#i actually quite liked using that site and even if I continue to post tons of artists are gonna leave and have already left (and I can’t

[holydramon]

I’m honestly so fucking pissed about the deviantart thing, it’s the only other site I actively use art wise and also one that I have had some luck selling things on. i guess I’ll still use the site and just do the mass art opt out but jfc.

[anamoon63]

Simblr New Years Resolution 2024

Thanks @serenasims for the tag! 🤗💗

What's your Resolution for your Simblr?

This is going to be a shock, even for me, but I want to focus more on my gameplay, keep it simple and leave the long and intricate stories for my normal writing, i.e. my non sims writing. I also want to enjoy the game more, play for the sake of playing, have fun with The Sims like I used to. It doesn't mean I won't continue the stories I've already started, but maybe I'll switch to a simpler, yet visually more appealing format. I'd like to find a balance between the visual and the written word, if that makes any sense at all. I'm talking about less words, but also less photos, to be less repetitive and hectic. I don't know, I'm still looking for that change, I hope to be able to achieve that this year.

What do you want from the Sims Franchise?

Ah, where do I start? Lol. Well, I'd like a whole new game as the Sims 4 hasn't quite finished convincing me, it's been out there for 20 years and I'm just starting to play it. Anyway, for Sims 4 in particular I would like the same as my dear friend @serenasims, you know, concerts, bands, cars…To be completely honest, I don't know if I want more stuff for S4 because my game is so in pieces now, those back-to-back updates break so many things every time they come. Doesn't mean I haven't had tons of fun with TS4! 💗 Now, if I had something to ask for it would be, open world, cars, bigger worlds with more houses, the ability to create lots and add them to the map like in Sims 3, be able to remove corrupted or ruined houses. Truth is, I would prefer if they did a whole new game, but if The Sims 5 is going to be this Project Rene thing, just please leave me out. Lastly, if I really wanted something from the franchise as a whole (because seriously, I don't expect anything from EA anymore), and if I were allowed to dream, I wish they would fix The Sims 3, remaster it, make it work for everyone (it works for me, but that takes a lot of dedication and upkeep). In short, I wish EA hadn't trashed The Sims 3 like they did, and actually fixed the bugs, if they had, now it would now be an even greater game than it already is. Ok, I didn't want this to turn into a rant, but, well, you know me. 😋

Any other New Years Resolutions?

If this question is in regard to real life, well, I'd like to start a site with my stories, non sims, the ones I've written throughout my life. But that's just a thought at this moment, I'm not really sure if I'll be able to pull it off. The resolution would be in any case, to take steps towards that, and to start writing my new novel already, cause at my age, one is more aware of the number of years one has left, it's as if a countdown has begun. I mean, I'm not that old, lol, but you never know, hence my other resolutions: take care of my health, keep exercising, eat healthy, drink more water, give up junk food, smile, have fun, be less worried about everything, etc. In other words: keep me alive and happy. I don't usually make resolutions, they are more like wishes or plans, projects that I don't know if I'll have the time or the energy to accomplish, but that I really want to pursue this year, or in the years to come. :)

I know, as usual, my post turned out quite long and incoherent, lol. Sorry, but I couldn't help myself.

Also, as almost always, my tag answers are a little late, so I'm tagging all my mutuals and followers who haven't done this one yet. 😊

[scarfacemarston]

Prostheses in Media - Historical standpoint

So I let the request I received about misconceptions in media for a few weeks because I wanted to answer the question adequately. My ultimate goal is to write information respectfully and ethically. I am nervous posting this and I hope I do it justice. However, I will listen to the community, especially about modern-day prostheses. I defer to them. This took days to complete. Please like and reblog if you liked it. It’s the only feedback I get and encourages writers like me to continue.

Some of the information is a little graphic, but I tried to stay away from that as much as possible. Spoilers for Agent Carter, Game of Thrones, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Boardwalk Empire. I’m so sorry for the wonky photo sizes, but tumblr keeps fighting my edits. Historically, people/shows underestimate how wildly different prosthetics can be. Some can be very cumbersome, but some are quite advanced in comparison to other fields of medicine at their time. The first plastic limbs were designed around the 1940s and, in some countries, far later than the 40′s leading some people to use wooden prostheses. It depended on economic status and the resources medical professionals could access. However, we also have evidence of very advanced Egyptian prosthetics and Medieval metal prosthetics, so I think some of these prosthetics were cumbersome but still relatively advanced. I'm not sure if Tumblr will flag me if I post the picture, but it's in the link.

As far as historical characters, that's difficult to analyze because I feel prostheses are featured more prominently in fantasy or sci-fi worlds where you can't measure that to real-life standards. I am sure some old movies and books demonstrate these issues I am unaware of. Fictionally, I felt Agent Carter did a great job depicting disability. Daniel Sousa has a prosthetic and walks with a crutch. The other agents at the SSR agency completely underestimate him, exclude him, make extremely ableist comments, and sometimes even get physical, such as pushing/crowding him out of the way. Sousa has some amazing comments about this in the early episodes of season 1, where he talks about how everyone cheers the soldiers returning home for a few days and then essentially ignores those who did not return the "same" way, whether that is physically like Sousa or mentally struggling like Jack Thompson. 

One quote:  "They weren't clapping for me. They were clapping for this and this. Clapping because I make them feel guilty, and they want to feel good. You think because I'm wearing a suit and I got a clean shave, we're different? We're not. We're both people nobody cares about.” Sousa is below Yes, I suck at sizing pictures. I’ll edit it once I can fix my resizing. :/ Don’t worry, you’ve read the longest part. The rest is pics with tidbits.

Picture above from 1947 of WWII vets looking at various prostheses. From the “Every Body” Smithsonian exhibit. Very cool site!

I think people don't know that there are actually tons of different types of prosthetics. I have read of early breast reconstruction surgery, but academically, there are a lot of arguments about whether rebuilding breast tissue is a prosthetic or plastic surgery. Plastic surgery has an early connection with prosthetics. For example, right around World War I, facial prosthetics were considered a massive breakthrough. It literally transformed people's lives. I don't know how much I can say without Tumblr flagging me because it is so incredibly graphic. 

WWI was especially brutal because many new technologies were invented, allowing for more powerful weapons, tanks, and chemical agents like mustard gas. Think about what these weapons can do if it strikes someone's face. 

 The doctor who created much of the practices was Sir Harold Gillies, but American artist Anna Coleman Ladd played a prominent role in the creation of many of these pieces; some are actually rather beautiful in a macabre way. However, every single country had talented individuals that made key contributions. If you look up pictures before, during, and after the surgery, they are extremely graphic, so be warned. However these transformations are amazing, but the pure emotional pain, the physical horrors of war, and the transformation to something resembling "normalcy" is difficult to watch, but these people’s histories shouldn’t be forgotten.

Boardwalk Empire also depicted facial prosthetics' role through Richard Harrow's character, whose picture is above. The show features a WWI veteran with a facial prosthesis similar to the one I described. I've heard praise for it, but I realize that isn't a historical fact. I've heard of other period dramas having characters with a prosthesis, but I haven't watched them. 

Since limbs are the most common prostheses - 

Anakin and Luke Skywalker's prosthetics are entirely scientific-fantasy realm, as well as Jaime Lannister's from Game of Thrones. However, a German knight named Götz von Berlichingen had a relatively advanced arm. There is a picture below of Gotz's prosthetic. 

Jaime Lannister’s prosthetic above:

I think another one of the most famous examples is Bucky Barnes. People generally know that his arm is highly unrealistic, so I’m not entirely sure how helpful I can be here. I can mention WWII prosthetics a bit though. Here are two links: 1. These are people who have prosthetics and / or work with prosthetics in a medical setting.

2. The Science of Marvel by Sebastian Alvarado has several bits about Bucky’s arm and its connection with the rest of his body.Falcon and the Winter Soldier explored this a bit and because of a chain of events, Bucky discovered a fail safe in his arm was placed by those who helped rebuild his arm. A lot of people are heavily debating whether this is an example of discrimination/ abelism or not. 3. Here is a video of some prosthetic experts and users looking at Bucky’s arm.

This picture is from the 1940s. This type of arm is still used today. Sometimes it’s function-based, but historically, sometimes, the type of prosthetic was based on your socio-economic status. 

World War I prosthetics seem to appear more closely to an arm, but WWII prostheses seem to focus more on functionality.  I post a pic here for the comparison.  (PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CORRECT ME HERE. This is something that’s confused me for ages because the academic books and journals I’ve read contradict each other.) The picture below appears to be the type of arm Bucky would have had more likely than the picture that I show earlier. Ironically, despite the “better tech”, WWII veterans staged a protest over the quality of veteran health care, especially those with prostheses. Makes me wonder what Sousa and Bucky would have done. Would they have participated?

The fetishization of prostheses can also be a huge problem. There is fan fiction on which people in the prosthetic community have a wide berth of opinions. Since I don't have a prosthetic myself, I don't feel like it would be right of me to speak up on the subject except to say that there is zero denying that fetishization occurs. Finally, many people need to remember that not just soldiers/ veterans and action heroes have prosthetics. Some people are born with differently formed limbs. Another thing is not everyone feels shame over their body. I posted examples below of people who have different opinions. Regardless, the media could better reflect diverse stories. Disability research can be tricky as a lot relies on medical records, which can be tricky to get . The most crucial thing for historians is ethics and following protocols so finding records require more effort. There are also diaries, letters, and memoirs, but that can also be difficult to come across, meaning we don't have as many narratives from the people with the prosthetic themselves. However, there are new letters found and memoirs written all the time.

Finally to learn more:

I would recommend A Disability History of the United States (REVISIONING HISTORY) by Kim E. Nielsen, which you can find in libraries and other sources that have PDFs.....It’s a little more accessible, but another wonderful book is 

Paying with Their Bodies: American War and the Problem of the Disabled Veteran by John M Kinder. It’s a more graphic read and more academic in tone, but I still recommend it.

Links: 

Here’s a good mini-documentary about some of the latest advancements in prosthetics.

Here’s an article about the future of prosthetics.

I don’t usually post a source like ABC News, but they have an interesting WWII catalog type of graph and a great example of modern pieces.

I hope you all found this interesting. I was very nervous to post this. Please let me know (politely) if anything should be corrected. I’m here to listen to the community. As a disabled person, I think it’s crucial to listen to others in the community, even if our stories and experiences differ.

Feel free to send more questions to me! My specialties are the history of medicine and the history of human sexuality, but I also like to research other aspects of history, so feel free to ask!

[gentlebliss]

hihi, i love ur page and u seem lovely, i just wanted to say a few things about your template/commissions..

neocities is all about creativity and passion; it seems that using or posting templates for neocities is kind of defeating the point of it. i keep seeing your templates pop up on neocities and it makes me think that people just don't want to learn how to code and make their site from scratch, and be creative, and it makes me a little sad... because the nice thing about neocities was everyone had something unique!

I am aware it's for starters and that it's for beginners, but i also believe that if you truly enjoy and understand neocities, you will make something yourself no matter how small !! , and build your way up from there. watching someone progress forward is a nice sight..

i can't blame you that the layout got popular, however, i think that you could've advertised it for a different web hoster instead of neocities.. :( it makes me think a little that nowadays users will choose to use a template rather than just wait and code something and make their site when they're ready..and there r tons of resources out there, i just don't get the point of templates nor commissions. neocities really isnt the site for that (′д｀ )

im not coming at you with mean intentions. i love ur blog and u seem very sweet and kind.. i just really needed to say this..

I've actually received an ask like this before, hopefully I can respond to this in a meaningful way! I do appreciate your kindness. Thank you for saying I'm sweet and kind!

This became very long, so TL;DR... I make templates for the people that need them for any reason, cause I believe everyone should have their own web space if they want one, and I don't believe in gatekeeping coding or personal websites. Sorry but that's just not me... Coding is for everyone, and should be made into something that everyone can do.

If you don't agree and it bothers you, that's fine, but I don't plan to stop helping people to comply to those that are against it... As long as people tell me they find my resources helpful, I will keep making them. I do this because I love it

The long version is below

Firstly, I don't believe there is a "purpose" or something Neocities is particularly for, other than building personal sites. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to "do" Neocities. First and foremost Neocities is a space to make your own thing, whatever it may be, and people have already been demonstrating for years that websites comes in MANY different ways

A lot of people need a place to start, it's not as easy as just learning it just like that, cause I remember when I first started it was very frustrating! I wanted to quit many times. And I had to use bases for awhile. I used bases for my first couple of Tumblr themes. If there weren't bases available to me, I probably never would've continued. If I couldn't even figure out how to make images round, I doubt I would've been able to start from scratch so early on, and I probably would've quit

People need a space where they can learn at their own pace, and throwing them into something like that with not much guidance will have mixed results. Some people will stick with it and become exceptionally skilled, but many won't, and they deserve just as much guidance and support!

And there are just people who don't have the time for building a site from scratch... A lot of people are too busy or many other reasons that prevent consistent dedication to a website, and I think they deserve to have a website if they want one for any reason, even if they don't have all the time that someone might need in order to build it all the way up... Many people who do use bases will eventually make their own things, anyhow. I started with bases, and I make nearly everything myself now. I have noticed my friends use my bases and then make their own thing. But everyone needs somewhere to start. And then again, even if they never do decide to work on things from the ground up later on, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to have a website!

... Also templates have been a thing waaay before Neocities was made. Like, back in Geocities days, and on random websites in entirely different languages from way back too, so it's like everywhere. I've seen Japanese websites hosted on platforms you've never heard of offering tons of free templates! It's nothing new tbh, and there are also many free instant generators that build websites from the ground up, I'm not sure why it's much of an issue when I take time to build something myself that can be shared among everyone !

Thanks for reading! Hope none of this sounds rude, and hopefully it's clear and worded in a way that makes sense lol

[duskvsdawn]

Masochist!Noiz x Chubby!reader - A Hectic Night

A/N: This is my first time I post one of my fics on tumblr, I normally post them on Wattpad. But to be honest I think they might be doing a bit better here because clearly, tumblr is the superior site for fanfics giggle I would like to know more about how to make pretty formats on here! Please send me a message with some tips on how to add banners and such!

