i came here to work on the project, matt, not to take shit from you.”

“besides,” she started “we both get the same grade on this, and i am not letting you fuck up my gpa just because you want to be a dick to me.”

“it’s not like i can afford a bad grade on this either, sweetheart.” matt shot back at her.

sweetheart. why did her stomach suddenly feel weird?

stop it addy, she told herself, it’s matt, for crying out loud.

addilyn scoffed and began to look through her notes. “what were you thinking we do the project about?”

“i was hoping you could just do all the work.” matt had replied, blunt and matter-of-factly.

“what?” addilyn said in shock, dumfounded.

“what do you mean, what?, i don’t know shit about physics, you do. plus, i know you hate to work on these kinds of things with other people, so why don’t you do it alone?” matt told her.

she was in shock. had he really noticed i always work alone? she thought.

stop addy. he knows you work alone because you’re always doing things alone. it isn’t rocket science to connect the two.

before she could open her mouth to reply, chris came downstairs into the kitchen, grabbing a pepsi from the fridge. a smile grew on addilyn’s face as she said hi to him.

“no way, you and addy got paired together for this project?” chris gawked at matt, looking between him and addilyn.

“you’re so lucky, dude,” he continued, taking a swig of the soda, “justin told me he did this project when he was a senior, and everyone did so bad. thank god your partner is like, one of the top ten students in our class, or your senior season would have been shot.”

matt simply looked at chris. he was right, this shit was hard. he looked between the paper and addilyn a few times, before asking “where do we start?”

‎*₊˚ 𓂃✧

addilyn and matt ended up working until about 7:30 that night. his mom even insisted she stayed for dinner too.

“really sweetie, i don’t mind. i’m already feeding four kid’s, what’s one more?” she laughed.

“yeah addy, stay with us for dinner, please?” nick somewhat whined, dragging out the “e” sound.

addilyn gave in, and joined the sturniolo’s for dinner the second day in a row. like the previous night, dinner was filled with chatter from nick and chris, and radio silence coming from matt’s end. instead of giving her mean looks like he did at the previous dinner they shared, he just started at his plate the whole night and picked at his food.

“sorry about matt again,” chris apologized as he and nick began walking addilyn back next door to her house, “i don’t know whats been up with him lately.”

“it’s fine, really.” addilyn said. people being mean to her, or making rude remarks, was not out of the ordinary for her. she heard small whispers in passing everywhere she went. she was just used to it. “i’m glad you and nick are nice at least.”

chris just smiled at her and nick gave her a quick side hug. “we’re glad you’re nice, too, addy.”

the trio got to the front door, and addilyn gave them a small wave goodnight before she turned on her heel to walk into her home and upstairs. the boys walked back over to their house, noticing matt had already gone upstairs and disappeared to his room. he was sat at his desk, writing in his journal, when he noticed the light in the window across from his turned on. he saw addilyn set her book bag down, and sit at her mirror undoing her hair. he couldn’t help but to think how pretty she looked.

she’s weird, matt, he reminded himself, and you don’t even like her.

he sighed, closing his journal, and getting up to pull his blinds down to try to clear his head from the girl. out of sight out of mind. he saw her give a small smile, and he returned it by giving her a death stare, yanking the blinds down.

he got into bed, tossing and turning all night about this project with addilyn. he didn’t want to work on it with her, let alone even be nice to her, but he had to for chris and nick’s sake. they only started talking to her yesterday for god’s sake, and were already acting like they’ve been best friends since birth. matt knew these next two weeks of working on the project with addilyn everyday were going to be long.

࿐୨୧

© mattscoquette | taglist

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬. ⋆˚꩜｡ oooo part 2! i hope u all enjoy! i'm writing a lot but part three won't get posted this weekend because i'll be out of state. but i appreciate all the love part one got and i hope u guys r just as excited to read this as i am to write it!!! lmk if any of u guys wanna be on on taglist too <333

[elkian]

It's interesting watching the Dungeon Meshi anime after reading the manga pretty recently. There's lots of fun 'that's a surprise tool that will help us later moments' (not to mention spotted all the WL motifs!), but there's more.

Some stuff I blipped over on the initial read - partly due to the story starting out as a light-hearted Monster of the Week comedy and partly likely due to my own general obliviousness - has caught my attention.

One is how Laios engages with the other party members: when Marcille is down about not being immediately useful, he's the one who jumps in to support her, citing his knowledge of her unique skillset and the strategic value in her holding back for the moment. He has a high level of respect for his party's skills in general (I wonder if part of the monster mania is a bit of compensating for not getting to show his stuff sooner?), and a strong understanding of their synergy.

Further, as I'm watching the Living Armor episode, something has finally pinged in my conscious mind: Laios is smart. It's overshadowed a bit, I think, by his Monster Special Interest (a thing he is expected to be knowledgeable in, which also leads to the dragon expert bemoaning lmao), and his general role of being either The Weird One or experiencing Consequences of eating things recklessly. Which ig is all Monster Special Interest-related at minimum.

Anyways, combining my observation of Laios' understanding of Marcille and Chilchuck's skillsets, and how to best implement him, I realize in this episode that Laios is a very skilled tactician, and strategist. We've also seen him make detailed analyses and decent plans in the manga. I think this all ties into him being the sort of de facto party leader - not only is he strongly motivated on multiple levels, but the others trust him to analyze situations and formulate viable plans accordingly, taking their strengths and weaknesses into account. Heck, when the party gets species-swapped, he makes almost immediate note in their first battle of how quickly he loses stamina, and connects that to Senshi's behavior that he's observed in the past.

Sorry for not noticing sooner, Laios.

[juicybeetz]

Here are all of the newspaper headlines in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice:

CASE WORKERS STRIKE CONTINUES: 7 Days of Strikes

Exorcism at Record High!

Workers Wrongly Assigned Suicide At Death

62% Spike in Waiting Room Complaints

Morality Police Embroiled In Unlawful Termination Suit

Davis Digs Himself a Deeper Grave

Ouija Board Curfew Implemented

Wraith Taunted By TV Crew

Ectoplasm Leak at Plant Number 10

Til’ Death Do Us Part: Or Not?

The Ghost Hell-bent on Social Justice

Renovation of The Pearly Gates Scheduled

Shape Shifting Seminars Planned

“I’m so Flattered” says Woman Hit by Truck while Accepting Award

Pest Exterminator Exterminated by Pests

Ballerina Dances With Death

New Dating Service That’s Dying To Take You Out

Ghoul Scares The Living Daylights Out of Solar Panel Salesman

The Ghost Wanted: Unauthorized Soul Swap

Bone Appetit: Former Chef Opens Restaurant

Car Crash Victim Goes on to Win Formula 666

Man Who Sold His Soul Wants It Back

Stairway To Heaven to be Repaired

Petrol Bomb Creator Enters with a Bang

Serial Killer Arrives, Comes Face to Face With His Many Victims

America’s Ghost Wanted List Updated

Dead Cert for Player of the Year

There are six headlines that I can’t read because Michael’s hand is in the way or he opens the paper too fast. I can only make out the words of one of them: “Bones” “Wreck” “Score”. Another one talks about something reaping total havoc (the Grim Reaper?) and doing something to 2 men (halving them?).

I was hoping that each of these headlines would have fully written articles, but oddly enough, all of the small text underneath each of the headlines is copy-pasted from Charles Darwin’s “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.” Interesting choice of placeholder text!

I’m going to make another post about the obituary section, specifically about Charles’s obituary. It looks like most of the obituaries have information under them instead of placeholder text, but the one that says “Dead Beat Dad Instant Local at Dive Bar” has the Darwin placeholder text under it.

There’s also a horoscope section (horrorscopes, heehee) of the paper as well as a personal ad section. I can barely read the horoscopes, but I might attempt to decipher some of the personal ads later. Why did they make all of the fun stuff so blurry in this movie?! 😫

Also you can buy the paper for $.25! Inflation hasn’t hit the afterlife yet! 😆

[wauzmons]

My Plans for Elysian Eclipse 0.5.0

As most of you already know, the next release will be a major update, introducing the foundation of tribal stage. Here's a quick overview of what I want to achieve during the next 2 months.

Building System: Since the hut editor is functional now, the logical next step is allowing you to place those huts in the world. For this the construction menu, used to place nests in aquatic stage, will be further expanded in various ways.

Day / Night Cycle: We already tested a small scale version of the day night cycle in the Blorb Zone. Now it will be fully integrated into creature and tribal stage, including a time and weather display, aswell as cheats to change the current time.

Unit Selection: Instead of being a top-down view like in Spore, you'll still play from the perspective of a creature. You'll be able to freely swap between a few different tribe members. Not only will you be able to control multiple creatures, but also ...other things.

Interaction Menu: The interaction menu will be a multi-purpose system to interact with other creatures or objects. Only the base of this system will be implemented for now, but in the future it will be used for stuff like trading or crafting.

[average-art-consumer]

HELLLOOOOO EVBEEEEERYONE

I was thinking of making an epic the musical au for obviously the multiverse

I AM currently trying to cast most of the characters

With the help of @corruptinmyself they helped me cast:

Cross as Odysseus

Nightmare as Zeus(I would’ve made him hades but hades has no musical number in this so :( )

Dream/shattered as Poseidon

And my oc scout will be hermes but I will still take suggestions (although that one’s kinda final so idk but still I will take suggestions)

AND for my personal ideas I was thinking of making SWAP polites bc they both give off adorable kind choose kindness first energy but i have no idea so if u think i should change any characters then just tell me or ask

AND AND I am implementing my ocs into this so if any of you want ur ocs in it just ask, im currently shipping nightmare x @superbfirnacho oc ivy and my oc mollie x dream/shattered but u guys can always ship your own characters with the characters in the au. BUT BUT PLEEEAAAASE help me find more aus to cast in, im planning on making some of my aus or ocs in the cast as well but my little shit brain can’t think of many So please help meeeeee

Anyways love all of u pookies❤️❤️❤️❤️

[tuboficecream]

Ilsa Faust and MI:8

Here’s my theory on this scene in the trailer.

I believe this is confirm to be Marie (an unknown character we know was very close to Ethan but was killed at the hands of Gabriel). If it is her, this is a hallucination / dream.

———————————————————————— Not sure how The Entity truly works but if it was (or wasn’t) able to predict that Ethan swapped out the key at the end of MI:7, it at least knows he has it now and will be coming for The Sevastopol (knowing Paris telling him the info, whether it planned for Gabriel to force Paris into switching sides for a greater goal or knowing she would switch eventually and was trying to let Gabriel prevent it).

I am wanting to bet that it wants Ethan to get there. Foreshadowing the opening of DR with the Russians getting psyched by its own machines and leading to their death underwater. Ethan will be able to find the Sevastopol to try and stop the Entity. The only way for the AI to guarantee its victory is have Ethan killed underwater.

So how does this tie into Ilsa?? Both Marie and Ilsa were close to Ethan and was killed by Gabriel.

Well going off of the wonderful theories created in this fandom (that my delusional brain is saying it’s a fact) Ilsa is alive. There are plenty of wonderful theories out there that goes into depth with great proofs that Ilsa is alive and that Ethan faked her death. I won’t go into detail because other people had written it out really well but here’s how her survival should (and will) be implemented.

There was a plan made before Ethan went to see The White Widow at the club where Gabriel, Grace, and Paris was. We don’t know the full details since the audience is jumped right into Ethan and Ilsa going into the club (but I know both of them are not going to go in blindly. Not with Luther’s caution at least anyway). The main crew is counting on anyone close to Ethan and himself being there at the party. Lo and behold, he’s given the illusion of choice that one person will die that night. Ethan is good at faking out deaths (Julia exhibit) and in order to save both people, Ilsa needs to be fake dead. And to ensure her safety.

