#Skyscraper (2018)

[heavenboy09]

5 Years Ago Today, On July 13th, 2018

From Universal Pictures & Legendary Pictures Presents

1 Of The Most Biggest Blockbuster Summer Movies 🎥 Of Dwayne Johnson's Career Was Released On This Day

WELCOME TO THE PEARL 🦪

The World's 🌎 Tallest Building 🏢🗼

225 Stories Above Hong 🇭🇰 Kong

The Height Of Luxury....

Just Became A Blazing Death Trap 💀

1 Veteran Hero Has Been Framed For The Crime ....

Hunted, On The Run 🏃‍♂️

He Must Leap Into The Inferno 🔥 Because His Family Is Trapped Inside....

Also He Is Paraplegic

And The Odds Are Very Much Against Him.

Truly A Epic & Monumental Story Of The Most Hardened Souls On Earth 🌎, Becoming A Beacon Of Determination

& Above All

Hope 🙏

UNIVERSAL PICTURES & LEGENDARY PICTURES PRESENTS

DWANYE JOHNSON

In

SKYSCRAPER 🗼🏢

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY TO UNIVERSAL PICTURES

SKYSCRAPER 🗼🌆

#SkyScraperMovie #DwayneJohnson

[rabbitcruiser]

Jacques Herzog was born on April 19, 1950 in Basel, Switzerland.  

[unicornialychromantic]

Maki Hosokawa - Skyscraper Ramen, 2018

[uwmspeccoll]

Cannupa Hanska Luger, New Myth, Future Technologies, 2021

Dana Claxton, Headdress-Jeneen, 2018

Teresa Baker, Hidatsa Red, 2022

Raven Chacon, For Zitkala Sa Series, 2019

Caroline Monnet, Echoes from a near future, 2022

Marie Watt, Skywalker/Skyscraper (Calling Sky World), 2021

Anna Tsouhlarakis, The Native Guide Project, 2019

Meryl McMaster, Harbourage for a Song, 2019

Marie Watt, Companion Species (Calling Back, Calling Forward), 2021

Staff Pick of the Week

An Indigenous Present proposes that a book can be a space for community engagement through the transcultural gathering of more than sixty contemporary Indigenous and Native artists. Published by BIG NDN Press and Delmonico Books in 2023, An Indigenous Present was conceived of and edited by Mississippi Choctaw and Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972) over the course of nearly two decades. 

In Gibson’s own words, “An Indigenous Present celebrates the work of visual artists, musicians, poets, choreographers, designers, filmmakers, performance artists, architects, collectives, and writers whose work offers fresh starting lines for Native and Indigenous art. But the book does not attempt comprehensiveness. Rather, those included here are makers I admire, have collaborated with or been inspired by, and who’ve challenged my thinking. . . . These artists and what they make will guide us to Indigenous futurities authored by us in unabashedly Indigenous ways.”  

An Indigenous Present features over 400 pages of color photographs, poetry, essays, and interviews resulting in a stunning visual experience for readers and a shift towards more inclusive art systems. The front cover art shown here is by Canadian artist Caroline Monnet entitled Indigenous Represent. 

View other posts from our Native American Literature Collection.

View more posts featuring Decorative Plates.

View other Staff Picks.

– Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

[ur-mums-house]

Nightwing x Spider-Verse Reader (pt.1)

a/n: heyyyyy, this my first fanfic I've written since my eddworld days(est. 2018)... TomTord was a deep dark time... I'm planning on making this a series! Just kinda testing the waters with this fanfic before I start getting into the meat of it, kinda like a pilot episode. I wrote this at 0130 so please pleASE PLEASE bear (is that the right one?..) with me because this was have like 0 editing or feedback but the next one will! I will also definitely edit it later to fix it... warnings: mentions of the word "job" and spider, horrible grammar Image source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Nightwing/comments/12mbrn9/do_you_prefer_nw_using_normal_escrima_sticks_or/ word count: 1386 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being a full-time college student and a part-time barista was kinda time consuming. Assignments tended to pile up as you questioned yourself why you needed to take 20 credits this semester instead of being normal and taking like 16. As your rent kept getting higher, you had to take up several extra shifts at your job where the pay was shit and the tips even shitier. Oh, and you also worked with the Spider-Society for completely free! You had been perched on the ledge of a building overlooking the city. As much as you hated living in Gotham, you had to admit it was kinda pretty at night. It was about 4 hours into your patrol and no one had been mugged nor had petty crimes had been committed. It was you and your free coffee from work against the entirety of Gotham. 

That was until your web watch alerted you of an anomaly in your universe, no hints on what it could be. With a somber sigh, and a quick sip of your coffee, you were off. You swung from building to building, citizens watched only able to catch the blur of your body in contrast to the bright lights of skyscrapers. 

You knew you were getting close when you noticed a vacant car that had been flipped upside down seemingly as if a toddler had thrown a toy during a tantrum. Within the destruction of mostly public property, trail claw marks that seemed to be an indicator of what was here became more apparent. The sudden shifts of how the claw marks just stopped made it seem as if someone or something had already been trying to stop it. The lack of spider webs lead you to suspect Batman had found whatever it was before you. You weren't complaining, but it would be difficult to distract him from the fact you had just known it was there, and that you had a watch you could use to open portals to other dimensions. Cursing under your breath you pushed forward. You froze dead in your tracks seeing the shape of a human sized lizard tearing thrashing at someone who you first assumed to be Batman. It easily bodied the person as it growled and thrashed about. You knew you needed to help, scaling closer, you realized it fortunately was not Batman, but unfortunately was Nightwing. Due to your work, you had bumped into Nightwing countless times before on patrol, you had deemed him as your personal annoyance (most of the time). You both tended to respond to many similar villains-of-the-week, typically leaving you annoyed at the circus monkey. You had to admit, his tricks were good and his butt looked equally as good in his uniform. As Nightwinged seemed distracted holding one of his escrima sticks inside of Lizard’s mouth to avoid being mauled to death, you closed in on the scene. Only when you had enough momentum, you swung towards them both with your knees bent, and once close enough you kicked the anomaly off of the vigilante. 

"I got it from here, Birdie," you boldly claimed, hands on your hips as you stuck your landing.

"'Birdie'?" Nightwing is repeatedly amused. "Don't thank me," you responded cockily, "I'm just your friendly neighborhood Spider-" You were cut off from a swing of the anomaly's tail sending you flying into a car. The eyes on your mask narrowed as the car alarm blasted in your ears, drowning out Nightwing's snicker. Just for a second you cursed whichever of the universes had 10 foot lizards attacking innocent citizens as if your universe didn't have murderous clowns and their crazy girlfriends roaming the streets. 