CW: alcohol consumption, mentions of depression, Noiz would like you to bite his... salami, I think that’s the most important ones. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Those eyes. Those green eyes. If you weren’t so upset with him now, you could swear you would be drowning in them. You look at him through your lashes, trying to see what he might be doing, or thinking. But he just seemed to be calmly eating his food, minding his own business. You puffed up your cheeks in anger and continued eating.

It all started when you bumped into him on your way to Aoba. You were invited to have dinner there with a few friends of his. Little did you know then, that the person you bumped into, would also be going there. He had said “Watch where you’re going, you fat whale!” and continued walking. Hurt, you followed him, noticing he was going in the same direction as you. When he rang the doorbell, you just stood behind him awkwardly. He had obviously noticed. He asked you what you were doing there.

“I was invited for dinner here.” You meekly said.

“Hm, you too huh? Guess you’re one of Aoba’s friends. Let’s pretend this never happened.”

“I can’t just ignore that you called me a fat-”

“Hey, come on in!” Aoba said as he opened the door.

You just silently followed the guy inside.

It was during dinner, when Aoba introduced you to his friends, that you learned his name was Noiz. He actually looked quite handsome, but you were too pissed to care. When you all finished your dinner, you followed Aoba into the kitchen. You offered to help him do the dishes, which he gladly accepted. It’s then when you told him what happened, choking back some tears. You had always been insecure about your weight, but it was just so damn hard to lose it. No matter how hard you tried, your brain would always sabotage your diet, by telling you that you weren’t worthy of being skinny and pretty. That you were worthless. Not that being skinny meant you’re instantly pretty, though. You’ve met tons of skinny people with a really ugly attitude. Aoba, knowing your struggle with your depression, put down the plate and hugged you.

“I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to worry about it. Besides, he tried to let it all go by saying the only thing he knows to say in such situations: pretend it never happened. Believe it or not, he struggles with depression too. He just tries his best to forget all the negative things that happened in his life. And even something small like bumping into him on a bad day can set him off, like you experienced earlier. Don’t take it personally. Once you get to know him, he’s actually a really cool guy. And kind of handsome.” He whispered the last part, but you noticed it and giggled.

“Thanks Aoba, I will try to let it go for now. So what were you planning to do for the rest of the evening?”

“I was thinking we could catch up or watch a movie. Maybe a few drinks here and there.”

“Sounds good to me.” You said with a smile as you hugged Aoba one last time and put away the plates you just dried.

You followed him out of the kitchen, and plopped down on a chair, far away from the others.

“Hey, come on now, you’re not afraid of us, are you? Come sit with us please.” Koujaku said.

“I just met you guys, I’m not very good at situations like that.”

“That’s ok, neither am I.” Clear said as he sat next to you, putting a hand over yours.

“Really? You seem to be right at home here with the others.”

“That’s only because we’ve known each other for a while now. You’re my newest good friend, and I wanted you to meet the others.” Aoba said as he sat on the floor, in front of you.

Mink, Mizuki, Sei and Noiz just kind of followed him there. Mink moved the couch along with him, moving it closer to the chair you were sitting in.

“How about a drink?” Koujaku asked Aoba.

“Sure thing, I’ll go get something and some glasses.” Aoba replied.

For a while you just sat there in silence, listening to the others talk. It’s then that you noticed that Clear had been looking at you all this time.

“Uh, hey… Are you feeling ok?” He asked, feeling just as awkward as you.

“Y-yeah, just letting it all happen for now.”

A little while later, Aoba walked back into the room with 2 bottles of sake and some glasses onto a tray. He poured the first glass and gave it to you. He then poured a glass for everyone else.

“To friendship!” He said as he clinked his glass with yours.

“To friendship!” Koujaku repeated, knocking back the glass instantly.

“I swear that guy has the alcohol tolerance of an Irishman. Then again, so do you.” Aoba said with a giggle.

You took a sip and scrunched your face. You never had sake so this was new to you. After another sip you actually started liking the taste.

“So, what are we doing tonight?” Sei asked.

“Well, I was thinking we could let Y/N tell a little bit about herself, and then you guys can tell a little bit about yourself too. After that we can watch a movie or listen to some music.”

“Sounds good to me.” Mink said with a nod.

“Well, Y/N, what are you waiting for? What is your favorite food? Your favorite music? I’d like to know it all.” Clear said with a smile as he leaned forward, folding his hands and placing his head on top of it.

You told them about how you met Aoba, your likes and dislikes in life. Then you told then about your struggles with depression. It was then that Noiz lifted his head and actually started listening to you. He felt intrigued. He felt like he might have just met someone who knows what he deals with on a day to day basis. After you told them that your dad passed away recently, he actually started feeling sorry for you. That’s when he looked at Aoba, who seemed to think the same thing as he did. Aoba moved away from you, and let Noiz sit there instead. With some hesitation he wrapped an arm around you awkwardly, and pulled you closer to him. You leaned into him, for some reason feeling very safe next to him. Maybe the slight buzz you were starting to feel thanks to the alcohol helped with that. And the fact that Aoba told you that he struggles with these kinds of thoughts too. He told you about how he had a rough upbringing, and what his parents did to him. He also told you that thanks to Aoba, he was able to feel pleasure and pain now. At this point, you just couldn’t help yourself. You hugged him, and you have no idea why. It just felt like something you had to do. It surprised him, but eventually he wrapped his arms around you.

“You know, it feels kind of nice. Knowing I met someone that knows what I feel like. Every single day.” Noiz admitted.

“Sure, my friends know it’s a real uphill battle for me, and they try to understand as best they can, but they never truly will because they don’t feel the same things. It helps that they are really trying though.” He continued.

“Well, I will be your friend, and help you through these endeavors.” You said with a shy smile.

“Thank you. I truly appreciate it. I feel like I’ve met someone I really feel a connection with.”

At this point I wish we could be more than friends. You thought to yourself. You would take that to the grave with you though. Unless he made the first move. You’re way too shy. Sober at least.

To distract you from the sad mood you just experienced, the others told a little bit about themselves too. About how they met Aoba, and what adventures they’ve been on. You listened to them in awe.

“Now that we managed to convince Noiz that you’re actually a really cool person, how about we watch a movie? Or maybe play a game?” Aoba asked.

Noiz just gave Aoba a deadpan expression.

“A game, what kind of game?” Clear said as he perked up.

“…Truth or dare.” Koujaku said with a chuckle.

“You know what? Sure.” Aoba said as he poured everyone some more sake.

You all sat in the middle of the living room, in a circle. Koujaku was the first to ask Mink the question. You all had a great time and shared some laughs. After a few rounds, it was Aoba’s turn again.

“Noiz, truth or dare?” Aoba asked him with a smirk, knowing full well what the blonde would reply.

“Dare.” He said.

“I knew it. In that case, I dare you to kiss Y/N.”

You just looked at Aoba with shock written on your features. There is no way he just said that. You wished the ground would open up and swallow you whole.

“Sure.” Noiz replied, moving closer to you. He then gave you a quick peck on the lips.

“C’mon, you call that a kiss? I even show Beni more passion.” Koujaku said with a hearty laugh.

“Ugh, fine.” Noiz said while rolling his eyes.

“Wait wait wait. This is all going a bit fast, don’t you think?”

“This going at just the right pace.” Mizuki said, leaning forward, clearly interested in what was about to happen.

“We don’t have to do this,” Noiz said, looking at Aoba “do we?”

“You sure do. What you just gave her was barely a kiss.”

Noiz sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It’s ok… I don’t mind…” You said shyly, looking at the ground.

“Are you sure?” Noiz asked you, actually seeming to care about what you wanted.

“Y-yeah, it’s ok.”

This was bound to happen sooner or later. You thought.

“Well, ok then.”

Noiz gently cupped your face in his hands, and leaned in even closer. You could feel his breath fanning your face. You looked at those stunning eyes again, they seemed to draw you closer. Before you could register what you were doing, you wrapped your arms around him and put your lips on his. It felt like he was made for you, his lips a perfect fit against yours. As you kissed, you tried to ignore all the cheering and whistling. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you as close as he could. You gently bit his bottom lip, asking him for entrance, which he happily granted you. As your tongues danced together, his hands wandered lower and lower, halting at your butt. He gave it a soft squeeze. You moaned as he broke contact, his lips now impossibly close to your ear. He licked the shell, and then gently bit your earlobe. His mouth moved lower towards your neck, almost instantly finding your sweet spot as he kissed and licked it over and over again. You were a panting, moaning mess at this point. When the guys noticed that, they couldn’t contain their excitement at this point. It was then that his lips came close to your ear again. What he whispered next, sent shivers down your spine.

“How about we continue this at your place?”

Your face turned fifty shades of red as you hid your face in his neck. He chuckled and looked at the others. They clearly wanted to see where this would go from here on out. Noiz stood up, pulling you up with him.

“That was a kiss alright.” Aoba said with a blush covering his face.

“That was more than a kiss. There is definitely something there.” Sei added.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two like each other. A lot.” Mink chuckled.

“I think we're both pretty drunk. I'll take her home and tuck her into bed.” Noiz lied.

“She could just sleep on the couch here though? ...oh.” Koujaku said, slowly catching up on what Noiz was trying to do.

“Yeah…” Noiz said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’ll see you very soon Aoba.” You said with a shy smile as you hugged Aoba.

“I’m sure you will.” Aoba winked as he said that, knowing full well what your intentions were. Or at least, Noiz’ intentions.

You quickly poured yourself another glass of sake and downed it all in one go. You would need that for some courage later.

The guys just stared at you as you did that. Noiz offered his hand to you, and you took it. The two of you waved the guys goodbye and started on your walk to your apartment. It wasn’t far from here, but it was getting rather chilly outside. Noiz, noticing you were starting to feel cold took off his beanie and put it on your head. He then gently kissed your nose.

“This will keep you warm on the walk home.” He said.

You smiled, and thanked him, as you hooked your arm into his. The situation was slowly starting to sink in. You were taking this guy that you only met a few hours ago, to your home. Panic slowly started to rise. This is the second time you could swear he was able to read your mind.

“You know, once we get there, we don’t have to do anything. We could just talk some more, if you’d like. I never meant to go that far when kissing you, but I couldn’t help myself.”

“Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve felt this attracted to someone. I don’t mind wherever this might go. I just need another drink when we get home. I am super shy about this stuff.” You said with a giggle.

“I see. We will do whatever you want.” Noiz chuckled.

You two walked a few more minutes in silence, and the apartment building was only a block away. Once you turned the corner, you finally spoke again.

“We’re almost here.”

“Good, I was starting to freeze to death.” He joked.

He was right though. Next time you should definitely bring a coat. Now that you had a clear view of his blonde hair, you admired it for a bit. It framed his face well. And those hypnotizing eyes seemed even brighter in the moonlight. They made you feel weak on your legs. Speaking of weak on your legs, you were starting to feel the alcohol at this point. You wobbled a bit, and bumped into him.

“Ah sorry. I’m getting really tipsy.” You said with a sweet smile.

“That’s the second time tonight.” He said with a smile as he followed you to the front door.

You turned the key and kicked off your shoes.

“Pretend like you’re home.” You said, putting his beanie back on his head.

He readjusted it for a bit and also took off his shoes. You turned on some lights and walked into the kitchen.

“Cozy place you got here.”

“Thanks! A lot of stuff was given to me when I moved out, but it all seemed to fit really well together so I’ve kept it all this time.”

“How long have you lived here?” He asked as he took the glass of vodka you just offered him.

“Hmm about 5 years now. Never wanted to live anywhere else. It’s close to town, and close to my family and friends, Aoba being one of those as of recently.” You said as you sipped your vodka. And then you took a bigger sip. This stuff has always been your favorite.

Noiz did the same as he followed you into the living room, and sat down on the couch next to you. He wrapped an arm around you as you turned on the tv.

“I bet there will be nothing interesting on at this hour.” He said.

“Yeah, I’m afraid so. I’ll turn on the radio instead.” You said as you turned your tv to radio mode.

You two talked a little bit more about your upbringing, what kind of friends you grew up with, and other things like your favorite food and music. When you told him some more about the passing of your dad, you started crying. He pulled you closer to him.

“Sorry, I’m normally not such an emotional mess, it must be the alcohol.” You apologized.

“It is said that alcohol can bring you feelings you normally repress during the day. Or it does the same opposite, it represses the negative emotions you feel during said day.”

“Well that is the exact reason why I’ve been drinking quite a lot recently. I just don’t know how to handle things at the moment.”

Noiz took your glass and his, and put them on the table in front of you. He then wrapped both arms around you and he let you cry for a bit. He hushed you, and told you things will be ok, as hard as they may seem now.

After your not so elegant crying fit, you actually felt better. You smiled at him and thanked him for being there.

“You have nothing to thank me for. I’d like to believe you would do the same thing for me.” He said as he wiped away a stray tear with his thumb, and kissed you softly.

You melted into the kiss and grabbed him by his collar, pulling him closer. As the two of you kissed, it got more heated after a while, and he pulled you on top of him. You held yourself up though, not too sure if he could handle your weight.

“I’m afraid I’ll crush you.” You said shyly.

“Trust me, I can handle it.” He assured you as he pulled you closer to him.

You just laid there for a while, listening to his heartbeat. It seemed to be going as fast as yours after that make out session. After a while, you decided you wanted to take things further.

“Noiz?”

“What’s up liebling?”

“Wait, was that German? What does it mean?”

“It means sweetheart.”

“Oh… I like the nickname.” You said with a giggle he thought was really cute.

��Well I was thinking… Uhm… Would you like a tour of the house? It could end in the bedroom.” You said as your face heated up, blushing more than ever before.

“That sounds like a good idea. I’d love to see the place.” He said with a chuckle, trying to ignore the last part of what you said to make you feel more at ease.

You two walked around the house and talked about your furniture for a bit. About who gave it to you and what you like about it. Once you reached the kitchen, you took a hold of the bar, getting a bit wobbly on your feet.

“Hey, are you ok?” Noiz asked as he rushed to your side, prepared to catch you if you fell.

“Sorry, I think I’m really drunk at this point.” You said with a laugh.

“Let’s get you to bed then. The tour can wait until later if you’d like.”

