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hleown · 3 years

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i posted a twt ramble thread that i have regarding sonadow and narumitsu and how they are, coincidentally enough, literally the sources of my brainrot. i just got into narumitsu earlier january (and i can't fathom how it took me this long) so i can't say with confidence that i'm very well aware on the exact playthrough of all ace attorney games (narumitsu got me on a chokehold and here i was going along with it) so please bear with me if there are any inaccuracies!

with that being said, allow me to copypaste the exact words from my tweets.

i just realized that another similarity narumitsu and sonadow share is the fact that edgeworth/shadow have previously hurt wright/sonic in some way and later on he had grown to respect/care for the latter that i just think. edgeworth could absolutely mirror shadow's words here.

sonic and wright have some savior/hero complex going on like i think that should be acknowledged bc they both have tendencies to be impulsive enough to head into the scene without a clearer plan in mind (in this case however i believe post-disbarred wright is a lot more careful when it comes to planning [7 years of investigating kristoph gavin is, by all means, A LOT of planning] but then again he's still the same man who bluffs his way to the right answer in court) and they're both the type of ppl to always put people first before themselves.

edgeworth and wright have been around each other long enough for edgeworth to not be blind against wright's heroic sacrifices. even though they had a whole conversation in the past about how edgeworth says they're not "heroes" and that "their job is to always seek the truth no matter what."

…ok i went off a tangent BUT what i meant to say is. edgeworth has hurt wright with his own actions. he knows this, just like wright (absolutely) does.

in the context of the sonic idw pic above, eggman lost his memory and became "mr tinker", who no longer seemed to be evil.

(here are some pics that i didn't add in my twt thread just to show you what i mean by eggman's amnesiac self, mr tinker.)

sonic wanted to give mr tinker a chance, especially bc the witnesses around him said that mr tinker had been nothing but helpful to everyone. shadow, however, thinks how ridiculous that is—eggman may've lost his memory, but the memories of those who were hurt under him weren't lost at all.

be it in a context where wright and edgeworth happen to find themselves in a similar dilemma. edgeworth finds wright's idea to give a notorious criminal like de killer a chance—because he happened to lose his memory and was seen being very… not-so-assassin-like—preposterous.

Edgeworth: "Have you forgotten that he made you suffer? That he had held Miss Fey for ransom? That—for the love of god—that he's caused enough trouble for all of us already? How can you even suggest leniency for him after all that?"

Wright: "Heh, you tried to convict Maya in the past too, remember? You said it yourself—you only cared about your perfect win record, that you'd do anything to make sure you sought out that 'Guilty' verdict, letting the innocent stay 'falsely accused'. So—what? You want me to take you out with de Killer? After all, if he can't be forgiven, can you?"

(i wrote this conversation in [almost] the same way that had happened in the first sonic idw scene above, and the same scene that i'll show a pic of right now.)

i added the next two paragraphs after i had been presumably done with my thread, because i was a bit scared to clarify beforehand that i, truth to be told once again, am not completely in too deep in the stories of ace attorney.

to be fair, i think i need to mention that while wright (looks like he) has long forgiven edgeworth for the demon prosecutor front he had inhibited in the earlier years, i doubt that there aren't exactly any lingering feelings (definitely remorse, if that was unclear) that edgeworth would at least have, if not wright.

though i suppose edgeworth had allowed himself to be vulnerable around wright.... it's not out of the question that wright would make sure those burdens would weigh him all the same. plus, they both work hard to fix the law system together so. it's not like wright wouldn't understand him. they've both been with each other in their lowest, guiltiest point of lives after all.

and with all of that being said! i need ace attorney/sonic mutuals so bad haha help. that's all from me folks! now allow me to spam-like/reblog stuff from the narumitsu tag again.

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sandsofdteam-moved · 3 years

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takeaways and lil analysis on change my clothes bc wow

after both Mask and now Change My Clothes I’ve gone into a rant channel and just word dumped about the song so I figured why not put it on the internet?

analysis ramble below the cut! mostly about the lyrics but there’s a blurb on the music too <3

I'm not even gonna get into the lyrics yet because there is so much to unpack but musically it's such a vibey song. I genuinely cannot find a better word for it, it feels homely but professional, but something that could very easily be made acoustic (and there is potential, Alec can we trust you with this?). I love the syncopation during the verses, it adds to the stream of consciousness feel that the verses have. I really like the underlying guitar as well! It's very Alec Benjamin and fits both of their voices perfectly— this was some really great mixing by whoever put this together because there’s a sharpness to Alec’s voice that is mellowed by the softness of Dream’s, especially in the second chorus. Heart eyes all around :D

Lyrically this song hits in every aspect, not only hitting home aspects of depression (which Mask also touched on) but for any fan of Dream there's a lot of nuance to them. To the first point, it makes clear that anyone struggling with this lack of motivation isn't alone, but reminds the subject of the song that "you miss all of the shots that you don't take" as a comeback to all of the negative thoughts that the first half of the verses introduce. The bridge especially emphasizes this, saying that it's better to try and fail than to not try at all. It's okay to take the little steps and that'll get you to the larger goals that you have.

For fans of Dream, the verses and bridge can be seen as very personal and kind of like a secret message: for one, he has talked in the past about not being totally certain about his success on YouTube when he first started the Dream channel. He put up a front and had a "fake it 'till you make it" attitude, which I think the first verse really emphasizes. It's him convincing himself that it's worth trying to achieve what was his childhood dream.

The second verse is about the speedrunning controversy, point blank. He was convinced that his numbers and by extension himself were in the right. But he talks about the humiliation he faced at the expense of holding him accountable for his actions. The word accountability even falls perfectly on 1:16, which is the version in which the disputed speedrun was played on. The verse also talks about his struggle to go outside as a faceless creator— he's said in the past that he rarely goes out with Sapnap and barely leaves the house, so he doesn't leave his comfort zone. But as the pandemic seemingly begins to either stagnate or get better, he's branching out and becoming more confident in posting pictures of himself online, putting his emotions out in vulnerable songs too.

It also feels like him hearkening back to one of my favorite Dream quotes of all time: "Biggest lesson from it all for me was to never assume that someone has malicious intentions even if their actions seem malicious." He has learned that maybe his hotheadedness from last year maybe wasn't the best way to go, and that he's learned from the criticism and utter humiliation that he went through at the hands of the larger internet. He had to learn how to calmly talk to people that didn't like him, and to understand why someone was criticizing him rather that flat-out denying it.

He also has said how he's putting his all into what he's doing— he's essentially living out his childhood dreams, and he wants to keep the ball rolling on that. The bridge touches on how he needs to break free from any of his inhibitions and keep trying out new and better things, whether that be music, variety on stream, branching out to a wider range of people business-wise, etc. He also drops a lore bit on the 7 month anniversary of him getting put into Pandora's Vault, with the lyric "I'd rather fail than spend my life in a jail of my very own creation" because he's done that. In more than just roleplay. That line is accountability 100%— he wants to acknowledge whatever he's done and show that he's outgrown it and that he's not a static person but one willing to remedy whatever got him in trouble, into 'jail', in the first place.

Long story short, Change My Clothes is probably my favorite Dream song so far and it feels so personal on the ‘your struggles aren’t isolated’ but also the ‘this is what I’ve learned, don’t make my mistakes’ level while being a vibe and a jam

#dreamwastaken #change my clothes #dream loveposting #THIS SONG IS SO GOOD #long post #stream of consciousness

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darkpoisonouslove · 4 years

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Because of who i am as a person....

All of the otp asks for Griffin and Valtor that havent been asked yet. 😍

Wow, okay. XD Let’s do this. This is somewhat canon divergent on some questions because canon doesn’t have enough room to work with them.

1) who can outdrink the other?

Griffin if they’re playing without any magic involved. She has been (un)fortunate enough to drink with Ediltrude and she just had to develop high tolerance in order to survive that. However, Valtor’s magic literally burns out the alcohol from his system and he can practically drink forever if he employs it to do that. He uses that especially when they’re on a mission in order to keep his head in the game.

2) who says “I love you” more?

Griffin. Not by much but she says it more. Valtor is a little more under the influence of past convictions drilled into his head that it would weaken him if he let anyone know what he’s truly thinking, especially if it’s something so emotional. He’s working through that, however, for the sake of both of them and their relationship. He wants to be free of his past and be able to communicate with her how happy she makes him and how much he appreciates her.

5) who does more of the housework?

Griffin. She is more organized and needs to have some order around at least. So even if she is swallowed up in some project of hers, she will keep the clutter next to a minimum which means doing some chores. Valtor does help when he isn’t doing anything else but if he has a project, he’ll just sit where he’s working and try to make himself be as little in her way as possible. Sometimes not even that. Griffin gets a little annoyed sometimes by his hyper focus but he makes it up to her in some other way.

6) who forgets their anniversary?

Valtor if he’s been driven crazy by his mothers’ demands. He just has too much on his head and the sense of urgency is leaving him scattered all over the place. He happens to forget. He tries not to, however, because Griffin is important to him and he wants her to know that. Besides, he does so love an opportunity to surprise her with a gift and see how touched she is. It’s just as good as her gifts to him and the thought she puts in choosing them.

7) who steals the duvet in their sleep?

Neither. Valtor pushes it off of him and if it ends up all on Griffin, she’ll push it away as well. Sometimes they end up playing hot potato with it while they sleep until Griffin wakes up and just has it float over to a chair where it won’t bother either one of them.

8) who keeps the other awake at night with their snoring?

Griffin is a very light sleeper so if she happens to snore, she will wake herself and adjust so that she doesn’t anymore. However, Valtor does snore sometimes and it keeps her awake for the very fact that she feels every shift around even if she’s asleep. She doesn’t wake him, however, because she knows he might be unable to go back to sleep again. She’ll just cuddle him instead which always makes him move and usually helps stop his snoring. And it doesn’t wake him because he just instinctively adjusts in order to be able to hold her and doesn’t need conscious thought to do it.

9) who finds stray animals and begs the other to let them keep them?

Valtor. Griffin is definitely not enthusiastic about taking in any pets. She doesn’t have anything against animals but she doesn’t want to put so much time and effort into taking care of them. Also, her organized space will be ruined with a pet (since Valtor is always dragging home puppies or cats, once even a dragon egg that hatched and almost gave her a heart attack) running around. No, thank you. She always finds a way to get the animal out of there before she can catch feelings (Valtor managed to make her fall in love with him despite her initial annoyance with him and she doesn’t trust him not to play dirty to get her to cave and keep the animal). She’ll probably call Faragonda to see if any of her fairies will take in the animal or leave it at a pet shelter. The dragon she had Saladin taking in to train at Red Fountain. But Valtor just keeps dragging animals home (she swears it is his Dragon Fire that attracts them to him) and she just gives up when he comes home with a baby pitbull. She’s helpless against the little thing. It wormed its way into her heart the moment Valtor left it in her palm (it was that small) and she gave in. So now they have a puppy.

10) who usually makes dinner?

Griffin. Valtor can only make whatever she’s taught him to and she thinks it’s better that she handles the cooking just in case. She doesn’t want him roasting the whole kitchen if he gets frustrated by not being able to get it right. And she loves cooking for the two of them. Even more so when he gives his vocal appreciation.

14) who usually starts/causes arguments between them?

Depending. Valtor has more insecurities that come out to mess things up between them more often but Griffin is more nitpicky about things. He is a perfectionist as well but his perfectionism is driven by his desire to avoid unpleasant consequences for a job that isn’t well done while Griffin’s is an inner sense of making the best version of her work. She sees her work as a representation of herself in her work and wants it to be as good as possible. Sometimes her pedantry can get on Valtor’s nerves and push the wrong buttons to make him explode. Or it can make her explode at him. They have their fair share of conflicts but it is hard to say who initiates more of those when they are both responsible as neither of them is much for backing away from a confrontation.

15) who isn’t afraid to embarrass the other in public?

Valtor. Although he threads somewhat more carefully because he knows that Griffin is a private person and there is a thin line between what she’ll allow and what she won’t. After rooming with Ediltrude for 4 years, Griffin has definitely gotten more comfortable and more unaffected by being teased to an extent but he has even more inside information so he has to be careful what he reveals because there are topics Griffin will never be okay with being touched outside of the privacy of their bedroom.

16) who gives the other cringeworthy pet names?

Valtor. He totally loves teasing her by coming up with the most ridiculous, cheesy, cringy pet names. Griffin has sworn if there is a word that can get between them, it will be one of his “charming” nicknames he gives her. He just keeps teasing relentlessly regardless because her favorite method to shut him up appears to be kissing him until he is too out of breath to talk. He doesn’t complain. It only encourages him.

17) who fusses over takes care of the other when they get sick?

Valtor is more panicky because he is sure he will miss some important step of taking care for her. Griffin is more thorough so she may appear to be fussing over him more. She’s just doing everything she can to make things easier for him.

19) who clings to the other for comfort when they’re sad or scared?

Griffin. Valtor does it as well but he is still more reserved about it. There is this sense of not showing weakness that still lingers despite the awe and excitement of the newness of having someone to provide comfort at all. Griffin doesn’t have the same inhibitions about showing her emotions. If anything, she was hesitant at first because she wasn’t sure she could trust he was being honest about the depth of his feelings. But once she got over that, she was happy to make use of the comfort she finds in him. Especially when he purposefully engages his magic to make himself warmer so that she can enjoy the soothing heat. She questioned whether that wouldn’t have any negative consequences for him but once he assured her it was completely fine since his organism is adapted to survive much more heat, she is just happy to snuggle next to him and his comforting warmth.

20) who is more ‘physically passionate’? (hugs, kisses, or maybe more…)

Valtor. Touching is a whole language for him when he never could say what he thought and it is his way of communicating his most sacred feelings. He just loves to touch so much. He can spend all day doing just that. Griffin likes to indulge him even if there is the nagging feeling in her mind that she’s wasting time that she could spend more productively. She hushes those worries because there is nothing more important than making him feel loved and letting him know she is there with him.

#winx club #winx griffin #winx valtor #griffin x valtor #covenshipping #winx headcanons #ask #trashcankitty12

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1dffchallenges · 4 years

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I Hear A Rhapsody

Written By: @sunsetter96

Characters: Anne/Niall

Summary: Anne is a struggling actress trying to advance her career in Los Angeles while making ends meet financially. When she meets Niall, he introduces her to his love and world of music, but they struggle to create a balance between their relationship and their desire for success.

Author’s Note: This is the first chapter to the first story I am writing. Please let me know what you think :)

Warnings: alcohol

2014 —

It was June, and I'd never felt anything like it before.

Weeks before, I had been driving to an audition for a role in a movie my friend had told me about just a few days prior, and I was in my car, in the middle of possibly the worst Los Angeles traffic I'd ever experienced.

"Please don't tell me it's true," I said to my phone. "Please don't let this be real," I continued, practicing my lines over and over again into the receiver, speaking as if there really was someone else on the line, as if there really was someone there to connect with.

I hadn't had much time to practice in the past few days, only because I'd been so busy with moving into my new apartment. There was that, — and then there was having to start work at the new bookstore location. They had made me acting manager for the first few weeks. I had a long list of things that I had to do in order to help set up the new location, and I think the worst part of it was accounting and payroll. I'm just terrible with numbers.

"Fuck," I said, realizing I had come to a stop in the middle of traffic while rehearsing my lines. Cars were honking like crazy, as if that would somehow make the line move faster, and the man in the car behind me was going wild over the fact that I had come to a stop. I guess it was my fault for being distracted, but at the same time, those 20 feet that were between me and the next car really couldn't have saved us even a marginal length of time with the amount of traffic there was.