Now Lizard's attention was on you. Fuck. You pushed off the car before Lizard hurled his body towards you, crashing into where you once were with a loud BANG. You already felt out of breath, god you wished you were more in shape. You didn't have time to ponder on that thought much further as you noticed Nightwing's smirk. You groaned as you felt a small tingle at your left side altering you to Lizard charging at you again as Nightwing watched. "Eye’s on the lizard, Spidey" Nightwing quipped as he leaned against a light pole amused. He was content with watching you fight this thing alone. You seemed confident about five seconds ago, so as you ducked right under Lizard's claws, he waited to see if maybe, just maybe, you'd ask him for help. Nicely, of course, but your pride wouldn't allow yourself to. "I was distracted," You argued, "and not by the tail." You smirked under your mask as you shot a web at a streetlight near you, pulling yourself up and kicking Lizard in the jaw in Nightwing's direction before shooting a web at its back and pulling the beast to the ground. You couldn't help but laugh as Nightwing flinched, his body tensed thinking he’d be tackled by the 600 pound mutant. He left out a deep nervous chuckle when he was spared the pain. Nightwing let out a troubled breath trying to play it cool. He steadied himself, ready to join you in the fight. Lizard stood up in between the two of you, definitely a lot more tense than before and angry. His eyes were wide, focused on you as he let out a booming roar. Lizard charged at you, his speed consistent with how it's been earlier. It left you with little time to react, slinging yourself over his head, tumbling towards Nightwing with as much grace as a demented turtle. He caught you mid air before you could tumble to the ground below. His hands ghosted over your waist as he steadied you on your feet, a second longer than necessary. Before either of you could speak, Lizard already found himself in search of you as a midnight snack. Nightwing's hands fell from your waist as he readied his escrima sticks with ease, electricity cracking towards the ends. You stepped back as you tried to read the Lizard’s body language and his distance. As the Lizard charged towards Nightwing, distracted by the light from the sparks, you noticed Lizard seemed to be off balance.  If you timed it right you could pin his arms to his sides and keep him down long enough for Miguel or Jess to collect this scaly nightmare back to where it came from. 

"What the hell do you feed something like this?" Nightwing asked, his words snapping you out of thoughts. "Judging by the breath," You fake gagged, "a mix of sewer, mice, and testosterone." "Sounds like Gotham's cuisine." Nightwing dodged as Lizard's claws swung dangerously close to his head, sliding under Lizard's arms. He wasted no time as he flung his fist up, knocking Lizard off balance as he tased him in the middle of the chest stunning him. Lizard stopped in place, stunned by the sudden jolt of electricity in his body. This was exactly what you needed. 

You launched yourself in the air, firing a web directly at Lizard to force him down. The strands of the web wrapped around his arms securely, and with a swift pull you yanked his arms behind him. You secured the rest of it on a streetlight before continuing to wrap him up. You weren’t sure if it was the taser or the web, but either way, Lizard wasn’t moving anymore.

Your chest heaved up and down as you tried to catch your breath, your muscles still tight and veins still coursing with adrenaline. You glanced over towards Nightwing who didn't even seem as phased. God did you envy him for that. Nightwing turned off his escrima sticks, the hum of electricity dying down as he placed them back in their harnesses at his sides. He pushed his hair back before his attention was turned back to you. He couldn't help but laugh as he noticed you seemed exhausted beyond comprehension.

"Ready to call GCPD to haul him off?" Nightwing inquired as he gestured back at your little lizard buddy. 

You shook your head as you leaned back to crack your back, your gaze lingering towards your watch, "I got someone else in mind.

"Hungry?""I could eat. But, if you're offering, you're paying,"

"You really know how to charm a guy."

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

[mostlysignssomeportents]

2600’s amazing Hackers on Planet Earth con may go down under enshittification

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

It's been 40 years since Emmanuel Goldstein launched the seminal, essential, world-changing 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. 2600 wasn't the first phreak/hacker zine, but it was the most important, spawning a global subculture dedicated to the noble pursuit of technological self-determination:

https://www.2600.com/

2600 has published hundreds of issues in which digital spelunkers report eagerly on the things they've discovered by peering intently at the things no one was supposed to even glance at (I'm proud to be one of those writers!). They've fought legal battles, including one that almost went to the Supreme Court:

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

They created a global network of meetups where some of technology's most durable friendships and important collaborations were born. These continue to this day:

https://www.2600.com/meetings

And they've hosted a weekly radio show on NYC's WBAI, Off the Hook:

https://wbai.org/program.php?program=76

When WBAI management lost their minds and locked the station's most beloved hosts out of the studio, Off the Hook (naturally) led the rebellion, taking back the station for its audience, rescuing it from a managerial coup:

https://twitter.com/2600/status/1181423565389942786

But best of all, 2600 gave us HOPE – both in the metaphorical sense of "hope for a better technological tomorrow" and in the literal sense, with its biannual Hackers On Planet Earth con:

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

For decades HOPE had an incredible venue, the Hotel Pennsylvania (memorialized in the phreak anthem "PEnnsylvania 6-5000"), a crumbling pile in midtown Manhattan that was biannually transformed into a rollicking, multi-day festival of forbidden technology, improbable feats, and incredible presentations. I was privileged to keynote HOPE in 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1D7APjmVbk

But after the 2018 HOPE, the Hotel Pennsylvania was demolished to make way for the Penn15 (no, really) skyscraper, a vaporware mega-tower planned as a holding pen for luxury shopping and empty million-dollar condos sold to offshore war-criminals as safe-deposit boxes in the sky. The developer, Vornado (no, really) hasn't actually done all that – after demo'ing the Hotel Pennsylvania, they noped out, leave a large, unusable scar across midtown.

But HOPE wasn't lost. In 2022, the ever-resilient 2600 crew relocated to Queens, hosted by St John's University – a venue that was less glamorous that the Hotel Pennsylvania, but the event was still fantastic. Attendance fell from 2,000 to 1,000, but that was something they could work with, and reviews from attendees were stellar.

Good thing, too. 2600 is, first and foremost, a magazine publisher, and these have been hard years for magazines. First there was the mass die-off of indie bookstores and newsracks (I used to sell 2600 when I was a bookseller, and in the years after, I always took the presence of 2600 on a store's newsrack as an unimpeachable mark of quality).

Thankfully for 2600, their audience is (unsurprisingly) a tech-savvy one, so they were able to substitute digital subscriptions for physical ones:

https://www.2600.com/Magazine/DigitalEditions

Of course, many of those subscriptions came through Amazon's Kindle, because nerds were early Amazon adopters, and because the Kindle magazine publishing platform offered DRM-free distribution to subscribers along with a fair payout to publishers.

But then Amazon enshittified its magazine system. Having locked publishers to its platform, it rugged them and killed the monthly subscription fees that allowed publishers to plan for a steady output. Publishers were given a choice: leave Amazon (and all the readers locked inside its walled garden) or put your magazine into the Kindle Unlimited system:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/arp/B0BWPTCP4K?deviceType=A1FG5NAKX0MRJL

Kindle Unlimited is an all-you-can-eat program for Kindle, which pays publishers and writers based on a system that is both opaque and easily gamed, with the lion's share of the money going to "publishers" who focus on figuring out how to cheat the algorithm. Revenues for 2600 – and all the other magazines that Amazon had sucked in and sucked dry – fell off a cliff.

Which brings me to the present moment. After 40 years, 2600 is still at it, having survived the bookstorepocalypse, the lunacy of public radio management, the literal demolition of their physical home by an evil real-estate developer, and Amazon's crooked accounting.

This is 2600, circa 2024, and 2024 a HOPE year:

https://www.hope.net/

Once again, HOPE has been scheduled for its new digs in Queens, July 12-14. Last week, HOPE sent out an email blast to their subscribers telling them the news. They expected to sell 500 tickets in the first 24 hours. They didn't even come close:

https://www.2600.com/content/hope-ticket-sales-update

It turns out that Google and the other major mail providers don't like emails with the word "hacker" in them. The cartel that decides which email gets delivered, and which messages go to spam, or get blocked altogether, mass-blocked the HOPE 2024 announcement. Email may be the last federated, open platform we have, but mass concentration has created a system where it's nearly impossible to get your email delivered unless you're willing to play by Gmail's rules:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/10/dead-letters/

For Emmanuel Goldstein, founder of 2600 and tireless toiler for this community, the deafening silence following from that initial email volley was terrifying: "like some kind of a "Twilight Zone" episode where everyone has disappeared."