What would be ABSOLUTELY epic is that we recall back to Rogue Nation. Ethan drowning, dying. Ilsa Faust comes to save the day. The MI films and especially Dead Reckoning had been so great at referencing its previous movies and referencing Rogue Nation’s midpoint AND if they gave Ilsa a mask (which will explain how she disguise herself to go down into the subs and follow Ethan undetected) would be absolutely incredible.

It would also work with the very plausible idea that Ethan NEEDED to fake out Ilsa’s death in order to take her out of the AI’s algorithm so it will no longer calculate her actions and fate. Knowing Ethan, he doesn’t need to choose between Ilsa and Grace—he is capable of saving both and he doesn’t weigh his options. A life is a life. No matter whom. And we establish this heavily in Fallout.

All in all, Ilsa Faust is alive and I need her back please.

anyway thank you for coming to my rambles. I’m too excited and anxious about MI:8.

[bluemoonpunch]

🌟The Elemental Alignment of Jung Hoseok (Part 4) - Tarot & Oracle Reading

[Performed: May 22, 2025 / Posted: May 30, 2025]

INTRODUCTION AND NOTES So, fun fact: I’m doing this reading after completing the OT7 2025-2026 Outlook Reading, which is the last reading I’ll be posting for the BTS Countdown Event. Why? Shenanigans. As I’ve mentioned before, I typically do their readings in the order they are laid out in the original Soul Body, which typically has Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok as the first three, aligning with the Crown, Third Eye, and Throat Chakras. However, as we’ve already seen, there’s something brewing with the Soul Body, the revival, the reformation, and something that seems to be an all-around re-coding of the whole system. Because of this, as I was getting around to doing Hoseok’s readings, I kept thinking I was supposed to be doing Jimin’s. Over and over again, I wrote his name down, I opened his old readings, and I kept getting frustrated with it, like WHY do I keep thinking I’m supposed to be doing Jimin’s readings??? AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING JIMIN’S READINGS?

I asked, pulled some cards, and very loudly it kept coming through as ALL. Like, no babes, you need to be looking at ALL OF THEM, like RIGHT NOW. So, of course, I panicked thinking there was something bad happening because why else would my plans be messed with like this, but turns out, nothing awful is happening, there’s just a new Soul Body in the works, with new energy centers, and ALL OF THEM are getting “new codes,” “new installations,” and so on on a soul level because of it. Not sure who or what was pushing for this one, but someone definitely was looking at me with all my nonsense like, “someone help that girl, she’s missing a whole massive chunk of this puzzle and she’s about to be so confused if we don’t let her in on this.”

So, now, I have context for the whole body, and I plan on just going back to the OT7 reading as I go to fill in their outlooks, just so you’re aware in case you noticed that some stuff is kind of warped around in a funny way. This has also led to a no-go on reading their archives going forward, since I have to look at them all as being brand new and gauge things from a fresh perspective.

But, what was all this nonsense about Jimin and Hoseok? I had theorized that there was such a situation where they were “trading places” in the body, Jimin becoming the Throat and Hoseok becoming the Heart, and while that’s not exactly what’s happening as they are retaining their original energy signatures in the body, there does seem to be some roles being switched around and swapped out when it comes to who does what with how the Soul Body functions.

Back in the day, as the Heart, at the center of the Body, Jimin’s soul was what tethered everyone together, and during the Soul Body manipulation, it was his soul along with Yoongi’s that was mainly anchoring everyone together to try and keep things from literally falling apart and going haywire. Hoseok’s position had him working as a conduit in the whole body, quite literally acting like the Throat Chakra, where energy could move in and out of the body through his energy center. This, however, due to some other nonsense I can’t quite remember, left him vulnerable and was, on a soul level, directly attacked and received quite a bit of damage at that time.

In the new system, their jobs are switched around where Jimin is operating as a very high-up conduit — not quite like Namjoon, but managing the energetic exchange between the Soul Body (possibly the group on a conscious level as well, something we may not see as it could register on a more personal level) and the Soul Group as well as the general mass collective on Earth. I was seeing it as a new system where things aren’t really going to have as much access as they used to, a lot more precautions are being taken going forward with how all of these new blueprints are being designed and implemented. Rather than an open doorway, Jimin will be operating more like a window with a very strong screen over it, filtering energy that comes into the system, and being the spearhead that manages the energy that goes out toward other collectives (Soul Group and general). It’s very interesting and very complex. I’m excited to look at it more closely in the future once these things have settled in more.

Hoseok’s role in the body is also very interesting, looking like a higher or more amplified version of Jimin’s old role, which was mainly holding everything together, holding the other six souls together, keeping the body balanced, and so on. As I mentioned in Namjoon���s reading, there’s this interesting new design to the body where rather than being tethered together by something that appeared more “physical,” more like flesh, suggesting the body was one whole structure, they are now coming back together as individual souls, individual energy centers, that will now be sort of orbiting around each other and being held together by something that was registering as a magnetic force — something that would hold them together but also repel them to keep them from merging.

When I was getting into Hoseok’s reading here, attempting to look at the inner world, pick up on projections, you know, the usual, I saw this very interesting image that confused the hell out of me at first, as I wasn’t actually expecting to be getting Soul Body stuff for all of them going forward, but thankfully, I figured out what the heck it was pretty quickly. This is what I saw:

I was seeing these very clear wavy lines of energy stemming out from a very bright and concentrated source, reaching out and flowing into a bunch of other lights. This represents Hoseok’s position in the new body. While there are technically no specific “positions” for them all to be sitting in, as they are kind of all moving around all the time, Hoseok can be imagined as existing in the “center” in terms of a kind of etheric netting that emanates out of his energy center and creates the magnetic field that holds everyone together while also keeping them at a safe distance from one another. It’s such a vibrant thing as well, I really can’t put into words what these images I’ve been getting for the Soul Body look like or how they compare to the previous version. The only things that come to mind are like neon, SciFi, futuristic, outer space type stuff that’s just very… juicy, fun to look at.

It’s been pointed out multiple times to me now to look at the old Soul Body as being “physical,” as if the tethers were made of flesh, creating a solid form, and to look at the new Soul Body as being “etheric,” or a spirit body. In the previous body, the “natural form” had the seven energy centers, the seven souls stacked top to bottom in a line, creating a “spine” of the overall body. In the new body, they are constantly moving around each other, separated, and now each generating their frequencies rather than a few of them generating while the rest of them filter or deliver that energy. The energy overall is much bigger, less contained. Visually, I see it as the skin of a person’s body being popped like a balloon, and their soul just expanding out after that outer barrier is removed. It expands outward to be 100 times bigger than the original body, and the further out it expands, the brighter it gets, the more you can feel it vibrating because the frequency becomes so stimulated. Jimin was in charge of the “physical tethers” in the previous body, and now Hoseok will be in charge of the “etheric tethers” in the new body. Very cool.

There are a lot of really interesting connections between Jimin and Hoseok, both in the Soul Body and within their beings in general. There’s an interesting amount of communication and connection stimulated through their Air energies (Libra and Aquarius), which reflect in their soul signatures as the Heart and Throat, while, in general, consciously, their personalities drive group, collective, or social activity — they bring people together, they’re great at making “face to face” or “heart to heart” connections with people. I’ll have to do a Relationships & Connections reading for them in the future as well. I'm very curious to see how these things balance now or if they look any different in the new systems.

GUIDELINE With Hoseok’s guideline for his Elemental Alignment, focusing mainly on projected energy signatures at the current moment (which I changed for later readings, as looking at future energetic signatures, like at the time of the reunion/revival, definitely gives us more details), we can see evidence of Hoseok being in a similar state as Yoongi and Namjoon. With The Shapeshifter at the head, along with the Broken Bridge card, and the keyword “asleep,” we’re looking at a collage of projections that are coming off multiple layers of awareness while his soul is also experiencing that sort of incubation state. His soul is in the shop with Yoongi’s getting some upgrades.

I’m seeing an emphasis put on Earth energy here with Family, the Earth card, The Hierophant, and the keyword “rich,” all of which are bringing a lot of input in from his conscious level mind and his external experience. There’s a lot of positive stimulation coming from the conscious mind, with only a dim or filtered projection coming from the subconscious mind, which feels deliberate. He’s intentionally staying grounded and focused on outside things in order to stay present and enjoy it. There also seems to be a continuing effort to settle into life, as in he is still settling into life post-military service, which seems to just be a result of returning to a situation that wasn’t there before. There was a mindset held onto that when he came home, he would be returning to something familiar, but nothing has been familiar yet.

The focus on this kind of “up in the air” and “still getting used to it” is coming in through Communication, Happy, Happy, and the Family card, the first three that follow The Shapeshifter. While The Shapeshifter is representing his soul or higher unconscious projection, this could be contributing to his sense of unease or lack of familiarity, as even on the inside, without really understanding why, he feels a bit up in the air and out of place. With these first three cards, there’s just an odd bit of newness that doesn’t seem to go away when it comes to how he connects with people around him, who he’s working with, who he’s performing for and how, and what, in all of that, makes him happy, excited, or fulfilled. Especially in Happy, Happy, there’s this feeling of still being aware of the newness of being celebrated fully as an individual, like this is something he still can’t fully wrap his head around, or it’s something that still doesn't feel real, and this is one of the things he’s trying to stay grounded and present for. It seems like he may be lingering on the idea that this, the solo recognition, could be temporary. Based on the outlooks and the new blueprints for the Soul Body, it definitely is not temporary!

The next set of cards, with Indecision and Seduction meeting Solar Eclipse — Revolution, there is a feeling of a personal revolution, one that isn’t very clear to me as it seems to be something to do with his personal life. It connects back a bit to Family and Communication, but seems to be centered mainly on how he sees himself, the role he plays in the lives of other people, and whether or not he wants to.

Moving on to the second row, he got two Light Walker cards and two Shadow Walker cards here. He has Bountiful Harvest over Arguments, and Inner World over Patterns of Behavior. These are stemming from the subconscious space mainly, with the Light cards resonating a bit higher up or reflecting a positive element of these deeper matters. There is a “bountiful harvest” coming out of arguments or reassessments of personal connections or self-reflections, connecting back to Solar Eclipse and Indecision/Seduction. Then, there is shown to be an exploration of the Inner World, more light being brought to the Inner World as he himself reflects on his own patterns of behavior. This could also be moving outward in terms of him assessing other people’s patterns of behavior and gauging whether or not they are good for him or someone he wants to be around, creating more environments and connections that are in alignment with him and that feel more supportive.

Following that, I’m seeing the Broken Bridge card play into the King of Cups with this image of a person standing on solid ground, a bridge, and then it suddenly falling through, tossing the person into the ocean. They, however, discover that they are the King of Cups, the King of Water, and pull a King Neptune from Spongebob and just start riding on dolphins like a horse and carriage.

He’s operating very consciously within this feeling of being out of sorts, in unfamiliar territory, and a kind of unstable position, but he’s very deliberately embracing it, moving with it, and being very mindful of how his mind is handling it. He’s taking care of his mind and body in a way that is very nice to see, given some things that have come up in his past readings over the years. He’s embracing Water on an internal level, while keeping himself grounded and focused on an external and physical level, embracing the ebbs and flows in his life, while also dancing with it. Despite that, however, there does still feel to be that eagerness or anticipation for eventually feeling solid ground again, which is shown with The Hierophant — almost holding onto the idea of dry land like a wish or a belief to keep him going. It’s a bit strenuous to keep dancing like this, but he thinks about the potential of feeling stillness or solid ground in the future, things becoming familiar again. It’s a nice balance.