When there was enough of a gap to cut through the left lane, he merged and cut me off aggressively before pulling off at the next exit after a few minutes. I was so fucking late, and this guy was pissing me off.

I got there just minutes before my audition time and almost ran to the door of the building. I think my audition was one of the last ones of the day, so I was lucky they'd even let me in to go through with it. But I went in and made my audition, albeit without enough time to mentally prepare beforehand.

It went well enough, but I could sense right away that I wouldn't be getting a call back from them. I guess it's true that I didn't fit the role as well as I could have. The listing had called for a girl between ages 18-24, for a supporting role in a movie about a group of girls that went to summer camp and did all of that teen stuff, like fall in love and drink and smoke. I did look like a teen, but I suppose I was already on the back end of that age range considering I was 23. I also didn't look like many of the girls that were there for the audition, too — blonde, tan, and skinny — and maybe that's what they were looking for. I was a thin person but not nearly as skinny and fit as some of the girls there, and I had brown hair and brown eyes.

I guess it didn't matter, because I'd find a role that would suit me eventually. At least I hoped so.

Later that day I came home feeling like shit, and I didn't even feel like eating or working out. Thankfully I had the day off the next day, so I just laid in bed looking at social media and watched Netflix until I fell asleep.

My roommate woke me up the next day with the sound of her using the blender. I turned around in bed and saw the time. 7:00 a.m. It was too early for this, but I figured it would be worse for me to be depressed and lay in bed all day.

"Cecilia?" I called out after coming out of the bathroom. "Why are you using the blender so early?"

"Sorry dude," she responded. "I'm going out for a run at 8:00, but I wanted to eat something light beforehand, so I made myself a smoothie."

"Oh, that sounds good," I told her. A run actually sounded good despite my tiredness. "Can I come with?"

"Sure," she said. "Let me make you a smoothie, too."

I went back to my room and washed my face and teeth before putting on some workout clothes. Cecilia had made me an icy blueberry smoothie with greek yogurt, and it was absolutely delicious. I think I've always been in love with liquid food (like smoothies or margaritas), because they're so easy. I have a sensitive stomach, but somehow her smoothies have always soothed me, physically and emotionally.

Maybe I'm just a little bit intense, but I think that's also what drove me to want to act. All of the things that I feel — that emotion and the intensity I seek with others and in simple, everyday tasks — that's what engrosses each line that I act and every character I play. And I hoped in that moment that I could transfer that intense energy to my acting, and maybe one day be recognized for it.

Cecilia and I drank our smoothies and talked about our plans for next weekend. We had been invited to 70s themed party where there would be a live band and an open bar. It was pretty exciting, especially for her, because the guy she had been sort of dating invited her to come and bring a friend.

"His name is Louis," she smiled. "He's a producer, and his company has themed parties sometimes, kind of to help artists network and to celebrate a new release."

"Oh, I see," I said. "Well, I'm just happy that you're enjoying yourself with him. Let's see how this party goes. I'm so excited to get our outfits together and dress 70s style," I laughed.

"I knew you would love that idea! You've always loved 70s rock, so that's right up your alley," she says.

We left the house and ended up running to the park near our neighborhood. I'm actually glad she woke up early that morning, because it forced me to get out of the depressed mood I was in.

We talked more about what outfits we would wear to the party as we ran, and she decided that she would dress disco themed, while I wanted to wear something more hippie style. My hair was long enough to do the hair style, but I thought it might look nice if I straightened it and wore a flower crown.

"Anne," she said. "I think we should use this opportunity, this party, this experience — to have a lot of fun. It's been so long since we've done something crazy. So yes, we will be drinking margaritas and we will be taking shots this time."

"Okay," I laughed with her. "I'll try to keep up, but it's been a while since I've drank."

We came to a stop at the end of the trail going around the park, and leaned against the rails, looking back at the playground, across the grassy field. In the distance, I could see a couple walking their dog together, holding hands and laughing together. I looked over at Cecilia and she was looking at them, too.

My mind took me back to our past relationships in that moment, and I remembered how it felt to hold someone else's hand like that couple. I remembered that feeling of warmth and security when you held the hand of someone you knew well but also that clamminess you felt when you would first hold hands with someone because you were nervous. I missed that feeling, and I could tell Cecilia felt the same.

We were like that when we were together sometimes. We thought so alike that I felt like she was my other half, and even my soulmate in some sense. I had never felt that for another man, but I did for her, even though I wasn't romantically attracted to her.

Last year both of us had broken up with our boyfriends within months of each other, and we had decided to move in together after our leases ended. It was interesting how we had both started dating our exes at the same time, when we were just 19, and how we had both spent those three years spiraling in abusive relationships.

It was sad to think, but somehow I felt that our respective heartbreaks had brought us closer together. We had drifted apart when we got into those relationships, the first long-term relationship we both had ever had, but their ending is what helped our friendship grow even more. She was always there for me when I was grieving, and perhaps it had been destiny that led us to this very moment in time.

You could argue that this moment wasn't anything special, but it was small moments like these that I would always remember.

"I'm so happy you're coming with me to this party," she smiled. "And maybe we'll be able to meet some cute guys there."

"That's true," I laughed at her comment.

We were both looking forward to the party, not just to have fun but to use it as an opportunity to let go of our past, including the pain we had felt for so many years. While Cecilia had dated on and off in the past few months, I couldn't bring myself to open up to anyone yet, especially not to any stranger at a party. It had been months since I had talked to a guy more than casually or as a friend.

"Honestly, I'm just ready to get drunk and forget everything, my inhibitions, all of it," I breathed out.

"Okay, Anne," she laughs. "I'll make sure to be the drink police for you all night. If I don't see a drink in your hand, you'll have to take a shot with me. It's the law — no fighting me and no questions asked!" she points at me.

We both started laughing and talked for a few more minutes, allowing our heartbeats to slow down as we relaxed from our run. When we got home, I spent the rest of the morning relaxing and cleaning up my room and around the house. Cecilia had left for work at 11, so I looked online for more auditions and recorded one video to send to a casting agent for review.

While I was settling down that evening to eat my dinner, I got a notification from Cecilia on instagram — it was a picture of some guys standing together.

Hey dude, this is the band that's going to play at the party. Louis told me that they're really good.

Thank you <3 I'll check them out, I told her.

I looked up their profile, and they were called "The Breakers." From the picture, I could see that guy Louis had been tagged, and he was posing next to a couple of guys, one of which I guess was the main songwriter who had worked with him. The picture was of them at their studio, celebrating the completion of their debut album.

I ended up looking them up on Spotify and listened to a few of their songs — they were definitely my type of music. I could hear various elements of classic rock and psychedelic music in their melodies, mixed with a bit of pop and even jazz.

That night, I went to bed listening to a few of their songs through my headphones, letting myself get lost in the melodies, just as I would do when in character sometimes. It was interesting how music informed a lot of my life, and I think if I hadn't gone into acting, I probably would have tried to be an artist.

If there was one thing I was sure about, it's that I needed to start taking my acting career seriously. I had already been in Los Angeles for four years, with nothing coming to fruition, and I just hoped that destiny would take me where I needed to be, soon.

#1dff #movies challenge #niall

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clericbyers · 5 years

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I have been thinking about the exchange between Will and Mike at the end of ST3 and in particular their word choice. In artistic media, whatever is articulated is there with purpose. It’s not coincidence (an old example is that if a gun is mentioned in text to be on a wall to a reader, then the reader expects the gun to be important in some manner, whether it is for metaphoric narrative or is literally used because it was explicitly pointed out in the narrative). In terms of cinematic media, the published take was used instead of other versions for whatever reason the director(s) decided, so everything has intent. (Finn even said in a Hollywood Reporter interview that the Duffers shot “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls,” with different phrasing, adding “yet” in one take that ended up unused. So, there’s definitely attention payed to what exactly is being said between Will and Mike.)

That being said, I wanna focus a lot on Mike’s, “Yeah, but what if you want to join another party?” and Will’s, “Not possible.” Before this exchange, Will donates his D&D manuals. He’s not taking it with him despite spending a good while three months back trying to regroup the Party through it. He states that he’ll use Mike’s set, if “we still wanna play”. Here he puts the ball in Mike’s court while acknowledging that they both might grow up and grow out of the interest but Mike holds the means to pursue D&D again. Mike says, “Yeah, but,” and it’s simple acknowledgement neither here nor there because he had something more important to say, something that unnerves him enough to let his gaze wander. He seems a little unsure and he pauses before continuing on, gathering his thoughts. He doesn’t make eye contact with Will until he says, “What if you want to join another party?”

[x]

Now party had two meanings in ST: party as in D&D in general and the Party (which I’ll capitalize) which is the best friend circle of Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin. Max and El join later but those four are the Party when it comes to D&D. Mike’s question is loaded. He asks if Will wants to play D&D with other people, he asks if Will wants to find a new friend group to replace the Party. He paints it as a hypothetical, a possibility for Will to pursue if he wants to, not when he plans to. Mike doesn’t say, “Yeah, but you can still find another party while you’re gone.” That is giving explicit permission for Will to move on, it’s what he already expects in a way but doesn’t want. He doesn’t say, “Yeah, but you might want to find a new party.” That paints the Party (and in turn himself) as old and something of the past, which Mike is battling with himself in terms of what it means to grow up.

Mike is asking about this loaded hypothetical situation. “What if,” hypothetically, “you wanna join another party?” ‘Another party’ implies in addition to the Party, an alternate of sorts. It’s not necessarily a replacement, just an addition. He’s offering the possibility because much like what Mike did when El joined the Party, the addition can very well become a replacement. Consider it ironic I suppose, but he doesn’t want Will to replace him.

Will’s response though...his response kills me dead. Will didn’t say, “Impossible.” He said, “Not possible.” There’s a difference between impossible and not possible. Impossible means it can’t occur, it cannot exist. It’s simply not able to be done no matter what. Every single possible event in the world can occur and this one thing simply cannot be done. It’s very finite and, well, pretty extreme and intense. ‘Not possible’ though? It’s technically the same meaning but context and delivery matters. ‘Not possible’ is so much more freeing in terms of interpretation than impossible.

[x]

For example, “It’s impossible to give you a ride,” vs “It’s not possible to give you a ride.” The former phrase implies defeat. It’s literally never going to happen for whatever reason. Maybe the car is full already or you have too much luggage that can’t fit. The bounds of the real world inhibit you from the car ride. It’s frankly just not gonna happen. The latter phrase though infers that there are other circumstances that means this simply isn’t possible. Giving you a ride isn’t in the list of possibilities at the moment. Maybe the car has an extra seat but there’s a dog you’re allergic to in it. It’s not impossible for you to ride in the car—there’s a free seat—but it’s not a possible option for you if you don’t want to have an allergic reaction.

In the context of Will’s reply, impossible would mean that Will can’t ever find another party. That’s frankly false; he could probably find another party, which Mike hypothetically thinks may happen given his question. Will knows this, he could find more people to play D&D with, it’s not impossible to join another party. But he looks down at the box between them—a box full of old toys to donate and move on from, a symbol itself of growing up—and then shakes his head with a soft smile. It’s technically possible to join another party—he has that choice—but in actuality, it’s not possible for him. It’s not possible for Will to replace the Party. It’s not possible for Will to replace Mike. Those cards aren’t in his hand despite them being in the deck.

Will is saying so much just with those two words, reassuring Mike that even though they have growing up in front of and between them (literally in terms of the donation box that’s only there because he’s moving away), the one thing that won’t change is how he feels, and his relation to Mike. That change is not possible. He will always love Mike.

And then Mike smiles.

[x]

Mike smiling with Will isn’t new, but the thing to note here is how he smiles. It’s not just a simple grin. He’s shy, he’s soft, he’s careful, he’s cautious. Mike being cautious about showing affection to Will? That’s new. He’s always been the first to reach out with Will, always caring and checking in, reaching out physically and emotionally. Throughout ST3, he’s shutting Will out and throwing that in his face and when he does that, Mike’s not cautious (as usual), but in ST3 it’s to the negative extreme of brashness.

Now though, Mike is questioning. He even called Will ‘dude’ earlier, trying to get a handle on his relationship with Will. Will is a boy, he’s a dude, he’s Mike’s male friend, right? He could have said “Woah, Will,” or “Whoa, Byers,” or even just, “Whoa,” but saying dude? Why would he ever have to do that, especially if he was still with El? Why is he reinforcing the fact that Will is “dude”? There’s all sorts of interpretations to be had on that but I wanna focus on Mike’s behavior afterwards. As stated before, Mike’s eyes wander when he gets a little unnerved, he worries if Will might forget about him, he’s nervous. Why would Mike be nervous about this? If he’s confident in his friendship with Will, there shouldn’t be any question about it even with the move. Yet, he questions being replaced, questions where he stands, questions what they are.

In response to Mike’s smile, Will smirks.

[x]

It’s a direct contrast to Mike. Will’s not shy, soft, or cautious. He knows what he said, what he implied (at least for himself if Mike doesn’t). He’s blatantly flirty. He’s figured out where he is and what he wants. He showed Mike the level playing field (“I’ll just use yours when I come back. I mean, if we still wanna play.”) and he’s kinda like, “I’ll see you when you get there.” There being acknowledging his feelings. I think it’s also Will noting maybe that Mike likes him, too, compared to three months prior when Mike basically broke his heart and Will proceeded to breakdown over it. Here, Will sees Mike’s shy smile, he sees his nervousness. Will has successfully put his heart out on the line (again) and this time Mike didn’t stomp on it. Mike is pleased to have it, and he’s careful about it. This is something new, them both noting that there’s something different between them. Now, it’s up to Mike to shoot his shot if he wants to.

(And later, when Mike mentions Will in his conversation with El, he gets excited about playing games again when El and Will come back to visit, excited about taking that shot (given games and D&D is Mike and Will’s metaphoric narrative about their friendship while growing up), and then backtracks. He says he sounds like he’s 7. At 7, Mike’s best friends were Will and Lucas. (There’s no explicit age stated when Lucas befriended the two but I assume it to be maybe like a year after Mike and Will became friends.) Mike basically said he sounds like a kid again, naive about many things yet deeply caring toward his friends and well, not dating anyone. In Mike’s character profile in the concept bible, he plays D&D to escape from the fact that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. D&D came out in 1979, which is when Mike is 8 (or 7 depending on his birthday). He wants to restart that D&D obsession, noting that D&D is a metaphor for Will and Mike’s relationship. He wants to return to this closeness from being kids, where it didn’t really matter what the affection meant. But he also knows that he’s 14 and growing up. This isn’t something he should want yet he says it right in front of El, his supposed girlfriend, the one he claims to love yet can’t tell her himself and then can’t return the statement or the kiss after she confesses too. He says it after the exchange with Will, where D&D turned from the game used to maintain the friendship into the game where they can take go further if Mike is ready for it.)

tl;dr Mike likes Will, too and Will gave him a second chance to try again if he’s done being a clown and wants to own up to his feelings.