The enshittification that keeps 2600's emails from being delivered to the people who asked to receive them is even worse on social media. Social media companies routinely defraud their users by letting them subscribe to feeds, then turning around to the people and organizations that run those feeds and saying, "You've got x thousand subscribers on this platform, but we won't put your posts in their feeds unless you pay us to 'boost' your content":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/platforms-decay-lets-put-users-first

Enshittification has been coming at 2600 for decades. Like other forms of oddball media dedicated to challenging corporate power and government oppression, 2600 has always been a ten-years-ahead preview of the way the noose was gonna tighten on all of us. And now, they're on the ropes. HOPE can't sell tickets unless people know about HOPE, and neither email providers nor social media platforms have any interest in making that happen.

A handful of giant corporations now get to decide what we read, who we hear from, and whether and how we can get together in person to make friends, forge community, rabble-rouse and change the world. The idea that "it's not censorship unless the government does it" has always been wrong (not all censorship violates the First Amendment, and censorship can be real without being unconstitutional):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/04/yes-its-censorship/

What can you do about it? Well, for one thing, you can sign up for HOPE. It's gonna be great. They've got sub-$100 hotel rooms! In New York City!

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv

If you can't make it to HOPE, you can sign up for a virtual membership:

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv-virtual-attendee

You can submit a talk to HOPE:

https://www.hope.net/cfp.html

You can subscribe to 2600, in print or electronically (I signed up for the lifetime print subscription and it was a bargain – I devour every issue the day it arrives):

https://store.2600.com/collections/subscriptions-renewals

2600 is living a decade in the future of every other community you care about, weird hobby you enjoy, con you live for, and publication you read from cover to cover. If we can all pull together to save it, it'll be a beacon of hope (and HOPE).

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/19/hope-less/#hack-the-planet

[berylghost]

Honestly, I'm surprised how some people keep using the argument that Izuku's father works overseas to refute the DFO theory

The fact is not a strong argument, because in Chapter 59, in which AFO was first shown, he was in a skyscraper that looks suspiciously like the Chrysler Building in New York.

You can compare a frame in a manga to a photo of a real building, they are literally the same thing.

Horikoshi definitely uses real buildings in his manga.

So, technically, if the DFO is confirmed, the information about the Izuku's father working abroad would not be a lie. Because AFO was actually abroad at the beginning of the manga.

I just want to remind you that Horikoshi is very attentive to detail. Consider the fact that Dabi's birthday contained information about his real identity.

And remember what Horikoshi said at SDCC 2018.

The latest arc may have shaken the faith of some DFO fans, but it's still a solid theory that hasn't been debunked. Now that Izuku is in combat with AFO, anything can happen.

[simstorian-blog]

New York City: THREE

(CC List + DL)

E X T E R I O R

C O N C E R T S T A G E

H O T E L

Standard Suite I An open concept room with a double bed, hosting up to 2 sims, and living area. It comes with its own bathroom.

Standard Suite II An open concept room with 2 double beds, hosting up to 4 sims, and living area. It comes with its own bathroom.

Premium Suite Private Floor with an outdoor terrace overlooking the city. It comes with the following: A full living room, kitchenette, a bedroom, and a full bathroom.

M A R K E T

Equipped with functional objects. You can grab a coffee and can purchase produce, fish, food from the market stall and/or cafeteria counter! This space has its own bathroom.

B E A U T Y B A R

This beauty bar has 6 salon chairs meeting the minimum requirements for the Shear Brilliance Mod. Alongside those chairs comes a retail counter, seating for waiting customers, 4 mani/pedi Spa Day Chairs, 1 Massage Table, a Staff Room, and its own bathroom.

[W A R N I N G: This lot is heavy. I do NOT recommend it if you do not have a decent system. My personal specs – GTX 1660ti, 16GB Ram, Nvme M.2 Primary Drive with 156GB of CC. It takes me 2-3 min to load for this lot, which is longer than my regular time. However, I have it set to the ‘Lounge’ lot type to avoid the extended load for the ‘Generic’ lot buildbuy when you have a lot of CC.]

World Map: San Myshuno

Area: Myshuno Meadows

Lot Size:  64 x 64

Capacity:

A Beauty Bar – Salon Chairs, Spa Day Items, Staff Room

A Concert Stage

A Hotel – Lot51’s Suite Life Mod Compatible

A Market – Functional

Bonus: 4 Empty Spaces – 3 Small buildings, 1 Spacious Skyscraper Floor

Gallery ID: Simstorian-ish

[Long post, I know! Second half below the line lol]

Packs Needed

Expansion Packs

City Living

Cottage Living

Eco Lifestyle

Get Famous

Get Together

Get To Work

Growing Together

High School Years

Horse Ranch

Lovestruck

For Rent

Seasons

Snowy Escape

Game Packs

Dine Out

Dream Home Decorator

Journey to Batuu

Jungle Adventure

My Wedding Stories

Parenthood

Realm of Magic

Spa Day

Strangerville

Vampires

Werewolves

Stuff Packs

Backyard Stuff

Bowling Night

Home Chef Hustle

Romantic Garden

Kits

Cozy Bistro

Castle Estate

Desert Luxe

Recommended Gameplay Mods

(Please read through what each mod has to offer before deciding if it fits your gameplay style or not.)

Better Build Buy (For the ‘Deletion Protection’ setting, if you want to modify)

City Vibes Lot Traits

Lock/Unlock Doors for Any Lot (Works for Community Lots)

Shear Brilliance (Active Cosmetology Career)

Spawn Refresh

Suite Life Hotel & Resorts

Use Residential Rentals shared areas as Community Lots (For the lot challenge traits)

CC Used

[All credits go to the following creators for sharing their work with the community. It is greatly appreciated and I hope that you all have endless nights of the best sleep ever.]

Helpful Tip: Having Only What is Needed For CC Builds (Tumblr)

Amoebae: Pile in Carpet

Awingedllama: Traffic Light 3

Charly Pancakes: The Lighthouse Collection (Books C + D)

Felixandre: Berlin Pt. 2 (Front Door), Chateau Pt. 1|2|3|4, Colonial Pt. 1|3, Estate Pt. 1|2|3 (CF), Georgian, Gothic Revival (Mirror), Grove Pt. 1|2|3|4, January 2018, London Interior (Cane Chair), Paris Pt. 1, SOHO Pt. 3|4

FlirtyGhoul: Minimart Pt. 1-11

GUA: Air Conditioners

Hamstebelle: Cyberpunk Food Stall (Simlish)

Hanraja: S015 (Shelf Gass Deep), S037 (Dining Sit Booth + Sit Dining 2)

Harrie: Brownstone Pt., Coastal Pt. 5|7, Klean Pt. 1|2|3, Octave Pt. 2, Spoons Pt. 1

HeyBrine: Jessie Livin’ Pack Pt.1, Le Bistro Pack (Tables), Nana’s Collection (Microwave), Noova Collection

House of Harlix: Kichen (Glasses), Livin’ Rum (Frame Tvs), Orjanic Pt. 2

JoyceIsFox: Summer Garden – Tiles Pack (Purity#1 Floor + Wall Tiles)