Lastly, his keywords are pretty straightforward, registering with different aspects of his awareness. Sagittarius is pointing to the “rebirth” and the “new blueprints” of the soul, which plays into Asleep, which designates his soul being in that incubation state, while also registering on a conscious level as a very self-focused, self-affirming, and self-identifying modality. He’s self-directing here and living by his own rule while part of his soul is having a well-earned nap, really taking the leading role on a conscious level. And, again, Rich is there as a focus on more external things, really taking in his experiences, appreciating everything, and almost being a bit overwhelmed by it all even now after all these years.

GUIDELINE WITH SPRINKLES Expanding on the guideline a bit more, at the very front, there is a Sprinkle that says, “there was some left,” leading into a big bunch of Sprinkles that lay over the Communication card. “Free will,” and “who’s driving the car?” being the first two seem to be referring to Hoseok’s current conscious level position without the full hands-on influence of his soul. Just as we see with the slight carryover of The Shapeshifter, he’s consciously in full control and just sort of, with that Sagittarius energy, making moves from the ground up right now. The Sprinkles continue into what I feel is referring to an assigned system of reassessment, specifically pointing to the elements of Communication and Family, kind of like his soul left some notes, a to-do list for the subconscious and conscious mind to deal with at this time so that he’s more aligned with what is to come. This continues to highlight the importance of figuring out relationships and environmental factors — “have you dreamed about them?” “I can already see a lot,” “outside influence.”

These last three are coming together as the soul saying, “do you dream about these things? Are they so heavy on you, so stressful to you, that you can’t even get away from them when you’re sleeping?” Then Hoseok’s subconscious is like, “yeah, I see them a lot, these outside influences. They bother me quite a bit.” Then his soul just threw him the to-do list like, “well, then, get on with it, figure this shit out and clear out the muck because when I’m back we’re hitting this shit like you ain’t never experienced before!”

He then has “Waxing Crescent” over Happy, Happy, highlighting this as a space he is intending to expand on, trying to amplify his happiness by clearing out certain outside influences. This is then carried over into Family with “starting point.” It feels very direct, like a neon sign from the soul saying, “start here! Start with the people you KNOW are your family, your most trusted, without a doubt! Then work your way out from there.” This adds more context to Indecision and Seduction where, in the image of Indecision, we see two figures, an angel and a shadowy figure, separated by a tree — something I’m seeing as Hoseok sorting people out, making clear lines between people he trusts enough to call family and people he’s just not sure about.

The element of Seduction feels to be a reassessment of how people look at him, how he looks at other people — are they working together because they enjoy it, or is it purely for business, purely for money, purely for the networking? This isn’t being set up as a bad thing at all, just something for which he’s taking more note of, possibly filtering his communication with the “shadowy people” while reserving more of his trust and open thoughts and feelings for the “angels.”.

I’m seeing this as being less about removing people for the sake of just removing bad influence, and more about him being able to focus more on “angels” or family, trusted people, specifically so that he can communicate more, so that he can be more emotionally open, possibly with the world, when he has a more solid recognition of the inherent support he receives from the people that qualify as family. There’s an opening up happening underneath this, perhaps something connected to his new blueprint, and maybe even something that connects to that whole switching places with Jimin, creating an “open heart” kind of energy within Hoseok that needs to first be supported with better, more recognizably supportive environments and connections.

We have the elemental “Earth” lying over Solar Eclipse—Revolution, which then drops down into the keyword “Sagittarius” through “worry about you,” alongside Indecision and Seduction dropping down just the same with “sweet berries.” This is a whole system check right here, there’s a rewriting of things within Solar Eclipse that completely reworks his sense of personal foundation, which may be why that “up in the air” and perpetually unfamiliar feeling is persisting. It’s part of the program here. He’s being made to feel a bit unstable to prompt him to question what makes him feel stable, comfortable, and supported, both within himself, as well as within his connections and overall environment.

“Worry about you,” is the main priority; he’s building his foundation. That Sagittarius energy is prompting a personal re-identification at a time when he is self-guiding and fully within his free will. The note of “sweet berries” coming off of those two cards feels like a continuation of that idea that he is not necessarily completely removing people from his life, but he’s positioning people based on their influence, based on their trust levels. I’m seeing this as people going from being the “main meat” or the “main course” at the dinner table of Hoseok’s life to being politely placed as a bowl of berries on the side, perhaps something enjoyed last or in between main meals. This furthers the idea of looking at connections as an element of sustenance and support, something that helps him to keep going and provides a stabilizing comfort.

Underneath Bountiful Harvest and Arguments, he has “liar” and a prompt Sprinkle that says, “consult personal oracle,” which is referring to my BlueMoonPunch oracle deck. These are the cards that came out for him here:

With the element of “liar” there, the Arguments, both within himself and with other people, can be assumed to be around dishonesty and a lack of trust in general. This falls over a bit more into Distraction, where we have a lot of faces blending, meant to be a visual representation of when a lot of people are talking at once in a large room, and their voices blend, but it’s too loud to become background noise. It’s a lot of people saying a big bunch of nothing, something that could register as bullshit or blowing smoke.

The Lonely card is one of my favorites, based on a collage I made out of spare BTS images I had — fun fact, the body was Jimin’s, head replaced by a yellow circle that said “LONELY” and individual, hand-cut petals all around. It’s meant to represent the idea of your mind blossoming, or creativity amping up as a result of being alone. It can be seen in a good way or a bad way — the good being necessary alone time to focus and work on creative projects or explore your mind, and the bad being isolation so detrimental that you lose touch with reality and the petals become distortion that affects your perception of the world around you.

With this in mind, there’s a possibility of self-isolation being seen as a remedy for the overwhelming distraction or negative influence felt from others, being seen as necessary or beneficial in the long run, as it gave him more time to work — that seems very Aquarius coded.

This, overall, is being revised, as shown with Revision in the center, into a more grounded system with Falling and Home. Both of these cards are Earth cards in this deck, and play off of the other conscious level, externalized-focused, and earthy energies in the guideline. They have a more seamless blend, which shows a more gentle transition between the two. With the other two cards, there’s a hard flip from overwhelming Distraction, lots of noise, too many people, bad times, into Lonely, isolated, quiet, flow. Falling is replacing Distraction, where these outside influences still make noise, still make contact, but more so in the way that leaves do when they fall from trees. There’s some kind of warning to it where, when the leaves start to fall, you know it’s getting colder, the wind is picking up, the weather is changing, you should go home now before it gets worse.

The most comforting thing here is that, rather than going “home” inside himself, the Home card suggests going somewhere outside of himself where he feels safe and supported. It’s playing off of Family a bit, suggesting that rather than self-isolating or kind of sinking into himself, he’d be more likely to phone a trusted friend or just move into another space with the people he knows aren’t going to be saying a bunch of muck. In general, there’s more self-awareness here as well as more awareness of his environment, which I guess would play into the following Light and Shadow cards, Inner World and Patterns of Behavior, under which he has a single Sprinkle that says, “drinks on me.”

Something about this feels a bit odd, giving me the idea of the figure in Lonely being surrounded by the heads in Distraction while at a bar. Rather than being able to run away completely like they want to, they instead attempt to quiet them all down by occupying their mouths with drinks. On one end, it’s an effort to quiet them, while on the other, a drink of their own becomes something to numb or block out the negative experience they’re having in the moment in order to continue on with it. It’s a negative pattern of behavior being highlighted that involves numbing the situation, potentially pushing things down within himself, things that make him uncomfortable or overwhelmed, to try and maintain a certain productivity, status, or tone within a group of people. Again, this is something being shown as being recognized now and changed into something much healthier for him going forward.

MAIN READING

STATE OF CORE ENERGY: RACCOON — EARTH For the main reading, we’re looking at Hoseok’s core state at the time of the reunion/revival, and here there’s an interesting “collapse” of energy that falls into the Raccoon energy, where it feels a bit like a black hole type of situation. By that I mean, it’s like all of his energy is pulled inward toward the core, for a short period, and he suddenly becomes more reserved, maybe not in a way that we would notice, but I imagine in a way where he thinks he’s just “getting back to normal,” going back to his “normal mode” with the group.

I can’t think of how to put it into words, but this feels very short-lived, like a sudden inhale to the top of the lungs before someone holds their breath. They can’t hold it for a super long time. Eventually, they will exhale, and the longer they hold it, the harder that exhale is going to be. This is presenting the exact opposite of what his energy signature is showing now with that very externalized, charged-up, self-empowered state where he’s very on display, very active, and kind of radiating his own essence at a high degree.

With the presence of Earth energy, I feel like part of this is coming from the sense of attempting to get into or feel that normalcy again, trying to simply fall back into what feels like his “old role” or his old way of doing things. He will figure out very quickly that the “old way” of doing things feels a lot more restrictive and that he (they) will need to adapt to entirely new structures within the group when they work together, which could be a challenge for a little while.

In general, the Raccoon is associated with artists and creative expression, denoting the seclusion one needs in order to be creative, as well as the issue of intentionally hiding themselves or their work due to believing it’s not good enough or what people want to see. For Hoseok, this is an intentional effort to dim that light that he has charged up as an individual, but like I said, it’s temporary and seems like a system he’s returning to just for the sake of affirming to himself that the new way of operating is the better, more open, and more free-flowing way.

HIGHER SELF CORE ALIGNMENT: ELK — EARTH (REV.) His Higher Self, for the duration that the core energy is aligned with the Raccoon, will be actively trying to support him and push him toward that release, making it quite obvious that he has more to give and more to show. In the image, I’m seeing the black sun in the background as the Raccoon, or as Hoseok’s core energy where there’s an effort to dampen the light and output, but the energy is just so high now that it really can’t be contained, there are leaks or unintended projections of this energy that he has to really strain to keep down. It’s a pointless effort, is the conclusion he will come to, and his Higher Self will make sure of that.

When the Elk is reversed, it is described as pretentious and “high and mighty,” which sounds bad, but for Hoseok, it’s just a matter of recognizing his new standing, the new energy he has curated for himself, and in that, the new identity, role, or position he will have in the group or just within his career and artistry in general.

WATER ALIGNMENT: CROCODILE — WATER The Crocodile is bouncing off of the Raccoon quite a bit, carrying the same sort of repressed, locked-in feeling where there could be a lot brewing at that time, or the very least, a tangible sense of holding back expression or action. The Crocodile is described as lying low and waiting for the right time to strike, sinking under the water to hide itself from its prey, building up the energy needed for that outburst, for the capturing of its prey. For Hoseok, this is suggesting a pull back in the emotional and creative space, kind of trying to put himself in the background a little bit, or just kind of filter himself as an individual in order to make space for the old group dynamic. Just the same as the Raccoon, or what is shown with the Elk, this just can’t be done anymore. Everyone in the group is well established as individuals, has a new sense of confidence and sense of leadership in their own right, and will have to learn to make room for each other as well as allow themselves to show up fully.

Both in terms of creative and emotional energy, Hoseok will be attempting to filter himself or pull back to a certain degree, but it’s somewhat of a natural instinct or urge to be as loud and as vibrant as he is right now.