[ first two gifs by ilu-3000 and last two by cath-avery, as credited above ]

#byler #byeler #mike wheeler #will byers #byler meta #long post #i didn't include any 'comphet mike' theories to this #though you are welcome to infer that bc i do as well to a degree #anyway its just basically that mike is struggling to accept his feelings #but will is willing to give him a second chance to try once mike figures out what's up with himself #and when will returns its up to mike to decide where to go from there #otp: palaric

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yogaadvise · 4 years

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How to Awaken Your Third Eye

For many individuals, the term 'third eye' raises thoughts of the metaphysical, the mysterious, as well as the odd. Nevertheless, referrals to a '3rd eye' have crossed various cultures throughout the globe, as well as can be mapped back hundreds of years. Variants of the 'pineal eye' exist in numerous religions.

Your vision will become clear just when you can explore your own heart. Who looks outside, desires, who looks within, awakes. Carl Jung

And ultimately, there have been clinical developments which link the 3rd eye to concrete, physical procedures as well as structures (most especially, the pineal gland). Many yogis really hope to awaken their 3rd eye, as well as in doing so end up being much more harmonic with their vision.

What does the third eye do?

The pineal eye does many things that are purposeful for yogis. As an 'eye,' it is naturally linked to vision. Unlike a person's 2 physical eyes, the 3rd eye sees that which can not be seen by the naked eye. Rather, the third eye sees reality. It sees past ego and also externalities, as well as is the vital to intuition. It sees things as they are, as well as not as how a person might desire them to be.

Philosophy Behind the 3rd Eye

To comprehend why and how the pineal eye provides understanding and vision, an individual should explore the philosophical history. There are discussed to the 3rd eye within numerous old worlds and also cultures.

Within yoga exercise, Ayurveda, and also Hindi societies, the pineal eye is linked to the Ajna chakra, or 6th chakra. This chakra lies between the brows, just as the pineal eye is. It is also stated to be the secret to vision, assumption, intuition, and also clarity. If a yogi has actually entered their Ajna chakra, after that they have actually allowed go of their ego, and also welcomed the Self's union with the Divine. They have actually surrendered Maya, or the assumption of the specific as a different being. They have actually welcomed the supreme awareness that all beings share.

In Egyptian viewpoint and also history, there are additionally discusses of the 3rd eye. The key example is the Egyptian Eye of Horus. In addition, ancient Egyptian scrolls as well as burial places additionally show a marking in between the eyebrows, called an udjat. The udjat corresponds the Hindu bindi, a noting that is still used to now between the eyebrows. This noting was implied to represent health, vision, and also royal powers.

Even in more contemporary, Westernized societies, there are recommendations to the third eye. It is an usual claiming that a person may feel their 'sixth sense' prickling, or that someone has a 'second sight.' What is this intuition? The intuition coincides with the 6th chakra (Ajna chakra) pointed out over. It refers to a sense of instinct or foresight that some people may experience. This is an outcome of the third eye.

Biological Explanation Behind the Third Eye

Many individuals will certainly not be encouraged of the power of the pineal eye simply by the philosophical and also historic history. In even more recent times, a clinical proof base has actually developed to support the extra spiritual insurance claims bordering the pineal eye. For countless years, signs of the pineal eye have been placed in between the brows, as displayed in the Hindi as well as Egyptian cultures. This corresponds with the biological area of the third eye: the pineal gland.

It is currently commonly thought that the third eye is in fact the pea-sized endocrine gland understood as the pineal gland. The pineal gland produces hormones such as melatonin, and also thus is known as the body's clock as well as controls body clocks. It influences when a person really feels weary, wide awake, and sleeps. Melatonin additionally influences reproductive hormonal agents, which will influence an individual's mood, vigor, and fertility.

For a long time, the pineal gland was seen as a 'vestigial organ,' or a body organ that exists in the body however no more serves a purpose. Some have actually theorized that this is since modern-day individuals have actually lost touch with their spiritual vision as well as instinct. Others placed this to encironmental impacts such as enhanced fluoride as well as calcium in individuals's diet plans, which can allegedly trigger calcification of the pineal gland. In contrast, prophets, sages, and Yogis of hundreds of years ago are said to have actually had much bigger pineal glands. When the present function of the pineal gland (to secrete melatonin as well as control body clocks) was uncovered, this supplied a clear biological web link to the powers of the 3rd eye.

How to Awaken the Third Eye

If you suspect you have concerns with your pineal eye, as many people do, you might be interested in different ways to stir up the pineal eye. Yoga exercise is developed to aid experts reach Samadhi, or enlightenment. To do this, their spirit needs to travel through all 7 chakras, including the Ajna chakra. To really come to be informed, a yogi needs to awaken their 3rd eye. Below are some certain instances of exactly how a yogi can awaken their 3rd eye.

One of one of the most common means to deal with stiring up the 3rd eye is with reflection. With reflection, the yogi relaxes their 'mind-chatter' or 'mind-stuff,' as described in the sutras. By locating stillness in mind and also spirit, the yogi is after that able to plainly see beyond surfaces and also vanity. They are able to see the globe as well as the Self in their truest form. To boost reflection for the 3rd eye, the yogi must be certain to meditate with closed eyes. They ought to visualize a strong white light originating from the area in between their eyebrows, slightly behind their forehead. With eyes closed, they can even shift their stare toward this area. By focusing the detects on this location, the 3rd eye might be stirred and gradually awakened.

Yoga Poses

There are lots of asanas (yoga positions) that can help in opening the pineal eye. These are the postures that target prana (power) circulation toward the sixth chakra. By raising the circulation of prana towards the pineal eye, it might end up being turned on. Here are some examples of positions that will certainly assist awaken the pineal eye:

Salamba Balanasana-- Kid's Pose

In this position, the yogi rests back on their heels, with the tops of the feet pushed right into the mat. They walk their arms out in front so their body is expanded over the knees. To turn on the 3rd eye, it is essential that the yogi presses their temple to the floor covering in this posture. This assists with a sensation of safety and security and also grounding, as unfavorable energy is extracted of the third eye.

Garudasana — Eagle Pose

This is a standing turning pose, in which among your legs is wrapped around the various other. The arms are turned also, as well as bent at the arm joints with the arms parallel to the floor. To engage the 3rd eye, make certain your hands are resting against the forehead. As you equilibrium, close your eye as well as bring your awareness to the pineal eye space.

Ardha Pincha Mayurasana-- Dolphin Pose

Dolphin pose is similar to down dealing with pet, other than the forearms are grown on the mat. Sometimes, the hands might also be clasped together. By decreasing the top body more detailed to the mat, lymphatic and blood circulation is enhanced to the head. This likewise boosts prana circulation. The pineal gland and, for that reason, 3rd eye can be activated.

Additionally, yoga exercise postures such as inversions, hip openers, as well as any posture where a mudra (hand placement) is placed over the eyes or temple can aid in stiring up the third eye.

Detoxify

The pineal gland is not separated from normal blood flow like the remainder of the brain is thanks to the blood brain barrier. As a matter of fact, the pineal gland receives the most blood circulation of any bodily body organ, aside from the kidneys. This blood flow raises the chance for toxins to inhibit the pineal gland, and for that reason the third eye. Therefore, it is essential to sustain detoxification paths. Detoxing can be done with cleanses, taking in specific detoxing foods, making use of turned on charcoal, taking in herbs that get rid of the liver, and also exercising turning yoga exercise poses.

Regulate Circadian Rhythm

Because the pineal gland, and also as a result the third eye, regulates a person's sleep-wake cycle, it is essential to see to it this is well balanced as well as healthy. An unbalanced sleep-wake cycle may aim toward issues with the pineal eye. To stir up the pineal eye, a person can concentrate on regulating their circadian rhythm. Instances of just how to do this include investing even more time in sun, and oversleeping complete darkness. 'Rest hygiene' can also be practiced, in which the individual goes to sleep as well as wakes up at the exact very same time every day.

Conclusion

The solutions talked about above are just a couple of examples of just how a person could awaken their 3rd eye. There are still many various other suggestions, such as preventing calcium and fluoride, presenting specific important oils, and more. Testing with various techniques will help the individual locate their favorite practices.

How do you recognize when your 3rd eye is awoken, though? Some people report picturing vibrant lights and pinecone (pineal gland shaped) images. Others state they are able to see auras as well as intense, stunning colors. They really feel an increased sense of intuition, and what some describe as a 'intuition.' Still other individuals report terrifying experiences, such as seeing dark numbers and sensations. In these cases, it is believed that the person opened their 3rd eye ahead of time. They were not mentally or mentally prepared to experience the awakening of their 3rd eye. Because of these experiences, it is very important not to rush the procedure of opening up the third eye. Take each step with Santosha (satisfaction) as well as acceptance. When you are all set, the pineal eye will awake.

#iyengar yoga #restorative yoga #spiritual #yoga #yoga nidra #yoga poses #yoga positions #yoga works

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juniperpublishers-sciences · 5 years

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Improved Paddy Straw as Ruminant Feed: A Review-Juniper Publishers

Abstract

Paddy straw is a major agro-residue fed to ruminants in India. Feeding only rice straw does not provide enough nutrients to the ruminants even for maintenance due to the low nutritive value of this highly lignified material containing high concentration of anti-nutrition factors like lignin, silicates and oxalates. Despite the improvements of crop residues through various processing methods such as physical and chemical, the efficient utilization to desirable extent is still awaited. So utilization of paddy straw in association with concept of complete feed along with biological agents is need of the hour to maximize advantage from given feeds in animal production systems.

Introduction

In tropical zones of the world, ruminants depend on grazing on natural pastures usually during summer months when these pastures have abundant biomass or these animals are fed with cut grass and crop residues. Most of these areas face seasonal periods in which there is decrease in availability of herbages in these pasture. There is also reduction in the content of digestible energy and crude protein. In these areas rice straw is abundantly available from paddy cultivation and farmers offer rice straw as the main roughage source to their animals. This is particularly the case in developing Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and India [1]. Approximately 80% of the world's rice is grown by small scale farmers in many developing countries including South East Asia (Table 1) and it is common to use rice straw for animal feeding. As per reports of Devendra [2] that of the total rice straw production, 30-40% is utilized for animal feeding in South East Asia, including China and Mongolia, as rice straw being the principal crop residue fed to more than 90% of the ruminant livestock in this area [3]. Rice straw becomes especially important during periods when other feeds are deficient. In general, the maximum intake of rice straw by ruminants is about 1.0 to 1.2kg per 100kg live weight [2]. As per Saritha et al. [4], the major agro-residues in terms of volumes generated in India (in million metric tons, MMT) were rice straw (112.00), rice husk (22.40), wheat straw (109.90), sugarcane tops (97.80) and bagasse (101.30).

Chemical composition of paddy straw and constraints in feeding to ruminants

The chemical composition of paddy straw varies between varieties and growing seasons, with higher nitrogen and cellulose contents in early season rice compared to others [5]. Paddy straw contains 25-45% cellulose, 25-30% hemi- cellulose and 10-15% lignin with low nitrogen, vitamins, minerals and high quantities of silica which hinder the nutrient availability to rumen microbes and eventually limits the necessary nutrient uptake for a satisfactory performance of the animals [6,7]. Presence of anti-nutritional factors like silicates and oxalates in rice straw with low nutritive value, poor palatability and limited ruminal degradation render paddy straw as non-maintenance type of fodder, so cannot support nutrient requirement of the animals when fed alone [6,8].

Compiled from Prasad et al. [39], Singh & Oosting [52], Shen et al. [49], Van Soest [59], Wanapat et al. [62], Ganai & Teli [19], Akinfemi & Ogunwole [4], Hossain et al. [22], Gomma et al. [21], Hussein et al. [23], Sheikh et al. [48].

The chemical and mineral compositions of rice straw, cited by different workers, are illustrated in Table 2. Rice straw consists predominantly of cell walls, comprised of cellulose, hemi cellulose, and lignin. To break down these components cellulase, hemi cellulase and ligninase are required [9]. In ruminants cellulase and hemicellulase are produced by rumen microorganisms however, lignin cannot be broken down in the rumen due to the lack of ligninase. Lignin, however, has important effects on livestock production through effects on degradability and feed intake. Theoretically, lignin located between the cellulose micro fibrils is regarded as the most abundant natural aromatic organic polymer that plays a role in resisting compressing forces, providing protection against consumption by insects and mammals, and also inhibiting the rate and degree of microbial degradation [10]. Silica, one element of the rice cell walls, can be present in high concentrations ranging from 5% to 15%, depending on the rice variety [11] and the availability of this mineral in the soil [12]. Silica reduces palatability and the degradability of rice straw in the rumen due to its direct action in preventing colonization by ruminal microorganisms [12,13]. The role of silica on the quality of rice straw was also reviewed by Van Soest [8], in an attempt to put into perspective the problems of silicon metabolism. Besides cell wall polymers, rumen organisms need other nutrients for growth and metabolism.

Since rice straw does not contain enough sugars, amino acids and minerals for efficient microbial growth, feeding ruminants with only rice straw, without any supplementation of other required nutrient sources, will result in poor performance of the animals [14]. The combination of low intake, low degradability, low nitrogen content and an unbalanced mineral composition means that rice straw alone may not even meet the animal's maintenance needs. Poor degradability is caused by a series of factors [9]. The fiber is very difficult to degrade, which is partly an intrinsic characteristic of the straw fiber (higher lignin and silca content). The degradation of the straw fiber is also complicated by the poor functioning of the rumen due to the unbalanced availability of nutrients, the low protein content, the lack of easily available energy and the low content of essential minerals such as phosphorus and sulphur. Hence, due to the low degradability and the poor rate of degradation, animals will tend to consume less. The generally accepted theory of feed intake regulation for poor quality roughages is that the capacity of the rumen to process the feed is the major factor determining voluntary feed intake [15,16]. The rumen processing capacity is characterized by rumen fill, the rate of degradation of potentially degradable matter and the rate of passage out of the rumen. Devendra [2] summarized that the main determinants of intake and degradability of rice straw depend on their morphological characteristics, such as the proportion of the different plant parts (leaves and stems), their chemical composition and the distribution of the different chemical components in the tissues, their relative amounts of cell contents and cell walls and the physical and chemical nature of the cell walls. These factors influence the chewing behavior of animals and the extent of fragmentation in the reticulo-rumen. As per Theander & Aman [17], rice straw contains a relatively high proportion of leaf (60%), compared to other cereal straws such as barley (35%), oats (43%) and wheat (20-41%). Vadiveloo [18] reported that leaves of rice straw contain less NDF than the stems, but more ash and acid-insoluble ash, resulting in a lower in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of the leaves (50-51%) compared to the stems (61%). In goats, Phang & Vadiveloo [19] observed an in vivo dry matter digestibility of 56.2% for rice leaf and 68.5% for the stem. However, treatment with a 4% urea solution for 21d increased the IVDMD of the leaf fraction more than that of the stem fraction [18]. Since rice straw consists of approximately 60% leaves [20], which are less degradable than stems, improving the feed value of rice straw should focus on improving the degradability of the leaves.

Possible strategies to improve rice straw utilization in ruminants

Feeding only rice straw does not provide enough nutrients to the ruminants even for maintenance due to the low nutritive value of this highly lignified material. Basically, the key to improving the use of crop residues for ruminants is to overcome their inherent barriers to rumen microbial fermentation. In the case of rice straw, the important factors that restrict bacterial degradation in the rumen are its high levels of lignification and silicification, and its low contents of nitrogen, vitamins and minerals [21]. The high level of lignification and silicification, the slow and limited ruminal degradation of the carbohydrates and the low content of nitrogen are the main deficiencies of rice straw, affecting its value as feed for ruminants [8]. To improve the feeding value of rice straw, it can be treated with different means and methods and other required nutrients can be supplemented in the ration of the animal. Strategies to improve the utilization of rice straw are summarized.