KiwiSims4: Blockhouse Hallway (Small Lamp)

Kta: Vogue Prints 1 (10s-20s) [Mesh Needed]

Lijoue: A Louer Collection (Fence)

LilacCreative: Keratin Collection

Lili’s Palace: Intarsia Wainscot Wonderland (Polished Marble Floor)

LittleDica: Deligracy Fridge, Roman Holiday

Max20: Happily Ever After (Dining Table Knot)

MintyJinx: Terrain to Floor Collection

Myshunosun: Lottie (Throw Blanket)

Nempne: Cover Sheet Ceiling Tiles

Peacemaker: Hinterlands Living Room (Pouffe), Hudson Bathroom, Vampire Add Ons

Pierisim: Auntie Vera Bathroom, Coldbrew Coffeeshop Pt. 3, Domaine Du Clos Pt. 2|3|4, MCM Pt. 1|4|5, Outside Lunch, Tilable

Ravasheen: CounterFit Mini Fridge, Elevator, Shop Chef

Severinka: Apollo Sofa (Right), Grocery Store Pt. 1|2|4

Simspiration Builds: Portuguese Floors

SixamCC: Hotel Bedroom

Sooky88: Horizontal Oil Paintings

Sundays: Kediri Pt. 1 (Throw Pillows- Solids), Pool Haus, Swell Pt. 1, Ungasan Pt. 2 (Slippers)

Syboubou: Hotel Luggage Trolley

TaurusDesign: Eliza Walk In, Judith Kitchen (Barstool), Lilith Chilling Areas Pt. 1

Tuds: Base Game Curved Windows, Beam Kitchen (Table 1x2), Ind 02|03, Vime Closet

Winner9: Malibu Pillow

Vehicles: Included

DO NOT REUPLOAD MY LOTS.

DO NOT CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

DO NOT PLACE BEHIND A PAYWALL.

DOWNLOAD (1.82 GB)

[herbgerblin]

gonna ramble about worldbuilding

:0 come play with me in this space

I've been refining old concept art of the city of my story, Spiro and Nova, (because it sits in my head always and never truly leaves.) The sunflower skyrise is a giant, flower-like skyscraper that is supposed to open and peel back to protect the city beneath it from frequent, violent storms. In the setting of the story, it has been fixed in its closed position for several years.

(I am driven a little insane by how rapidly our climate crisis has increased since 2018 when I first started thinking about this story.)

I am not a true crime girlie, but I am a horrible history girlie. I listen to a lot of construction tragedy stories and I feel angry because they're all caused by corporate greed and negligence. I also read a lot about architectural greenwashing, when a building is marketed as eco-friendly and has all the stylings of a solarpunk utopia, but is really environmentally hazardous and costly to maintain/destroy.

I'll be real, my inspirations for the city are Power Rangers RPM and Attack on Titan. As a kid, they made me ask a lot of questions about urban design: What happens when your livelihood is dependent on a single, declining structure? What happens when that structure fails to work as intended? Who is hurt by this? Who benefits?

I live in a major city that is actively destroying the very forest that it is iconic for. I've been writing about that a lot as a journalist this past year. That experience (and the pandemmy) has made this idea not yet story hit too close to home sometimes. But at the same time, that's why I don't want to let it go.

[rabbitcruiser]

Timothy Eaton founded T. Eaton Co. Limited in Toronto on December 8, 1869.

[languajix]

TMNT Write Fight Fic: Cold and Empty

Prompt by @definitely-a-username: "(Rottmnt) Mikey is hurt while on a solo mission trying to prove to Raph he can handle himself. He tries to hide it from everyone but eventually has to deal with the fallout." as well as @belleyells: "2018 Iteration: Michelangelo experiences mystic exhaustion after expending too much mystical energy during a battle." for @tmnt-write-fight

Word Count: 2,489

Summary: Mikey's recent solo adventure left him feeling terrible, but he couldn't possibly let anybody know or he'd never get to go on a solo mission ever again. He'd heal up, right?

The mission had gone off without a hitch, right up until there was a hitch.

Because of course there was.

Mikey had spent way too long talking Raph and Leo into letting him go on another solo mission, now that they had their ninpō and were super strong and super cool, and for all the hemming and hawing and arguing it took to get to this point, he was determined that nothing was gonna get in the way of it being successful.

They'd gotten a heads up that a magical artifact - something that was supposed to give the wielder the power of blah blah, invisibility or something, if the legends were right - was on display in the local antique museum, and one of their rogue's gallery was intent on taking it. Donnie's surveillance said the heist was planned for tonight, and Mikey had been ready.

He'd been so ready.

Until it all went wrong.

Mikey's grip slipped just a little, the joints in his fingers aching, and he hissed between gritted teeth at the pinch of the chains digging into his arms. He'd wrapped them all the way up past his elbows in the split-second he had before the whole roof came tumbling down on Hypno-Potamus, sending the other ends flying out to wrap around the steel bars at the far end of the construction zone, just in time to catch the crumbling cement ceiling before it could crush Hypno underneath.

It was heavy beyond description. He'd thrown cargo ships and skyscrapers, but those were a simple, brief tug, a dip in the mystic well and then done. This was a constant pull, desperately dragging out the strength from deeper and deeper within himself with every second that passed. Mikey was strong for his size, ridiculously so, but not enough to lift a concrete ceiling without mystic assistance.

He just hoped his reserves would last.

It felt like an eternity.

As Hypno crawled free, Mikey breathed out and dismissed the mystic chains, feeling the snap of the flow suddenly cutting off, almost painful in the sudden shock, and he stumbled forwards.

The concrete crashed, a dull thunder in his ears, drowned out by the pounding of his pulse.

"Whoa there!" Hypno scrambled to his feet, sounding just a little panicked as he reached for Mikey, trying to catch him before he faceplanted into the rough concrete and messed himself up even worse, "you alright, little guy?"

He'd protest about the little guy thing as soon as he stopped feeling like he'd been hit by a train. "I-I'm fine," Mikey said, but it all sounded so distant, like he wasn't in his own body but was floating in space above it instead. "M'fine. S'all good. I'm good."

He pulled himself away from Hypno on unsteady feet, feeling his arms shake. His muscles were spasming, like they didn't know what to do with themselves now that they weren't supporting the weight of the world. His fingers just hurt, and he couldn't quite flex them properly. His legs felt like jelly, and he flopped down to sit on the nearest available space before they gave out on him. The whole of him started to shake, down to his bones.

That wasn't even mentioning the mystic energy inside of him, that empty, hollow space. Like someone had reached through his ribs and scooped him out, leaving behind a deep chill and a ringing sound. He'd rarely pushed his mystics this hard before. Not even in their battle with the Krang, when he'd had his brothers to rely on, the boundless, determined energy bouncing between them to draw from. This exhaustion was his alone.

Hypno looked at the object in his hands. He looked back at Mikey. "Listen, I do feel really bad about all this, actually. You're not looking too good, there, and it's all because you were chasing me around, so, uh, my bad." He wiggled it around for a second, staring at it. Looked back at Mikey, who was seated on a chunk of concrete with his head in his trembling hands. "I think you've earned this. Warren will understand."

He held out the artifact, and Mikey blinked. He reached a shaking hand out towards it, but his fingers struggled to wrap around the object. They didn't want to bend. Hypno pushed it into his palm, gently closing his fingers around it, looking concerned. Mikey twisted his hand around because his fingers had no grip strength, settling it in his trembling palm as he pulled it towards himself.