FIRE ALIGNMENT: DRAGONFLY — AIR (REV.) Hoseok’s Fire Alignment, his center of active energy, appears to be scattered with the reversed Dragonfly energy, an Air energy that would suggest that while his energy is quite high and ready to move, mentally it’s unfocused as he seems to attempt to expand his awareness and mental efforts among many things at once. Again, it’s a short-lived thing, but it just seems like he’s trying to filter out his own creative input or ideas that he thinks only he would like, things only he thinks he would do, and be more tuned in to the others or the old format of the group overall. Because of this, it’s like the Water energy present in the Dragonfly starts to get poured on the Fire, on the burning sun in the image of the Elk, but rather than cooling it down or putting out that Fire, it just creates stream, pressure, that eventually pops out of the Raccoon through the Elk.

When that happens, the Dragonfly will turn upright in this alignment, merging creative Water energy with the strategic planning and outward communication of Air energy, really sharpening the Fire energy overall and creating something that hits a lot more like lightning, bursts of inspiration, and creative action. This may be the best way to describe his new balance within the group, much brighter, sharper, but still seen, while in the group, as a significant element to the overall storm rather than a standalone event.

EARTH ALIGNMENT: DOLPHIN — WATER (REV.) Again, there’s intentional self-limitation here, but one that can’t last forever. The Dolphin energy, when upright, matches Hoseok’s externalized energy, how other people see him and feel him, a big, vibrant burst of positive energy that carries a playful and cheery tone. Here, as this alignment can show a person’s relation to their environment, it’s almost like, on a more conscious level, he attempts to get more serious or really buckle down with the group, almost as if he would look at his solo work in comparison as “play time.” Obviously, it’s just another learning curve, him eventually being like, “oh, this is how it’s supposed to feel all the time, we can all make room for this, this is fine,” and then just allowing himself to move with that energy while working and performing like usual.

When in reverse, the Dolphin is described as underestimating their own power, and that’s exactly what this feels like for Hoseok. Like, he’s just putting caps on different parts of himself because he thinks, for one, they won’t work with how the group (old version) functions, as well as not thinking he can uphold that energy or live within it long term. He can, he just has to feel it out and see everyone else also settling into new standings and energies while operating as a group again.

AIR ALIGNMENT: BLACK EGG — SPIRIT ASSOCIATED CHAKRA: THROAT CHAKRA His Air Alignment here is represented by the Black Egg, which is associated with the Throat Chakra. This also plays off of the Raccoon a bit, where what is inside the Black Egg is on the verge of breaking out and taking over both in terms of what comes in from the outside and what he puts out through communication, expression, and operation. It feels like the Black Egg would eventually become his core energy. What is said to reside within the Black Egg is truth itself, the truest knowing and understanding, as well as the truest version of the self that you can express. Again, a lot of what is showing up here is filtered or intentionally limited within his own energy. This is showing that this new state of energy he is in, the one he has curated for himself as a solo artist, is his truest self, connecting back to that Sagittarius energy in terms of self-reidentification and design.

As this also connects to his soul signature as the Throat Chakra, as the basis of communication and expression, this shows that he may be a major trigger point or support for the other members who may also find it difficult to reacclimate with the group to return to the old dynamics. Hoseok will set the example that you can show up fully as your individualized self, there is enough room for everyone, and all these new energies do in fact work together and can harmonize together, so long as they are all allowed to ring true to the individuals.

MAIN READING WITH SPRINKLES With the Sprinkles, we get a lot more context here to the different areas of his core energy in the near future. Starting with the Raccoon, at the top, he has “responding…” followed by the quote, “yes, we’re open!” This gives weight to this being a temporary state, a short-lived “closed off” state while things fall into place. Toward the bottom of this card, there is the confirmation of this back-and-forth inner struggle with “empty stomach,” “you will shine!” and “little by little.” “Empty stomach” is referring to the turned-off mode of the Raccoon, not giving much out and also not taking much in, but it is then reaffirmed that this space will open up again and shine brightly, with a little time involved as the confidence and new dynamics build on themselves again.

The reversed Elk, representing the influence of his Higher Self at the time, is marked with the “3rd House,” the house of connection and communication, as well as observation and logical thinking. The 3rd House is something I also associated with Hoseok as reflecting the 3rd Chakra down, the Throat Chakra, his signature within the Soul Body. This seems to be pointing to the energy that is being repressed, the energy that can’t help but start to radiate out of him, the energy of connection and communication, of being seen and heard. This also would blend into, on a higher level, his role as the etheric netting holding everyone together. As he may be the first one to take note of the fact that they can all operate as fully as they have as solo artists while still harmonizing and working well in the group, this may lend to the more conscious level netting, as in he would set the example, lay out the dynamic, and also guide everyone into it, being the epicenter of that new harmony. Again, this does seem to be a role switch with Jimin.

The Elk and the Black Egg are connected by “Old + New” which further pushes what I was thinking with the Black Egg potentially being his new core energy in the future, representing the energy overall that is being repressed. Before it goes into the core, it will become the energy of the Higher Self, which will be pushed down into the core from that higher aspect. It moves through like a system of shedding — the Raccoon fully in shadow, the Elk acknowledging the inherent glow of the energy within, and the Black Egg, when integrated, cracking open completely and letting everything out, allowing things to flow with their new natural rhythms.

Over the Black Egg on its own is “I swear…” which brought to my attention the pattern of the Black Egg, the scaly pattern that looks like the netting I keep picturing for Hoseok. Again, I think that Hoseok is going to be the one to spearhead the overall integration of the new dynamic of the group on multiple levels, holding the souls together on the highest level and sort of orchestrating or leading by example the more conscious and physical level changes in dynamic and overall function within the group. There’s a promise in there, a vow to not only allow himself to open all these personal doorways, but also to make sure the others can as well.

Off to the side of the Black Egg is “some light painting,” which is a Sprinkle that refers to creative expression that is done for the sake of relaxing, venting, or personal relief of some kind. Here, connecting to the Black Egg and the Air Alignment, this feels like something done in practice, or something that is a bit more habitual, that is done in private, that slowly becomes more visible or utilized in work. I see this connecting over to the Water Alignment with the Crocodile which has “Journal + Sing” and “*Glass door ahead!”

“Journal + Sing” plays off of “some light painting,” referring to the aspect of writing things down in private, working them out on your own, and then singing them, or expressing them clearly and concisely. With the Crocodile energy, it’s like he’s marinating certain personal or emotional matters, stewing on them and working them out in some way, which will eventually break out of him when the Black Egg cracks.

“*Glass door ahead!” is meant to be a warning, of hitting a wall that you can’t see, an obstacle that may at first feel like a dead end, but when you look closely and start working with it more, you realize it is a doorway into another level or stage of progression. In this sense, Hoseok’s personal, inner emotional matters, some of which may connect back to what came out in his guideline reading, may feel like walls he’s hitting, but when he processes them creatively or more strategically, they become open doorways providing opportunities for growth. Given that this is also connected to his work in the future, this may supply a lot of inspiration or fuel for his future projects as well.

The Crocodile connects downward to the Dragonfly through “I wouldn’t be shocked,” which plays off of the “muddy feet in the grass” Sprinkle at the top of the card. As I’m seeing it, it’s saying this is an obvious state of being, the reversed Dragonfly in the Fire Alignment following the Crocodile in the Water Alignment. Both of these energies are drenched in Water and have, or will create a “muddy” or stuck feeling within the inner alignments. Emotionally and energetically, he’ll feel a bit stuck, but the joke here seems to be that it won’t be very obvious to him right away that he’s done it to himself by trying to roll backward into old ways of operating after curating such a strong new way of functioning.

This is supported with “prideful distance,” which is relaying a self-aware distance, or an intentional distance applied to his own energy as he initially doesn’t want to, in a sense, bring “solo hobi” into “group hobi’s” space. It’s prideful, not egotistical, not an “oh, I need to cool it down because the other guys can’t handle my level of fuckery,” and more of an “I’m not the only person here now, I need to make sure we all have room to breathe.”

Over the Dragonfly card on its own is the number “9” which is then highlighted with another Sprinkle that marks it as “relevant.” This is running back on the energy of Sagittarius, the 9th House, as well as reaching a “final form” of sorts in terms of the current phase of things. I was seeing this as the Dragonfly, in its upright position, being relevant to the final form of his core energy, when the Black Egg has become the core. This goes into what I was saying in creating that lightning-like energy with the clean combination of Water and Air fueling the Fire alignment.

The Dolphin connects to the Raccoon with the Sprinkle that says, “second part of…” referring to the Dolphin as being the second part of the Raccoon, a reflection of it, a conscious and physical level version of the same kind of restriction and filtering of energy. They reflect each other mainly in the way of creativity and expression, the way he interacts with the audience, and possibly how he shows up in the studio or rehearsals with the group, toning things down, making space. This is then given a funny bop to the head with the “go off!” Sprinkle being like, “yeah, no, come on, you know this isn’t you unless you’re giving it 100%” I feel like this is where the first breaks are going to be felt, in the studio, in rehearsal with the other guys where his performance and creative energy really start to buzz and he just CAN NOT hold himself down.

This then bounces into “Candy + Soda,” sugar, hyperness, energy buzzing, playfulness, and just a big burst of life coming out of him in these environments. I’m thinking of both eating and drinking a lot of sugar and bouncing off the walls, as well as someone dropping a bunch of Mentos into a bottle of Coke and letting it explode. There’s an element of chemistry here, like working with the guys, being in that environment just shoots him back into the more youthful, playful state of being that reminds him, “oh yeah, this is what we’re here for, this is what we do.” And then, boom, the egg cracks and he’s on his way.

“Trees are talking,” refers to conversations amongst souls, soul mate connections, or higher levels of communication occurring beyond the conscious level. Here, this makes me think that this would be the trigger point for BTS, in the Soul Body, to be fully integrated into the new system. That has been a thing that’s come up before, that the conscious level engagement of the group is what is going to trigger and dictate the movement and progression of the Soul Body, while before, it was the other way around. Hoseok having that realization while with the group, while working together again, that there is room for everyone’s new individual energies and performances, that there is still harmony there, ensuring it in the body. The net is cast, and the “orbiting” energy centers become anchored into a field of magnetic energy that is generated by Hoseok. Very neat, very cool.

I’m already starting to see a pattern here so far with Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok in the Soul Body. Yoongi triggers the point of revival, which sets off Namjoon’s “Big Bang” shenanigans that starts to wake up the souls and draw them back together (which occurs within the soul group of ARMY as well). Then Hoseok ends up being the netting, the webbing, the tethers that create the new structure and pulls everything into form, suggesting he is responsible for the integration of that “Big Bang,” of the revival. I’m wondering if we’re going to see a ripple effect situation happening through all seven of them like this, or this is just going to be a call back to the “Rap Line Triad” where these three just always have big responsibilities in the Soul Body.

And that’s all I have for this one, thank you for reading! :)

XXXX

Website Links!

The Elemental Alignment of Jung Hoseok (Part 4) Post

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[chattercap]

Monthly Update: May 2025

Hello everyone, happy May!

It's a bit of a long one this time, so I'll get right into it.

What did I do this month?

I started off the month absolutely raring to finish refactoring my code to add much needed QOL features, including rollback and controller support, so that it would finally all be ready for my planned releases in the summer. However, after wrestling with the code for around a week, I ran into a frame rate issue that I simply could not fix, even in a completely empty project.

After tearing my hair out for around 6 hours working on it, I made a 4AM decision (which is apparently when I make all of my semi-significant game dev decisions): I would try out a new game engine.