Physical and chemical treatment

Extensive work has been done to improve nutritive value of crop residues by chemical and physical treatments. In physical treatment crop residues can be ground, soaked, pelleted or chopped to reduce particle size or can be treated with steam or X-rays or pressure cooked. Many of these treatments are not practical for use on small-scale farms, as they require machines or industrial processing. This makes these treatments in many cases economically unprofitable for farmers as the benefits may be too low or even negative [9] By treating rice straw with urea or calcium hydroxide or by supplementing rice straw with protein, the intake, degradability and milk yield can be enhanced as compared to feeding untreated rice straw alone [22,23]. In past years, several studies have been reported on the physical and chemical characterization and utilization of rice straw as ruminant feed [5,17,24]. In addition, numerous methods of physical, chemical and biological treatments have been investigated, including supplementation with other feed stuffs or components in order to improve the utilization of rice straw by ruminants [25-30]. The most commonly used alkaline agents are sodium hydroxide (NaOH), ammonia (NH3) and urea. Chemical treatments appear to be the most practical for use at farmers level, the chemicals are relatively cheap and the procedures to use them are relatively simple. However, safety precautions are needed for their use as these chemicals themselves are not harmless. Warly et al. [31] showed in a field trial that a ration of rice straw supplemented with soybean meal increased both degradability and intake. Because of the poor quality of untreated rice straw, supplementation easily can increase milk production, as shown for supplementation with cottonseed meal with an urea molasses- multi-nutrient block [28,32,33] and urea molasses treatment [34].

Rice straw is usually fed untreated without supplements in spite of the fact that many methods for improved utilization of rice straw have been developed and recommended. There are several reasons for farmers not to adopt the already developed methods for improved utilization of straw, such as physical, socio-economic conditions and practical reasons [2].

Biological Methods

Despite the improvements of crop residues through various processing methods such as physical and chemical, the efficient utilization to desirable extent is still awaited. Hence, it is the need of the hour to utilize these crop residues available in appreciable quantum locally in association with concept of complete feed technology and use of biological agents (feed additives) to maximize advantage from given feeds in animal production systems. Biological treatment is a much favorable option and is believed to be more eco-friendly and safer than the use of chemicals. Various methods of biological treatment/ fortification of paddy straw to enhance its utilization in animals include treatment with white rot fungi, ensilage with agro-industrial byproducts like apple pomace or fortification with proteins, greens or enzymes [35-38]. Although the use of white rot fungi causes significant loss of dry matter and organic matter [21,39] besides needs much more technical know and sometimes beomes impracticable at farmers level. The ensiling of straw with fruit pommace or poultry excreta or rumen liquor does not need sophisticated infrastructure with such facilities available at farmers level, but the advantage of these methods lies in fact of improving digestibility of nutrients, gain in body weight and overall performance of animals. Despite being safe and environmental friendly these biological agents have potent effect on digestibility of fodder by manipulating rumen environment. Gado et al. [40] reported decrease in the total phenolics, saponins and aqueous fraction with higher average daily gain, TDN and digestibility coefficients for DM, OM, CP, CF, NDF and ADF in Ossimi male lambs fed paddy straw ensiled orange pulp treated with exogenous enzymes diet than control. In other study Gado et al. [40] suggested a strong potential in improving digestibility and degradation of NDF and ADF of rice straw pre-treated with exogenous enzymes. Karunanandaa et al. [26,41] also reported enhanced IVDMD in both leaves and stems of rice straw by incubation with white-rot fungi (Pleurotus sajor-caju) for 30 days. However, entire rice straw (leaf and stem) treated with Cyathus stercoreus had the highest IVDMD compared to the other fungi. This improved digestibility of biologically treated straw is result of improvement in chemical composition as Akinfemi & Ogunwole [4] evaluated chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of rice straw treated with Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus pulmonarius and Pleurotus tuber-regium found significant increase in the crude protein and significant decrease in crude fibre, cellulose, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin of fungal treated rice straw than control. Fungal treated rice straw showed higher values of minerals (Ca and Mg), gas volume, metabolisable energy, organic matter digestibility and short chain fatty acid were also higher in fungal treated straw than control. White rot fungi efficiently degraded the lignin and enhanced the in vitro digestibility of paddy straw [4]

In another study Ganai & Teli [21] reported increase in CP, DCP and TDN content and nitrogen balance in Corriedale sheep fed paddy straw treated white rot fungi (Pleurotus ulmarius). Similarly Abdel-Azim et al. [42] reported that treating rice straw and corn stalks with Trichoderma viride, improved feeding value resulting in higher intake, N balance and growth rate in cross-bred lambs. The author also reported that DM consumption of fungal treated paddy straw was significantly higher than untreated straw. Bassiouni et al. [43] studied the effect of fibrolytic enzymes supplementation on In Situ degradability of DM, CP and CF of different rations consisted of concentrate feed mixture + berseem hay, dried sugar beet tops, corn silage, rice straw or wheat straw in different ratios 60:40or 40:60 incubated in canulated multiparous Friesian cows. Rations contained rice straw showed the lowest (P<0.05) values of in situ DM, CP and CF disappearance. In support of these findings Khattab et al. [37] studied chemical composition, nutritive value, in vitro digestibility and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of rice straw (RS) and Pleurotus ostreatus spent rice straw (SRS) and reported higher protein, amino acids (mg/100g) content, in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD) and in vitro organic matter disappearance (IVOMD) for SRS compared to RS while, DM, OM, NFE, CF, NDF, ADF, ADL, hemicellulose and cellulose were less for SRS than for RS. Pothiraj et al. [44] reported that fibrolytic enzymes of A. nigersuch as cellulase, p-glucosidase and xylanase had reduced the lignocellulose compound of the rice straw (Figure 1).

Some studies, using fibrolytic enzymes alone could not significantly increase the degradability of rice straw because the ability of these enzymes to break down the esterified bonds within lignin-carbohydrate complexes may be limited. However, when using in combination with other pre-treatments they could increase degradability and in vitro fermentation characteristics, as shown by Eun et al. [51] treated rice straw with xylanase or cellulase in combination with ammonia, Hussein et al. [52] treated rice straw with urea and commercial effective microorganisms, Liu & 0rskov [29] treated rice straw with cellulase in combination with steam pre-treatment, Wang et al. [46] treated rice straw with multi-enzymes (xylanase, β-glucanase, carboxymethyl cellulase and amylase) in combination with NaOH, found that the use of combinations of fibrolytic enzyme with these pre-treatments is expected to have a synergistic effect on the nutritive improvement of rice straw. evaluated use of rumen liquor, chicken manure and commercial probiotic to improve nutritional value of rice straw and reported that crude protein level of rice straw fermented with chicken manure was the highest followed by that of rumen liquor treatment and significantly different from those of commercial probiotic and control treatments. Crude fiber level of rice straw fermented with manure showed the lowest level but not significantly different from rumen liquor and commercial probiotics. These values were significantly lower than control. While assessing the effect of incorporation of wheat straw-rice straw (WS-RS in 50:50 ratio) or Pleurotus florida harvested spent WS-spent RS (50:50) in kids, Kaur et al. [47] observed a higher DM intake (0.80 vs. 0.65kgd-1), digestibility of majority of nutrients (except cellulose which was depressed), N-retention (5.36 vs. 4.87g), apparent biological value (63.08 vs. 53.43%) and daily live weight gain were comparable in both the groups. Apart from enzymatic treatment [37] reported the microbial application of rice straw degraded the lignocellulosic contents, thus improving the rumen DM degradability which would affect the weight gain of animal. By degrading the lignocellulosic contents of rice straw, more nutrients are made available for ruminal microflora, which in turn will sustain the longevity of the microbes.

More importantly, harmful microorganisms such as toxin-producing fungi that contaminate the rice straw could be suppressed by application of microbials on the feedstuff, proving its ability to restrain the growth of the harmful toxin- producing fungi. Gomaa [48] verified the potential benefits of supplementing rice straw with exogenous anaerobic bacterial enzymes (ZAD) and orange pulp for Ossimi sheep found significant (P<0.05) decreases in %CF, %NDF; while %CP, %ADF and %ADL values increased for rations containing either ZAD, orange pulp or both. Rams fed rations containing either ZAD, orange pulp or both significantly increased (P<0.05) ruminal ammonia-N, total volatile fatty acids plasma total protein with low level of gas production post feeding values. Similarly Salehpor et al. [49] evaluated the effect of rice straw processing by Lactobacillus, multi enzymes and calcium hydroxide on the digestibility and nutritional value. Each of three processing operation, reduce the amount of ADF, cellulose and hemicelluloses in the straw. The same trend also has been in the NDF and bacterial processing has the lowest and enzymatic, chemical and control straw have the greatest amount of NDF, respectively. The amount of gas production rate in the bacterial methods was more than the other methods and with increasing incubation time, shows upward trend. Addition of lignocellulolytic enzymes and bacterial lignocellulolytic on rice straw resulted in significant improvement of all the fermentation products (volatile fatty acid, acetate, propionate, butyrate, and ammonia) between control and treatment groups. Lignocellulolytic enzymes @ 5% of dry matter dose rate resulted in optimal products of volatile fatty acid and ammonia [50].

Similarly Samsudin et al. [51] found improved nutritive values of rice straw fed to goats when treated with Aspergillus niger, fungal and effective microbes (EM). No significant (P>0.05) difference was observed on the chemical composition of rice straw treated with A. niger except the CP content increased significantly (P<0.01) when compared with untreated rice straw. However, when the fungal-treated rice straw was inoculated with EM, significant (P<0.01) improvement was observed in DMD, CP, OM, NDF, ADF and cellulose content of the rice straw compared with control. In other study Elmoghazy et al. [53] evaluated effect of sheep diets containing lignolytic microbiological treated (Bacillus licheniformis, Ruminococcus albus, Aspergillus oryzae, Rhizopus nigricans & Saccharomyces cerevisiae) rice straw on blood parameters and nitrogen balance. Results exhibited that the microbiological treatments significantly decreased the DM and CF while CP was significantly increased. Regarding nitrogen balance, haemato- biochemical and serum enzymes (aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase) were not affected with microbiological treatment. The use of combinations of fibrolytic enzyme with these pre-treatments is expected to have a synergistic effect on the nutritive improvement of rice straw. Especially, the use of lignin-degrading enzymes, originating from fungi, seems a promising development. Although, application of enzymes has proven to increase the feed value of poor quality feedstuffs, its use by smallholder farmers is, for the time being, economically unattractive. However, it becomes a promising technology when used at commercial level [54-65].

Conclusion

Rice straw being the principle agro-residues in terms of volumes generated in India, is poor in nutritive value with high level of lignification and silicification. So feeding of rice straw to livestock does not provide enough nutrients even for maintenance. Rice straw is usually fed untreated without supplements in spite of the fact that many methods for improved utilization of rice straw have been developed and recommended such as physical, chemical and biological treatments. Among these methods, biological treatment is a much favorable option and is believed to be more environmental friendly and safer.

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cadeeelewis-blog · 5 years

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Annotated Bibliography

Cade Lewis

Annotated Bibliography

Fish Burton

November 27, 2019

Annotated Bibliography

“Are Electric Vehicles Really Environmentally Friendly?” Energuide, https://www.energuide.be/en/questions-answers/are-electric-vehicles-really-environmentally-friendly/197/.

When we talk about electric cars, we usually perceive them to be zero omission cars. But that is just not the case. There’s a few different things that we can look at that will confirm this. Basically, even if we drove an electric vehicle and it didn’t create very much air pollution or harm to the environment, we need to take into consideration how the energy is being generated and how it is being used.

What I mean by that, is that even though driving a Tesla down the road may not cause a lot of harm, we need to take a step back and realize how that battery was made inside the Tesla and where we are getting our energy from to charge the Tesla. From reading this article I understand that about 60% of the energy that we use in the United States comes from fossil fuels. What that means is that 60% of the energy comes from gas or coal which are fossil fuels.

This can be a very bad thing considering that quite a few people have electric cars. Another bad thing is that this is only the charging aspect. Now if we take a look at the battery, we can see that they are made in factories which create even more pollution in the air.

Biswas, Asit K., and Cecilia Tortajada. “Electric Vehicles Are Changing the World. And They're Only Just Getting Started.” The Conversation, 27 Oct. 2019, http://theconversation.com/electric-vehicles-are-changing-the-world-and-theyre-only-just-getting-started-90402.

There’s something really significant that I would like to point out about this specific article about how electric cars can change the world. And that is that about 90% of the world runs off of liquid fuels. And this holds true especially for businesses and companies that use semi‘s in trucking to transport goods from one place to another.

I believe a very good question to ask ourselves is, “are we using a lot more fossil fuels to run our regular vehicles then if we had electric cars? Even though electric cars do use fossil fuel, would they significantly reduce how much fossil fuels we are using rather than using liquid fuels in our cars? “ I think this is something very serious we need to consider as we move forward in this essay.

I will use an opinion that comes directly from my immediate family. Although I would love to have an electric car, my whole entire family has vehicles that use liquid fuels. And none of my family would consider an electric car at this moment.

CatClifford. “Elon Musk: Tesla's Work '.Supersedes Political Parties, Race, Creed, Religion'.” CNBC, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/05/elon-musk-teslas-work-is-important-to-the-future-of-the-world.html.

“This supersedes political parties, race, creed, religion, it doesn’t matter. If we do not solve the environment, we’re all damned,” Musk said. This statement really made an impact on the way I look at electric cars and how others look at electric cars.

I think the statement really holds true to the fact that doesn’t matter what color you are or race or gender or political party. When we look at both electric cars and gas cars included, we need to realize that this is an important factor in the next 40 to 50 years of our life. This is going to change everything and we really need to think about what is going to be the best for us and for the environment.

Just like Elon musk stated, if we don’t figure this out, we’re going to be screwed. Electric cars are emerging from the depths of the earth score. And Tesla is becoming cheaper and cheaper. What are we to do in the future, and what is it going to take for electric cars to be completely omission free and be able to have a positive impact on the world.

Clemente, Jude. “More Electric Cars Mean More Coal And Natural Gas.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 25 Jan. 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2018/01/24/more-electric-vehicles-mean-more-coal-and-natural-gas/.

Electric cars are a very fast growing market. In a study done in 2017, electric vehicle purchases were up 30% to about 200,000 units. Personally when I look at this I feel that that is a significant amount of electric cars that were purchased in one year. Especially given the fact that the Tesla model 3 was barely on its way.

There are quite a few initiatives in multiple countries that are now banning the sales of oil based vehicles. This is said to happen within the next couple decades, but what they are doing is trying to weed out all the gas vehicles so that their air will be cleaner and more efficient. A few of these countries will be China, India, and Norway. Given this fact, what we don’t realize is that again, the electric car is still using fossil fuel.

How could this be possible? Is because most of the electricity that comes from electric cars is produced by coal plants or sometimes gas. All of these limiting factors are fossil fuels, and will inhibit us from proceeding in the future because of our continuous use of fossil fuels. It is important to note that a few countries are trying to stray more towards green energy which would come from solar panels and other things such as those.

Dia, Hussein. “Jobs, Tax and Politics: Three Ways Electric Vehicles Will Change Our World.” The Conversation, 4 June 2019, https://theconversation.com/jobs-tax-and-politics-three-ways-electric-vehicles-will-change-our-world-84910.