“No no it’s ok, really. I’ll be ok.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Noiz said as he followed you as you walked into the bathroom. After the bathroom, there was only one room left…

You two ended up in the bedroom. As you turned on the light and then dimmed it a bit to fit the mood, it really started to sink in. This was about to happen. It’s been a while since your last time. You imagined it would feel fantastic now that you’ve had a few drinks. You’d become quite horny ever since you got home and had him to yourself. Up until now you did your best not to show it, but this was really it huh? As he drank you in, he walked closer to you. The two of you backed up until the back of your legs hit the bed. He gave you the most passionate kiss yet, and he slowly pushed you onto the bed. He moved on top of you and his hands gave your thighs a gentle squeeze. He was really starting to like that you had more to hold. He kissed your ears and your neck some more, since he discovered those were definitely your weak spots. You mewled as he bit your neck, and you pulled off his beanie and let your hands rummage through his hair. You pulled it just a bit when he bit down on your earlobe just the right amount. You felt like you started to lose control, and you tried to tell him by tugging at his shirt.

“You want this off? Go ahead, I’m all yours…” He said with a husky voice.

You pulled his shirt over his head. He decided to take of your socks and his own. After he took off his own socks, his hands moved towards your feet. He took them off and gave your right foot a kiss. He then leaned back over you. He looked at you questioningly when he tugged at your shirt as well. You gave him the nod, and he gently lifted your upper body from the bed to take off your shirt. You decided to take off your bra while you were up anyway. He drank in your chest, and started playing with your breasts. He sucked on your left nipple, gently twisting the other in his fingers. You moaned out loud. Your nipples had always been sensitive. He noticed and he quickly switched sides, sucking on your other nipple.

“A-ah… More, please…” You whispered as your hands landed on his belt.

He let you undo it and slide down the zipper. He pulled down his pants, and you followed suit. You decided to take charge for a bit, and you rolled him over onto his back. He looked at you in surprise.

“Let me spoil you…” You said, with a little more courage this time.

“I will not pass up such an opportunity.” He said as he laid back, relaxing as you started rubbing him through his boxers. When you grabbed a hold of him through the clothing, he sucked in a breath.

“I guess we should take this off.” You chuckled.

“Mmm yes please.” He purred as he lifted himself enough off of the bed so you could take the briefs off.

You looked at his length for a bit. Apparently that body part of him had piercings too. Quite a few actually. That would definitely be fun later. You grabbed a hold of his dick as he laid back down, and you slowly started stroking him. You tried to be careful to not rip those piercings out, but he assured you they weren’t just gonna be ripped out that easily. After a while, you picked up the pace a little, and he definitely liked that more. He softly groaned, letting you know you were doing a good job. But you decided you would take things one step further. You leaned down and gave the head a small lick, tasting the precum. He sucked in some air, not expecting you to go this far.

“Ah, you really don’t have to-” He tried to say, but he was cut off as you took him into your mouth, and started bobbing your head up and down.

That seems to shut him up. You thought to yourself as you gave the shaft a long, teasing lick.

He shuddered as you did so, and covered his face with his arm. You decided you would try to take him a bit deeper, and tried to relax your gag reflex as you gently took him down your throat. It felt a little weird, piercings down there, but it wasn’t unbearable. Just different. He let out a long moan while he felt himself going deeper and down your throat. He really had to keep his composure to not just grab your head and fuck himself into it. No, he was going to let you do your thing, and enjoy the moment. You hollowed out your cheeks and played with his balls. He seemed to be on cloud 9 at this point. He then said something that you never expected.

“Tug at the piercings with your teeth. Please?”

“Isn’t that like, really gonna hurt?”

“That’s the point sweetheart, I’m into that.”

“I see, you’re one of those eh?” You said teasingly as you took one of the piercings in between your teeth and gave it a small tug.

“Fuck… Harder.”

You decided to move to another piercing and tugged that one a little harder. A loud moan was the result. You continued doing this for a while, ending at the piercing at the head. That definitely seemed to get him heated.

“Oh fuck. Yes~”

“You’re really into this, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea. And what I’m about to ask of you next, will probably surprise you even more.” He said leaning up on his elbows, eyes clouded with lust and breathing sped up. God, those eyes looked so good in the dimly lit room.

“What is it?”

“I’d like you to bite it.” He said calmly, as if it was the most normal thing he ever asked of you.

You just kind of looked at him in shock a little. For a while, he was afraid that he might have scared you off for good. But he was relieved when you nodded your head.

You sucked him off for a bit longer first, until you let your teeth gently scrape his shaft.

“C’mon love, no need to be shy. I can handle it. You can be rougher with me.”

With some hesitation, you scraped your teeth along his shaft a little harder, and then did the same at the head. He was becoming a moaning mess at this point, and loving every second of it.

“More, please…” He begged of you. He actually sounded cute when he was desperate. So you decided to give him what he wanted.

You gently bit the skin in several spots, trying to find out where he liked it the most. Right underneath the head definitely seemed to be his favorite spot so you decided to abuse it. You took a bit of the skin in between your teeth and tugged at it. That definitely got him going. After a while, his breathing became heavier and faster. You could tell he was getting close. He was about to tell you, but you shut him up by taking the head into your mouth and pumping his shaft. Not long after, he released into your mouth. You greedily swallowed it all and moved to lay next to him.

“Fuuuuuuuuck. That may have just been the best blowjob ever.” He admitted, trying to catch his breath.

“I’m glad you liked it. That was definitely something.” You said with a chuckle as you kissed him.

“Now I want to return the favor.” He said as he kissed you, and then crawled down towards your crotch.

“No, it’s ok, you really don’t have to.”

“Hush love, let me please you.” He said as he tugged at your underwear. You lifted your butt so he could take it off.

“I honestly never expected you to use such cute nicknames for your bed partners.”

“Normally I don’t. But I feel like what we have is special. And I want to let you know that I like you. Really like you.”

“T-thanks… I like you to.” You said as your face heated up.

“Now, where was I? Oh yes. Right… here.” He said as he gently rubbed your clit.

“A-ah… Please, too sensitive!”

“Sensitive huh? In that case, I will do everything in my power to give you the high you deserve.”

He gently licked your sex at first, testing to see what reactions he could get out of you. When he noticed your moans, he decided to give you more. He took your clit into his mouth and circled his tongue around it.

“Ah shit… So good!” You moaned as your hands found his hair and pulled it.

“I’ve only just begun and you’re a mess already?”

“It’s been a while since my last time. Also I’m drunk, that helps too.” You giggled.

“Is that so? Lay back and relax.” Noiz said as he licked a long stripe up your folds.

He then started eating you out like you’ve never experienced before, occasionally dipping his tongue into your core. He was being gentle, yet rough at the same time and you absolutely loved it, whatever he was doing.

“Oh fuck! Oh god! I’m close already!” You moaned out loud way too soon in your opinion. You didn’t want to finish yet but you felt like you couldn’t hold this one back.

He licked your clit and pumped his fingers into your core.

“Then cum for me. Cum for me darling.” He purred.

And that was your undoing. With a loud moan, you came. He kept moving his fingers until you rode out your orgasm. He then licked them clean and laid next to you.

“Need to… Catch my breath…” You managed to bring out as you tried to steady your breathing.

“That’s ok liebling, we have all night.” He chuckled as he wrapped an arm around you and kissed your cheek.

“Fuck I needed this…”

“We’re not done yet. Not if you want to, at least.”

“Oh I am definitely up for more.” You purred as you sat up, reaching for his dick.

“H-hey, what are you doing?!”

“Getting you hard again for round 2, silly.” You answered as you slowly started pumping his length.

“F-fuck. You’re feisty.”

“You think this is feisty?” You leaned over and whispered into his ear: “watch how feisty I can get once you’re inside of me.”

That actually made him blush. Cute… You thought. You moved your mouth towards his and kissed him, letting him know that you were enjoying your time together.

“That’s enough.” He growled as he pushed you onto your back.

He spread your legs and moved in between them.

“You got a condom?” He asked. He was definitely not prepared to hear pregnancy news.

“No but I’m on the pill, so it will be ok.” You purred as you wrapped your legs around his waist, and pulling his face closer to yours by grabbing onto his hair.

“Alright then. Let me feel you~” He whispered as he slowly started pushing into you.

“A-ahn~ those piercings feel so damn good.” You mewled as you pulled his face even closer, and kissed him.

“So I’ve been told.” He chuckled in between kisses.

He started moving slowly at first, slowly and passionately. He held onto your hips as if they were the only thing keeping him from pounding into you. He was gonna take it slow for now, and let you enjoy yourself. When you moaned in frustration, he took that as a signal to start moving faster, which he did. He moved his face towards your neck and started sucking and biting this particular spot right under your ear, which was apparently very sensitive. As he thrusted into you over and over, you felt those piercings rubbing your walls, and that honestly made you see stars.

“Fuck those piercings really do feel good. A-ah! More!” You cried out.

“I’m not sure I can hold back anymore if you moan like that honey.”

“Then don’t damnit! Give me all you got!”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He whispered into your ear, as he snaked his hands around your back and pulled you closer to him.

He liked holding you close as he fucked you, made him feel connected somehow. Connected in a way he has never felt with anyone before in his life. Sure, he had sex before, but this felt completely different. A frustrated moan awakened him from his thoughts.

“H-hey, why did you stop?” You asked with a pout.

“Oh, sorry… I was just thinking… I’ve never felt like this with anyone before. I mean I had sex before, but this doesn’t feel the same. This feels more… Intimate in a way.” He admitted as a blush crept up his cheeks, and he smiled. His beautiful green eyes smiled along with him.

You hadn’t seen him smile like that before. You could tell he was being genuine.

“Don’t worry. After tonight, how could I possibly leave your side?” You smiled at him as well, and kissed him as your hands found his hair.

“Are you sure? I mean, you’re drunk now, and so am I, clearly. But will it be the same tomorrow morning?”

“Hey, I’m not like that. Yeah I’m drunk but that doesn’t mean I’ll just kick you out after a good night of fun.”

“You really mean that?”

At this point it looked as if he was about to cry. This must all be very new for him, having someone really care about him this way. He honestly looked like a lost puppy. What a mood twist this was, but you were gonna let him relax before you continued. Now it was your time to comfort him.

“Hey, look at me. After getting to know you, I know I like you. The good sex is just an added bonus. I promise.” You said with a chuckle as you kissed him again. “Now can we please keep going? I really fucking enjoyed it so far and I want more.”

“S-sure. At this point I’m not sure what I will do from now on.” Noiz answered as he hid his face into your neck, mostly to hide his blush, but also because he wanted to bite your neck some more.

“That’s ok, as long as you keep going.” You giggled as you kissed his neck, and bit him right underneath his ear. A moan was all the response you needed. He definitely liked that so you did it some more.

As he started moving again, it felt different this time. It wasn’t at the same pace as before, but you felt like something changed. You just couldn’t quite put your finger on it. He held you as close as he possibly could, whispering sweet nothings into your ear, along with “I love you” a few times. You replied with “I love you too” as often as you could, considering you were trying to keep it together as he picked up the pace again. You kept biting his neck some more, and your nails found his back, leaving deep scratch marks there. That made him moan even louder. You chuckled between your moans as you kissed him. This kiss felt even better than the passionate one you had before.

“More, please…” You moaned as he kissed your neck for the umpteenth time that night.

“Your wish is my desire, liebling~” He purred as he basically started pounding into you at this point.

You couldn’t contain your moans anymore, you were sure your neighbors could hear. But you didn’t care. All you wanted was for this night to never end. As if it couldn’t get better, his hand snaked in between you two and he started rubbing your clit for added friction. There was no way you could hold back the orgasm that rushed towards you at this pace.

“S-shit, if you keep doing that… Noiz I’m so close!”

“Me too Y/N. Fuck. Cum for me.”

“I can’t hold it- oh god!”

“Then let go, cum with me.” He purred into your ear.

As you came, everything turned white. Your eyes rolled back into your head as you shook uncontrollably. You nails dug into his skin and you could feel him filling you up. After a little while, all senses seemed to return to normal. You did your best to catch your breath but it took you a while. He fell down next to you, doing his best to catch his breath as well.

You two just laid there for a bit. You put your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. After a little bit, you struggled to get up. You pouted.

“Hey, where are you going? I was enjoying having you here with me.”

“Sorry, I have to pee. Alcohol ya know.”

You went over to the bathroom and went to the toilet. After you did your business you took a wet washcloth and cleaned yourself down there after you splashed your face with water. You returned to the bedroom with a satisfied feeling. Also the tiredness was starting to hit you. You plopped down next to him and covered the both of you with your blanket. You crawled closer to him, and held him as close as you possibly could. He kissed your forehead, then your nose, and then your lips.

“I love you, Y/N. After tonight, I’m sure. And I honestly never thought I could ever love someone after everything that happened in my life.”

“It all went so fast tonight. It almost feels like it all happened in a flash. It was one of the most hectic nights ever, but I fucking loved every second of it.” You admitted.

“Me too. Let’s get some sleep, shall we?” He asked as he kissed you again.

“Mmm sounds like a good plan.” You answered as you could feel sleep already taking you over.

As you listened to the sound of his breath, you slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, you were awakened by a coil going off. It wasn’t yours, so it had to be his. With a frustrated groan he reached for it and answered. Apparently he was needed or business somewhere in town. With a sad sigh, he hung up. You turned around and wrapped your arms around him.

“You have to go already?” You asked with a pout.

“I technically have to, but I really don’t want to. You know what? I’m cancelling. I’m staying here with you. Uh, if that’s ok with you of course.”

“Are you kidding me? After last night? How could I not want you here?” You said as you got out of bed and put on some clean underwear. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, just putting on underwear.”

You plopped down on your bed again, wrapping an arm around him. Noiz called back his colleague and let him know that he couldn’t make it today. A white lie, sure, but he really didn’t want to go. He knew they could handle whatever had to be done by themselves. With a smile, he hung up again.

You kissed him as he rolled you on top of him.

“Don’t do that, you know I’m afraid I’ll crush you.”

“Trust me, I can handle it. Besides, I think I like having a girlfriend with some more curves.” He said as his hands went lower towards your ass, and gave it a hard squeeze.

“H-hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” You asked with a faked shock on your face.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He answered with a smirk on his face.

You took his hands into yours and placed them beside him. You got up and reached out your hand to him.

“Let’s get some breakfast.”

“Hmm, sounds good.” He said as he took your hand and let you lift him out of bed. He put on his underwear and followed you downstairs.