"I really feel like I should be calling your brothers right about now, but I don't have their numbers. You're gonna give them a ring, right? You probably shouldn't be walking home alone like this."

"It's fine, I'll call them," Mikey assured Hypno, despite having no intention of doing any such thing. He could handle it. He was fine.

Something crashed down in the distance, sending up a puff of dust that swirled in the air.

Hypno glanced awkwardly around at the empty, shattered construction site, hands on his hips. "…So how long do you think they'll be, exactly?"

"You should go," Mikey said. Hypno's concern was nice, but Mikey was a grown guy! He could take care of himself. He would take care of himself. "Someone's gotta have heard all this, and I'm sure we're gonna have an audience sooner or later."

Hypno hesitated, but after a moment, Mikey was all alone, listening to the sound of shifting construction rubble and convincing himself that his jelly legs were strong enough to take him home.

He only fell over three times, and had to sit on four different benches for a quick breather.

But he made it.

Mikey mustered all the energy in his body - which wasn't much at this point - to smile, and straighten up, and hide his shaking arms behind his back.

"Mikey!" Raph said, perking up as Mikey walked through the doorway. It was obvious he'd been lingering there, waiting for Mikey to return. And thank all that was tomato-flavored and creamy that it was only Raph. He probably told Leo and Donnie to skedaddle so they didn't come across as smothering Mikey, honestly. "You're back! Did you give ol' Hypno-Potamus what for?"

Mikey grinned up at Raph sweetly. "I definitely did that! That thing. That you just said." His ears were ringing, still. The room spun a little, or maybe it was his eyeballs in his head that were spinning. Oh yeah, he should probably go into a little more detail or Raph wouldn't believe him. "Gave ol' Hypno-Potamus what for, baby! And here," he reached into his satchel and pulled out the thing, "I got it! As safe from Hypno as it can be, right here."

Raph took the item, but he also squinted down at Mikey, an uncomfortably tight scrutiny. "…and you're okay? You didn't have any problems?"

Mikey nodded. One of his legs threatened to give out underneath him, so he bounced and rolled his knees a little, trying to find another pose that would keep him upright. He saluted Raph, willing his arm not to shake.

He still felt so empty.

"I'm fine, Raph," Mikey said. "See? You can trust me! I'm more than strong enough to hold my own by myself."

There was no way he could let Raph know how this one had gone. He'd never be allowed to go on any solo missions ever again until they were old and creaky and wrinkled if they found out how close of a call it had been, honestly.

He took the first opportunity to duck into his room, away from all prying eyes. His legs finally gave up the ghost and he faceplanted right onto his bed, no teeth brushing or quick shower or even taking off his dusty, sweaty wraps.

Just sleep.

---

He felt even more weak and exhausted in the morning. How was that possible? A full nights' sleep plus some, and yet he could barely stand, and holding anything lighter than a feather was pretty much out of the question.

Mikey was used to healing fast from some pretty incredible injuries. They were genetically enhanced supersoldiers and their healing factor reflected that. By all rights, he should be back to bouncing off the walls by now.

Instead, he hobbled into the kitchen to make himself a cup of soup, almost dropping the mug as his fingers refused to curl around it. The heat seeping through the ceramic helped loosen the joints in his fingers until he could somewhat flex them again, though it was still not easy or comfortable.

He plopped down at the table with a sigh, just in time for Leo to walk in and start poking around in the cupboards, on the hunt for something to sate his late morning hunger. He spent a long time rifling through only to settle on the same thing he had every day. It was a silly charade, but Mikey thought it was funny. (That was probably why Leo did it.)

"So," Leo said as he perused the cupboards, "Raph says your solo mission went well."

"It went great!" Mikey said, and he didn't feel nearly as chipper as he sounded. He just felt worn, and empty, and tired. "Stopped Hypno, got the thing, I should get an A-plus in Hero-ing for this."

Leo hummed, settling on his usual breakfast like he hadn't just spent five minutes rooting around to consider his options. "Celebratory hangout on the Brooklyn tonight?"

Oh no. If Mikey fell off the Brooklyn Bridge… "raincheck?" he asked sheepishly. "I was gonna be April's flashcard buddy tonight." He wasn't, actually, but no one was gonna check.

"Aw. Sucks to be you, big guy," Leo said sympathetically, reaching over to pat Mikey on the head before grabbing his bowl and heading to his room.

See? He was a whole fifteen years old and they kept babying him, and it wasn't fair. That was why Mikey couldn't let them find out.

---

Donnie was easy. The minute he started looking at Mikey funny, like he was getting a little suspicious, Mikey started prompting him to ramble on about one of his favorite topics. Donnie loved to be listened to.

All the words flew over Mikey's head, of course, lost in the ringing of his ears and the numbness inside of him, but something about sitting and listening to Donnie made him feel just a fraction of a degree warmer. It was something.

---

There was one factor he simply hadn't accounted for, in his whole plan to hide things from his brothers.

Well, two, actually. Factor one, that he just wasn't getting any better for some mysterious reason. And factor two…

"Hey there Skipper!" Hypno waved at Mikey specifically. He followed all their gazes back to the thing in his hand. "Oh, this?" He tossed it to Leo, who scrambled to catch it. "I don't know how to get in touch, so I figured stealing stuff would get your attention. And look! It did!"

"Well, you've got our attention," Raph growled, grinning a little despite the threatening tone in his voice, "now what?"

Hypno rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I just wanted to make sure the little guy was doing alright after the other night. Holding up that collapsed construction site by himself really took a bite outta him, and since it was kind of my fault, I-I wanted to make sure he was healing up."

One by one, three sets of eyes slowly pointed in Mikey's direction, and he pulled his head into his shell at the intensity.

"…whoops?" he said, and his voice echoed across the inside of his shell.

---

"Mystic exhaustion," Draxum declared after spending a frankly ridiculous amount of time holding Mikey's wrist with his eyes closed. "Classic case. Only happens when someone uses up all of their reserves, usually due to desperation or impulsive stupidity, and it sounds like a mix of both."

Mikey tried to chuckle sheepishly, but couldn't even muster that. He just leaned against Donnie, who had been seated next to him during the exam, taking careful notes on his wristpad. Donnie's shoulder was warm. And comfortable. And Mikey was… "so cold."

"Indeed. Driving your mystic powers to their limits to the point of injury can feel like losing a source of natural heath within the body." Draxum dug around in the bag he had with him, producing a bottle which he shook demonstratively, letting Mikey hear the rattle of pills inside. "Take one twice a day, with food. More importantly, spend time in close proximity with your brothers. The Hamato clan energy comes from your bonds, from how I understand it, and the more you can draw from them as opposed to yourself, the faster your own mystic wells will start to refill. Simple, really."

"Yes," Donnie said sharply, staring at Mikey who retreated shyly into his shell, though never quite stopped leaning on him for support, "simple."

As soon as the door shut behind Draxum, everybody who wasn't already on the couch flopped next to Mikey with a judgemental thump. Raph's weight alone was enough to make the whole thing creak and bounce. Mikey weathered the movement with numb fingers, letting his head roll back.

"And what do you have to say for yourself, Michael?" Donnie asked, continuing to type into his wristpad. Even though his piercing gaze had left Mikey, the spirit of it was still aimed at him like a sharp, terrifying dagger.