If we take a look at China, we can see that they have the largest car market in the world. They are working to stop the production of fossil fuel powered vehicles, to be able to make the atmosphere and the environment a cleaner place. India, believe it or not, has also issued a statement that they are going to make all of the cars electric by the year 2030.

They’re doing this in hopes they can make the environment a little more green and save fossil fuels. If you look at the factories, we can see that electric vehicles including their batteries is less labor and time and energy compared to the vehicles and batteries of petrol vehicles. In turn, this could be very bad because by the year 2030 we could have a loss of 600,000 jobs.

And that would just be in Germany alone. But, going all electric by the year 2030 will also create a lot of stress on businesses who owned the oil companies. A Stanford economist named Tony Ceba and his team have a vision, and they believe that the desolation will come much sooner as early as the 2020s.

“Electric Car Innovation: How Electric Vehicles Are Changing the World.” None, https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/resources/electric-car-innovation-how-electric-vehicles-are-changing-world/.

Right off the bat this article talks about someone that drove through Silicon Valley and saw quite a few teslas.They say and a lot of people I’ve talk to say, that Tesla is one of the most popular vehicles on the road today. We can back this up by how many teslas that the company itself has sold in just the past two years.

Not only that, but Elon musk was going to go bankrupt, but obviously he hasn’t since he has released the model Y, the new 2020 Tesla roadster, and now he has just released the cyber truck. People who are all over the world are trying to convert to the electric vehicle to not only save money on fuel, but to help the environment. They claim that in the future, specifically in future cities, you will be able to see Tesla’s more and more on the road.

Surprisingly, there is more than 40 electric car models available in the world today. According to JP Morgan, by the year 2025, most electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles will account for 30% of all the cars that are sold in the United States. Additionally, CNBC says that by the year 2030, the amount of electric cars on the road will increase from 3 Million to 125 Million.

Hawkins, Andrew J. “How Tesla Changed the Auto Industry Forever.” The Verge, The Verge, 28 July 2017, https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/28/16059954/tesla-model-3-2017-auto-industry-influence-elon-musk.

The first statement of this article that “Tesla’s have changed the world” is pretty bold. I believe this is the start of something great, and people all over the world are searching for the next best thing that is going to save the environment and save our fossil fuels. Is this Tesla? Let’s find out. When Elon musk first released the Tesla model 3, he gave it out to the first 30 customers which we think to be his employees.

We don’t realize exactly how far him and his company has come until we take a look at the numbers that they have produced. Another factor that we have not taken into consideration, is one that I feel like is very important in the realm of the electric car industry. We always take a look at electric cars, the way that they’re shaped, the way that they look, and how they drive. We also look at the cost of them, and their fuel economy and how well they are going to save our fossil fuels and be better for the environment. But I personally feel like there’s another element involved in this.

And that is, that Elon musk came out with a feature called auto pilot. Now we always wonder if electric cars will be our future. But come to find out, this auto pilot feature may not be exactly what we need at the moment. Or maybe it will be. There was quite a few case studies of people using auto pilot who took their hands off the wheels and crashed the car because they were reckless.

Now, this always happens when there is a new product or a new service provided. We all know that one person who got something new and then ruined it because they didn’t take the proper precautions.

Horrell, Paul. “How Green Is an Electric Car, Really?” Top Gear, Top Gear, 26 Apr. 2019, https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/how-green-electric-car-really.

We can’t ignore the fact that energy from electric vehicles comes from burning fossil fuels. Which in turn is CO2. We can’t ignore the fact that the more people buy electric vehicles, the more people are going to use coal burning elements to charge and fuel their electric vehicles.

But we also have to factor in, that power stations are more efficient than car engines. What that means is that an electric car only uses half of the CO2 per mile than a regular gas car would. So in turn, maybe the electric vehicle is actually more efficient and uses less fossil fuels then a regular petrol or diesel vehicle.

But, believe it or not, the UK actually gets all it’s energy sources from renewable energy. Now something even more interesting. I will share a part of the article that talks about carbon impact. It states, “The most recent studies I’ve seen, including one by the immensely thorough ICTT (the guys who unearthed Dieselgate), put the carbon impact of manufacturing an EV at just under three times a piston car.”

So now we can see that an electric vehicle only makes 1/3 of the carbon impact compared to a gas vehicle. Additionally, a lot of people don’t know that electric car batteries can be used for more than one purpose. Electric car vehicle batteries can be used for grid power storage.

McFadden, Christopher. “7 Ways Electric Vehicles Are Set To Change The Future.” Interesting Engineering, Interesting Engineering, 16 May 2019, https://interestingengineering.com/7-ways-electric-vehicles-are-set-to-change-the-future.

The title of this article. Seven ways that an electric vehicle can change the future. How bold is that? Let’s read more in depth about this article. The article states that as electric vehicle prices drop in performance increases, there will be more room and more opportunities for people to buy them.

I think it’s very interesting because at first electric vehicles were very, very expensive. Not very many people could afford them unless you were rich, or very wealthy. But now, as Tesla has released the new model 3, a lot more people are able to afford an electric vehicle. Not only that, but there is quite a few models including the Chevy bolt, and the Nissan leaf that are very affordable models.

But one question to take in the consideration. As people buy electric vehicles and more purchases are made, will the energy grid be able to support them? But, as the article states, there could be a solution to this. And the solution could be the people could be their own energy producers, and have such things as solar panels or self-sustaining energy that can actually power their Tesla and charge it for them.

This would make it so they wouldn’t rely on the cities energy grid, and this could make it much easier for people to buy an electric vehicle. It would also help, because it would make it so that the scientists and engineers wouldn’t have to think of 1000 ways they could extend the energy grid, because the people would just be supporting themselves and using their own solar grids.

Lastly, the other benefit of an electric car is that maintenance and repairs will be very cheap. Since an electric car doesn’t use things such as spark plugs, mass air sensors, fuel pumps, or oil just to name a few, there won’t be as much need for maintenance on electric cars.

Tim Urban, WaitButWhy. “How Tesla Will Change the World.” Business Insider Australia, Business Insider Australia, 4 June 2015, https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-tesla-will-change-the-world-2015-6.

There was a woman named Christie Nicholson who first met Elon musk at a party in 1989. Elon joked a lot about electric cars in the first couple minutes of meeting with her. She remembers that he said, “do you ever think about electric cars?”

Electric cars was probably not the most common thing to think about in that time period, but it was what Elon musk was thinking about and what he wanted to do with his life. The article talks a lot about how Elon owned SpaceX before he owned Tesla motors. I think this is really interesting that he wanted to go to Mars and have a city there before he even wanted to make a simple electric car. But, Elon partnered up and he started the company called Tesla motors.

When Elon launched this company, he had three goals in mind. One, to make a production car available for the rich. It would be a car that was close to a Ferrari that he could charge over $100,000 for. The next, would be a car for the middle class that would be over $70,000 and still really fancy.

And lastly, he would make a car for mass production, that anyone could buy and use. I think this concept is really interesting that he would make different cars for different people. But it makes perfect sense knowing that this would be the best for his business and for the company overall.

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ebola-kun · 5 years

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Lifting of US Propaganda Ban Gives New Meaning to Old Song

Though its ostensible purpose is to fund the U.S. military over a one year period, the National Defense Authorization Act, better known as the NDAA, has had numerous provisions tucked into it over the years that have targeted American civil liberties. The most well-known of these include allowing the government to wiretap American citizens without a warrant and, even more disturbingly, indefinitely imprison an American citizen without charge in the name of “national security.”

One of the lesser-known provisions that have snuck their way into the NDAA over the years was a small piece of legislation tacked onto the NDAA for fiscal year 2013, signed into law in that same year by then-President Barack Obama. Named “The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012,” it completely lifted the long-existing ban on the domestic dissemination of U.S. government-produced propaganda.

For decades, the U.S. government had been allowed to produce and disseminate propaganda abroad in order to drum up support for its foreign wars but had been banned from distributing it domestically after the passage of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948. However, the Modernization Act’s co-authors, Reps. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Adam Smith (D-WA, no relation to the Smith of the 1948 act), removing the domestic ban was necessary in order to combat “al-Qaeda’s and other violent extremists’ influence among populations.”

Thornberry that removing the ban was necessary because it had tied “the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others, by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.” Yet, given that Thornberry is one of the of weapon manufacturers’ campaign contributions, the real intent — to skeptics at least — seemed more likely related to an effort to ramp up domestic support for U.S. military adventurism abroad following the disastrous invasions of Iraq and Libya.

Read more by Whitney Webb

Five years later, the effects of the lifting of the ban have turned what was once covert manipulation of the media by the government into a transparent “revolving door” between the media and the government. Robbie Martin — documentary filmmaker and media analyst whose documentary series, “A Very Heavy Agenda,” explores the relationships between neoconservative think tanks and media — told MintPress, that this revolving door “has never been more clear than it is right now” as a result of the ban’s absence.

In the age of legal, weaponized propaganda directed at the American people, false narratives have become so commonplace in the mainstream and even alternative media that these falsehoods have essentially become normalized, leading to the era of “fake news” and “alternative facts.”

Those who create such news, regardless of the damage it causes or the demonstrably false nature of its claims, face little to no accountability, as long as those lies are of service to U.S. interests. Meanwhile, media outlets that provide dissenting perspectives are being silenced at an alarming rate.

The effects of lifting the ban examined

Vice founders Shane Smith, left, and Suroosh Alvi, attend the Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. The formerly independent Vice News saw a precipitous uptick in citations of BBG sources after securing corporate funding.

Since 2013, newsrooms across the country, of both the mainstream and “alternative” variety, have been notably skewed towards the official government narrative, with few outside a handful of independently-funded media outlets bothering to question those narratives’ veracity. While this has long been a reality for the Western media (see John Pilger’s 2011 documentary “The War You Don’t See”), the use of government-approved narratives and sources from government-funded groups have become much more overt than in years past.

From Syria to Ukraine, U.S.-backed coups and U.S.-driven conflicts have been painted as locally driven movements that desperately need U.S. support in order to “help” the citizens of those countries — even though that “help” has led to the near destruction of those countries and, in the case of Ukraine, an attempted genocide. In these cases, many of the sources were organizations funded directly by the U.S. government or allied governments, such as the White Helmets and Aleppo Media Centre (largely funded by the U.S. and U.K. governments) in the case of Syria, and pro-Kiev journalists with Nazi ties (including Bogdan Boutkevitch, who called for the “extermination” of Ukrainians of Russian descent on live TV) in the case of Ukraine, among other examples. Such glaring conflicts of interests are, however, rarely — if ever — disclosed when referenced in these reports.

More recently, North Korea has been painted as presenting an imminent threat to the United States. Recent reports on this “threat” have been based on classified intelligence reports that claim that North Korea can produce a new nuclear bomb every six or seven weeks, including a recent article from the New York Times. However, those same reports have admitted that this claim is purely speculative, as it is “impossible to verify until experts get beyond the limited access to North Korean facilities that ended years ago.” In other words, the article was based entirely on unverified claims from the U.S. intelligence community that were treated as compelling.

As Martin told MintPress, many of these government-friendly narratives first began at U.S.-funded media organizations overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) — an extension of the U.S. state department.

Martin noted that U.S.-funded media, like Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe (RFE), were among the first to use a State Department-influenced narrative aimed at “inflaming hostilities with Russia before it soaked into mainstream reporting.” Of course, now, this narrative — with its origins in the U.S. State Department and U.S. intelligence community — has come to dominate headlines in the corporate media and even some “alternative” media outlets in the wake of the 2016 U.S. election.

This is no coincidence. As Martin noted, “after the ban was lifted, things changed drastically here in the United States,” resulting in what was tantamount to a “propaganda media coup” where the State Department, and other government agencies that had earlier shaped the narrative at the BBG, used their influence on mainstream media outlets to shape those narratives as well.

A key example of this, as Martin pointed out, was the influence of the new think-tank “The Alliance for Securing Democracy,” whose advisory council and staff are loaded with neocons, such as the National Review’s Bill Kristol, and former U.S. intelligence and State Department officials like former CIA Director Michael Morell. The Alliance for Securing Democracy’s Russia-focused offshoot, “Hamilton 68,” is frequently cited by media outlets — mainstream and alternative — as an impartial, reliable tracker of Russian “meddling” efforts on social media.

Martin remarked that he had “never seen a think tank before have such a great influence over the media so quickly,” noting that it “would have been hard to see [such influence on reporters] without the lifting of the ban,” especially given the fact that media organizations that cite Hamilton 68 do not mention its ties to former government officials and neoconservatives.

The ridiculous, opaque joke from Bill Kristol & Democratic hawks called "Hamilton 68" – mindlessly treated as Gospel by US media – claims that unnamed Russian bots & pro-Russia accounts spent yesterday talking about Ronald Reagan and Antonin Scalia. pic.twitter.com/IKmoNyxt00

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 7, 2018

In addition, using VOA or other BBG-funded media has become much more common than it was prior to the ban, an indication that state-crafted information originally intended for a foreign audience is now being used domestically. Martin noted that this has become particularly common at some “pseudo-alternative” media organizations — i.e., formerly independent media outlets that now enjoy corporate funding. Among these, Martin made the case that VICE News stands out.

After the propaganda ban was lifted, Martin noticed that VICE’s citations of BBG sources “spiked.” He continued:

One of the things I immediately noticed was that they [VICE news] were so quick to call out other countries’ media outlets, but yet — in every instance I looked up of them citing BBG sources — they never mentioned where the funding came from or what it was and they would very briefly mention it [information from BBG sources] like these were any other media outlets.”

He added that, in many of these cases, journalists at VICE were unaware that references to VOA or other BBG sources appeared in their articles. This was an indication that “there is some editorial staff [at VICE News] that is putting this in from the top down.”

Furthermore, Martin noted that, soon after the ban was lifted, “VICE’s coverage mirrored the type of coverage that BBG was doing across the world in general,” which in Martin’s view indicated “there was definitely some coordination between the State Department and VICE.” This coordination was also intimated by BBG’s overwhelmingly positive opinion of VICE in their auditing reports, in which the BBG “seemed more excited about VICE than any other media outlet” — especially since VICE was able to use BBG organizations as sources while maintaining its reputation as a “rebel” media outlet.

Watch | VICE’s Fall From Counterculture Hipster Rag To Neoliberal Mouthpiece

Martin notes that these troubling trends have been greatly enabled by the lifting of the ban. He opined that the ban was likely lifted “in case someone’s cover [in spreading government propaganda disguised as journalism] was blown,” in which case “it wouldn’t be seen as illegal.” He continued:

For example, if a CIA agent at the Washington Post is directly piping in U.S. government propaganda or a reporter is working the U.S. government to pipe in propaganda, it wouldn’t be seen as a violation of the law. Even though it could have happened before the ban, it’s under more legal protection now.”

Under normal circumstances, failing to disclose conflicts of interests of key sources and failing to question government narratives would be considered acts of journalistic malice. However, in the age of legal propaganda, these derelictions matter much less. Propaganda is not intended to be factual or impartial — it is intended to serve a specific purpose, namely influencing public opinion in a way that serves U.S. government interests. As Karl Rove, the former advisor and deputy chief of staff to George W. Bush, once said, the U.S. “is an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.” This “reality” is defined not by facts but by its service to empire.

Meanwhile, counter-narratives, however fact-based they may be, are simultaneously derided as conspiracy theories or “fake news,” especially if they question or go against government narratives.