The rest of the day you two just lazed around, kissed, hugged… And you fucked again somewhere in the early afternoon. The second time felt even more intimate than the first one. And after that time, you knew for sure: you would not leave his side. He was a freak (then again, you considered yourself anything but normal as well), but you loved him. As the two of you laid on your backs, sweaty and satisfied, you couldn’t stop thinking about how much you had grown to love this man is such a short time. You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him close. With a smile on your face, you drifted off to sleep again.

“I love you…” You whispered as you kissed him softly.

“I love you too, Y/N.” you could faintly hear as sleep took you over. And you fell asleep happier than ever.

[rinskirt]

does ami still know how to use tumblr?

i figured i could start journaling again. tbh i always liked long-form journaling a lot more than short-form blurbs and updates. twitter is more for memers, or people who like to make big, bold statements. i like to flesh things out, or think in pointless circles, which usually means 10-tweet threads no one asked for cluttering up their timelines. my posts aren't funny, or entertaining. i feel like i come off as really annoying on twitter. which for a long time has sucked and made me use of the site unpleasant. especially since it seemed like the last one left. but with twitter falling, where else is there to go?

i wish we could just bring back livejournal. i feel like the way hey separated things into communities--so you weren't forced to get annoyed over memes that aren't even for you in the first place, or diatribes about ships that are only logical and enjoyable to the people who ship them--was sincerely superior. i miss it. sadly, i don't know if it will ever come back since social media prioritizing engagement means the more people who see something, the better--even more so if it starts a fight because that will mean even MORE engagement, and even MORE clicks, and the cycle just keeps going.

tbh, for a couple years now i've been thinking it would, mentally, be so much better for me if i just quit social media. then i wouldn't have to see my friends' super exciting lives while i'm sitting home alone for the nth weekend in a row. it would mean less comparing myself to other people. more time to spend on doing things that would actually better my life. but it's a scary thought. because i'm so used to social media, so used to relying on the constant presence of others, would i still reach out to people? do i even know how to reach out to people anymore, without just screaming into the void that is twitter and hoping someone hears? will everyone forget i ever existed if they no longer see my tweets? or, worse, will they actually be glad i'm not on their feed anymore? would leaving social media just mean i'm alone from here on out?

idk. this is the dumb shit that haunts me. i grew up on the internet and on social media--was a part of the first generation to do so--so it's hard to envision my life without it. (really, social media is probably why my ability to reach out to others is so stunted...) plus, as an otaku, you kind of need social media to connect to others who share your interest. at least, you do if you're not an intensely outgoing extrovert. which i am most definitely not.

going to the genshin concert made me long so much for at least one actual flesh-and-blood friend who would want to go with me to stuff like that. i had so many feelings and thoughts that i just stewed over the entire walk back to the station, and then the hour and a half train ride home. all around me were people discussing it excitedly during every intermission, but i just kinda sat there and stared into space, listening to everyone around me talk, taking in all their thoughts and feelings and not being able to share any of my own.

i'm not someone who minds doing things alone. i think because of who i am, and the life i live, and the illness i've been dealt, i couldn't survive if i wasn't willing to do things alone. i feel like maybe that's a very lonely thing to say, and a very lonely way to think, but it's just my reality. i decided to abandon my entire life in the states where i already didn't have a ton of friends, and i came to a place where most of the people are just as shy and unwilling to reach out to strangers as i am. plus i continue in this limbo of moderately-okay-but-not-great japanese, at the level where you plateau if you don't speak much. and i don't speak much. i have a lot of trauma around speaking. it takes a very safe atmosphere to coax it out of me.

i was considering starting a journaling style that i saw recommended, where rather than writing, you record yourself speaking your thoughts and feelings. and while i know that would probably be very therapeutic and helpful for me in the long run, i haven't been able to bring myself to do it. in a book i've been reading lately, "the body keeps the score" by bessel van der kolk, he discusses how trauma freezes the part of the brain that processes language, and makes it hard to actually discuss what you're feeling. that's always been a problem for me. i don't want to talk about things. i don't want to put certain feelings and thoughts into the world. i don't even know how. not even to my phone in the privacy of my home.

but i do want to try it, if i can get myself to that point. i really do want to get better. i want so badly to stop being afraid of everyone in my life, of being abandoned by them, or being hated by them if i open up and show them the worst of me. if i admit how lost and sad and trapped i feel a lot of the time. i feel like i look like such a negative person, such a bitchy and whiny sadsack of a human, but it's because i'm afraid of everything. i'm like that annoying small dog that's so afraid you're going to kick it and so it makes itself as unpleasant to be around as possible so you just leave it be. if no one likes me, if everyone just leaves me alone, i'm safe. i can't be hurt anymore.

for how sad this journal entry comes off, though, i feel like i've been in an okay place mentally lately. the fact that i've been going out and doing stuff again is a sign of that. for a long while i remembered the first year i was in japan, how excited i was to go out and just do things, even if i had no one to do them with. but sometime around covid, that started slipping away--i stopped leaving my apartment until i was invited out, and stopped going to restaurants and shops and events unless someone would hold my hand. but i'm finally in a place where i feel like i've started to rebuild a bit.

i've been thinking a lot lately about what my priorities are, and what i can do to achieve those things, so i can have some semblance of peace and stability in my life. and right now, i feel like i want to just prioritize the idea of feeling good about myself and good about my life. i worked so hard to get to where i am now, and it feels like such a waste to be living it miserably. and while part of me can't help but feel like being miserable is just the hand i was dealt with my anxious, weird brain, i want to try to do something about it. i don't want to just continue to be sad about things and let those things fester even if they're things that can be changed.

so for now, i'll change the things that are in my power to change--my diet, my sleeping habits, getting enough exercise, doing more of the things i enjoy, cutting out more of the things that make me miserable (no matter how fun and addictive they seem in the moment...), and just being kinder to myself if i fail in any of those at any given moment. i want to feel like i am some power over my life again, however little.

anyway. now that i've made myself cry writing this, i need to run to the store. but it truly is therapeutic to actually type all this out. i enjoyed it. i missed journaling. i'll have to do this more often.

[perryhedge]

Media Thread September 2022

I noticed a lot of people on Twitter making a media thread to keep track of everything they watched/read/anything in a month. I like that idea, and I think it's sort of what inspired me to make a Tumblr in the first place. The barrier to entry on this site is pretty low so it's a good place to dump thoughts. However, the barrier is not quite as low as Twitter, so I basically had this half-written for a long time without feeling ok making it a whole post. But you know what fuck it here we goooooo

Anime

I thought I watched more anime this month but I guess not. Makes sense what with Tadoku. This was the month I gave up on seasonal anime for the foreseeable future. For the most part I am not watching much new period, mostly sticking with long-running kids shows until I decide to watch some shorter shows in full again.

Yofukashi no Uta - Talked about this a little here but I really liked this! The colors, music, humor, voice acting, dialogue, and character designs are all great, and the show basically never stops being exciting and fun all the way through. I don't need them to make another season of this I think but it was a great time.

Gleipnir - Talked about this here. A strange show, but generally interesting and weird all the way through. Loved the OST, brutality of some of the action scenes, and just general strange tone. For a while everything felt edgy, but not in the played out way, in the sense that I actually felt on edge. Like a little bit nauseous sometimes honestly. Cool show.

Kieta Hatsukoi - Counting this as an anime because I will probably never watch enough J-dramas for that to be a section. Put this on on a whim and it's insane and hilarious, constant plot twists and over the top acting make this such a fun watch. Watched it with some friends too which was really refreshing.

Hamtaro - I'm still watching Hamtaro and it's still really cute. I like watching this without subtitles and I can pretty much understand most episodes now! But I do have to take frequent breaks to not burn out.

Crayon Shin Chan - Hilarious, expressive animation and a unique aesthetic make this a consistently fun watch. That said I haven't watched in a while because a) I'm waiting on Buriburi encodes and b) it's a bit difficult for me to understand some episodes without subs so I am waiting for it to click.

Manga

I read a ton of manga this month. Like almost 50 volumes. I'm pretty confident I haven't read this much manga in a month ever before. Part of it was the Tadoku reading contest. But at a certain point I realized it was just really fun to read manga in Japanese, I don't even think I need a spreadsheet or anything anymore. It's just fun.

One Piece - This month One Piece has been getting into the swing of things. Some of the most exciting times to be reading this manga weekly are the bits in between big arcs, and this is no exception. Since the world is so huge and there are so many characters we love, it is immensely satisfying to see the story just smack around a few dominos and set the whole chaotic system into frenzied, unpredictable motion. The thing with One Piece is it can go pretty much anywhere, and it's immensely satisfying when these interstitial arcs happen to remind you of that.

Look Back - Picked up the Japanese edition at a bookstore in like April and could not read it at all. I read it finally this month and it was really great! Melancholy, nostalgic, cinematic, it's just a really clever and coherent one shot with amazing art and expressions and a really interesting structure.

Giant Ojousama Vol 3 - The tokusatsu parody fetish manga is back and it's still way better than it has any right to be. This manga is written by someone who is having a ton of fun, and the way it uses callback gags to build a ridiculous continuity is something I love to see. It reminds me of something like Venture Bros in that sense. The character designs and gags are also amazing, and the action is very good too. I'm not kidding!! It's a good manga!!!

Tomodachi Game Vol 6-7 - It's alright. Art is honestly not very good. Weak characters and every game ending in a clever anticlimax just put me off the series, but does have a certain addictive quality to it. Dropped.

Gleipnir Vol 6 - 12 - after the anime adapted portion this goes off the fucking rails. I do like some of the hellish imagery and creature designs, but man I could not tell you what is going on anymore. There was a very clear point the manga should have ended, and that entire volume was really cool and exciting, but the bits after that have me scratching my head. I guess it's still pretty cool though.

Tokyo Mew Mew Vol 1-3 - Some thoughts here. The villains are not very interesting or appealing and the plot kicked in in a strangely anemic way. I do like the last Mew Mew design but it looks like this is heading towards a generic magical girl narrative structure, so I have a good feeling the best parts of the manga are behind me. Tentative drop, but it was a good time.

Tenshi Nanka Janai Vol 4-5 - continuing a long-running group read, this manga keeps getting better. The way characters interact with each other is often surprising to me, but they never interact in a "manga" way. The characters, cartoony as they may be, feel real and subtle, and that makes some of the plot developments hit really hard. There's also the fact that the layouts get better and better, and each page looks completely different than any other page. It makes it hard to binge (this is true of a lot of shoujo for me) but I do really like the creativity.

Tiger & Dragon Vol 1-2 - I saw a picture of the volume cover of this on Twitter or something and had to check it out. And guess what! It's super cute. The main character is cute, the two boys are cute, the premise is cute, it's all just cute. I am a bit worried since the mangaka mentions she doesn't know where this is all going, but for the time being it's just so much fun and I love the lighthearted love triangle hijinks. I don't know why! It's just cute!

Tokyo Revengers Vol 7-29 - Oh boy this is the big one. I'm actually too tired to say much about this, but just know that the reason I melted through 23+ volumes in a month is because this is one of the most addicting manga I've ever read. There are plenty of flaws, sure, and the last arc is equal parts confusing and infuriating, but when it's good it's good and when it's not I still have to know what happens next. Not a perfect one, but a manga that definitely reminded me of what I like about manga in a way I haven't felt in a long time.

Beelzebub Vol 1-4 - After catching up with Tokyo Revengers I decided to check out this nostalgic read for more furyou content. Honestly, it's a little disappointing. I think a lot of the things that read to me as novel now just read as stale or lazily self-aware, and the action is not as good as I remember. That said, there are still plenty of good gags, and it's getting interesting right about now. Like a lot of long manga it needs a bit of setup, and it's fun enough that I will give it a chance to try something more ambitious. I generally do like the "first big arc" in a lot of WSJ stuff, and just seeing the long build up leading to the arc that the mangaka has to put their all into or else they might get axed is just a thrill every time for me, I don't know. But yeah I used to think this was underrated, I think I understand now that it's perfectly rated.

Bokura no Shokutaku - absolute gem of a manga, I wrote a short review here. Very sweet, reminds me of another manga Restart wa Tadaima no ato de. I love the art, the vulnerable and honest relationship between the main couple, and the more or less complete lack of conflict in favor of essentially a light fluffy fantasy romance.

Games

I don't usually play a lot of games...

Dragon Quest- I wrote a review here. It was pretty fun, played it in Japanese, thought it was charming and clever and did not overstay its welcome.

Youtube

I watched a lot of Youtube as always but I feel too ashamed to post most of what I watched. I don't have that much shame though so let me talk to you about vtubers

Vtubers

I initially planned to watch a whole lot of Okayu's RPG streams as part of a Japanese listening challenge. The idea is that a narrow domain is easier to master, and Okayu was a good candidate because she speaks sort of normally and I like her down to earth personality. For some reason though, I kind of very quickly lost interest as is often the case with long projects that I plan out like this. Instead, I watched a lot of Roboco for reasons I could not possibly explain. I guess I just like how strange she is, in a sense her commentary is more interesting since you never know what she's going to say next -- not the case with Okayu who is pretty sensible. I also developed a strange fascination with the baseball sim Power Pros, and watched a decent chunk of Nishizono Chigusa's playthrough of it. I could not possibly play this myself, so this is a good substitute. I feel like she understands the game as much as I do, which is to say not a lot, and I like the upbeat and energetic commentary. Still can't really get into streams (video game streams at least, I can understand the free talk streams a lot more) since they're frankly pretty boring, but as something in the background while cooking, with the motivation of Japanese study, or just as a way to enjoy a game I won't play otherwise, they can be pretty fun.

Other

im a blisy / papa jefe - I've always had a fascination with the gen 3 Pokemon games in particular and those are the ones I've played the most over the years (I once caught every single one in Emerald). These two channels showcase some of the insanely powerful RNG manipulations that have been developed over the years by passionate fans. That's what I like about this game, for whatever reason a lot of people are obsessive over this one particularly, and as a result the game has been analyzed and broken down to a science. I like looking at the speedruns of gen 3, but the tricks in these videos go far beyond even that. Seeing the magic that you can do without doing any hacking at all is just amazing, plus now that I'm older and have some programming knowledge it's interesting to see some of the technical solutions they come up with, though to be a honest a lot of it goes over my head still.