If any of you have played my games since Karamu, you know that I originally worked in Unity. This was for a variety of reasons, but mainly I was a novice dev and I wanted a flexible engine that would allow me to target mobile devices. After the Unity pricing debacle a couple of years ago, I swapped to Godot because it was open-source and would allow me to reuse my C# code that I wrote for Unity. It was also the only open-source engine that supported the 2D animations that I used. However, of course, after the 2D animations weren't supported on Android for the longest time and proved to be controversial (some people did note that they were the only things they didn't like about my games, haha!), I decided to drop them - and there was really no reason for me to stick with Godot, other than sunk-cost fallacy.

Most of you probably enjoy OELVNs, and if so you're probably familiar with Ren'py. It's a game engine designed specifically for making visual novels, which is why it's so popular in the indie VN space, and it comes with most of the features that you would like when playing or making a VN. This included a lot of features that I wanted to implement myself in Godot, including rollback and controller support. Ren'py also runs rather well on a wide variety of platforms, both when making and playing games - which was ultimately the reason that I decided to try it for a few weeks.

Without getting into the nitty gritty, I spent the latter half of the month working in Ren'py, and I found it to be wonderfully easy, convenient to use, and logically organized. I pretty quickly implemented the GUI for My Husband is a Stranger and Project R, and also implemented the basic script, voice acting, and game selection for the Karamu trilogy.

You can check out some of the screenshots sprinkled in between the wall of text here (it's all looking very spiffy, if I do say so myself! A big thank you to my talented GUI artists, Kathaeris and Elduator!)

Since everything is going rather well, I've decided to shift all of my future projects to Ren'py for the time being. This includes My Husband is a Stranger, Project R, the Karamu trilogy, the MindMindMind Android port (I hope to make a Web build of this one as well since the assets are pretty lean?), and the full version of The Deepwater Witch (+ other various unannounced projects).

Here is a (not definitive) list of features that I will be removing/changing because of the change in engine:

-The speech bubbles will not dynamically resize to fit the size of the text. This isn't impossible to implement, but it's a little more work than it's worth. Instead, speech bubbles will remain a static size for several lines until I manually change them. I don't think this in particular should bother anyone, but this will lead to a few other changes as well.

-Because the speech bubbles aren't dynamically sized based on the size of the text, I will be removing the ability to choose the font size. I will, of course, make the default font size relatively large and readable (I want everyone to be able to experience my games without getting headaches, after all!) It just doesn't make sense to accommodate smaller text sizes that won't fit well in the speech bubbles.

-I will also be limiting the amount of chooseable fonts. Beforehand I basically added as many fonts as I thought was reasonable (6 with MindMindMind… I basically just kept adding fonts as I made more games…) since more options = better, but because I'll be manually sizing the text bubbles from now on, I'll need to check that the sizes work for each font. To make this doable, I'll probably be limiting the font options to 4: a serif font, a sans-serif font, Open Dyslexic, and Atkinson Hyperlegible. If you have any requests for accessibility fonts, please let me know and I'll try to accommodate those as well!

-I'll be removing the dark and light reading options. It's not impossible to implement in Ren'py, but it's a little more difficult. Instead, I plan to use a more varied amount of speech bubble designs and layouts that are designed to fit the overall presentation of the games better.

Here are features that will be added in my Ren'py games:

-All of Ren'py's built-in QOL features 🙏. If you're a visual novel enjoyer, these will probably be familiar to you, but they include: rollback, quick save/load, optional self-voicing, full controller and keyboard navigation, etc.

-Better performance and platform support (I hope). From what I've heard, Ren'py games are a bit faster and easier to run than either Unity or Godot games, on a wider variety of operating systems. My Godot games also didn't run on MacOS Monterey at all for some reason, which shouldn't be a problem in Ren'py (unless I am somehow cursed by the Apple gods). As I mentioned before, I plan on adding Android builds for my future games, and with Ren'py I will also look into adding Web builds (if I can - a lot of my games will be a little too heavy for it, most likely!)

For anyone who just wants to play my games, the tl;dr of all this nonsense is: I'll be making games faster, they should run better, and I'll be trading some QOL features for much more helpful and better QOL features. For anyone who plays a lot of OELVNs, essentially you should expect my games to run like and have the same features as most of the other games you play 😂

What will I be doing this month?

Since this month is Otome Jam, I really want to release something for it! The last Karamu part needs to cook a little bit longer because I'm waiting on some assets, but I plan on releasing the demo for My Husband is a Stranger, likely sometime next month. For that, I'll be working on the final CGs and coding in the script. If I have time, I'll also work on putting together the CGs for the demo of Project R and tinkering away on the Karamu trilogy and the MMM port.

Thank you to everyone who's following along, and see you next month!

Chattercap

[lovetei]

I have an AU and I enjoy sharing so. Gift, from a (semi-?) writer to writer I suppose

but Swapped Obey me Au

where the brothers and side characters are humans- here’s the dynamic simplification;

Humans (Solomon / MC) : Cryptids

Demons (The Brothers / Diavolo / Barbatos) - humans/humanoids

Angels (Luke / Simeon) - Monster hunters

Maybe a modernish Victorian era, with castles and monster stories and that fun stuff + technology. Prince Diavolo starts a school to hopefully make peace between the three tribes of being.

So Solomon the Land siren (maybe a Lamia/Naga?) and MC the Mutt sheep cryptid. Where invited to the human school,

I can go on for hours- but hope this helps with ideas! I’d love to hear ya take. I love the way you write Obey me so yeah!

I'm so sorry this took so long, I need to create a visual in my head first and it takes long to write an AU :')

--------------------------------------------------

Swapped Alternate Universe

Swapped Universe: Introduction

Warnings:

Links: Masterlist

--------------------------------------------------

You were just going around the forests beside fields, feeding on whatever there is

But all of a sudden

An entitled prince, randomly sent you a letter saying you're invited into this type of program

But it's suspicious

The incentives favors the participants way too much...

What could possibly be the catch?

ROLES: Cryptids

MC MCLN

TYPE: Cryptid (Mutt sheep)

It is rumored that the "Mutt-Sheep" cryptids are a cross between lambs and canines, and are known to be found in areas with dense forests. Some describe them as a cross between a sheep and a dog, with a thick sheep-like coat covering their body, large claws on their paws for digging in the forest floor, and a canine's nose and teeth for hunting small animals. However, the exact origin and nature of the Mutt-Sheep cryptids are still unknown and shrouded in mystery. Despite this, sightings of these creatures have been reported by people who claim to have seen them lurking in the forest.

SOLOMON

TYPE: Cryptid (Naga)

They are described as having a human upper body, often with arms and chest, and from the waist down, they have the tail and scales of a snake. The Naga are said to be intelligent and powerful beings, capable of controlling the elements of nature and using their powers to influence the world around them. Many people believe that the Naga possess magical abilities that they use to protect their territory and the creatures that live there.

ROLE: Humans

DIAVOLO

JOB: President of RLD

The Royal Lab of Diavolo (RLD) is a highly advanced underground research facility with top-notch equipment and state-of-the-art technology. The lab is focused on developing peace between different races, such as humans, humanoid, cryptids, and monster hunters. The primary goal of the lab is to find ways to bridge the gap between the different races, and to create an environment where all beings can live together in harmony. The lab is led by a team of highly skilled scientists and researchers who work tirelessly around the clock to advance their research and find solutions to the world's problems.

BARBATOS

JOB: Vice president of RLD

The vice president of the Royal Lab of Diavolo is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the lab, including the management of staff, the supervision of research projects, and the coordination of activities with external partners and stakeholders. The vice president also plays a key role in managing the lab's finances and ensuring that resources are being used effectively and efficiently. Additionally, they may be involved in developing and implementing strategic plans for the lab's long-term growth and success. Therefore, the vice president plays an important role in the lab's success and helps to ensure that its mission of promoting peace and unity among different beings is achieved.

LUCIFER

JOB: Chief Fiance Officer (CFO)

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a high-level executive position that is responsible for overseeing the financial operations and strategy of an organization. He works for the government and is supporting the current king.

MAMMON

JOB: Actor

He is the most famous actor out there starring in every genre whether it may be romance, comedy, action or adventure. He also stars in his own TV show series that broke multiple records and nominated multiple times on award show as well as receiving hundreds of awards.

LEVIATHAN

JOB: Programmer and Developer

A famous IT that works for the government and helps maintain government systems and Technologies, being one of the most trusted and talented worker in this field he has access to everything that can be found online.

SATAN

JOB: Proffesor

The youngest and top proffesor of one of the best schools found in the world, being the charming and mysterious proffesor whose world seems to revolve around books and his well known addiction, cats.

ASMODEUS

JOB: Model

The jewel of the human world, modeling for every possible brands to exist. He's known for his unforgettable face and his unmatched charm that helped him rise to the top of the world of fashion.

BEELZEBUB

JOB: Chef

A world-class chef that cooks for the king, known for his unique skills and for his beautiful physique. A man that made multiple woman swoon because of his looks and cooking skills.

BELPHEGOR

JOB: Doctor

A mysterious Doctor who seems to enjoy cutting things up and inventing antidotes or medicines against viruses and diseases that does not have a cure yet. He seems to be passionate about his job but the reason why he entered this field is still unknown.

ROLE: Hunters

SIMEON

RANK: A

A Rank A monster hunter is one of the best, most skilled and experienced monster hunters out there. They have exceptional abilities and skill in fighting and defeating monsters, as well as an in-depth knowledge of different types of monsters and how to defeat them.

Rank A Monster hunters are highly skilled and experienced in the art of hunting monsters. They are sought after for their exceptional abilities and knowledge. Their skill and experience have earned them a reputation as some of the finest monster hunters in the world.

LUKE

RANK: C

A Rank C monster hunter is considered an entry-level monster hunter. They are relatively new to the field and are still developing their skills and gaining experience. While they may have some basic knowledge of monster hunting techniques, they lack the advanced abilities and knowledge of higher-ranked Hunters. Nonetheless, they can still be an asset to a team and can perform certain tasks with supervision and guidance.

Overall, Rank C monster hunters are still learning and gaining experience. They are not always ready to handle high-level or dangerous missions, and are often assigned tasks and roles under the supervision and guidance of

[trolllsss]

So @deliciousdefendorinternet asked a great question and made me so so happy cause it's the first question I've ever gotten. The response ended up being pretty long so I thought I'd share it here too.

The question was what I wanted to see from a Brozone reconciliation.

To start with, they need to give a proper apology. Not a "hey I'm sorry, I was a stupid kid. I didn't mean to." It sounds too much like an excuse and it puts the responsibility on Branch to be understanding.

Then I want to see effort from them to spend time with him. They come to him. They do things he likes. They realize that they're practically strangers and take the time to get to know him.

I think John Dory will have the hardest time with this. He's stuck in this mind frame of wanting to pick up where they left off and wanting to minimize anything bad that happened.

On the fluffy side of things, I want Branch to get to really meet Bruce's kids. He was so happy when he learned about them. I also want Bruce to accidentally slip into Dad mode with him too. Stuff like, "okay, it's getting late. Time for bed." Or "hey, it's okay to feel angry and to need space. I just need you to tell me. Help me help you." At first Branch thinks it's insulting because he feels like he's being treated like a kid, but then Bruce treats him like an adult in other situations and he realizes that thirteen kids build some hard habits to break. That Bruce loves his kids, and he's treating Branch a lot like them.

I'd love for Clay to give Branch a copy of the first sad book he ever read. He's kind of hesitant, because even though Viva appreciates sad books, she doesn't always ENJOY them. And his brothers never liked them at all.

But Branch loves them the way he loved sad country songs. He's the newest member of Clay's book club, trolltopia division.

They also go over Branch's safety measures for the village, most of which were implemented without the village's knowledge, and swap notes.