The revolving door

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan appear on CNN to discuss allegations of Russian influence in the presidential elections. (CNN Screenshot)

Another major consequence of the ban being lifted goes a step further than merely influencing narratives. In recent years, there has been the growing trend of hiring former government officials, including former U.S. intelligence directors and other psyops veterans, in positions once reserved for journalists. In their new capacity as talking heads on mainstream media reports, they repeat the stance of the U.S. intelligence community to millions of Americans, with their statements and views unchallenged.

For instance, last year, CNN hired former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Clapper, a key architect of RussiaGate, has committed perjury by lying to Congress and more recently lied about the Trump campaign being wiretapped through a FISA request. He has also mad racist, Russophobic comments on national television. Now, however, he is an expert analyst for “the most trusted name in news.” CNN last year also hired Michael Hayden, who is a former Director of both the CIA and the NSA, and former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.

Former top US officials who now are analysts for CNN: —Michael Hayden, director of CIA/NSA —John Kirby, State Dept spox, Pentagon press secretary —James Clapper, DNI —Lisa Monaco, homeland security advisor —Spider Marks, head of US Army Intelligence Centerhttps://t.co/7AejlAfi8p

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) February 8, 2018

CNN isn’t alone. NBC/MSNBC recently hired former CIA director John Brennan — another key architect of RussiaGate and the man who greenlighted (and lied about) CIA spying on Congress — as a contributor and “senior national security and intelligence analyst.” NBC also employs Jeremy Bash, former CIA and DoD Chief of Staff, as a national security analyst, as well as reporter Ken Dilanian, who is known for his “collaborative relationship” with the CIA.

Stand by for propaganda! NBC hires CIA director!https://t.co/HTcD5xIYRQ

— Defectio.com (@DefectioLive) February 7, 2018

Remember when new NBC analyst John Brennan blatantly lied to NBC's Andrea Mitchell about using the CIA to spy on Democratic staffers investigating torture? https://t.co/ZaetE53gcshttps://t.co/y7fybCi3Dt

— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) February 2, 2018

This “revolving door” doesn’t stop there. After the BBG was restructured by the 2016 NDAA, the “board” for which the organization was named was dissolved, making BBG’s CEO — a presidential appointee — all powerful. BBG’s current CEO is John Lansing, who – prior to taking the top post at the BBG – was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), a marketing association comprised of 90 of the top U.S. and Canadian cable companies and television programmers. Lansing’s connection to U.S. cable news companies is just one example of how this revolving door opens both ways.

Media-government coordination out of the shadows

Defense Secretary James Mattis chats with Amazon founder and Washington Post owner, Jeff Bezos , during a visit to west coast tech and defense companies. (Jeff Bezos/Twitter)

Such collusion between mainstream media and the U.S. government is hardly new. It has only become more overt since the Smith-Mundt ban was lifted.

For instance, the CIA, through Operation Mockingbird, started recruiting mainstream journalists and media outlets as far back as the 1960s in order to covertly influence the American public by disguising propaganda as news. The CIA even worked with top journalism schools to change their curricula in order to produce a new generation of journalists that would better suit the U.S. government’s interests. Yet the CIA effort to manipulate the media was born out of the longstanding view in government that influencing the American public through propaganda was not only useful, but necessary.

Indeed, Edward Bernays, the father of public relations, who also worked closely with the government in the creation and dissemination of propaganda, once wrote:

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”

While this was once an “invisible” phenomenon, it is quickly becoming more obvious. Now, Silicon Valley oligarchs with ties to the U.S. government have bought mainstream and pseudo-alternative media outlets and former CIA directors are given prominent analyst positions on cable news programs. The goal is to manufacture support at home for the U.S.’ numerous conflicts around the world, which are only likely to grow as the Pentagon takes aim at “competing states” like Russia and China in an increasingly desperate protection of American hegemony.

With the propaganda ban now a relic, the once-covert propaganda machine long used to justify war after war is now operating out in the open and out of control.

Top Photo | “U.S. Official War Pictures”, propaganda poster by Louis D. Fancher circa 1917. (Public Domain)

Whitney Webb is a staff writer for MintPress News who has written for several news organizations in both English and Spanish; her stories have been featured on ZeroHedge, the Anti-Media, and 21st Century Wire among others. She currently lives in Southern Chile.

The post Lifting of US Propaganda Ban Gives New Meaning to Old Song appeared first on MintPress News.

This content was originally published here.

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justanotherloveaffair · 6 years

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I Trust You (Part 8/8) - Chadwick x Reader

Summary: You start to pave your own way forward, finally finding yourself on the road to a better future - but will it include Chadwick?

Warnings: None. Just fluff.

Word Count: 3,593

Author’s Note: To clarify the timeline (important for this chapter), this chapter/story takes place PRE-filming of Black Panther.

And it’s done! Thank you again to everyone who read, commented, and enjoyed this story. I had a blast writing it and reading your reactions!

Since Tumblr is being a little bitch these days, please check the comments for a link to my Masterlist, and Chapter 7.

Taglist: @purple-apricots, @deliciousstreetkidcroissant, @ashanti-notthesinger, @onyour-right, @maverickabull, @lavitabella87, @brianabreeze, @fullonfrenzy, @grandadchadwick, @builtalongthewayside, @belauriette, @jaeee-http, @airis-paris14, @fortuitoushappenings , @queentearra

Your apartment was, as a fancy-talking realtor would put it, “Cozy.”

The space you and Ariana were sharing was in the basement of a house, with two older women who lived upstairs and rented their basement suite for extra retirement income.

Since it was a basement, there were only thin windows allowing some light in, so to counteract the darkness Ariana had furnished it with lots of floor and table lamps for lighting. Walking downstairs, you were immediately in the living room, which was tolerably clean by your standards. A small kitchen of just the basics was tucked into a little corner.

The ‘den’ you were paying rent for was big enough for a twin sized bed that took up half the room. The saving grace was the room’s closet, which had a built-in wardrobe and shelves, enough room to stash your suitcase.

Ariana seemed apologetic as she showed the room to you. “Like I said, you won’t pay the full rent since you don’t have a full-sized room.” She looked at you anxiously, chewing her lip. “Are you okay with it?”

A brief flash of regret went through you, thinking about Chadwick’s offer and all that went along with it. But your gut was telling you this was the right decision, and only time would prove you wrong. You responded to Ariana’s question with an assured smile.

On your first evening in your new apartment, you curled up on the couch attempting to get to know your new roommate a little better, and as irony would have it, the one thing you were trying to push from your thoughts, was the one thing she wanted to talk about.

“PleaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAse give me details,” her palms came together in front of her face, pleading in prayer, “and don’t think I didn’t see you trying to swallow each other’s tongues from the front window.” She abandoned her praying gesture to smack your arm, smirking.

“You snoop!” You laughed, and responded to her round, pleading, hopeful eyes with a secretive shrug.

You were committed to staying guarded out of protectiveness for the past few days you had shared with him, that just didn’t feel right to talk about. You deflected her questions until she gave up, at least, she promised, for now.

All through your evening, and that night when you tried to sleep, he was all you could think about.

That night, while Dodger snored next to you, you turned from side to side, experimenting with different sleeping positions on your small bed when you felt a vibration under your pillow.

You scrambled to pull the phone up to your squinting eyes in the dark room, the blueish light from your screen illuminating the smile on your face as you read the text from Chadwick.

I miss you.

You couldn’t help but picture him lounging naked in his bed at 1:30am, also struggling to sleep and burning with thoughts of you while you were doing the very same thing. Both of you, side by side, smiled at your phones, and Chadwick saw your text bubble come through just seconds later:

Miss you too.

You felt strange and unprepared returning to work the next day. When colleagues asked how your weekend was, you almost wanted to laugh. A year’s worth of life experiences had happened since Friday. Where to even start? I was assaulted on Friday, then I met and ended up staying with an apparent movie star who helped me move out with my shitty ex, and yesterday I just moved into a new place. Oh and I got my back blown out a few times. How was your weekend?

Proving how long your absence seemed, when you sat down at your computer, you had completely forgotten your password, and had to sheepishly phone your IT department.

The morning passed quickly as you caught up and you stealthily passed a few text messages back and forth with Chadwick, who apparently wanted you to know whenever he was thinking of you, and that morning, it was often.

Just before your lunch break, your boss, a short, but fierce older woman with a halo of curls and thick black rimmed glasses, stopped at your desk.

“Y/N, welcome back, I’ve been meaning to catch you all morning but have been in nonstop meetings – how are you feeling?” Her concerned expression confused you for a second, until you remembered calling in sick.

You slid your phone under your thigh to hide your text message conversation, and swivelled in your chair to give her your full attention. “I’m feeling better, Kirsten – thanks.”

You respected your boss and felt a little guilty lying to her, but weren’t sure what you could say.

You then heard the most dreaded words an employee can hear from their manager, although her face was kind and her tone casual as she asked, “Do you mind stepping into my office?”

“N-No, not at all.” With a grim expression, you stood and followed her, and she closed the door behind you, the thud of it closing sounding ominous.

“Take a seat,” she gestured at her wooden visitor chair, and moved her small frame behind the heavy desk. As she did, she pulled out a nondescript folder from her cabinet, and placed it between you.

Your heart was beating a million miles per minute at what could have prompted either the reprimand that was coming, or your dismissal.

When Kirsten opened the folder, what you saw took you completely by surprise.

They were security camera photos. The first picture showing an elevator, grainy and in black and white, a man and a woman.

The time stamp on the picture was the exact time you left the office on Friday, but you didn’t need that piece of information to know that this was you and your attacker.

In the photo, your face was a blank mask, expressionless. You seemed made of stone. He looked exactly as you tried not to remember. The camera angle had a birds eye view of his bald head with the combed over hairs.

Looking at it gave you a sick, squirming feeling in your stomach as you relived the disgust and fear that was going through your mind in that very moment.

That was just the first picture. You could see others behind it, three or four, but you couldn’t bring yourself to look at them.

Your hand stayed firmly planted over your mouth in an attempt to inhibit an uncontrollable need to explode somehow. Throw up, panic, cry, scream. All seemed possible, and you made a whimpering sound holding them all back in front of your boss.

Kirsten gathered the photos and wordlessly closed the folder.

“Building security brought these to us, once they matched the timing of the photos to your key card swiping into the parking level.” Her voice was gentle, steady and calm, her eyes moist with emotion. “They were able to match his as well.”

You wiped at your cheek, catching the rolling tears and you sniffled, your voice hoarse, “They know who it is?”

“They do, and there is enough evidence here to do some harm, but it’s up to you if you would like to give a statement to the police and confirm his identity.”

Your brain was in shock trying to take everything in at once and you sat quietly trying to process her words. Kirsten handed you a tissue from a nearby box, which you took gratefully to dab at your eyes.

She placed a comforting hand on your arm. “It’s your choice to talk to the police or not, Y/N. If this is too hard, you don’t have to do anything, but I strongly encourage that you give this bastard what he deserves, and you have my support. I am so sorry this happened.”

Clutching the tissue in your hand, you considered her words, weighing the emotional price you’d be paying to describe your experience to the police, and potentially a courtroom, with whatever the outcome might be.

You decided it was worth it.

“I’ll do it.” You said numbly.

After giving you a tight hug, Kirsten told you the police would be in touch very soon and as you walked back to your desk, relief and anxiety competed for control of your mind.

It was an overwhelming amount to take in and you could barely focus on your work. The news had brought back all of Friday’s memories in fresh, raw detail. Each of your senses participated in the full body recollections and you made regular trips to the bathroom just to breathe and calm yourself. You knew the police would want to know everything and you had to be prepared to relive it all.

The experience of making a formal statement and pressing charges against your attacker was more difficult and personally draining than you could have imagined.

Kirsten gave you the next few days off of work. Three hours were spent at the station, walking two policemen through your memory of that night, and the rest of the time to recover at home, alone, sapped of energy and hugging your pillow in bed.

All you told Chadwick was that security camera footage had been recovered of your attacker.

Of course, he immediately wanted to see you, but you needed time alone. Instead, you made plans to see him for lunch that Friday.

The next few days were a blur and thankfully, Kirsten was sympathetic and reassigned most of your work to your teammates. Only those who needed to know were privy to what was going on, and Kirsten kept it quiet, by your wishes.

After a few days, you were ready to get back to work and especially excited to see Chadwick again.

On Friday morning, a nervous, excited feeling kept you distracted as you anticipated 12:00, when you were expecting to meet him.

Sitting in your cubicle, you perked up instantly at the sound of his familiar voice, filtering over from the reception desk. You could have recognized that voice if he was whispering at a concert.

“Hi, I’m here to see Y/N, is she around?”

Your coworker shot you a curious look at the way you jumped in your seat and began beaming and rushing to bundle up your things with a sudden shot of adrenaline.

You saw him before he saw you.

He was looking around, glancing left and right trying to anticipate where you would be coming from. In the past few days, you pictured him vividly in your minds-eye, but you could never recreate how stunning he was in person. He was in a dark zip up hoodie, just form fitting enough to show off his sculpted arms, and wearing black skinny jeans bulging with his wallet.

You were already grinning like an idiot, hurrying towards him and when he spotted you, his face lit up.

“Y/N, oh my god!” He exclaimed as you jumped into his arms. He laughed in your ear, hugging you bone crushingly tight. You breathed him in deeply, a feeling like relief spreading through you.

“I’m so happy to see you,” you gushed when you finally came apart, grinning widely at each other.

His eyes roamed your face rapidly like he was trying to take all of your features in at once, while you did the same. You couldn’t pick a favourite. His eyes. No, his lips. No, those cheekbones when he smiles. Oh but I love that cute nose. His facial hair… you absorbed him with ecstatic, fawning thoughts while you held him by the arms.

There was no mistaking the cracking chemistry between you. It turned out it hadn’t been a fluke, the product of strange circumstances and your jumbled-up mess of a mind. It was still very much there. Looking at him made your heart pound painfully.

“Ready to go? You hungry?” He asked.

“I’m ready!” Restored by his presence, you bounced out of the office like a wind-up toy after a good crank, with the receptionist rubbernecking at the pair of you as you left her sight.

Chadwick’s body was firmly attached to yours, walking with you arm-in-arm and smiling at you every chance he got.

As you rode the elevator and walked through the foyer to get outside, you caught each other up on minor news as Chadwick slowed his long-legged pace to keep up with your short strides. You kept in rhythm, left leg, right leg, synchronizing without even intending to and with the smiles and constant touches, you appeared to anybody else who saw you as a couple of smitten lovebirds. Including some of your co-workers, who acknowledged you with a nod.

There was a soup and sandwich place both of you aimed towards, serving mostly business clientele on their lunch breaks. You ordered a reuben while Chadwick got a veggie wrap and you finally disentangled yourselves to pay and carry your food to a table.

“So I have something to tell you,” you blurted the moment you were sitting down.

Chadwick’s mouth was already full from his first bite. He lowered the wrap, setting his captivated attention on you as he chewed.

“They tracked down the guy who attacked me through security photos, and I’ve pressed assault charges. He’s currently awaiting trial.” You smiled behind steepled fingers, half hiding your face as you awaited his reaction.

Chadwick hurriedly swallowed his bite. “Oh my god!” he gasped, “are you fucking serious? Y/N!” His chair screeched as he jumped out of it and you rushed out of yours to meet his hug.

“I can’t believe it!” He cradled you from side to side, crushing you in his arms, and then pulled back, his fingers cupping your cheeks. “This is the best news I could have hoped for. How do you feel?” He tenderly kissed your forehead.

“Honestly?” You paused as he searched your eyes, “I’m …. relieved, I am,” you breathed out.