GoufyGoggs - Didn't watch a ton of this channel because it's mostly about action games which I don't really play, but it's exactly that perspective that is interesting to me. She has a very interesting conception of games and what makes them work, and it's so much deeper than I've ever seen anyone talk about video games. I really like the idea of an analysis that actually dives into the specifics of mechanics and how they impact the flow of the game, rather than just the lazy rating out of 10 or the dodge that is focusing on writing/aesthetic. I didn't realize it myself but I too have often taken the cowardly route of just describing what I like about a game as what I like about its aesthetic, and this channel made me think more about analyzing things in a more serious way.

Action Button - I just like how he writes, he's funny and weird and ambitious. No other "video essay" type Youtuber will ever come close, because none of them are writers, they're video essayists, and for better or for worse Tim Rogers is a writer. Some of the sentences this man comes up with are just out of this world.

The Electric Underground - Found this guy through GoufyGoggs and again, just a completely novel (to me) and interesting perspective about games that just blows anything I've ever seen out of the water. His focus is specifically shootemups, which I have no knowledge of. I didn't realize there was so much to say about this genre, let alone so many specific and intelligent insights. I don't know if I'll watch a lot of this channel because again, I don't even play these games, but it just makes me happy to know that what I thought was just a very simple arcade game genre is actually a passionate topic of discussion amongst some people.

wondermagenta - Okay last one. Another Youtube video about games, this one I really just do like his personality. Most of his videos (not the one I linked) are off the cuff and feel very raw and spontaneous, yet he takes games so seriously and has so many interesting insights on them that I just find it fascinating. Again, not my genre -- he mostly seems to enjoy action RPGs like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta which frankly look hideous to me, but the way he describes them as the peak of his particular ideal of expressiveness in games has me nodding my head anyway. This is someone who not only loves games, but loves thinking about games and talking about them, and again I didn't really know that was something you could do, since most people who play a lot of video games have next to nothing to actually say about them. I think after watching a lot of his videos I'm pretty much done with my "interest in video game Youtube analysis" phase, at least for now, but it was really fun and interesting to explore this new (to me) world.

[omegangrins]

Universal took Tremors from its creators after 30 years of work.

TL;DR After 25-30 years making the series, Brent Maddock, Michael Gross, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood and S.S. Wilson were kicked out so Universal Studios could make more money off the merchandising before the Tremors copyright expires in 2025.

*****MAJOR SPOILERS**** This will make you sad, angry and frustrated. But there is hope. #StampedeTremors

Soooooo, ever since I blew up and sidetracked a post about David Fincher's Queen Biopic with Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury discussing the Tremors 7 ending, I've done some more research on the whole thing. The Graboid hole for this goes deep.

Michael Gross didn't want it.

“There’s a part of me that feels that Universal Home Entertainment might’ve had enough of Tremors. The suggestions that were made in the course of this [movie] made me think maybe they’ve had enough. They came to me and said, ‘What if we ended it at 7?’ and I said, ‘Whatever you choose to do, I’m good with that.'” “That being said, The door is still open for an eighth Tremors. It may seem unlikely by what people see on the screen, but it is possible. There could be an eighth. And if there were, and if it were an interesting story, I would be up for it because Burt is always a great deal of fun. It would depend on his physicality. How much they want me to do. If it’s in another two years, I’ll be 75 years old. So I will continue to hope and pray that I stay in shape, to do what is asked of me – if it is asked of me.”

AND Universal even killed off any ambiguity that he fought for.

"We shot it both ways, where everybody's mourning Burt, and he climbs up over the cliff and looks at all of them in mourning and goes, 'Jesus, God, I'm not dead. And he's really pissed off at them. It's like, 'How would you possibly think...?' But he's bloodied, just he's a mess. He looks like he's been through an earthquake, crushed by a house, but he's alive. And he says, 'You idiots. Of course, I'm alive.'" "They decided it just had this punch. Frankly, I thought to myself -- I didn't express it to them, but I thought to myself -- 'Maybe Universal's getting a little tired of this franchise.' Because this wasn't my idea." "I said, 'I can live with this. Because they came to me. They said, 'Look, you've been doing this so long. What do you think?' And I said, 'Well, as long as we kind of leave the door open.' I mean, I can kind of see an eighth film where it opens with Burt in a hospital bed, in a full body cast and saying, 'I survived.' He could hardly move a muscle. And maybe eight is...if I had a concept for eight, it would be Burt horribly injured, but in a motorized, weaponized wheelchair that has rocket mounts on the side and can leave an oil slick behind like James Bond's car. So nobody can chase him." "I always said, if Kevin Bacon or Fred [Ward] or Reba [McIntire] or anybody [wanted to return], I'd be there in a minute. Just because one, I love Burt, but I always thought of him as this guy kind of on the fringes, and I just came to the fore because everybody else walked away."

https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3637682/michael-gross-says-door-still-open-potential-eighth-tremors-movie/

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/tremors-shrieker-island-michael-gross-on-burt-gummer-death/

While Universal ignored how Michael Gross was setting up his son Travis Welker to pick up his torch (Which I'm give or take on Jamie Kennedy yet he brought a Grady-like optimism to the shittier of the series.)

"My reaction was disappointment, as I had planned an entire storyline around his participation."

Even Jamie Kennedy tried to but they wouldn't let him.

"Lot of people have been asking me, so I might as well spill it. I will NOT be in the upcoming TREMORS 7. I had a great time making the last two. But no TRAVIS this time around. But hey you neva’ know what can happen in the future.... have a great time boys! Tdawg out!!!"

https://mobile.twitter.com/JamieKennedy/status/1188981479973347329

After 7 movies and a TV show, nothing more than a spit in the face for the man who carried a franchise. Then when they do the montage at the end, we get clips of Hiram Gummer but NOTHING of Burt Gummer from the TV show. It's 13 episodes of Burt in Tremors that's longer than all the movies combined but yet they don't even include it in the ending montage while including his dead grandpa.

Same with the original creators. Did you know Stampede Entertainment (Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood, and S.S. Wilson) were working on Tremors for 25 years and even had the 5th one written, "Thunder/Gummer Down Under".

Then were told to sit on it for 10 years before Universal eventually told them to eat dirt? That's gotta hurt. It hurts me and I'm not even connected to these movies. All that work down the drain just because of someone's say so. And for no reason. Well not exactly....

Universal knows fans want Tremors merch. I mean, look at how they took #BurtGummerDay from @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. And they want ALLLLLL of that merchandising money. With none of it going to Stampede because it would give them leverage. Not to mention they don't want anyone else getting the idea to make cute monster toys before they can roll out their own line.

Don't believe me? See Universal pull some Hollywood Accounting with Tremors already.

http://imgur.com/gallery/mFNIHV3

Half a billion dollars... completely untraceable. I've tried. Emailed the numbers people and they can't tell me anything unless you pay $50 a film to see the numbers. Which makes me ask, who paid for the numbers on 1,5, 6, & 7? And why only what they made? Not their cost. Same for the numbers on 2, 3, & 4. Why numbers on the cost, but nothing on what it made? It seems weirdly targeted to make it look like the Stampede Entertainment ones only cost money but made nothing.

Then when you find out that the copyright to Tremors will revert to its creators after the 35 year mark, which makes that date 2024-2025 since Tremors was filmed in '88-'89 but released in '90.....

Wellllllll some things start to add up. Especially when you consider it's Universal. They already know about owning copyrights for things long out of due. Ask Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. Or Nintendo when Universal tried to sue them because Donkey Kong was too similar to King Kong.

Ask Stampede (S.S. Wilson) yourself. They have a Question and Answer page right on their site.

Like did you know you can't find ANY official Tremors merch? But you CAN find tons of fan-made creations. Give it a Google. They don't even list Tremors on the Universal website. Go ahead. Ask them. I try weekly. No responses ever.

https://www.universalpictures.com/about

Even with a longer history, more money made, and amount of sequel potential in comparison to their other films?

http://imgur.com/gallery/ZnXEsI3

Fans are clamoring for more but Universal says no?

Hell, you can watch the TV show for free on the NBC site.

But before my investigating, the episodes were so jumbled and missing it would ruin people's enjoyment.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/m0wvwu/tremors_episode_9_graboid_rights_is_back_on_nbc/

What about how they made a Tremors series pilot with Kevin Bacon? The only bad thing about it is that they need to pull a Sonic redo on the Graboid at the end but who knows, I suspect it's like that for plot reasons after reading the unaired script.

https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw

That Universal/NBC/SyFy has proceeded to hide deeper than a Graboid burrows. https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/tremors-star-kevin-bacon-confused-sequel-series-picked/

Despite no one knowing why. http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ

Read the script for yourself if you don't believe me. They've already hidden it for two years. Andrew Miller worked too hard for it to be hidden. And it plays. It works and plays with what's already there while being new and old. Quite good.

Have you seen the Kevin Bacon/Michael Gross commercial featuring them in Perfection Valley? The whole commercial is a sly way to use Tremors WITHOUT actually saying anything Universal would have claim to call copyright on. "Sandworms" "My old co-star" "Trevors". It's a great big middle finger to Universal.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_O0K9hmlrw

How about the original script for Tremors 2: Aftershocks. The creators have wanted it seen for 20 years but it took a crazy Larry like me to get it out there. It's got Val, Earl, Burt and Heather in it too. Pretty good too. So good they reused the ending in the TV show episode "Shriek and Destroy".

All these things swirl together and make me wonder more and more. For the plethora of Tremors fandom goes deeper than even me... Like Imgur user @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. They created Burt Gummer Day five years ago through sweat and love alone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/mb2rtz/babyfarkmcgeezax_created_burt_gummer_day_and/

Yet what does Universal do? Take the day, plaster it over the end of their hero's death, and not even give a line credit or thank you to @BabyFarkMcGeeZax or a mention on Twitter as they blurb it everywhere.

Ever seen the gif battles about Tremors at r/HighQualityGifs?

https://www.reddit.com/r/GifTournament/comments/luvt39/giftournament_battle_13_round_3/

https://www.reddit.com/r/HighQualityGifs/comments/dtz11k/battle_178_tremors/

How about The Everything Sequel podcast where they discuss how amazing all of The Tremors Saga is after discovering it for the first time. Even going so far as to pitch their own sequels.

https://share.transistor.fm/s/e24901de https://share.transistor.fm/s/bdea7b5e https://share.transistor.fm/s/cf79bbc1 https://share.transistor.fm/s/fac66438 https://share.transistor.fm/s/a90415cd https://share.transistor.fm/s/c0e8153e https://share.transistor.fm/s/6b6572f9

There's so much fan content and people screaming for more Tremors! Like "Perfection, NV", a fan film.

Or this collection of alt Tremors posters.

http://imgur.com/gallery/MgkhnfE

Including the thousands of pieces of fanart.

http://imgur.com/gallery/6f7Txh0

http://imgur.com/gallery/nXG1ph1

The story behind Tremors comics. http://www.enemyofpeanuts.com/2013/03/09/the-short-story-behind-tremors-comics/

Even the new Tremors game. OR games.

https://youtu.be/G6PX1QY2oIc

https://stefanocagnani90.itch.io/tremors-thegame

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremors:_The_Game

https://www.playfg.com/dirt-dragons-game.html

Look at all this love.

And this isn't even an officially licensed game.

"A fortune", you say? Interesting....

So let's make Tremors 8 Ouroboros with the OG creators back on board.

https://imgur.com/gallery/o2kCFLu

We restart the TV show and end the movies for a while. Just like The Librarians. If Marvel can switch between movies and TV, Tremors can too.

If you think I'm crazy too, just see and know how I've been in this position before. I'm well aware of how this "story" plays out.

I mean, Tremors *does* foreshadows its ending with a sleeping bag. https://imgur.com/gallery/5HexQ

Notice too how you can find little Behind the Scenes for Tremors 5-7 despite a smorgasbord of material for 1-4 and both TV shows.

http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl

And it's not like Universal isn't known for shady business practices. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Pictures

What about how they own the rights to damn near every monster except for Godzilla. And not just the classics like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, Mummy and Invisible Man. They have Kong, Hulk, Jaws, Michael Myers, The Thing, all the Jurassic Park dinos, all the Romero zombies, Chucky, Casper, Riddick beasts, Hellboy, and Jaegers/Kaiju. These dudes know merchandising rights and they're looking to score the next Poke'Mon franchise.

https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/24/how-universal-re-copyrighted-frankensteins-monster/

Take a gander at all these articles gushing with love for Tremors:

Why the 'Tremors' Franchise Is Better Than the 'Alien' Movies https://collider.com/why-the-tremors-franchise-is-better-than-the-alien-movies/

As Kevin Bacon's Tremors returns to TV, we explain the entire franchise ​It's way more complicated than you think. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a807140/tremors-franchise-series-guide-kevin-bacon/

20 Fun Facts About Tremors https://ew.com/article/1990/07/13/tremors/

Thirty Years After Tremors, Reba McEntire Tells Us Why She's Absolutely Down to Return For a Reboot https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a30457996/tremors-30-anniversary-reba-mcentire-interview/

30 years ago, Tremors became perhaps the most perfect bad movie https://www.thv11.com/mobile/article/entertainment/movies/film-on-11/getting-reel/30-years-ago-tremors-became-perhaps-the-most-perfect-bad-movie/91-8f6854df-9dcc-4870-ab3a-4f91a658ac3f

How Tremors 7 Succeeds Where Other Horror Movie Franchises Failhttps://screenrant.com/tremors-7-movie-succeeds-better-horror-movie-franchises-reason/

A Complete Rundown of the Entire Tremors Saga https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/363290/beneath-perfection-thoughts-on-the-entire-tremors-franchise/

Kevin Bacon Wants to Revisit His Only Film He Ever Re-Watched https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kevin-bacon-tremors-1234956657/

Look at all this #BurtGummerDay love. That adds up to thousands of people watching Tremors for the first or fiftieth time. And this is only the first "official" year. It'll only grow.

http://imgur.com/t/burt_gummer_day

https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638257772282/?ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment

https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638397772268/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/about

Can you see the Tremors? Can you feel them? Fans want Tremors and they want it from Stampede. http://imgur.com/gallery/ZaVL7Mc http://imgur.com/gallery/f37bEV7 http://imgur.com/gallery/De6DlqQ

After all this time, and all this love, and all this greed, it's time we break Hollywood tradition and give power back to the people. When people can #RestoreTheSnyderVerse or #SaveTheVentureBros, we can #StampedeTremors for #BurtGummerDay.