"I just wanted you guys to trust me," Mikey said, feeling miserable for himself. "I didn't want to let you know how bad I messed up."

"Miguel, you saved a life, even if it was Hypno's," Leo said emphatically, waving his arms around, "that's not you messing up, that was you going above and beyond!"

"I'm very proud of you for holding up a building and saving someone's life," Raph added solemnly. Then he grabbed Mikey by the plastron, lifting him up until they were nose to nose so his glare would be extra effective, "it's the hiding stuff afterwards! Mikey, you know better than this."

"I'm sorry," Mikey whined, feeling exhausted beyond belief. "Can we just-"

Raph let go of him, gently, and Leo shoved something into his hands: a thermos. "Take the first one," Leo ordered. "Then you know what we're gonna do? Jupiter Jim marathon. Donnie, cue it up."

Donnie sighed, but flicked his wrist and punched something in. The TV screen fired up. Mikey sipped on the apple cider in the mug, spiced with just a little cinnamon, and for the first time since this whole thing happened, he started feeling a little warm inside. A little less empty.

With his brothers by his side, bickering and grumbling, always there, Mikey barely made it past the opening credits.

This time, his sleep was restful.

[ssereinopheliah]

casually thinking about stalker/kidnapper!Oscar and driver!Lando

I have a scene in my head which is like:

Lando was pretty certain that he was lost. His phone lost signal a few hours ago, screw his telco company for not auto-renewing his subscription to data roaming. The moon hang high above the sky as he dipped through alleyways to try and find the main road. Maybe he could flag down a taxi to take him back to his hotel…

Melbourne was pretty at 2am, the streets were lit, with the occasional cars zooming by on the road. From far away, Lando is able to see the skyscrapers, looming over the bridges. The sound of slow waves crashing into the water way walls and the scenery provided a quiet peace that covered Lando’s senses like a weighted blanket.

This blanket probably covered his sense of danger too, because before he could react, he bumped straight into a body in the middle of the empty street.

Stumbling back, he felt arms grab at him, stabilising his body as he tried to not fall down. Lando’s hands latching onto anything he can find, which seemed to be the persons clothing

Looking up, he sees another man. Slightly taller than Lando, he was wearing a black hoodie. The hood pulled up to his head, leaving only wisps of brown hair, with matching brown eyes and a face littered with beauty marks, the man was quite a looker.

“Hey man.. sorry for bumping into you earlier. I didn’t see you there”, blurted out Lando, his hands rubbing circles into the man’s soft cotton hoodie absentmindedly.

“No problems mate, I’m just glad you didn’t fall down. You look lost, are you from around here?”, replied mystery man, tone smooth. His arms felt strong, wrapped protectively around Lando like he could block the cold for him.

Lando smiles, an Australian accent! He silently thanked the gods above that he bumped into a local! And even better, he didn't seem to know who Lando was.

"No-not really, I was out partying with a friend? Celebrations of sorts really. I just needed some air and went out, but then I walked around to take some pictures and got lost. Here, I have a picture of the clubs' logo! Maybe you could bring me there?"

Lando then took a step back, his eyes following as the man's arms fell to their side, settling comfortably into his hoodie. He moves, pushing his hands into his jeans- yes he wears jeans to a club sue him it is comfortable, and fishes out his phone. Opening up his gallery, he scrolls through a dozen different shots of the moon and the streets before he lands on a photo of a shot he took with some of his friends, the clubs name, " The Jive" stark across the shotglass.

The man crowds into his space, leaning into him to get a closer look at his phone, his body heat warm against Lando, and his pale skin was highlighted under the nightlights as he takes Lando's phone from his hands.

God his hands, they were smaller than his.

Maybe...he could get lucky tonight.

The man makes a small hmm sound before handing the phone back to Lando. "Yeah Jives, I've hard about it, it is a pretty high-end club.", he remarks, his hand moving down to Lando's back, pushing him into an unfamiliar direction- not like any other direction was familiar to him.

Lando's smile falters slightly, his eyes trained on the pavement as he tries to find an excuse. "yeah man, a friends birthday, we wanted to celebrate it!". A bold face lie, too bad one that Oscar doesn't believe in.

.

See, Oscar has been following Lando for a while now. If you asked him, on instagram, since 2018, on Twitter? Even longer.

But in real life.. he was hitting 3 years now, since 2021. It was hard then of course, having to travel out for a week without much income. His car always protested, squeaking loudly as it hits the heavy roads, driving down 6 nearly 7 hours to get down to the race zone. But it was worth it. Worth seeing a sparkling eyed boy who drove in an orange car, following him around to his hotel nearby. Watching as he climbed into the cars of older drivers to go out and party. For multiple years.

Worth it when he saw Lando slip out of the club at midnight to take a breather, like a slutty Cinderella. His white shirt clinging fighting onto his body as he tried to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his hands. His nose scrunching as he fiddles with the bracelets bunching up on his arms.

Oscar watches on, seated far away enough from the busy club. In his hands, he holds a phone, a modified version which allowed him to zoom, zoom in far enough to see even the individual beauty marks on Lando’s face. The way the sweat beads and rolls down Lando’s neck and down towards his shirt, disappearing behind the deep v he loved to sport.

So when he sees Lando leaving the safety of the back of the club, Oscar stands, walking parallel in the direction of where Lando was going. Oscar was going hunting.

Hunting his ass.

He lost Lando an hour into the walk. Oscar was tearing into himself at this point, walking down the waterway. How stupid could he be? How could he have lost this chance to meet Lando, how could he have stayed so far away when he could have just walked nearby him. How could he so easily let this chance slip by.

Which was when he bumped into Lando. An armful of his prey.

God.. he was a lucky man today.

.

Oscar smiles graciously at Lando, of course he’ll continue to act. Act like he doesn’t know who he is, act like he doesn’t follow him everywhere and anywhere when he’s in Australia. “Well, happy birthday to your friend huh? Let’s go… I have a car this way. I just ended work. I’ll drive you back to the bar.”

Sweet Lando, who’s being lead to his own disappearance, a twisted Cinderella being led away from his castle and into his twisted carriage and towards his own locked house, only smiles up at Oscar, “yeah? Thanks man.. what’s your name? I’m Lando.”

Oscar’s laughs, light and easy. “..I’m Jack. Here, let me connect you to my hotspot.. you should inform your friend that you are coming back. They’ll be worried that you’ve been gone for 2 hours now.”

Lando nodded easily, connecting his phone to Oscar’s hotspot before sending a voice message to his friends. He sees a black mud specked car parked along side the road.

“Carlos, I’m coming back soon. Hope you waited for me you wanker. I’m walking with this guy named Jack, real nice, he’s bringing me back to the club right now.” He starts, reaching the front of the car, watching as Oscar opens it up for him.

“I know it has been 2 hours…. But you better be-“

Shit.

How does Jack know that he’s been missing for two hours?

Before he could turn around, Oscar lunges, putting Lando into a chokehold. Lando struggles, his hands reaching up to scratch anywhere he could at Oscar, watching as his phone clatters uselessly onto the ground. He kicks aimlessly, kicking into the car to try and unbalance Oscar. Nothing works. His vision goes splotchy. Before nothing.

————

Authors thoughts: Thank you for reading this little brainworm of mine! No idea what goes on from here but we think! And I think about Lando with rope burns, struggling.