Floyd. Oof. People go really easy on Floyd. I think it's because he was so hurt after the movie and acknowledged that Branch had grown up. But Floyd had the benefit of not being there to fight. I could see him being so desperate to avoid conflict that he'd brush over problems or Branch's feelings to try to keep the peace.

Anyway, for him I want Branch to be helping with his recovery, along with JD, and they catch him on a Grey Day. His fur is grey again and so is his attitude. Usually he locks himself in his bunker on days like that, then Poppy will inevitably come find him and stay next to him still he's feeling a bit better.

I'm a firm believer that being grey for twenty years has consequences and I want Floyd and JD both to see some of them.

JD and Branch go camping! JD will go to do something to show off for his baby brother only to turn around and see that Branch had already done it. He's forced to acknowledge that Branch has grown up. Without him. And that that was his own fault. They end the trip with a healthy amount of mutual respect and plans to go camping together once every other month.

[drocolus]

Thinking about that Limbus Company swap!AU idea I've had a while back...

swaps are:

Don Quixote and Vergilius

Yi Sang and Rodion

Ryōshū and Charon

Outis and Gregor

Meursault and Ishmael

Sinclair and Hong Lu

Heathcliff and Faust

Don Quixote is the guide, and spedrun her character arc way before the game's start.

Vergilius is in Don's og place, and is now tied to the myth of Rome's founding instead of Dante's inferno. This is due to him being a werewolf/Garou, who ended up killing his brother in a berserk state. The trauma of this made him repress memory of his brother's death AND the knowledge of himself being a werewolf. Instead of fangirling over fixers, he fanboys over wings and singularities and that.

Yi Sang is just zesty as fuck. Like, I ain't even sugarcoating it. He's Tennant-from-Reverse1999-coded. However, he's also more oriented towards MONEY, which is his "ideal".

Rodion is less fleshed out than some of the other swaps so far. I can imagine her always wearing a veil.

Ryōshū can and WILL use self-defense rights to protect her vehicle. She's the only one who knows Don by her real name of Sancho.

Charon in Ryōshū's place is another one that isn't fleshed out that much.

Outis is more chill than in canon, and is a foil to Gregor.

Gregor can't help but still act like he's in the military.

Meursault isn't as stoic as canon, and I feel like the sun being his white whale could be some symbolism? I don't really know that much about the stranger tbh...

Ishmael is... Also not as planned out as some others so far. Stoicism of Meursault tho.

Sinclair is both innocent and rich as fuck. Some sort of philosophical thing he does with Dante and the two coins? I'm not sure.

Hong Lu.... I got nothing other than him now knowing the world isn't a nice place.

Peakcliff Heathcliff knows all outcomes, is smarter, politer, yet still speaks in his heavy ass accent and slang.

Faust is still smart and that, but nowhere near as emotionless as canon.

"Hmm... Perhaps I should utilise a blunt implement to apply sufficient kinetic force to the surface of your cranium, causing it to crack and then break or shatter momentarily later... Yes..."

-Faust, moments before bludgeoning Hong Lu's skull in for the 18th time.

.... I need to flesh this out more.

[jq37]

Seeing you describe your opinion on Wish (the movie itself) as "def do have oh boy" just has me curious now. What is it?

OK, so I let this sit in my inbox for a while because I planned to see Wish and I figured that it would be more fair to wait until I had a full picture of what the movie was before I started talking about it and...yeahhhhhhh having seen it my opinion has not changed. It's just intensified. 

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW (lol, this got past 7k words)

And, fair warning, it's pretty critical so if you don't want to read something critical about this movie then this is your exit.

tl;dr: I think the movie Wish fails at basically everything it sets out to do and it's an absolutely awful 100th Anniversary movie for Disney. 

When I say it fails at everything, I mean EVERYTHING*. I'm going to break this into sections for organizational purposes. 

*The one thing I'll give it a slight pass on is the art style which I don't love but also wasn't like make or break for me. I would have preferred true 2D or a better implementation of the blended 2D/3D style, but if the movie was otherwise of the quality of something like Spiderverse or Puss in Boots, the animation wouldn't have bothered me. Like, I watched S1 of The Dragon Prince with no problem. I can forgive janky animation--and it wasn't even super janky. Just odd. What I can't forgive is literally everything else about the movie. 

Characters

How is this movie so full of characters and yet devoid of characters that matter? There are a million characters in this movie and basically only two of them matter: The King and Asha. But neither of them are compelling in any meaningful way.

There's a lot of to do about the last batch of Disney protags being very same-y in a quirky, all fluff and no substance way and I don't really buy into that. I don't think that Raps, Anna, Moana, and Mirabel are palate swapped carbon copies of each other. They have unique backgrounds and struggles and motivations. I feel like they're all quirky, sure. But they all also have an identity BEYOND being quirky. 

I do NOT get that with Asha. I don't feel like I have a good idea of what makes her tick at all. Like, she's kind. She wants her grandpa to get his wish. She wants to be the King's apprentice so she can help people. The queen (we'll get to her) exposits to us that she cares about people. But being kind isn't in itself an entire personality. The way Mulan is kind (defying the law to spare her father the ravages of war in his old age) isn't the same way as the way Cinderella is kind (making clothes for her mouse friends and protecting them from the cat). Asha just has a generalized want to help people, which is an admirable trait, but doesn't give us much to latch onto. It's so telling to me that in a movie called "Wish" our main character's wish is just, "To have more than just this" And yes, Disney princesses wanting "more" is literally their whole thing, but it's always more specific than that. Mirabel wants to prove herself to her family. Rapunzel wants to experience life beyond her tower. Even Snow White--the Disney princess with the flimsiest story--wants to find her true love. That's a concrete motivation! Asha doesn't feel real to me as a character. It feels like the thing that drives her is that the plot needs to happen and that's it. 

The other important character in the movie is King Magnifico who was supposed to be a return to form for Disney in introducing another classic villain but he just fails at that so hard. The idea that he could stand toe to toe with any of the OGs like Lady Tremaine or Scar or even the latest villains like Dr. Facillier or Mother Gothel is laughable. He just doesn't have any gravitas. And his characterization is so odd. You can tell that they were trying to give him a "reasonable man doing unreasonable things for a good reason” backstory (both because of some images in the film and some stuff in interviews I read) but then they just...don't actually give the backstory? Like, they imply that the backstory exists but I don't remember them going into it at all. Which like, he doesn't NEED a tragic backstory. He can just be doing what he's doing because he's evil. Ursula didn't need a reason to want to rule the seas. She's just a boss bitch and she wants power. I don't need to dissect that any further. BUT if you tell me there’s a reason your villain is doing something, I need to see that reason. I don't understand why they would include that in the movie, just to do nothing with it. 

Beyond that, he's written in such a weird way. Like, despite the "maybe he has a point" angle they seem to want to go with, he's very obviously a self-absorbed ruler--like he'll say things like, "Yeah, I am super handsome" to his wife--which immediately dumps him into the camp villain category. But he's doing the controlling things he does in the movie of his own accord to get people to stick to the status quo he set up. Fine. That's a fine thing for a camp villain to be doing. But then, at a certain point in the movie, he just uses a forbidden magic evil book (which he has for some reason) that just fills him with evil, green magic and makes him 100% unhinged all of a sudden. And that's just...boring? Like, anything interesting you might have been able to do before that point about power and control and how sometimes you make a wrong choice with good intentions is just gone at that point. It sucks because there were a lot of right answers here. You could just make him evil because he's evil. That works. You could have him be seriously convinced that what he's doing is right and be willing to do whatever he needs to do to keep things that way. That works. You could say that he started out trying to be morally upright and then slid into enjoying the praise and control just a bit too much--and I think maybe that's what they were going for. But it does not come across that way. He just seems like a dick to the point where you're kinda questioning how he's pulling any of this off. Asha asks him one question and he flies off the handle. How does everyone not know he's an asshole if it takes so little to fluster him?

So I don't like our main hero or villain. But there are still SO MANY CHARACTERS in this movie. 

You've got Asha's SEVEN FRIENDS. Yes, SEVEN. they're based off of the seven dwarves, which is cute enough but do you know what happens when you give the hero seven sidekick characters? None of them get developed at all and you have to treat them like a unit. Only two of them matter at all--Dahlia (her best friend and the one who actually does more than just make dumb jokes or, worse, nothing at all) and Simon (the one who betrays them--more on that later). There is no story reason for them to have shoved in this many sidekicks. Especially since she also has…

Her animal sidekick, Valentino. Who is a very cute goat until he gets sprinkled with stardust and boom. He can talk. Which immediately made me like him less. Flounder he aint. The whole joke with him is that he's a baby goat with a rich, deep, baritone voice. That's it. Almost every joke he makes is either about that or his butt. Boo. 

Then, there's the Queen--Queen Amaya--who is such a NOTHING character. There's no effort made to build up her relationship with the king so that her flipping on him later has an emotional impact. I have no idea what she cares about or desires. When she shows up, she's basically acting like the king's secretary, which is weird. I don't think that's what a queen does. There's a moment during a later song when she joins the "revolution" and it just has zero impact because again, it's like, I don't know who you are in any significant way! She seems nice, and I would love to live somewhere ruled by someone boring and benign, but that makes for an awful movie character. 

I almost wrote "lastly, there's the star" because I totally forgot about Asha's mom and grandpa. They're in this movie too but even though Asha's whole motivation at the start of the movie is getting her grandpa's wish granted, we never get a good idea of what their relationship is. They have like, one quick scene at the top which tells us nothing, then they're in a crowd scene later, then Asha has dinner with them later the same day and that's it. And, again, we get nothing significant. Compared to something like Mulan where you have a good idea of what Mulan's relationship is with every member of her family by the time the military order comes in or Encanto where between the musical number at the top and the first group scene, you get an entire picture, this is really weak. Again, so weak that I completely forgot that they were even in this movie. 

And NOW lastly, there's the star. Who is like, cute enough but he really makes me annoyed because I've seen the original concepts and they would have been so much more interesting! That's the case for the queen too, so I'll talk about both of them together here. 

I am sorry to inform you if you didn't already know but the queen was originally supposed to be evil too.

She was supposed to be a part of an evil power couple with Magnifico and how dope would that have been? We've never gotten that from Disney before. Imagine! Disney Villain Song Duet! A Hot couples costume for next Halloween! An actual relationship that's developed in this movie! But nope. They unflavor-blasted her into the paper thin, placeholder of a character we have in the movie. 

And the Star went through a couple of concepts. One, was the spirit of her dead grandpa, taking a younger form, which isn't my fave one but it at least would give her a relationship with this person who is supposedly an important person in her life, something we don't have in the movie right now. My favorite alternate concept is that originally, the Star was supposed to be her celestial love interest. And listen, anyone who's followed me for long enough knows that I am a big advocate for platonic relationships and FRONTING platonic relationships. I don't think that a story needs a romantic relationship to be compelling and I think forcing one in almost always makes it worse. But there is NO central relationship in this movie to carry it. Asha has too many friends for any one of them to make a serious impact so it's not a friendship story. Her mom and grandpa are nothing characters, so it's not a family story. She interacts with the star a lot, but that's basically just her talking to herself because the start doesn’t talk. So nothing is really there to latch onto. If they'd decided to go with the romance angle, it would have forced them to focus on at least ONE relationship and it would have been a nice way to throwback to classic Disney movies from the past. Much better than just sticking her with SEVEN WHOLE USELESS FRIENDS. Literally, all they provide is backup vocals in the fight song. Special Dishonorable Mention to Gabo. Man I hate that dude. 