Take this hope and fly!

#StampedeTremors

BTS, gifs, and videos of The Tremors Saga. Tremors: The Lost Tapes from S.S. Wilson's personal collection https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1EA9246EF966DDA2

Monster Makers https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors/ https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors2/

ADI's creation documentaries https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR9WUo3tIVnb4CyMR1SLVsxPyBwz1Met_ BTS gallery of Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl

The making of Tremors https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-HUUt21tRA

Inside the Graboid workshop https://youtu.be/YgPuC2tNBpM

Stampede Entertainment's video archive for Tremors https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors/

Tremors opening https://youtu.be/gnqPYTOzc38

BTS gallery of Tremors 2: Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC

Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 2 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors2/

The making of Tremors 2 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fAlqzM0CyPI

Tremors 2 original script with Val, Earl, Burt and Heather. http://imgur.com/gallery/8QaHPRy

Tremors 2: Aftershocks opening https://youtu.be/pVi24Gc0KdQ)

BTS gallery of Tremors 3: Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors3/

On the set of Tremors 3 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhrvkB5nKs

Stampede Entertainment's video archive of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors3/

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection opening https://youtu.be/UXjdZitldB4

BTS gallery of Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg

Stamede Entertainment's https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series/

Behind the scenes of Tremors the Series lost monsters. https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series-lost/

Cold opens for Tremors the Series https://youtu.be/srB6rZgv_Po https://youtu.be/v3ZkC08rKtg

BTS gallery of Tremors 4: The Legend Begins http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors4-2/

On the set of Tremors 4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bppXVxldTqU The weapons of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/weapons-of-tremors-4/

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins opening https://youtu.be/3gDlAEUBesg

BTS gallery of Tremors 5: Bloodlines http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl

Tremors 5: Bloodlines opening https://youtu.be/t8jrCVI676Y

BTS gallery of the unaired Kevin Bacon Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ

Script for the unaired Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/UbtTvyf

Trailer for the unreleased Tremors pilot https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw

Kevin Bacon talks Tremors. https://youtu.be/TAGOlEIR7mA

Interviews with Alec Gillis, Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, and Ron Underwood https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmUAAK3guQ8t6dKzwH9V0RzerkdLr0d1

S.S. Wilson talks his Tremors career. https://youtu.be/ZJhZmty_dKs Making Perfection https://youtu.be/hpCSCQJEmnk

Have a question about Tremors? Find it here and if you can't find it, ask S.S. Wilson yourself! https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/fan-extras/tremors-faq/?include_category=general

And if you love Tremors enough to have made it this far, enjoy a collection of gifs for you to use at your pleasure.

Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/kPiEe3d http://imgur.com/gallery/5Sb4Vpg http://imgur.com/gallery/1uZxiue http://imgur.com/gallery/NX5r2

Tremors 2 Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/i1IZZf8 http://imgur.com/gallery/krcmrgQ http://imgur.com/gallery/GjTxAg1 http://imgur.com/gallery/DabFZTt http://imgur.com/gallery/QLTStyx http://imgur.com/gallery/P92e1ri http://imgur.com/gallery/IUAvd http://imgur.com/gallery/h8BZ0qN http://imgur.com/gallery/ZQi2KOb http://imgur.com/gallery/WDZdM

Tremors 3 Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/5ebddmR http://imgur.com/gallery/Rj9fqIy http://imgur.com/gallery/ikzXFbd

Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/cqSMk40

Tremors 4 The Legend Begins

http://imgur.com/gallery/ufV3of1 http://imgur.com/gallery/zPGBOW3 http://imgur.com/gallery/ri5jLRd http://imgur.com/gallery/y7A3l5D

Tremors 5 Bloodlines

http://imgur.com/gallery/Pmunxjo http://imgur.com/gallery/0yazNVG

Tremors 6 A Cold Day In Hell http://imgur.com/gallery/S4qlPCI http://imgur.com/gallery/Xa2mUsS

Tremors Pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/RXXjbKr http://imgur.com/gallery/kCErQyF

Tremors 7 Shrieker Island

http://imgur.com/gallery/FzpJllb http://imgur.com/gallery/JGweZjH

[ryuichirou]

Okay I kind of want that essay now on Levi being a cutie just so I can see the manga caps 🥺 hope you’re having a good day! ❤️❤️ your art is stunning btw 💕

Thank you for your kind words about my art!

You want an essay – you get an essay! ❤️ Thank you very much for being interested in my long posts! And I’m sorry it took so long. 

So yeah, why I think Levi is cute and how manga canon supports this claim.

This argument might sound subjective, but I feel like Levi resembles a cat a lot.

His personality, his movements, his body proportions: he is muscular and very strong and agile, but he also looks rather slim and almost elegant when he moves. He’s very fast and extremely strong, but he is also very small.

He looks aloof at first, but he likes talking to others from time to time. Sometimes he’s even too talkative. You can notice this type of behaviour in cats too from time to time, when they’re just present in a room just because all the people gathered there. That’s a silly comparison, but facts about Levi here can stay anyway.

I feel like people usually see him as someone who’s strict and somehow aggressive, but this isn’t quite the case. He’s caring, he’s tender, he often thinks about how people around him feel both physically and mentally.

Sometimes he doesn’t know how to express that he cares, but those close to him just know that, and they know what he’s trying to say.

I love this scene for a lot of reasons, but Erwin’s little laugh as a reply to Levi’s threat is my best thing ever: he KNOWS what Levi’s trying to say and that Levi’s worried.

Ok this is a very sad start of the post lol, let’s continue with something more fun.

To me, Levi’s constant bitching also feels very cute. Especially the fact that he is self aware about this side of him and he straight up just says “yeah I’m just being a jerk, let me bitch a little ok, I just have to whine this is my ritual”.

And boy o boy does he bitch A LOT.

vvvv This one is also cute because he made a silly joke about Erwin just to start a conversation with Eren, he legit tried to cheer him up a little. Adorable. Levi always knows when Eren feels down, he’s very sensitive to his mood and pays great attention to it.

Ok so this is where we’re entering the Zevi Territory. I’m sorry, but his chemistry with Zeke is something else, they flirt so much it’s almost scary.

As we all know, they bicker quite often, since I think Zeke is the only person who actually reacts to Levi’s snarky little remarks. That’s the first time in a while when someone’s able to do that + Levi can’t just beat the shit out of Zeke for that, so that’s why we have so many dialogues. What Zeke also does is teasing Levi to the point when he just MUMBLES CUTELY AND QUIETLY TO HIMSELF.

What was this response, Levi?? You know damn well you didn’t have to answer that stupid remark about being popular, but you did anyway huh. Because you got shy, you cutie. How do I know this is a cute reply? Because the Japanese sentence was noted to sound surprisingly cute, he used a cute wording there, so even Levi’s Japanese fans got surprised.

And as far as I know this isn’t the only time when Levi mumbled something quietly while being kind of embarrassed. When I was trying to find something on some kind of jpn forums/blog sites I’ve seen people mention that he uses surprisingly cute wording in these situations, but I can’t explain anything here – I don’t know Japanese lol and used a translator for the article. You can check it out yourself, it’s number 8 on this list. My point is that it’s one of separate reasons why fans love Levi, so my guess is that it’s at least somewhat important to his character.

Moving on to his appearance. After rereading the manga we realized that Levi’s face is actually very… round-ish. He doesn’t have a strong chin, his nose is small, his lips are small. He looks exactly like his mother.

And I have to mention the most obvious thing. We all know that Levi is smol, but when you actually look at him you start to realize HOW SMOL HE ACTUALLY IS. Sometimes I think that Maybe I’m exaggerating, but then I open the manga and see this.

Guys.

He’s very small (look at the level of their shoulders).

And what I love about is that it gets acknowledged, but this isn’t his only personality trait. It’s very subtle, but it’s there. Isayama LOVES to tease him about it, and this is always so funny to me. When Levi is just too small to fit into the frame with the rest of the gang, it’s so cute and hilarious at the same time. This happens quite often, I’m sure there is a compilation of these panels somewhere lol. If there isn’t, I need to make it...

And this…

“H o w  d a r e   y o u”

And yes I HAVE to mention the clown incident. I just have to. The man was straight up mistaken for a child. Once again, he’s being cutely teased by the manga and I love it lol.

And when Levi turned around, the clown CONTINUED to treat him as a child even after seeing his face. This situation at least shows that Levi’s face is not old-looking.

Isayama also LOVES showing how small and cute Levi is on the official art as well.

And yeah I know, zevi territory again, but please look at how PATIENT Levi is being here. He just lets Zeke backhug him. And of course he’s looking at the camera like he’s in “the Office”, but to me this situation has such a strong “being bread is fine actually, I don’t care anymore” vibe lol. I love this image so much. It also shows that Isayama doesn’t treat Levi (or any other character) seriously and that he most likely has tons of fun while writing their arguments.

Speaking of Isayama, let’s look at his sketches of Levi.

You know what I’m going to say, right? LOOK HOW CUTE-

But seriously though, I know Yams doesn’t have a reputation of the best artist out there, but I think these sketches are a good example of how he sees Levi’s character. He’s being rather passive, patient, mumbling something and just chilling. In one word, being cute.

What I also wanted to mention is Isayama’s remarks on how he created Levi from that Shingeki no Kyojin Encyclopedia thingie. I don’t know what word he used in the original (if somebody knows, please feel free to throw it at me, I’m interested; my guess is 綺麗, kirei), but I think that the word “pretty” is very specific. They used neither “beautiful” nor “handsome”, they chose PRETTY.

So yeah, I think that Isayama views him as grumpy old man who is also a cute little bean, and he never forgets about it.

Just… ugh look at it. What kind of baby sling situation is this. AND I KNOW I ALREADY MADE THAT JOKE D:

In conclusion, yes, of course Levi is strong and important and stoic (not all the time though lol), I know he has muscles, I know he seems intimidating to other characters sometimes, and I love him to death, but I don’t think taking him too seriously is a good thing. Taking any character too seriously isn’t a good thing.

Isayama doesn’t hide that he created a pretty smol boi character when he first drew Levi, he doesn’t hide that he thinks Levi is adorable. And funny. If Isayama wanted to change the way he drew Levi, he would’ve already done it a long time ago. He knows how to draw manly man faces.

And I love it about Levi. I wouldn’t want him to be any other way.

[grimoire-of-geekery]

Detect Magic: the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik

(pictured here- the deluxe edition [left] and the Arcanist edition of the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik)

Y'know, it's been a long time since I did one of these, but here goes. It's time for another Detect Magic review. I haven't put the Dork Magician hat on for a while, so let's give this a whirl!

Today we're taking a look at the Sixth World Tarot, by Echo and Lazarus Chernik. She has this available on her website (click the above link), which come signed by the artist and the author. I'm a bit bummed, I bought a copy of this deck juuuuust before she started signing them. Not her fault, but still. XD

For those of you unfamiliar with Shadowrun, it's a cyberpunk dystopian magic-and-mech RPG setting and fantasy novel universe which originated in the late 80's. The premise is that magic is growing stronger, the world experienced a big Awakening in the early 2000's, right around the same time that corporations managed to gain extraterritoriality. So, you have dragons running huge megacorps, which basically enslave people to be lifelong wageslaves from birth (or as soon as they can get their hands on a desired talent), immersive VR Matrix hackers, cyberware enhanced fighters and magic practitioners acting as "deniable assets" to said corps for all sorts of shady business.

Hence the name "Shadowrun."

This setting, one of my absolute favorite settings out there, has had the misfortune of developing a sort of eerie prophetic element akin to the Simpsons and its bizarre track record of prediction of ludicrous world events. Shadowrun was intended to be a cautionary tale, not an oracular one. That being said, that does make a tarot based on Shadowrun more than a little on-the-nose for predictive purposes. After all, they're telling the future without even trying. Wait until they actually put some effort into it...

All right, time to Detect Magic!

Accessory- Crit (4 out of 4) Stunning artwork, evocative imagery... this deck is gorgeous. It's so beautiful, and so intricate and well made, that people who don't even read tarot (or even particularly like tarot) buy several copies for their geeky collections, and even people who don't particularly care about Shadowrun have dropped their jaw when I showed the deck to them.

A bit busier than I'm used to working with (not the art, but the extras which I'll explain later), I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the cards when I first got them. The box for both editions I own are a nice durable gloss with a magnetic foldover closure, there's a ribbon inside each to help pull the cards and book out of the box, and the decorative artwork is gorgeous and fitting with the setting. Definitely aesthetically pleasing enough to take places, and durable enough to resist scuffing or tearing for on-the-go divination and gaming use.

Tome- Crit (4 out of 4) So, the Tome section of this review is supposed to be about how well the cards help one in the pursuit of learning magic and practicing geekomancy. And... really, I don't think I've found a deck (or any artifact of fandom) quite as good as this.

Let me explain.

Tarot, in the sorcery practice I teach, are already basically a pictorial grimoire, describing life in a way that allows us to learn the hidden movements, mysteries, and forces at play in our world. Art is good for things like that in general. It helps you see the world through a special lens, one which allows you to see things you might have missed.

The thing is, the lens of this deck is the Shadowrun continuity, which as I said earlier, has proven to be more than a little prophetic, and alarmingly so.

The magic system of Shadowrun is pretty adjacent to our own. Life force lines, spiritual power sites, astral projection and spirits and magical "energy" forms, initiatory mysteries... it's all pretty much the same as our own reality, just juiced up a bit, with some extra game elements added (don't even ask me about insect spirits).

This makes the deck particularly helpful if one wishes to learn magic in any of the myriad ways described in Shadowrun (and they're particularly respectful and diverse and true-to-life in their tradition descriptions).

BUT, it also has an entire lore-book called the Book of the Lost associated with it, which explains all these little secret sigils and images and easter eggs stored throughout the deck, which can be used for gamebuilding and storytelling, but are designed to be arcane indicators and omens, among other things. And the kinds of symbols they use range from sentences or mottos in dead languages, all the way to waveform patterns and dot-matrix maps. I swear, if you're one of those people who like puzzles and cryptography, this deck is even more fun than the Hermetic Tarot.