Both you and Chadwick took your seats again, and the people around who were staring went back to their meals.

“But?” He prompted, pushing his chair back in.

“It’s just been draining... the whole process,” you finished.

“I can’t imagine Y/N. But you should be so proud. I’m so proud of you.” His eyes were shining. “You’ll have to tell me everything. I want the whole story,” he said decisively, putting his elbows on the table, and completely ignoring his wrap with the one missing bite.

You played with the crust of your reuben, but seemed just as uninterested in eating as Chadwick. “I will… I promise. But maybe sometime soon.” You smiled up at him.

His cheerful expression wavered a little and Chadwick scratched the back of his head. Immediately, alarm bells went off in your mind. Uh oh.

“I’ve got some news too.” He started, in a neutral tone.

Your smile, and the mega-watt light bulb illuminating it, flickered out. “What?”

Chadwick shifted in his seat as you waited in suspense.

“Well, I’m going away for a bit on a project. For three months.”

Your skin broke out in goosebumps and you exhaled slowly. You had been convinced he was about to tell you something else. Like he was seeing someone.

“Oh! When do you leave?” You kept your tone light.

“This week.”

Though his voice was regretful in tone, you could see he was buzzing with excitement.

“What’s the project?”

Chadwick’s eyes twinkled with secrets. “I’ll tell you when I can – when there aren’t so many ears around.” He eyed the full tables surrounding you before meeting your gaze again. “But I’m really excited about this. Maybe more excited than I’ve ever been.”

You felt his flush of happiness as if you were conjoined by the heart, and it warmed you to see. “That’s incredible news! Amazing,” you clapped your hands together. “I can’t wait to find out what it is.”

“You will,” he slipped his hand across the top of the table, weaving between plates and cutlery to find your fingers and grasp them.

“I have both a question, and a proposition for you,” he murmured, his voice warm and his face open.

“Whassat?” You mumbled, full body tingles from his expression making you short of breath and it difficult to speak.

“The question first, or the proposition first?” He asked with a dancing lilt in his tone.

You could hardly think straight and the words question, proposition seemed like meaningless, made up nonsense.

“Uh… the question.”

He rubbed his thumb over your knuckles and you drew a breath in anticipation.

“Will you wait for me?”

All of the thinking centers of your brain shut down as you processed his question and what he meant by it.

In front of you was everything you ever wanted and he chose you. He wanted you.

All you knew was his whole being made you glow from the inside out, and you were kidding yourself if you thought he didn’t feel the same way.

“Chadwick, I….” You trailed off as an avalanche of insecurities, a lifetime of feeling worthless tried to bear down on you, but you beat them back and looked him right in the eyes.

“Yes. I’ll wait.”

He smiled in a way that made you feel faint. Relief on his face. Joy.

“Three months?” You questioned softly.

“Mm,” he confirmed and brought your hands to his lips, smiling at you from behind your fingers, a slight playful mischief in his eyes. Like a boy who finally got the toy he wanted.

“I can wait,” your stomach was doing somersaults as you breathed out. “Wait…” you suddenly remembered, “what’s the proposition?”

He took a second to recall his own words and then nodded. “Well, my house is going to be empty…” He led off and lifted his shoulder in a suggestive shrug. “Could use a lovely lady and her dog to watch over it.”

This time you were torn. Obviously, it was an attractive idea, and generous to let you live in his space. You thought about it while he rubbed his full lips over your fingers, waiting.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” you started. “I want you to know that I’m grateful. But, I’ve just signed the lease with Ariana, and I’ve already committed to at least six –“

He lifted his palm, stopping you. “Hey, it’s okay – you don’t need to explain. No is good enough for me. It was just a thought.” He wasn’t fazed at all and you surged with affection and relief to have found someone you didn’t have to explain and defend your choices to.

Anxious excitement crept back into your expressions as you looked at each other in a new way. He had asked and you had said yes. Even knowing he’d be gone for a few months, you would be waiting for him. The thought made your brain melt.

A burst of irrepressible joy escaped your body in the form of a short laugh.

“What?” He grinned, cocking his head.

“I’m so happy,” you blurted out, your smile lighting up your whole face. “That’s all.”

His brown orbs were a fountain of affection as he took your hand inside both of his.

“Thank you for trusting me. I would do anything to make you happy, you know that right?”

Your chin trembled at his sincerity. “I do. God…. I’m going to miss you.” You gave him a teary smile and absorbed every detail of his face, locking them into your memories to hold on to for the next few months.

“I’ll be calling you… probably a lot,” he smirked, “and it might not be in my own accent.”

“Oh?” You grinned. “Is it a sexy accent?”

“I do not know, do you think that this accent is sexy, Y/N?” You stared as he suddenly spoke in a flawless, musical, soft African accent with your mouth dropped open.

“Fuck yes I do,” you laughed and clapped your hands against your cheeks, prompting him with desperation, “I want to hear it again! Please?”

Chadwick laughed, pleased. “I don’t want you to get sick of it yet.” He looked down at your totally uneaten meals, gesturing, “I’m done, are you?”

“Yeah,” you looked at your untouched food, not feeling even the slightest urge to eat it with all that was swirling through your mind.

On your way out, you linked your arms around each other, quickly finding your rhythm as he escorted you back to your office. This time, when he turned to you to say goodbye, your heart was free from the gloom that plagued you when you parted before. Now, you looked at each other, brimming with shared excitement for your future.

“I’ll call you soon,” his hot breath and lips were on your neck as he hugged you, and he pressed a kiss there.

“Okay,” you pulled back, about to part when Chadwick crushed his lips to yours, both of you trying to kiss around your smiles and only able to peck one another repeatedly, giggling.

“Get outta here,” you smacked his behind and shoved him. He blew a kiss at you and you rolled your eyes, but he refused to walk away until you blew one back. “Cheesy bastard,” you murmured under your breath, biting your lip as you waved at each other until you were completely out of each other’s vision.

When he was gone, you looked left and right, noting how a few people reacted with smiles at your overjoyed expression before you rejoined the business traffic heading back into your office building.

#Chadwick Boseman #Chadwick Boseman x Reader #Chadwick Boseman x Reader fanfic #Chadwick Boseman fic #Chadwick Boseman fanfic #Chadwick Boseman fanfiction #Chadwick Boseman imagine

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thereseoutspoken · 5 years

Text

10 things I wish I knew (and told myself) at 20

20 is still a very young age

When I just became 20, I felt like I was a full grown woman, for the very reason that I was already out of my teenage years. I felt like I was already mature, and independent, and I felt like I should be serious with my life because I am already old enough. I couldn’t say these assumptions were all wrong. But I wish I could have told myself that 20 is still a very young age. It was an end chapter for my teen spirit, but twenty is only the beginning of a new one. Basically, at this age, you shouldn’t feel too old yet. Yes, you can still play dress ups on Friv, feel giddy over a childish crush, not know how to use the ATM machine, and still want your mom’s assistance during dental check ups. You have your entire life ahead of you to grow and learn. Right now, at twenty, just take things slow.

2. Taking risks is different from gambling. Avoid the latter.

I have been told countless times by friends (and even the guy I fell in love with) that I should learn how to take risks. I should have listened. At times I am such a coward for not even trying. So yes, I should have listened when they said I should take some risks. But when they told me to take risks even though things are uncertain, I’m going to get hurt, or even if it’s not worth it, I disagreed. Know how to take risks… and when to take risks. Sometimes taking risks even if it’s not worth it could lead to so much pain, which also requires a great amount of time for healing. You could have used the time for healing for waiting on something you could have deserved at the right time, but instead you used it for risking on something uncertain and unworthy (At least there’s the learning part, though). So I tell you this: learn to take risks at the right circumstance. Do not gamble on ambivalence.Because part of taking risks is knowing (and internalizing) what’s at stake.

3. You will fall in love with the wrong person and you don’t need to force them to be the right one.

Part of growing up is learning to open your heart to love. And part of loving is welcoming the pain, and accepting the things that are beyond our control. Sometimes, when we fall in love, we set aside their bad qualities because we love them. Sometimes it gets toxic and the hurt never stops yet we remain because again, we love them.

We just love the person so much that we want to make them better by changing them, or we change for them to adapt to their standards. But that shouldn’t be the way it is. If you want to change, do it for yourself and not for others, the same way change should transpire to them. It’s not your role to change who people are. More than that, you can’t make them right for you when they are obviously the wrong one.

I get that it’s not love if it doesn’t hurt, but if it puts you in agony more than it makes you feel safe and secured, then it’s not the love you deserve. Self-worth over feelings. At all times.

That’s why when you fall for the wrong person, don’t force them to be the right one. You’ll just end up draining yourself because you will be the only one left trying to keep the relationship together.

4. As much as you will gain new friends, you will also lose some and that’s okay.

Every year I meet new people who, in the long run, become friends. That didn't change when I was 20. I established such awesome relationships with new friends and it felt so good—extending my circle a little bigger. But as much as I gained new companions, I also lost some. Some were because of big fights, others were just…well, we simply grew apart and realized we didn't need each other for our personal growths. At first I felt disappointed that it had to end that way. But then a vlogger said in one of her YouTube videos that “you don't grow up if you don't lose friends.” And I started to think that yes, she was right. In order for you to grow, you have to let go of what's keeping you from being a better version of yourself. If your relationship with anyone gets toxic, drop it. If it's not doing you any good anymore, calmly walk away. Part of growing up is letting go of what's hindering you from flourishing. Just be thankful for the ones who stayed and bid your silent farewell for the ones who left (or needed to leave).

5. Start planning what’s next for you

You don’t need to figure everything out all at once. Life is still a blur at 20. But that shouldn’t stop you from envisioning what’s next for you. Commonly, at 20, people are already looking for a job, planning out their career path especially after graduation. I couldn’t say I wasn’t pressured looking at my friends being busy making resumes, travelling to different towns, being wanted by two or more companies, and there I was… not knowing what to do with my life.

I don’t regret where I’m at in life right now. But if I could turn back time, I wish I’d have made concrete plans for my future self.

6. Try something new, even if you start out being bad at it.

I am always known for being a writer. If my name gets mentioned to people who barely know me, they usually say “you know, the journalist” or “the writer-slash-editor from Crusader”. A part of me is happy and proud that I have already established that image for myself. But somehow, I wanted to do new things. I wanted to branch out from writing because I felt like writing was the only craft I knew what to do; so I delved into photography. I always had a thing for good photos and also aspired to shoot such epic sceneries or emotions. I didn't have the equipment though, so I just borrowed from friends. I had a couple of photos published in the official page of the student pub, and also had several shoots with friends. But I knew I wasn't that good yet. I still had a hard time with the camera settings, my photos get blurred most of the times, and I still had a lot to learn. But the worst thing about exploring new things is being discouraged to excel at it. I have been told I am not considered as an artist, or that I should just stick to writing, or I should stop feeling like I'm an artist. Aside from the fact that my skills in photography aren't really that exceptional to be worthy of a handshake or an “artist” label, I gave up on photography because the people around me didn't believe in me the same way I put myself down for not being good enough.

And that was one of my regrets. I should have told myself that “hey, it's okay. You are still a beginner. Allow yourself to learn and improve.” I focused too much on my insecurities and other people's comments that I had to let the craft go. But now, I will pursue it once more.

You, wanting to learn more is okay. You, starting out as a loser is definitely normal. But you, surrendering because you feel like it's not for you just because you suck at it or people discourage you, is undeniably unacceptable. You do you. Soon you will be great at it and you will thank yourself for not giving up.

7. 20 isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Bask in the rain, overcome the storms.

The day I officially left the teenage life, I asked 20 to be better. 19 was rough for me, so I hoped 20 would be a lot easier, with a more stable emotional and mental state. Buuuutttt, I was wrong. It was actually pretty worse. Right now I’m just laughing at those struggles, but back in the day, I didn’t even know how to make it through the storm.

Needless to say, if 20 was a weather, she’d be a moody bitch, because it wasn’t consistently bad. There were also good days where I was thankful to just relax in the pouring rain or be happy because of the sunshine that reflects my soul. Actually, this doesn’t only apply when you’re 20. You can experience hardships and get through with it at any age. And that’s what makes surviving beautiful— you get to witness seasons and the weather change, and through it all you can finally say, “I made it past the gloomy days.”

8. Start being extra responsible.

I always wanted to work in Manila, but my parents do not quite agree with that plan. My mom would say things like, “Who would take care of you there?”, “Are you sure you’re responsible enough to live on your own?”. When I get sick or fail to do what she instructed me to do, she’d say, “See? You don’t even know how to take care of yourself.”, “You can’t be that irresponsible when you are in Manila.” So I thought about it for a long time. I know I am independent. But am I responsible?

I changed my goal from wanting to prove my mom that she was wrong, to proving myself that I can make things work on my own. Now I do things that adults do, like getting a TIN card, or spending for myself with no allowance from my parents. Maybe these are just little things, but they are stepping stones to being a responsible adult.

You have to think like you’re preparing yourself to live in Manila or any place far from home. Imagine how you can handle things without their financial support or physical guidance. Not only will you learn not to rely on them all the time, you’ll also grow and learn new things that can help you in the long run.

9. Invest on things that you feel would help you be better.

Being 20 for me was full of negativity. A lot of things made me feel bad, and in result I got emotional and would often cry. But I learned that just like medicines, there are things in life that could relieve you from pain. All you have to do is invest on the ones that could make you be or feel better. In my case, I invested more on my spiritual growth. Some of you may not be (so) religious, but trust me when I say you have a God you can rely on. If you lift your inhibitions and worries to him, he will lighten your load.

Another thing worthy to invest on is self-care. I have been such a mess and would often cry in desperation because I didn't know how to get rid of the emotional pain I was feeling. But a good friend of mine, Winstar, made me a pinterest board full of tips on how to handle anxiety and execute self-care. It was great being reminded that I had to make myself better and I had to focus on my well-being, too.

10. You are at your own pace

There are times when I can’t help but feel jealous over people who, at such a young age are already successful. While I’m just at home scribbling on my laptop, other people my age are already making a name for themselves. Some are already full-time employees, or opening their own businesses. Others are on their way to law school or med school.

On the contrary, I also have friends who are still starting out with their plans in life. Some friends would tell me, “You’re even lucky you’re done schooling. I’m not even graduating yet.” or “You’ve reached so much in life, while I haven’t even achieved anything yet.”

And it became clear to me: we’re the ones making competitions for ourselves with others. Perhaps the system and the society is pushing us to be this and that, to achieve this and bring honor to whom. But we’re only putting so much pressure on ourselves trying to race with the progress of others when in fact we have our own pace.

So what I have learned from all of this is: focus on your growth, your progress, your own fulfillment. Others may already be at their 4th lap while you’ve just started the engine. But so what? Others’ finish line is not your finish line.

You haven’t found the right career yet? You’re extended in college? Others are already getting married but you’re still single? That’s perfectly fine. Just continue the drive and soon you’ll get there.

#writing #creative writing #narrative #self love #self care #20 #life #literature #better #lifestyle #advice #wordsofwisdom

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brothersgrim · 5 years

Note

SIN: 8, 13 (for both?)

8. Do they believe it’s okay to use violence to resolve problems?

Oh, yeah. I mean, yes, there are limits - they’d never hit their SO’s, for example, or their kids. Family’s very important to them. There’s been a lot of shit between them - most of it exceedingly horrific and traumatizing - that leads to the two of them getting into the fights they do with each other, as well as just being brothers, but they’ve been shown to be extremely soft and protective towards the people they love.