Will Lando have a fight or fawn response when he realises that hes been kidnapped? Would he act all tough and macho and try to trick and fight his way out? Or would he try to please Oscar in any way possible and guilt him into letting Lando go?

Do tell me hehehe!

Ps: if you have any tips on how to write a race scene I would love the help. I am struggling!

Hope you enjoyed!

[doctorcurdlejr]

All of this probably makes it seem like I hated wicked. I did not hate wicked! I just tend to be the most critical of that which I believe has the capacity to do better.

Cynthia Erivo's rendition of defying gravity: i got literal chills not once but ✌️ TWICE

The shot during defying gravity that was like a full minute of muddy CGI nothing while Elphaba fell from a skyscraper: why are we failing what into the spiderverse perfected back in 2018

[chibrary]

Charles and Carlos talking about their first impressions of each other through the years:

What was your relationship like before you met at Ferrari, and how is it changing?

LECLERC: "I didn't know Carlos very well, because we had little time to hang out. One evening, in Singapore, he was watching the circuit from the swimming pool on top of the Marina Bay Sand skyscraper and I was there too, so we started talking. Now, the relationship is getting stronger and stronger. We share similar ages and interests, we laugh a lot together and we get along really well."

SAINZ: "I had followed Charles in Formula 2, for his talent, but the first real conversation we had was in Singapore in 2018, when he arrived in Formula 1. From there the relationship got closer also because I I started asking him a lot of questions about Ferrari every time I met him".

source / sportweek

[psychics4unet]

20 Simpsons Psychic Predictions That Came True 🚀

Hey there, fellow Simpsons fans! 🎉 If you’ve been following The Simpsons, you know that this iconic show isn’t just about laughs and donuts (though we love those too). It’s also about some eerily accurate predictions that have left us all scratching our heads. 🤔 How did this cartoon get so many things right about the future? Grab a seat, grab a donut 🍩, and let’s dive into some of the wildest psychic predictions from The Simpsons that actually came true! 🚀

🌟🔮✨ Curious about what the future holds for you? Just like The Simpsons predicted some mind-blowing events, you too can uncover what’s in store for your life. Click the link below for your own personal psychic reading and get insights that might just amaze you:

1. Donald Trump’s Presidency 🇺🇸

Season 11, Episode 17 (“Bart to the Future”)

In this episode from the year 2000, Lisa becomes the president and mentions that they inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump. Fast forward to 2016, and Donald Trump becomes the 45th president of the United States. What the what?! 😲

2. Smartwatches ⌚

Season 6, Episode 19 (“Lisa’s Wedding”)

During a future vision of Lisa’s wedding, her fiancé uses a watch to make a phone call. This was in 1995, way before smartwatches became a thing in the 2010s. Talk about being ahead of the curve! 📱

3. Disney Buys 20th Century Fox 🏰🦊

Season 10, Episode 5 (“When You Dish Upon a Star”)

In 1998, there’s a scene showing the 20th Century Fox sign with a subtitle “A Division of Walt Disney Co.” In 2019, Disney actually bought 21st Century Fox. Coincidence? I think not! 🎬

4. Video Chatting 💻

Season 6, Episode 19 (“Lisa’s Wedding”)

Again in Lisa’s Wedding, we see video calls being made. This was years before Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom became part of our daily lives. The Simpsons were definitely on to something here! 🖥️

5. The Shard in London 🏙️

Season 6, Episode 19 (“Lisa’s Wedding”)

In the same episode (wow, it’s like a crystal ball!), we see a skyline that includes a skyscraper eerily similar to The Shard, which wasn’t built until 2012. 👀

6. Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Performance 🎤

Season 23, Episode 22 (“Lisa Goes Gaga”)

In 2012, The Simpsons showed Lady Gaga performing at a concert, suspended in the air. Fast forward to 2017, and Gaga did exactly that at the Super Bowl halftime show. Fly, Gaga, fly! 🎇

7. Nobel Prize Winner 🏅

Season 22, Episode 1 (“Elementary School Musical”)

Milhouse predicted that Bengt Holmström would win the Nobel Prize in Economics. And guess what? Holmström did win it in 2016. Way to go, Milhouse! 📊

8. Ebola Outbreak 🌍

Season 9, Episode 3 (“Lisa’s Sax”)

In this 1997 episode, Marge suggests that Bart read a book titled “Curious George and the Ebola Virus.” Years later, in 2014, there was a significant Ebola outbreak. Chills! 😬

9. Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack 🐅

Season 5, Episode 10 (“$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)”)

The show depicted a white tiger attacking entertainers similar to Siegfried and Roy. Tragically, in 2003, Roy was indeed attacked by one of their white tigers during a performance. 😥

10. U.S. Wins Olympic Gold in Curling 🥌

Season 21, Episode 12 (“Boy Meets Curl”)

Homer and Marge compete in curling and win a gold medal. In real life, the U.S. men’s team won the gold medal in curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Sweep that, skeptics! 🥇

But wait, there’s more! Let’s keep this prediction train rolling with some honorable mentions that didn’t make the top 10 but are still pretty mind-blowing. 🚂💨

11. Horse Meat Scandal 🐴

Season 5, Episode 19 (“Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song”)

Lunchlady Doris used “assorted horse parts” in the cafeteria food. In 2013, a scandal erupted in Europe when horse meat was found in various beef products.

12. FIFA Corruption Scandal ⚽

Season 25, Episode 16 (“You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee”)

The episode features a storyline involving corruption in the World Football Federation. In 2015, several FIFA officials were arrested amid a corruption investigation.

13. Farmville 🚜

Season 9, Episode 12 (“Bart Carny”)

In this 1998 episode, kids are seen excitedly playing a yard work simulator game. Fast forward to the 2000s, and Farmville became a massive hit on Facebook.

14. Faulty Voting Machines 🗳️

Season 20, Episode 4 (“Treehouse of Horror XIX”)

Homer tries to vote for Obama in the 2008 election, but the machine keeps changing his vote to McCain. In 2012, there were real reports of voting machines changing votes.

15. Beats by Dre 🎧

Season 8, Episode 14 (“The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show”)

In a scene from 1997, we see a character wearing what looks like modern-day Beats by Dre headphones, years before they existed.

16. Mutant Tomatoes 🍅

Season 11, Episode 5 (“E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)”)

Homer grows mutant tomatoes after using nuclear power on his crops. In real life, scientists created genetically modified tomatoes that glow in the dark.

17. NSA Surveillance 🕵️

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

The movie depicted the NSA spying on citizens. In 2013, Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA was indeed conducting mass surveillance on American citizens.

18. Shard Building in London 🏙️

Season 6, Episode 19 (“Lisa’s Wedding”)

We see a tall building in the London skyline that resembles The Shard, which was completed in 2012.

19. Michelangelo’s David Censorship 🗿

Season 2, Episode 9 (“Itchy & Scratchy & Marge”)

The episode shows Springfieldians protesting against Michelangelo’s David being exhibited. In 2016, Russian campaigners did try to cover the statue.

20. Autocorrect Fail 📱

Season 6, Episode 8 (“Lisa on Ice”)

Dolph writes a memo that says “Beat up Martin” which gets autocorrected to “Eat up Martha.” Apple’s iPhone autocorrect has had many such hilarious fails.