In summary, while you'll have to get some Shadowrun sourcebooks to really get deep into the canon lore, there's so much of it that the cards really show you on their own that I don't consider this a setback at all. Feel free to deep-dive with this deck, you'll learn a TON about magic if you let it guide you.

Relic- Success (3 out of 4) If you read the Book of the Lost, or Unearthed Arcana, or any of the 5th edition Shadowrun magic sourcebooks, you'll see that "tarot magic" is an up and coming thing in their canon. Each text helps you see how practitioners use the cards in-game for spellcasting, ritual magic, initiation practices and spirit summoning. The Tarot are already really valuable as central objects of importance to certain kinds of magical practice. This particular deck is designed to be so handy a central object that there's an entire book dedicated to it.

Weapon- Success (3 out of 4) The only reason I'm rating this a success instead of a crit is because they don't provide enough spreads in the various associated books for one to immediately begin casting spells with them, which means you'll have to do some designing. They do have a couple solid unique spreads for basic divination though.

The deck's canon in-game suggests ritual practices like gathering and doing a ritual with sets of related cards, and one such ritual was easily adapted in my own practice, into the Lucky Kimono spread I designed (which people can read about on my Patreon at the higher tiers). So, even without outright including spell-spreads, they sort of gave us clues anyway.

Again, you're going to need the sourcebooks, but it's only a few of them, and they're well worth a read even if you're not planning on playing the game (and I don't play in the actual Shadowrun mechanical system, though I do like the sourcebooks for campaign setting ideas).

Overall Rating: Critical Success (14 out of 16)

Achievement Unlocked: Novahot Echo's artwork is already legendary in the dork realms of geekomancy. She's done work for Dungeons and Dragons, Mage: the Ascension, House of Night... she's even working on a Fate: the Winx Saga playing card deck right now. Her art-nouveau delicacy combined with the powerful non-pandering way she draws women means that her paintings pack a punch!

That being said, it's rare that we see professional artists create a tarot deck of this magnitude as a gaming accessory. Most tarot decks of this caliber are found in professional occult catalogues or as independent projects by artists just wanting to flex their skills for their own reasons. To have a deck like this, clearly a labor of love by all involved, as a major element of gameplay within a franchise is really very special. And something this diverse, deep, and absolutely saturated with layers of ciphers and riddles... it's a geekomancer's dream come true.

Level Up: 2 Levels I think the only way anyone's going to be able to top this deck is if they manage to design a tarot deck that's also a fully immersive VR video game AND an AR game and divination tool useable with one's iPhone or Android. Legit, Echo and Lazarus left everyone in the dust. I haven't been this excited about Shadowrun since Shadowrun Returns first came out, and I got a set of dogtags that had a USB drive with the game on it.

It's just... crazy cool.

Full disclosure, I've had the deluxe edition of these cards for a while now, so I've basically been low-key squeeing about this deck since I first heard about it in 2018, even before I got it. I've been utterly astonished that people weren't more excited about them, and I wasn't hearing about them everywhere.

Before this, I created my own Shadowrun tarot method using the Universal Transparent Tarot (cuz, y'know, plastic and see-through and weird little mosaic readings all in one place, seemed fitting to me), and when I got the Sixth World Tarot? I don't think I've opened the UTT since!

Anyway, this is my review of this deck! Go follow the link up at the top of this post, and buy yourself one! And hey, let me know if you figure out the cool little map trick. My jaw literally dropped when I was shown that!

[rocknvaughn]

New Colin Morgan Interview with Edge Media Network about Benjamin - UPDATED

I am reblogging this because, after the author was made aware of an error in the posting of his article (if anyone clicked through to read it on the site, there was a whole question and answer that was repeated), the error was corrected and another three questions and answers were added! I am correcting it here, but they were very interesting, so I suggest you read the full article again!

I shall post the link at the bottom, but I wanted to type it out so that non-English speakers could more easily translate it. (This article was listed in their “Gay News” section of the site, hence the focus on the gay roles.)

British Actor Colin Morgan: How the Queerly Idiosyncratic ‘Benjamin’ Spoke to Him

by Frank J. Avelia

In writer-director Simon Amstell’s sweet, idiosyncratic, semi-autobiographical comedy, “Benjamin,” Colin Morgan plays the titular character, an insecure filmmaker trying to resuscitate his waning career (at least it’s waning in his mind) after one major cine-indie success. Benjamin is also doing his best to navigate a new relationship with a young French musician (Phenix Brossard of “Departures”).

Thanks to the truly endearing, multifaceted talents of Morgan, Benjamin feels like an authentic creation--one that most audiences can empathize with. Sure, he’s peculiar, has a legion of self-esteem issues and an almost exasperating need for acceptance as well as an inconvenient talent to self-sabotage the good in his life. But who can’t relate to some or all of that?

“Benjamin” is one of the better queer-themed films to come out in recent years, in large part because it eschews emphasis on the queer nature of the story. Instead, the film is a fascinating character study with Morgan slowly revealing layers and unpacking Benjamin’s emotional baggage.

Morgan is a major talent who has been appearing across mediums in Britain for many years. His London theatre debut was in DBC Pierre’s satire, “Vernon God Little” (2007), followed by the stage adaptation of Pedro Almodovar’s “All About My Mother” (2007), opposite Diana Rigg. Numerous and eclectic stage work followed (right up until the Corona shutdown) including Pedro Miguel Rozo’s “Our Private Life” (2011), where he played a bipolar gay, Jez Butterworth’s dark comedy, “Mojo” (2013), Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” opposite Sally Field (2019), and Caryl Churchill’s “A Number” (2020), to name a few.

His TV work includes, “Merlin” (playing the wizard himself), “Humans” and most recently, in a very memorable episode of “The Crown”. Onscreen he can be seen in “Testament of Youth”, “Legend” with Tom Hardy, “Snow White and the Huntsman” and Rupert Everett’s take on Oscar Wilde, “The Happy Prince.”

He’s played a host of gay roles in the past on stage, screen and TV.

EDGE recently interviewed the star of “Benjamin” about the new film and his career.

Why Benjamin?

EDGE: What drew you to this project and were you part of its development?

Colin Morgan: It’s always the strength of the script for me on any project and Simon’s script was just so well observed, he managed to combine humor and poignancy in delicate measure and when I first read it I found myself being both tickled and touched. Then reading it again and from “the actor” POV... I knew it would be a real challenge and uncharted territory for me to explore. I auditioned for Simon and we tried it in different ways and then when I was lucky enough for Simon to want me on board, we began to work through the script together, because it was clear that this was going to be a very close working relationship... it was important for the level of trust to be high.

EDGE: I appreciated that this was a queer love story where the character’s queerness wasn’t the main focus. Was that also part of the allure of the project?

CM: I think Benjamin’s sexuality is just quite naturally who he is and therefore that’s a given, we’re on his journey to find meaning and love and there’s certainly a freshness to what Simon has written in not making sexuality the main focus.

Great chemistry

EDGE: Can you speak a but about the process involved in working with Amstell on the character and his journey?

CM: Simon and me worked very closely over a period of weeks, at that time prior to shooting I was doing a theatre project not far from where he lived so I would go to him and rehearse and discuss through the whole script all afternoon before going to do the show that night, so that worked out well. It’s so personal to Simon, and to have had him as my guide and source throughout was fantastic because I could ask him all the questions and he could be the best barometer for the truth of the character; a rare opportunity for an actor and one that was so essential for building Benjamin. But ultimately Simon wanted Benjamin to emerge from somewhere inside me and he gave me so much freedom to do that also.

EDGE: You had great chemistry with Phenix Brossard. Did you get to rehearse?

CM: Phenix is fantastic, Simon and me did chemistry reads with a few different actors who were all very good but Phenix just had an extra something we felt Benjamin would be drawn to. We did a little bit of rehearsal together but because it was a relationship that was trying to find itself there was a lot of room for spontaneity and uncertainty between us, which is what the allure of a new relationship is all about, the excitement and fear.

Liberating process

EDGE: Did your process meld with Amstell’s?

CM: I’ve said this a lot before and it’s true, Simon is one of the best directors I’ve worked with. Everything he created before shooting and then maintained on set was special. We always did improvised versions of most scenes and always the scripted version too. It was such a creative and liberating process. That is exactly the way I love to work. And for a director to maintain that level of bravery, trust and experimental play throughout the whole shoot stands as one of the most rewarding shooting experiences I’ve had.

EDGE: When I spoke with Rupert Everett about “The Happy Prince,” he very proudly boasted about his ensemble. Can you speak about working with Rupert as he balanced wearing a number of creative hats?

CM: Again, this was an extremely rewarding project to work on and quite a similar relationship as with Simon in the respect that Rupert was the writer/director and Oscar Wilde is so personal to him. And then we also had many scenes together in front of the camera, so Rupert and me had a real 3D experience together. It was a long time in the making. I was on board, I think, two years before we actually got shooting so I had a lot of time to work with Rupert and rehearse. He really inspired me, watching him wear all the different creative hats, such a challenging and difficult job/jobs to achieve and he really excelled--plus we just got on very well.

Playing queer roles

EDGE: You haven’t shied away from playing queer roles. Do you think we’re moving closer to a time when a person’s sexual orientation is of little consequence to the stories being told, or should it always matter? Or perhaps we need to continue to evolve as a culture for it to matter less or not at all...

CM: That’s a hard question to answer, I think certainly the shift in people’s attitudes has changed considerably for the better compared to 40 years ago, but there will always be resistance to change and acceptance from individuals and groups whether it be sexuality, religion, race, gender--we’re seeing it every day.

Evolution is, of course, inevitable, but if we can learn from the past as we evolve that would be the ideal. Unfortunately, we rarely do learn, and history repeats itself.

EDGE: You were featured prominently in one of my favorite episodes of the “The Crown” (”Bubbikins”) as the fictional journo John Armstrong. Can you speak a bit about working on the show and with the great Jane Lapotaire?

CM: I had an exceptionally good time working on “The Crown.” Director Benjamin Caron, especially, was so prepared and creative, and made the whole experience so welcoming and inclusive. It was an incredibly happy set, with extremely talented people in every department, and I admired the ethos of the whole production and have no doubt that’s a huge ingredient to its success, along with Peter Morgan’s incredible writing.

I was also a fan of the show, and it was an honor to be part of the third season. And I can’t say enough amazing things about Jane Lapotaire. We talked a lot in between filming, and I relished every moment of that.

EDGE: You’ve done a ton of stage work. Do you have a favorite role you’ve played onstage?

CM: I’ve been so lucky with the theatre work I’ve done, to work with such special directors and work in wonderful theatres in London. I’ve worked at the Old Vic and The Young Vic twice each, and they’re always special to me. Ian Rickson is a liberating director, who I love. It’s hard to pick a favorite, because the roles have all been so different and presented different challenges, but, most recently, doing “A Number,” playing three different characters alongside Roger Allam and directed by Polly Findlay, was a really treasured experience, and I never tired of doing that show, every performance was challenging as it was.

Miss the rehearsal room

EDGE: You were doing “A Number” earlier this year. Did you finish your run before the lockdown/shutdown?

CM: Just about! We had our final performance, and then lockdown happened days later. I feel very sorry for the productions that didn’t get the sense of completion of finishing a run. I mean, finishing a full run leaves you in a kind of post-show void anyway, even though you know it’s coming, so to not know it’s coming and have it severed must be even more of a void.

Memories of performing just months ago seem like such an unattainable thing in this COVID world right now. I can’t tell you how much I’m hoping we get back to some semblance of live performance.

EDGE: What was it like to appear onstage opposite Dame Diana Rigg in “All About My Mother?”

CM: Well, I think “iconic” is an apt word for both the experience of working with Diana and the lady herself. In between scenes backstage we used to talk a lot and we got told off for talking too loudly, so Diana began to teach me sign language and we would spell out words to each other, maybe only getting a couple of sentences to each other before she was due on stage and I had to get into position for my next entrance-- we did a radio play together two years ago and she remembered, she said, “Do you remember A-E-I-O-U?” signing out the letters with her hands.

EDGE: None of us knows the future in terms of the pandemic and when we might return to making theatre. I’m a playwright myself and find it all supremely frustrating but I’m trying to remain hopeful! Where are you right now in terms of the standstill we are in and what the future might hold?

CM: Yes, I’m so worried for theatre. It’s a devastating blow. I’m sure as a playwright, you know that the creative spirit in individuals hasn’t been diminished by this virus. People are creating important art in this crisis but we need the platforms to present it and bring people to some light again out of this really scary period, but it needs to be safe and it’s a worrying time. The virtual theatre approach must be looked at I think. We need to experiment and find new paths at least for the time being. I’m involved in developing some things right now and how we can work on things in both an isolated and collaborative way. It’s entirely counterintuitive to what the family-feel and close bond of a group in a rehearsal room is like-- I miss the rehearsal room so much!-- but we can’t sit still, we must create and we must act.

What’s in a role?

EDGE: Looking back on the great success of “Merlin,” what are your takeaways from that experience?

CM: Some of the most treasured memories of my life will forever be connected to “Merlin,” the cast, crew, production, everyone! The invaluable training of being in front of a camera every day! The chance to inhabit a character and live with him for five seasons! There’s too much to list and words probably won’t do justice anyway, but I’m truly grateful for everything the show gave me.

EDGE: How do you select the roles you play?

CM: I guess they select me in a way. I can’t play a role unless it speaks to me and provokes me in some way, but ultimately it’s the characters that I have a fear about playing, not knowing how I’m going to enter into the process of living them, when I don’t have all the answers it’s a good indicator of a character I must play. If I have all the answers, there’s less scope for exploration and discovery which isn’t as interesting for me.

Link here

[rigelmejo]

My dudes wasabi Japanese is so cool this site is so cool literally my dream site ToT (thank u @yue-muffin for all those free reading links <3 which is what included wasabi Japanese)

I know what I’m doing after I finish reading Japanese in 30 Hours! (I might keep reading Reading Japanese for fun too just cause... I might as well we will See).

So like curse me if, when I say I will, it makes me not lol. I hope I DO actually do this. Because it sounds so much more clicks-with-me right now than my alternate study plan (which was Nukemarine memrise - which I WILL eventually do ToT I plan it ok, and tae Kim’s grammar guide - which I’m happy to replace with any grammar guide I’ll finish fucking reading tbh).