So, to recap this section, Asha's personality is only sketched out in the loosest possible way, King Magnifico is entirely half-baked, and there are so many side characters that no one can form meaningful relationships with each other. And it's really a shame because (1) they very easily could have pared down the cast and (2) very recently Disney put out Encanto which handles a large cast beautifully. There are a ton of Madrigals but I can tell you what the deal of each and every one is. This could have been done well and they fumbled so hard. 

Concept

OK, so next up is the general plot and concept. This story takes place in the city of Rosas which is ruled by King Magnifco. It is supposedly a paradise, but much like a YA dystopian novel, it has a twist: When you turn 18, Magnifico takes your wish away from you and puts in in his wish room with the promise that it might be granted at one of the monthly wish granting ceremonies. Once your wish is taken from you, you are "unburdened" and you're "free" from having to pursue it. You don't even remember what it was. 

There's a kernel of something interesting there. A ruler making his subjects docile, placid zombies that won't challenge him by taking away their ambition? That's interesting. People willingly giving away a part of their heart to dull the pain of trying and failing? Interesting. Someone doing this with no ill intent, but rather genuinely thinking that this half-existence is better than the heartbreak of the alternative? Interesting!

But the actual implementation of this idea? Ughhhhhh. 

So first off, just logistically, Magnifico grants one wish a month more or less (Asha says once a month and in his villain song, he said he granted 14 wishes "last year"). So like, realistically, most of these people have to know their wishes will never be granted, right? Because of like...how math works? Asha acts like it's a big shock when she learns that most wishes won't be granted but like girl...math. 

Secondly, there are two moments that are meant to imply that having your wish taken away turns you into a shell of yourself. Asha's friend (who betrays her) Simon is said to be all sleepy and more boring since he turned 18 and had his wish taken. And then, later in the movie, we see two new residents have their wishes taken, and they look a little disturbed after it happens. But, here's the thing. NO ONE ELSE IN THE MOVIE ACTS LIKE THAT. Asha's mom and grandpa act like normal people. So do all the other characters. It’s not consistent enough to establish that this is what’s on the line. Does taking your wish away make you a robot or not?

And does everyone just have one wish? I know I could fill a full sheet of paper, front and back, with things that matter very dearly to me. If you took away my wish to write for TV someday, that would still leave my wishes to travel the world and get a comic book adaptation of one of my novels and a whole lot of other things! Does taking your main wish away make you lose your ability to form new wishes? Logistically, how does any of this work? And you can't just say, "It's a metaphor. Don't think too hard about it," because there's a scene where the citizens start asking these questions. Like, "What happens if we have a new wish than from when we initially made it?" As if having unnamed side characters ask the questions first will alleviate the need to answer them. It's not lamp shading at that point. You're just being lazy. 

Also, this is more a me thinking about the implications too hard than an actual plot problem but if he's taking the wishes at 18 I feel like a lot of peoples' greatest desire at that stage in their life is, "I want a romantic partner." And if the central conceit of this premise is that once your wish is taken, you stop wanting to pursue it then the city of Rosas is gonna have a population Collapse problem very soon. 

The characters--especially Asha--get so emotional about wishes. It's like they're giving a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic speech every time they talk about it (except MLP has MUCH better writing). It's bizarre to see Asha's mom get her wish back and be like, "Oh my wish. My precious wish!" when she doesn't act any differently than a normal person before or after she has it back (Sidenote: She says this and she's holding the wish ball but we never see what that wish is and that's maddening. Why do I know what the dream of every patron in the Snuggly Duckling is, but they didn't show that? Ridic.) It almost is like, being in contact with a wish ball is a quasi-religious experience that drives the characters’ actions (Asha and the King are both totally enraptured while singing together in the Wish Room), but because we, the audience, are very much not in contact with the wish balls, we're not getting ANY of that. 

Anyway, to recap this section: the central premise of how wishes work and how taking them affects people is not treated consistently or explained well, which makes the stakes feel very undefined and sloppy. 

Pacing

This has to be its own section, because it's the thing that baffled me most when I watched this movie. So, here's the setup. Asha is going to interview for the internship with the king. She wants to help people and she has the secondary motive of wanting to try and get her 100-year-old grandpa's wish granted because he's not getting any younger. 

Here is the entire sequence: Asha is led into the interview by Queen Amaya. Asha is awkward but makes a good enough first impression that Magnifico is moved to show her the wish room (for some reason). They sing a duet about the wishes where they’re both dazzled by the Wish balls. During the song, Asha finds her Grandpa's wish and after the song, she asks him to grant it. He looks at the wish and says while she has good intentions, it's too dangerous to grant--as are most wishes. She asks why not give them back then and he immediately flies off the handle and starts ranting about how HE decides which wishes get granted and what everyone deserves! 

Their first meeting and him showing his true colors happens in the SAME SCENE. It's like 7-10 minutes and they just RUSH through all of that. And it's like, why? Did they really need to get to that dumbass star song (we'll get to that) faster? 

I know that he isn't a twist villain so we don't need to keep the fact that he’s the bad guy under wraps. And, the way the story is structured, she needs to learn what he's doing before she can rebel against him. But it's not gonna be a big, impactful moment if you're rushing from beat to beat like this is an essay that's due in twenty minutes and you started five minutes ago. 

And it really makes you wonder, if Asha can blow the whole lid off this conspiracy within ten minutes of meeting this guy, why is this not happening more often? Between how obviously smarmy the King is, how paltry the wish granting system is, and how easily Asha was able to start asking questions and get him to blow his top (something that happens again later when the citizens start asking question–it literally drives him into his villain song) I don't believe that this wouldn't have happened earlier (Sidenote: Finding out that it HAD happened earlier and that Asha is the latest in a line of failed apprentices who questioned him? More interesting premise). 

So to recap: I have no idea why this movie is paced like this but it's not doing it any favors. 

Humor

Humor is very subjective so you can take this with a huge grain of salt but I think this is a deeply unfunny movie. 

The jokes fall into about three main categories:

(1) Quirky Humor: This is like Asha babbling and tripping over her words. The scene in the trailer where she's like, "Is my face drooping?" is a good example. It's not really a joke but it's clearly an attempt at humor that I don't think meets the mark. It's also in the songs with, for instance, the animals or the King saying slang that doesn't match how they talk or you'd expect them to talk at all and it just feels deeply incongruent, not funny. 

(2) Referential Humor: This is probably what bothered me the most because it was just so so very eye-roll inducing. And listen, I love a good reference. Enchanted is my favorite movie of all time. I don’t begrudge them for putting a few references in their 100th Anniversary movie. But ugh. There is a scene after the king's gone crazy where he's destroying wish bubbles for power and he's like, looking at the wishes and making a quip before he crushes them. And for the second one he goes, "Oh you want a nanny for your kids? Definitely  POPPING this one!" And he might as well have looked at the camera and said, "Get it? Get it?" and it took 6 months off my lifespan. (Sidenote: He he does a direct ref with the first two wish bubbles--Peter Pan and Mary Poppins–and then he just makes a general ref to the concept of true love with the last one and it's like, come on at least rule of threes this if you're gonna do it. Commit to your awful bit!)

(3) Kiddie Humor: This is where things get especially subjective because maybe a little kid would find this stuff really funny and they are a part of the target audience so that's valid. But it doesn't add much substance to the movie. This is like the goat being like, "I found a secret passage with my butt" or leading a chicken choir or singing the line, "So that's where all the balls of gas come from" while sticking his butt in the air--a lot of these have to do with the goat and his butt now that I think about it. 

I think I only laughed at one thing in the movie that was meant to be at least partially funny--when the Queen interrupts the fight song and everyone is like "Oh shit, we're busted!" before she starts singing along. 

So to recap: Sometimes a movie has a weak story but it's super funny and that makes up for it. This is not one of those movies.

Music

This is the one thing I already knew before I watched this movie: The music in this movie is bad. 

Like, fullstop, no qualifications bad. Not bad for a Disney movie. Not bad for this story. Just bad.

I was a little confused by the choice to pick a pop artist instead of someone who specializes in musical theater style music for this project, but a more pop-y musical doesn't automatically mean a worse musical. Sure, maybe it's a weird choice to pay homage to the past 100 years of Disney movies, but it could be good. I love Six the Musical.

But that's the problem. The songs aren't just unfitting. They're not just un-Disney. They're fully BAD. They feel so half-baked and God, I've never been so assaulted by slant rhymes in my life. Like, this bothers me to the point where I have to go through the entire tracklist. I can't just make a blanket statement, I have to show you what I mean:

1) Welcome to Rosas: This whole song sounds like someone listened to “Where you Are” from Moana (the "consider the coconut" song), “Belle” from Beauty and the Beast, and “The Family Madrigal” from Encanto and was like, "I could do that". And then they couldn't. It's not really catchy and it's pretty repetitive. Super forgettable. 

Worst Line: Honestly, this song is too boring to have a worst line. 

2) At All Costs: This is the duet that Asha and Magnifico sing. Before I saw the movie, I thought it was going to be Asha singing about a wish and Magnifico singing to his wife to set up the eventual rift between them but that was before I realized that this movie doesn't believe in relationship building. Some of the movie's worst musical sins are on display here. Turns of phrases that seem like they were written by AI and bizarre syntax. 

Like what does, "You pull me in, like some kind of wind" mean? That's not what wind does. Why would anyone ever say, "Felt this? No, I haven't" instead of "I haven't felt this?" That's so awkward. 

Worst Line: "Leave you here, I don't wanna. I wanna [promise as one does]." My feelings about this line could be a whole other essay, but I've been writing this for 2 hours already so I have to move on. 

3) This Wish: This is the big "I Want" song and it fails on several levels. It fails in comparison to all the songs it’s standing in the shadow of--like the last “I Want” song we got is, I believe, “Waiting on a Miracle” and man! How can you not feel for Mirabel after watching her go through everything she goes through at the start of the movie and it getting topped with her being excluded from the family portrait? You see all the build up (including the implied build up from before the movie started) and you see why it's all bubbled up to the point where she has no choice but to sing about it! With Asha, there isn't a whole lifetime of angst that's bubbling up to make her sing this song. Everything that's happened to her has happened over the hour of like eight hours tops. She meets the king, finds out about the king, realizes the whole system is bad, and then gets into an argument with her family who's drunk the Kool-Aid and doesn't wanna hear what she has to say (which makes no impact on us because we have no idea what their relationship is). That's it. It doesn't feel like the movie has earned the song.

And then with “Waiting for a Miracle” the music itself is plaintive and soaring. Like, I just paused writing to listen to it and I couldn't help but sing along and pour a little of my actual IRL "I Want" energy into it. It's a song that feels very real. “This Wish” isn't any of that. And it's not the actresses' fault! She's pouring her whole heart into it and she consistently does all movie. But the song is just, bland. Like I said, "I want to have more than this" is too weak a hook to hang your whole song on–especially when it’s the song that’s supposed to be the thesis of your whole movie.  

Worst Line: "So I look up at the stars to guide me/And throw caution to every warning sign." That's not a thing people say and also it doesn't mean anything. If anything, it sounds like she's saying that she's being extra cautious at the warning signs! You can't just throw words together haphazardly and expect them to retain their meaning!

4) I'm a Star: This is, imo, the worst song on the whole track. A friend of mine described it as sounding like a song from a preschool science show and that's exactly it, but there's more to it than that. 

First of all, a big part of the reason this song exists is to set up the fact that humans are made of stardust because that's a plot point in the climax. But there didn't need to be a song about that. That would be like if Frozen 2 had a song about how water has memory. But like, OK. If the song was a bop, it wouldn't matter that it was superfluous. Haus of Holbein in Six does NOT need to be there, but I enjoy it! I do NOT enjoy this song however. 