Paul is not family, he doesn’t count. Also, he deserves everything he got and more.

But yeah, they won’t hit family (aside from each other) and, it is possible to talk out issues with them - Hell, ‘Taker’s judge of Wrestler’s Court, he’s a pretty good guy to mediate or work through issues with. But also, they are ready to throw hands 24/7, so that’s on you if you get it into their heads that punching you might make them feel better.

13. Are there certain times, currently or in their past, when they are more prone to violence than usual?

MAY 19TH. MAY NINE-FREAKIN’-TEENTH. I am one-hundred percent serious when I say it is infinitely better for your health to leave them alone on that day unless they directly come to you on their own terms. During the Ministry of Darkness era, you’re talking about a brainwashed, furious, extremely traumatized Grim Reaper who’s been put in charge of a homicidal cult and forcibly stripped of his empathy and ability to inhibit his lust for violence, so, that’s not a great time to be near him full-stop. Whenever Kane’s around Paul, it’s also probably not safe for one reason or another. Same for Taker, especially if the urn is involved - at that point, he’s just a weapon that sometimes has a pulse. After a few years of being in the basement, Kane had legitimately nearly gone feral and would lash out at anyone who wasn’t Paul, so that’s also a thing. Aside from that, they both have bad days - it’s a part of living with PTSD - but if you know to give them space or recognize the signs, you’ll probably be fine.

…

Probably

…

Maybe.

Just leave ‘em alone and don’t make eye contact.

#ivakir #&& whispers from the crypt; deadman answers #&& incendiary remarks; demon answers #&& ars goetia; demon headcanons #&& necronimcon; deadman headcanons #&& reburied; ooc

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pianoperson · 5 years

Text

Get to know me (if you want)

No one asked for this. Questions are from @chvmpagne-and-gasoline so if you wanna answer them, feel free to.

1. 6 of the songs you listen to the most?

La Campanella by Liszt, Humoresque by Dvorak, Rolling Girl by wowaka, Servant of Evil by mothy (?), Circles by Kira (?), Comptine D’un Autre Été (yes I don’t give a damn about pop culture)

2. If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

Brett and Eddy from TwoSet

3. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

“1997—X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter” from Armada by Ernest Cline

4. Who do you think about most?

My real life friends because they’re great, and IkeRev guys (especially Jonah)

5. What does your latest text message from someone else say?

Asking them where they are

6. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

With. How do people sleep without clothes?

7. What’s your strangest talent?

Having random thoughts enter my mind that actually predict the future (but I never really tell anyone so)

8: Girls are cool; Boys are cool. (everyone is cool period)

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

Nope, well at least I don’t think so. But I did write a poem about someone (it was never meant to be a roast poem, just a poem that was meant to be an outlet for my sadness, but it was accidentally written in such a way that it can be interpreted as one)

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

Bold of you to assume I ever played guitar. The closest was ukelele but that was for school.

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

No, unless your finger counts (hey, it gets bothersome sometimes to feel something within your nostril)

13: What’s your religion?

Roman Catholic

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Either I’m going out to eat or exercising

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Behind, but I always end up in front of it

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

I don’t have a favorite band.

17: What was the last lie you told?

It was probs a yes to a question I no longer remember.

18: Do you believe in karma?

I joke about it, but honestly, no.

19: What does your URL mean?

I’m a person who likes piano. That’s it.

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

My greatest weakness is being too cautious to the point I get tense due to fear of failure. My greatest strength is probably scrape by school with grades 90 and above without putting in my best.

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

Bold of you to assume I even have one.

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

Nope, never

23: How do you vent your anger?

If I want to rant, I either rant alone or with people who think alike. But that’s with really shallow stuff. If it’s really bad anger, I tend to keep it to myself because I feel like I’m gonna waste people’s time and my own energy.

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

None

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

Depends. But I’ll go with talking on the phone.

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

Nope. Not yet.

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

I hate Edgar Bright’s voice the sound of a spoon or fork accidentally scraping against the plate. I love the sound of pianos and flutes.

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?

What if I screw up so badly that I’ll end up a failure, a loser, and a loner for the rest of my life and end up dying in pain alone?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

Ghosts, no. Aliens, a bit.

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

With my right, I touch air. With my left, I touch the TV screen,

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

Nothing

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

If it smells like garbage, then automatically, it’s the worst place for me. And I’ve been to a number of places like that so I can’t specify.

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

West Coast just because I’ve been there

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

Does Jonah Clemence count? He sings lol But in all seriousness, none.

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

Life is like a Pokemon game. You’re not going to win all those battles, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give up. But if your life is Pokemon X and Y, you’re lucky.

36: Define Art.

Art is something universal yet personal.

37: Do you believe in luck?

Yes. Of course, you need to work hard, but you still have to hope that things go your way.

38: What’s the weather like right now?

Pretty cool since it’s nighttime. Clear skies too.

39: What time is it?

10:07pm

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

Nope.

41: What was the last book you read?

Armada by Ernest Cline. It’s a great read, especially if you read Ready Player One by the same author.

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

Yes. Everyone around me finds it weird.

43: Do you have any nicknames?

Yeah

44: What was the last film you saw?

Infinity War

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

When I was grade one, I fell and hit my head.

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

Never had, never tried.

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

IkeRev I guess

48: What’s your sexual orientation?

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

Yep. Quite a bit.

50: Do you believe in magic?

Nope. But I wish I have.

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Nope, because that’s a waste of time and energy. Also, I tend to forget they even did anything to me lol

52: What is your astrological sign?

Sagittarius

53: Do you save money or spend it?

For school and food, spend. Otherwise, save.

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?

Takeout from a restaurant because there was no food at home.

55: Love or lust?

Love

56: In a relationship?

Nope

57: How many relationships have you had?

Was single, has been single, always will be single

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

I think I used to, but no.

59: Where were you yesterday?

At home

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

Nope

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

Nope

62: What’s your favourite animal?

Idk. My dog I guess.

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

I don’t even try.

64: Where is your best friend?

At home

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

@just-shower-thoughts @extramadness @laineclemence @theundyingskeleton @valkryie-nyte

66: What is your heritage?

Filipino with a bit of Chinese and Spanish

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

Answering some questions on Tumblr

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?

He doesn’t have one.

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

Sorry, what does that even mean?

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

Considering I talk to myself a lot, yes.

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

Go to work. I don’t think I can save that dog.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

Yes I will tell my family and friends that I will die. Yes I will be very afraid. I will go to confession as soon as possible and perhaps try to do some stuff before I die.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

Trust

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

The One That Got Away by Katy Perry just because nostalgia

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

My lips are sealed about that.

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

Being great friends grants a great relationship.

77: How can I win your heart?

You can’t.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

No, but it can make you do the things you want to do by removing all insecurities and inhibitions preventing you from doing those things.

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

Staying alive

80: What size shoes do you wear?

If we’re talking about closed shoes, size 5

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

Never thought about it

82: What is your favourite word?

Right now, it’s Queen.

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

Jonah Clemence (ok how many times have I said his name in this post)

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

“Lol”, “nice”, “I wanna die.”, or “Patayin mo na ako.”

85: What’s the last song you listened to?

Melt’s cover of Rolling Girl

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?

Blue and black

87: What is your current desktop picture?

A galaxy

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

I don’t want to have that on my conscience and my record so nope.

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

Do I have a kink?

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

Clutch my blanket and stay still, trying to think of a way to get them out without inadvertently causing my death.

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

Psychic powers

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

That one time I touched a thermometer that wasn’t supposed to be touched in grade two. Everyone got mad at me for it. It took me three or four years to get over the shame from that incident.

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

2016. What a time waster.

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

That’s uncomfortable...

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

Iceland just because it sounds great

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

Nope

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

Never, which is great

98: Ever been on a plane?

Yep

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

Jesus is the answer.

#asks #personal

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dbflahan0710 · 6 years

Text

If I was YG, I will...

Here’s to hopeless at the same time wishful thinking now that the reality is sinking into me now and that there’s no way a fan like me can reverse that. So... if I was YG and did not suddenly become so engrossed with looks over talent and be biased with his treatment of the trainees, and if I had the liberty to choose who I will debut and as many as I want, based on talent and debut-readiness, I will debut:

1. Yedam - A no brainer, tbh. Sometimes, I even joke how he must be tired of being a trainee already. If he were to debut, he should have long time ago. The fact that he learned the DNA choreo in a matter of less than an hour is, as Yoon and Hoon said, GENIUS. If there’s anyone who could maintain YG’s standards in this generation, it would be him.

2. Byounggon - Yeah... call me biased to Team A/silver boys but this boy DESERVES to debut. I was frustrated how minimally his ability was showcased in the show but every time he had the chance I saw that he gives it his all. For sure, his years of training manifests in his confidence in stage. Now, before you judge me saying the number of years do not equate to how good of an artist you are, I, for one, think that among all them he seems really comfortable performing. He just seems natural to me. No inhibitions at the same time no exaggerations. Just the right amount of swag but exudes a powerful aura. Other than that, and sadly it was not highlighted in the show, he’s a good leader. Being the mat hyung, he can definitely take responsibility just like he did with the Dumb and Dumber Team. I see him as a selfless leader who can make each member while keeping their chemistry with each other, not one outshining the other.

3. Hyunsuk - At first, I was like yeah sure you’re from Team A, just what’s with Team A that they’re esteemed so highly. I only became a fan later and earlier in the show I was still skeptical with Team A except maybe for Yedam since I’ve known him for years. It was not until his dance battle with Junghwan did I get to appreciate his pure talent and versatility. Initially, I knew he was a rapper (forever repeating “All my hittas gon’ riot, we gon’ mob” in my mind) but boy could this man dance. He could dance as if it were a language, he could convey the message very well. Still confused why he lost though, but knowing YG. That d*ckhead. Anyways, like Byounggon I really appreciated his leadership in their Boomerang performance. Until now, I can’t get over how they ranked third out of the four teams. That stage was FIRE. Performances like these are reminiscent of the intense ones back in WIN and Mix & Match. It really exhibited what a YG artist is capable of.

4. Seunghun - This boy went through enough. Just what is the purpose of delaying way too long his debut? He has stable and clean high notes even during intense-choreography songs. Character-wise, I see he is really sociable and entertaining. I always feel sad when he’s beating himself for not impressing YG again. His confidence has surely plummeted during the show, if it could still go down. Despite being severely criticized by YG for reasons God knows what, he still perseveres and I admire him about that.

5. Keita - First of, I gotta vent how I hate he’s a victim of evil editing and he was judged for wanting to pair up with Yedam in the 1:1 match. I mean, why can’t he when he vibes well with him personally and in a musical perspective. He’s well adapted with Korean, more so, with rapping. No one can convince me that’s not impressive. Just like Seunghun, YG really did him dirty when he was eliminated among the DNA team members. Among the trainees, he really seems passionate with performing. If YG is serious with pursuing with their expansion in Japan, Keita is worthy of becoming their pioneer artists. He is ready.

6. Yoonbin - At the start he was just this silent trainee I did not think he will become popular knowing the more popular Team A rappers and the hype younger rappers like Haruto and Junhyuk were getting. But as silent as he is, he’s just as impressive on stage. His rapping is always flawless. Still can’t get over his Woo Ah Hae perf with Yeongue. It seems they really performed performing then. Over anything, that is the most important thing for any artist.

7. Yoshinori - He’s a decent rapper. He specially impressed me in their Boomerang performance. I saw his determination to debut and that he was giving it his all since there was little opportunity in the past for him to show his talent in rapping.

8. Junkyu - I have always been skeptical about idols who have good looks on whether there’s more than meets the eye. Over anything, talent is what measures the value of an artist. Junkyu, on the other hand, proves that he’s not only a visual but a true artist. The color of his voice suits either hip-hop or pop song. Somehow Shaun Medez-ey. The most memorable Going Crazy chorus, for me and we can all agree, is Junkyu’s.

9. Mashiho - The same goes with Mashiho. He’s not just a face we could all ogle over. He’s also very capable of impressing a crowd with his stage presence. I just like his confidence overall.

10. Jihoon - At first, and now I feel so bad, when I saw him in Stray Kids I was so judgmental to think he’s too young to be included in the silver boys. Only to find out he’s only a year younger than Seunghun and presently he’s like in the hyung line among all the trainees. I’m just so amused at this huge twist. This baby face is actually a hyung! K enough of that. What I’m trying to say is he may seem like a big prankster but beneath this funny side I see the urgency in his eyes that he must finally debut this time since it’s already his second and probably last chance. When he was introduced to the Team B members, he kind of gave that stuck up vibe like “I’m a silver boy, I’m not even supposed to be teamed with these guys.” kinda vibe which was, again, so judgmental of me. But when they were planning for their group performance and the leader was Jyunhao then I saw how bad he wanted his group to do well. It was cool how he discussed the song choice seriously. He acknowledged the big competition that was Team A. In short, he knows what it takes to satisfy YG and he proved it during their performance of was it Go Go by BTS? Back then, I did not really notice him. Maybe only after the Ko Ko Bop perf with Jyunhao and upon watching their clips outside of the show. He’s very witty and possesses variety show material. Oh, and did I mention, how well he performed Boomerang despite his injury? You can’t stop me from talking about that Boomerang performance. As I said previously, I can’t stress enough how I felt for him every time he weeps after getting saved from each brink of elimination. He’s so precious and now I think he’s my most favorite trainee (hence this long essay). Again, such a huge twist!

Just like what other fans said, I agree that all trainees deserve to debut although not all NOW. So if I was YG and giving justice to the maturity of the older trainees and their developed fanbase I would debut those mentioned. On the other hand, if only he preserves and cares for the following younger ones, he should definitely debut them in the future:

1. Jeongwoo - I agree he has a captivating voice and he always performs flawlessly. He’s truly a jewel that YG discovered. With a few months of training he’s already so good at singing.

2. Haruto - What is HaJeongwoo without Haruto. He’s really good in rapping and his stage presence is no joke. Congrats to him though, he’s debuting early!

3. Yeongue - I gotta admit I judged him real bad just like Jihoon in his intro video seeing how he appealed with his eye smile. But boy, this boy can sing especially soulful songs. Ever since his Stay duet with Jeongwoo, I knew he’s like Yoonbin who proves himself with his pure talent. He never ceased to impress me. With his Woo Ah Hae duet with Yoonbin then Boomerang. It (dance song) was way out of his specialty but he still gave out a good performance and sadly he had to be eliminated from there. He’s one of the trainees I anticipate to see more performances from in the future.

4. Junhyuk - Okay, we all know what this baby is capable of. Since the beginning and as young as he is, he has amazing rapping skills both in Korean and in English. I can really say he’s the future of YG. I am touched how he was not all that affected with his elimination after his match with Hyunsuk. I saw he was still hopeful since he’s still young and there’s still so much ahead of him. I just hope he won’t lose that hope and motivation to perform since his talent would be such a waste to not be let out to the world. Noona is rooting for you, Junhyuk!

5. Jongseob - Like Junhyuk, I see him in the future group. I think he just needs to loosen up more and gain confidence. We all know how good he is at rapping.

6. Doyoung - A skilled dancer. That’s it.

7. Jaehyuk/Yunseo/Junghwan - I know they have it in them. They’re all really charming. It’s just a matter of pushing themselves more so they can become more natural in performing.

I got lazy to type but, all in all, watching YGTB left so many good memories. I will miss the boys and their friendship and those who are not able to debut for now.

#yg treasure box #ygtb

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