It’s wild, right? How does a cartoon get so many things right? Well, it’s probably a mix of clever writing, sharp observation, and maybe a bit of that Springfield magic. ✨

And it's not just us hardcore fans who are intrigued. Thanks to the internet, more and more people are discovering the spooky accuracy of The Simpsons' predictions. Social media platforms are buzzing with theories and speculations. Reddit threads are filled with fans dissecting episodes, and YouTube is packed with videos analyzing every prediction. It's like a virtual treasure hunt where every frame might hold a secret clue to our future! 🔮

Some folks even believe that the writers have a time machine or some sort of psychic ability. While that’s probably a stretch, it’s fun to think about! One thing’s for sure – The Simpsons will keep surprising us with their uncanny knack for predicting the future.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or just curious about the show’s “psychic” tendencies, it’s clear that The Simpsons is more than just a TV show. It’s a pop culture phenomenon that continues to influence and amuse us, while also making us think twice about what might come next. So, next time you’re watching, pay close attention – you might just be getting a sneak peek into the future! 🕵️‍♂️✨

Stay curious, my friends! And remember, the truth is out there… or maybe just in the next episode of The Simpsons. 🌟🚀

[mg549]

unposted lemon demon art 4/???

I Wanted To Make A No Eyed Girl Animatic/Possibly Animation. started march 2018, added a few pages here&there over the next year or so, but ultimately gave up on the project bc i didn't have a digital art program, let alone a tablet or a way to compile things into a video&Do Timing. these r still super cute imo i would love to do this Some Day but given how huge of an undertaking that would be it would probably be Far In The Future that i would feel i would have enough time to try to Manifest this.

BUT. here's the way i described it playing out, back in Oh. the server this was in got raided&everything was deleted so. i don't actually know the date. BUT LUCKILY I HAD THE PRESENCE OF MIND TO ARCHIVE IT ALL IN A WORD DOC ANYWAYS (under the cut bc Long)

-I WAS GOING TO STORYBOARD ALL OF THIS BUT I STOPPED BC I DONT HAVE A DRAWING TABLET AND DRAWING EVERYTHING TRADITIONALLY WAS HELL ON EARTH SO NOW YOU ALL HAVE TO READ THIS IN IMAGE DESCRIPTION FORM -The first scene was rain pouring across the window panes of a city skyscraper. The camera cuts to Katrine walking in the park on a rainy day. she sees something shining through the trees and decides to Investigate -In the woods, away from public view, she finds this strange glowing substance floating in the air, plasma like. She looks around for help, not believing her eyes, when a figure appears in the light. -The figure falls down to the ground, and Katrine helps it to its feet, holding its hands in hers. The figure looks up, revealing that it doesn't have a face. When "eye contact" is made, Katrine looks down to her hands and notices them starting to dissolve into separated floating particles where NEG's are, and Katrine jumps back, understandably alarmed. The no eyed girl tilts her head, & Katrine looks at her for a moment, considering, before 😍😍😍 -The next scene is set in Katrine's apartment, overlooking the city with a wide glass window sunroom, with a modestly sized black couch and a few houseplants, otherwise sparsely decorated. Katrine is pacing in the foreground, as NEG is in the background, floating. NEG is attempting to open another portal, waving her arms around in the air, creating more plasma-like substance. Katrine notices, and freaks out, NEG loses her focus, and the beginnings of the portal dissolves into too much light, blinding white. -Katrine feels bad that she messed up NEG’s focus, and goes to grab NEG’s hand (who is visibly a bit distraught) to reassure her, but her hand does the dissolvey thing again. NEG looks afraid of how Katrine would react, but Katrine waves it off reassuringly, smiling, and NEG relaxes a little. -The next scene takes place the next day. Katrine is at work with NEG (she didn't want to leave her alone in the apartment lest someone discover her) and they're in the back room. Katrine is talking back and forth with herself abt the situation, visibly sleep deprived, excitedly ranting. NEG tries to respond, but instead of words or sound coming out, colorful clouds that twist in the air like paint in water do. -Suddenly, there's a bang on the door. Katrine hides NEG just in time as her boss comes in and starts yelling at her, belittling her for something minor and being way over the top. Katrine tries to explain, but stammers and her boss just tells her that she can't keep making excuses. The boss then walks out angrily, and neg pops her head out from behind the counter, katrine lets out a sigh and smiles. -The next scene is the two of them at a library at night, it's raining outside and there's no one else around. Katrine is reading from piles of books with various different easter egg titles, the one she's shown reading is about extra-dimensional beings. Katrine puts a hand on her face exasperatedly, clearly pretty lost about the situation she got herself into. Katrine looks over to where NEG is sitting, seeing the molecules of the table dissolving where she's resting her arms on it, waves of pink electricity coming off of her skin in wild currents. -The camera cuts to them walking out of the library onto a rain-slicken city street, lit by street lamps. Katrine is holding a large black umbrella sideways, so as to keep neg out of sight from cars passing by, but not keeping her dry at all. Katrine is pretty burnt out and frustrated, eventually she decides to try to ask the no eyed girl a question frustratedly, knowing she couldn’t respond, asking if she could even just tell her her name. The no eyed girl takes Katrine’s hand, and traces her pointer along her palm, her hand glowing pink where she writes, and letter by letter, she spells out NEG.

-The next scene takes place back at Katrine's workplace. NEG is trying again to make a portal, and light can be seen pouring out from the crack under the door. The boss bursts in again to chew out Katrine, NEG darting behind the couch. NEG peaks over the couch, visibly angry despite not having a whole ass face. The lightbulb above Katrine and her boss has a white pulse radiating out of it like a tesla coil. Katrine looks up and notices, the boss obliviously keeps being mega shitty, pointing at her and getting in her face. -And then he gets human implosions'd, turning to light and disappearing. -NEG floats out from behind the counter, and Katrine is obviously pretty panicked. NEG approaches Katrine in as comforting a way as she can, holding both her hands to her chest, trying her best to let Katrine know that she’s safe. Katrine lets out a sigh of relief and they head back to Kat's apartment. -Katrine is sitting on the floor in the sunroom, trying to make sense of what just happened. NEG walks over and comforts her in the best way she can, kneeling down in front of her and making sure that her body language is as passive as possible. Katrine looks over at NEG, then out, noticing shimmering pink and purple and gold molecules in the air around them. -She looks back to NEG, and reaches out, taking its hands in hers, and doesn't pull them away. She runs one hand up NEG’s arm, to her shoulder, and as she does, NEG’s usual pulse of electricity subsides to skin (in cartoon forms this was gonna be shown by neg finally being Lined instead of just a bunch of color). -They look each other in the eyes*, as NEG leans in. As they both fall into the kiss, it cuts to elsewhere, portals opening in various other places around the city, some clipped halfway through buildings or cars, some in the middle of the street, causing traffic jams

-It pans back to them kissing, richly colored watercolor clouds of plasma surrounding them. They pull back, both of them smiling. -The camera then pans past them, out of the window, and up into the sky, as rain starts falling again. -As it pans back down to the city, you can see no eyed people walking the streets -It goes into a shop, and Katrine is now wearing a navy button up, and a gold plate that says "MANAGER"-the one her boss used to wear. -The camera pans out as she's helping a customer, to Katrine at home, picking up a basket of clean laundry, viewed from over her shoulder. She opens the door in front of her to the bedroom, where NEG is lying in bed. Katrine places the basket down and curls up into bed with her, both of them in their pajamas. Katrine leans over and gives NEG a goodnight kiss, wrapping her arms around her, as the camera pans back up, past the roof, past the rain clouds, into a sky full of twinkling night stars.