This is something I alluded to earlier, but this soundtrack in general and this song specifically sounds like it's trying to do LMM's schtick but poorly. And I know some people don't like his whole style of music (I personally like it) but love him or hate him, his style without his skill? Awful. The presentation of fun facts in the middle of a fun song makes me think of his "Look it Up" in “Shiny” or "That's true" in “A Winter's Ball”. And there's a part where a turtle (we'll get to the talking animals) sings "See we're all just little nebulae in a nursery/From supernovas now we've grown into our history/We're taking whys right out of mystery, closure/Now we're taking in all the star exposure" And it really sounds like someone doing their best to emulate Lin's flow in things like Mirabel's aside to Mariano in “The Family Madrigal” or any number of songs I could name from Hamilton. But it just falls so flat here. It sounds so preschool and cheesy. And not preschool in a fun way. Backyardigans would never. 

Also, this song is sung by a bunch of talking animals (the Star gives them the ability to talk) and I find them so obnoxious. They say stuff like, "Did we just blow your mind?" with the "boom" sound effect and I hate it. Maybe kids will like them, I dunno. I refuse to get into it further. 

Worst Line: This song completely misuses the word allegory, which I hate, and it rhymes it with "excitatory" which I hate more (and I am saying this as someone who has made peace with the fact that Schwartz rhymes "nasty" with "flabbergasty" in Disenchanted) but there is only one line in this song that can be considered the true worst line because it's my least favorite line in the whole movie. A dumbass, stoner-sounding deer named Bambi (boo) sings, "Ooh, I'm a star! Watch out world, here I are"

They rhyme the word star--not a hard word to rhyme at all--with HERE I ARE. 

I firmly believe someone should go to jail for that. 

5) This is The Thanks I Get?!: This is the much anticipated and extremely disappointing villain song. There's just no gravitas and it's not clever enough to be very fun. It's just kinda bopping along which is eh, kind of fun at best, but like everything else in this movie, doesn't leave an impact. A musical number doesn't have to be obviously sinister like “Be Prepared” or, the holy (unholy?) grail, “Hellfire”, to be impactful. “Mother Knows Best” is bright and filled with false cheer but it still works because we can see the manipulation that Gothel is doing and she spins Raps around in mental circles to keep her docile. This is just an egotistical rant--and not even in a fun, Gaston kind of way! (Sidenote: Gaston is a good example of a villain who is preening and pompous and kind fo campy, but who you see why he’s beloved AND he can be menacing when the scene calls for it). 

Also, it's so full of weird slang that Magnifico doesn't use at any other point in the movie. "Peep the name", "Ungrateful much", "Mmm, are you sure you're not the prob?" It's like he suddenly got possessed by Urban Dictionary. It's bizarre. 

It also comes weirdly late in the movie, which isn't a complaint, just an observation. 

Worst Line: I think "peep the name" is my least fave but, because I already said that, the opening lines of this song are, "I can't help it if mirrors love my face. It's genetics! Yeah, I got these genes from outer space" and that's such a weird thing to say. I got these genes from outer space? He wasn't even there for the star song so what the hell does he mean by that?

6) Knowing What I Know Now: I feel like this is the song that had the most potential. But for all its build, it never builds to anything. It starts and ends so abruptly (which is the case for multiple songs on this list). We don't really get to know any of the characters well except for Asha so them joining the revolution has no impact. The Queen turning on Magnifico really doesn't have much impact. 

(There's a line in this song where a character sings, "I was sweet but now I'm something else" which is so funny because we literally know nothing about her except that she surprises people when she's in a room which, lmao, me too. Fully forgot you were in this movie, girl). 

Worst Line: "The good in him, I've watched it melt". There's technically nothing wrong with this line but I hate it because melting with regard to emotion is never, "Oh, his goodness is melting". It just hits the ear so wrong. You can watch the good in him disappear or fade or vanish. Not melt. Hearts melt. 

There's also a reprise and a credits song but I have talked about the music for too long as is so to sum up, there is not a single song on this list that I will ever purposefully listen to for enjoyment ever again and there are a few lines that I feel calls for someone being forced to go to whatever the musical version of the Hague is to explain themselves. 

MISC

This is just a section for things that annoyed me that didn't fit anywhere else. 

There's a moment where Asha sees Star which is a star that has fallen to earth and is shaped like a star and she's not able to put together than he's a star until she looks up at a ball of yarn that's tangled in the trees and sees that the yarn is shaped like a star...which again, Star is ALSO shaped like a star! Baffling. 

Gabo at one point makes a comment to the effect of, "Wishing on a Star? Grow up Asha, this isn't a fairy tale." And it's like, dude shut up. Your king is a sorcerer. This movie isn't funny enough to pull off that kind of wink to the audience. 

The actual funniest part of the movie is when a talking mouse (not a thing that usually exists in this world) runs onto the Queen's shoulder during a big speech in front of a crowd and not only does no one notice, but she has no stronger reaction than if a messenger was telling her that her dinner was ready. And not in an underreaction for the purposes of a joke way. Like, in a they forgot to write in a reaction for her way. It's so unintentionally hilarious. 

They specifically set this in the real world–off the coast of the Iberan Peninsula–but I didn’t get any of that influence in any significant way here. It could have been any generic island town. Rosas sounds like a Spanish name and “Welcome to Rosas” there is some dancing that looks like traditional Spanish dancing. But on a whole, it feels pretty bland. When I think about studying abroad in Spain, one of the big things I think about are all the moments with food–patatas con bravas, pan con tomatae, paella, and so so much coffee. The only food I remember from this movie are the novelty cookies Dahlia is always baking. Which is wild to me because their last big musical was Encanto and you could feel the cultural influences in every scene and it was seamless. This wouldn’t even bother me if that hadn’t made a point to set it in a specific part of the real world and call it out. 

A lot of the dialogue is super expository in a way that both makes me think the writers think we’re stupid and that they realized at certain points that they forgot to establish things but instead of fixing the script they just shoved in a line. Like, to the first point, there’s a part where Magnifico crushes a wish and it’s very clear that he’s getting a high from it. But instead of letting the moment stand he’s like, “Oh yes. Who knew crushing wishes would feel so good? I must continue to crush wishes so I keep feeling this good feeling,” and it’s like…why did you need to say all of that? Old Power Rangers episodes have their villains monologue less than that!

This movie opens on a storybook–just like Snow White–and it has a voice over of Asha narrating the history of Rosas as the pages flip. Not a bad idea–until you push into the scene and realize she’s telling all of this to…her grandpa? Who is 100 years old and lived through all of this? What? Why not have that scene be a kid flashback and the story is being told to her? Or have her be doing the little kid thing of telling a story to an adult? Either way, that would help establish their relationship which is ostensibly very important to this movie. Or, wild thought, just have her be telling this story to kids! Like Mirabel explaining all the Madrigal gifts in Encanto! Like, if you’re gonna take cues from that movie, at least go all the way so your movie makes sense. 

It’s very unclear how Star’s magic works. It seems like he mostly just gives wildlife the ability to talk. I thought he was just granting wishes but he never does that to any of the humans. And I find it hard to believe that the wish of every animal (and mushroom)  in this movie is just to be able to talk.

Easy Fixes

And all of this is compounded by the fact that this isn’t just any random movie or even any random Disney movie. It’s the *100th ANNIVERSARY*. You only get one of those and this is what they wasted it on. My hopes were really high here! I was expecting a lot of love and care to be put into this one, but it just fell absolutely flat. It feels so rote, so by the numbers, so lacking in care. It feels like the shell of an outline of a movie that relies on the fact that we know what a movie of this sort should be and can fill in the blanks. 

And the worst part? The absolute worst part?

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY EASY MOVIE TO FIX. 

Like, I’m serious. If you watch this movie, you will be able to, off the cuff, name tons of things that would have solved problems without breaking a sweat. 

For instance, just cutting her friend group down from seven to two would have helped immensely. If she, Dahlia, and Simon have a Three Musketeers relationship, then when he betrays her to the king, it actually means something now! 

For a bigger but still obvious change, why not have Asha have an existing relationship with Magnifico? So then this story can be about her losing faith in this relationship she’s had for a long time after she’s seen behind the curtain and become jaded over time and not a 7 minute “Don’t Meet Your Heroes” speedrun.

And making it clear what taking a Wish from a person means–and following through with that portrayal all movie–would all be a game changer. Show that Magnifico’s magical wish granting still leaves the people hollow. Show that Asha is a vibrant, bright person amongst a sea of robotic adults. Show me some worldbuilding! 

Also, just hire a musical theater person to do the music. Seriously I can’t believe I have to say this? How is there not a single good song in this movie? There are DCOMs with more bangers than this. Almost every song in High School Musical is a bop. How are you getting outshone by High School Musical?

And these are just changes that preserve the bulk of the story as is. This movie could have been even better if they’d change the direction to go with some of their scrapped ideas!

This is just a movie that absolutely baffles me. I wouldn’t think it would be possible for a movie with this high of a profile to be this bad. You would think that even accidentally they’d have to get SOMETHING right. But they really don’t. I can’t recommend this movie, even for a fun-bad watch. It’s like eating unsalted saltines while you have dry mouth. Just watch a better movie. And here are three movies I think are more in the spirit of Disney’s 100th anniversary than Wish:

(1) The Princess and the Frog does literally everything that this movie is trying to do but better. You’ve got a movie that used a 2D style in the 3D era. You have integration of cultural elements–in this case New Orleans in the 20s. You have a classic princess story with the classic trappings: romance, villain, fairy godmother. You have a rocking villain song. Hell, you even have a wishing star motif! 

(2) Encanto is the latest Disney movie of the modern era to have that classic Disney magic, imo. It sidesteps a lot of the classic Disney tropes–no princess, no serious romance (Delores and Mariano end up together but it’s very much a side thing), no villain beyond generational trauma–but it still feels musical and magical and full of character and life. It shows that you can keep the big emotions that we expect from Disney even with more modern sensibilities. 

(3) Enchanted is my favorite movie of all time so I’m biased, but I still firmly believe that it stands as a better movie in general and tribute to Disney specifically than Wish. THIS is how you do an homage. The whole plot is a loving roast of all the quirks of classic Disney movies, but it’s also a sincere story that stands on its own. It has references to old movies, but they’re integrated very naturally. And it’s funny enough to get away with things like a character mid-musical number being like, “What the hell is happening? Why is everybody singing?” without it feeling like lazy, “Well that just happened” humor. And the music is so good! 

(A quick note on the music btw: Most of the songs in Enchanted are musical theater style songs but there’s one song near the end called “So Close” which is like a pop ballad. And it totally makes sense why they’d depart from the musical theater style in that moment in context but, even if it was jarring and totally unfitting for the movie, it’s still objectively a strong song. Out of context, it would be a great, sad, romantic song. And if the music in Wish was all like that–good but unfitting–this would confuse me less than it does.)

Anyway, I would shell out a LOT of money for a making of documentary for this movie in the style of the Frozen 2 one because as writer and a fan of a lot of Disney’s past stuff, it is completely beyond my comprehension who a team of accomplished people get together to create the 100th Anniversary project with their vast resources and produce this. It just doesn't feel like a movie with any serious care put into it. Which is separate from quality, btw. I don’t like the movie Raya very much but I think it’s obvious a lot of care went into it and I respect this. Wish feels like a movie that was made to fill some kind of contractual obligation and it makes me sad because I really wanted to like it.