1. Remembered bilingualmanga exists and I am making no commitments to read anything (tho I have 4 mangas open and an urge to read them for the first time in years since I read yotsuba earlier and followed it). But I will say it’s quite cool I could um read and look words up (ditto for just regular iOS word lookup and Japanese scripts... I’d say ditto for Animelon too and I DO recommend it but I’m just not really an anime watcher).

2. Wasabi Japanese has a: a grammar guide. So my ass is gonna try reading it (in my defense it has audio which I find marginally nicer than the other sources I’ve been looking at... like I literally read Japanese in 30 Hours aloud audio helps me... also why I suspect in part Nukemarine’s decks help they make me listen a lot). https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/wasabis-online-japanese-grammar-reference/

3. Even better (to me) wasabi Japanese has b. A grammar drills lesson course that has you shadow and practice SENTENCE PATTERNS AND GRAMMAR. I was literally considering buying a Japanese shadowing textbook for just this purpose (but that textbook was random phrases whereas this is targeted sentence patterns). Also I learn best by just fucking seeing sentence patterns so I kind of suspect an activity like this would click with my brain better than actual grammar guide reading (tho grammar guide reading gives me a useful overview of what to start noticing). Like I literally own the book Japanese Sentence Patterns just cause it was the only thing that clicked... Bonuses about this lesson course wasabi Japanese has: it’s me Doing stuff, I learn best just Doing tbh (it’s why just brute force reading clicks well with me lol). And better, Doing stuff in a streamlined way so I can not bumble as long lol and I have reference if I’m confused (Also why I like graded readers). Info: https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-lessons/how-to-proceed-with-the-instantaneous-composition-method/ The lessons: https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-lessons/materials-for-japanese-lessons-intensive-reading/

4. Wasabi Japanese has lessons through stories, listening reading and shadowing. Phenomenal. Both the perfect chance to test if Listening Reading works some more (which I’m currently into), and to actually DO some things I wanna do like read and practice listening (versus Nukemarines memrise courses which are just flashcards, or playing Japanese video games which is... doable but too draining to be enjoyable or efficient yet). I’m excited. How to use: https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-lessons/japanese-lessons-how-to-proceed-with-read-aloud-method/ Actual lessons:. https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-lessons/fairy-tales-and-short-stories-with-easy-japanese/

5. Assuming you’re better at Japanese than me - wonderfully wasabi Japanese has a course I could use, right after finishing that last one, at a slightly more difficult level, with manga: https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-lessons/materials-for-japanese-lessons-intensive-reading/

6. Alternatively, want a different N3 course that’s radio program based? Here it is: https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-lessons/materials-for-japanese-lessons-read-aloud-method/ so yeah, wasabi Japanese looks like a quite nice alternative to flashcards or a textbook if a babe just wants to learn from stories with audio for a while ToT

7. Also I am again contemplating the benefit of just playing audio in the background more. Will I do it? I don’t know. I’d love to play SpoonFed Chinese audio, Japaneseaudiolessons, and Japanese core 2k audio on in the background. As it’s all comprehensible input I know I’d mostly pickup if I just heard it enough to Review it (whereas rn I just hear each audio file once ever on a walk then never again cause I have little time for focused audio only listening). But I feel bad when I play them in the bg and don’t fully listen ;-;. Ah the dilemma. Truly though they’d help so much if I played them in the background I know it... as of this month as an experiment since reading The Word Brain, I’ve been listening to SOME Chinese audio more. Specifically Guardians audiobook, a random Chinese hp audiobook, Alice in wonderland audiobook, silent reading audiobook. You would not believe how much it’s been noticeably helping. Usually it’s avenuex’s Guardian audiobook and every time I catch a bit of it casually in the bg while working, I’m blown away I understand clearly what I didn’t the time before. In particular I’m probably having the most improvements in this novels comprehension, since I’m Listen Reading Method with it too. But like... the first time I focused listened to it during L R? I caught everything with difficulty during the only-chinese audio but English text step 3. And then listening alone only caught the main story beats/scenes (which was already a major improvement for me). Now when working I can actually catch the paragraphs about Guo Changcheng’s family, his uncle, going to McDonald’s - these are details I very specifically remember being the ones I could NOT catch doing listening only the first time post L R. So after idk 3-6 listening of this chapter, just listening again in the background (since L R takes too much time I’m lazy I only do L R once), I’ve made this much progress. I only saw the full definition of everything ONCE one time during L R step 3 once. But just listening more I catch more and more. And of course, as I catch more the unclear parts become easier and easier to maybe figure out. All I know is I severely underestimated the benefit of repeated listening - at least when (at one point once) you comprehended the material. So considering this... I think now with hindsight, yes listening to condensed audio of a show or just a show, that you’ve seen before with English subs/dual subs/in target language and looked unknown words up, in the background probably could help. If at one point you comprehended it before. (So for me Guardian cdrama is hella on this list lol). With hindsight yeah, repeated audio of an audiobook chapter or audio drama you followed the target language subs for before, or that you could read but not hear alone, would probably help listening skills. Definitely my audio flashcard files where they’re literally Built to be comprehensible since it’s English then target language each line. So... yeah in hindsight more audio, even background audio, can help. Guarantee when I’m not L R with the guardian audiobook I’m barely even listening. And still I find myself catching parts of it.

8. My roommate got too excited about Final Fantasy 14 and informed me it’s free to play now.. which I didn’t know. So of course I foolishly looked up if I could play it in Japanese on a PlayStation and looks like answer is probably yes and I am sorely tempted...

9. It’s gonna be wild for me looking back on may progress at the end of the month because: I did almost nothing I planned, I got demotivated then intensely motivated, I’ve done a ton ToT, I also did a ton of Japanese immersion which?? I’m not even counting?? I don’t track my Japanese immersion yet because like... it’s not my priority right now. I read a ton of manhua the other day and just forgot to log it. I watched some of the woh concert and just did not count it, I read a surprising amount of Japanese this month for someone “not studying it much” yet (aka maybe more than I read last time I studied Japanese??). I did a lot of L R method I didn’t even track, I did a ton of background listening and I’m not tracking just hoping for the best. Did I finish 小王子 this month or last month? Whatever month that was I read like 4 Chinese books. I just remembered I read like 3 Japanese graded readers but didn’t count them cause they felt too simple to count (only 28 pages each). I watched 10 Cure Dolly Japanese grammar vids tho not sure how much help it is long term. Whatever time I did the Japanese video games had to count for something even tho it was draining af. Anyway my point is just... count on me to not do what I planned but be more productive when I do that. All that said: I’m more productive when I set plans even if they aren’t always followed, so I’ll keep making them lol. I think I just needed to hit that turning point of “do anything you want, just continue to do something” instead of “complete this first!” (Although I’m still aiming to complete things - or at least go for progressively challenging things). I dunno... I want to say I want to consider just trying to finish things imperfectly just finish them (to motivate me to finish my Hanzi books, Japanese books, courses I find). But knowing me.. I have no idea what will get me to keep going. Just need to remember it’s ok to do it imperfectly. Just need to remember to place what I will care about and actually do, as priority over what it is I think “must be fully done.”

[linklethehistorian]

Two days ago, I received one of the most precious gifts a writer or artist of any kind can ever receive; a lovely, lovely person I have never met before actually joined this site just to privately message me some long lovemail for my work on my article, despite their anxiety making them question if they should.

I have already thanked them so much privately, but I also want to share this tale of happiness with y’all because I feel like it’s actually important that I do so.  People on this site — and heck, even off this site, in general — really seem to underestimate just how much it means to creators like us when you take the time out of your day to show us how much you appreciate our hard work, so let me tell you how much it means: that message that I received was the difference between me sinking deeper into a hole of anxiety-fueled hopelessness, doubting if there was actually any point in what I was doing, and actually finding motivation again.  Granted, I doubt if there was much that could have made me personally quit my project, but if this person hadn’t come along, I certainly wouldn’t have been pulled out of my slump this quickly to be able to write again for it, either. There’s no telling how long I might have stayed in that state if not for them, because other than my closest friends who have been following my work and supporting me from the beginning (and as such already know much of what I have to say), I really don’t too many responses or even that many reblogs, so it can be easy to feel like no one cares all that much.

So let me re-iterate this to anyone reading: You and you alone can be the difference between someone continuing to do what they love or them giving up on it, with something as simple as a little show of love for their work — whether that’s just liking and reblogging their work to pass it on and putting a little teeny “this is so good” in the tags, or actually writing and sending them a long, detailed message in your reblog, their asks or DMs, or the comment section beneath their work.

Even if you are one person, your message will mean the world to them. I guarantee it. You don’t have to be a writer or even skilled at a language to show your love to them and have that mean everything. You will make their day.  So please, go out there in the world and make the day of content creators, whether they’re big or small, whether they get tons of comments and/or reblogs  already or none at all, whether you’re big or small on the platform you’re on.

Not all heroes wear capes or can be seen out on the streets doing extreme physical jobs; some of them sit in front their computers at home, reading and looking at art, fics, theories, and articles, and so on and so forth, and writing little thank you notes to their creators and helping to boost their work so others find it and them too.

And not all content creators post about their anxiety or insecurities or depression or other life struggles; just because you don’t see someone talking about these things doesn’t mean they’re actually doing fine and that they don’t need or want your support. Some people even put up fronts of the opposite because taking on a different persona online is their way of coping with their hardships.

Never just assume someone is fine, because you never know. Never assume someone doesn’t need or want your support. The worst thing that could come out of expressing your love for someone’s work is that you’ll make an already great day even better for them.

[jenniboo311]

GQ: Spider-Man Goes Undercover on Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter

GQ: Spider-Man Goes Undercover on Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter by jenniboo311

Part 2 of the Social Butterfly Spidey series General |  4115 Words  |  Chapter 1/1

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The video opens with Spider-Man sitting at a table with only his torso visible, the set background a solid sky blue. He is wearing his signature mask and a simple white t-shirt, forearms bare and defined with lean muscle. He gives the camera a jaunty two fingered salute.

"Hey I'm Spider-Man," he begins in a friendly voice as he flips open the lid of the laptop in front of him decisively, "And I'm going undercover on the internet." The video cuts to a title screen as it types out "Actually Me with Spider-Man" as Spider-Man says off screen, "It's actually me!"

The screen then clears and types out a new message for its audience, "We had Spider-Man create real accounts and go undercover online."

"Let's begin!" He says as the camera cuts back to him typing into the laptop. The video shows his screen as he is typing his username and password into YouTube. Once the site logs in he selects his display picture, a cheeky shot a fan must have captured as Spider-Man swung past upside-down. "First up, let's take ourselves to YouTube."

A brief clip plays from a seven and a half minute humorous compilation of Spider-Man saves, cutting back and forth between impressive confrontations against dangerous criminals with firearms to sweetly helping older ladies with their groceries.

"From user SkepticalOfSpidey, she says," he narrates the comment as it is displayed on screen, "'Is this guy for real? How can a superhero go from dodging bullets to carrying groceries? Like how is this even on his radar? Does he actually care or is this some kind of PR stunt?'"

The video cuts to Spider-Man who replies vehemently, "I absolutely care! And I think it's hysterical people consider me "above" certain things, or they're not worthy of being on my "radar", as though I'm some hotshot. Look, the Avengers are great with the big world ending stuff, and sometimes I'm part of that too, but the little guys need help too, day to day. I'm the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and no matter who you are, your race, your age, your sexuality, your income, whether you're a victim of a mugging or a kitten in a tree, you all deserve help when you need it. That's my personal mission, just to help people. So as long as I'm doing that I'm not ashamed."

The video cuts to show the end of his response being typed out on screen and Spider-Man hits the "Comment" button to post his answer.

Another short clip plays of footage from the scene of a crime where Spider-Man is knocking out a hulking goon in one hit, displaying his super strength. The subsequent comment is displayed on screen as Spider-Man reads it aloud, "'oh great, just what we need: another brawny idiot that uses his fists to solve problems. What we really need is intelligence. Can we get more scientists please?'"

Spider-Man reels back in his chair a little, seemingly taken aback. "Wow! Why are you so angry-" he consults the laptop again for the username, "Chelsea?" He shifts in the chair to get comfortable before responding, "First of all, another? I'm offended on behalf of my teammates. All of the people I work with are very intelligent, so I'm not sure where she's getting that you have to be an idiot if you have muscles. Secondly, I am a scientist, actually. I specialize in biochemistry, though I also dabble in engineering, physics, and programming. I have an IQ upwards of 250, which if you want to compare to the likes of Tony Stark, is around 270, who also kicks ass by the way."

He straightens his shirt indignantly, "Though hopefully I didn't give too much away with that. My point is," he points at the camera, "you can have both brawn and brains. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise, people. Defy the societal norms."

The comment section displays on screen again and scrolls down the page until it hits another comment. "'How strong is Spider-Man?'" He lounges back in his chair and taps the fingers of his right hand on the table idly, "Well, last we checked I could bench press about ten tons. Tony and I ran some tests about eight months ago to find out, so it could have changed since then but likely not by a large amount. So I'm going to say ten tons, give or take."

Another video clip plays that shows Spider-Man swinging confidently on his web before suddenly taking a wrong turn and eating billboard. The jarring collision dislodges his grip and he falls several feet to land on a garbage bin, whose lid caves in immediately under his weight. He reads aloud, "'Ouch. I wonder how that felt.'" Spider-Man laughs quietly, not afraid to laugh at himself. "To be honest with you Joshua, it did not feel good. That billboard actually broke my nose, though the garbage bin helped break some of the fall. There's definitely worse things I could have landed on. I don't get distracted often but it still happens sometimes. Web slinging is hard, okay?!

"Wikipedia!" he says off screen, as the visual on screen shows Spider-Man logging in to the Wikipedia webpage with the username, 'itsactuallyspiderman@gmail.com'.

"Let's see here," Spider-Man says before devolving into mumbles as he reads the information supplied on the website about himself. "Wait wait wait!" He exclaims after a moment and quotes the offending fact, "'His signature weapon is his webbing, which is created biologically and dispensed from a gland in his wrists at the base of his palms.'" The text in question displays on screen and zooms in on the text, "biologically", and then, "gland in his wrists".

"First of all, gross." Spider-Man rests his forehead in his hand, propped on the table with his elbow in a perfect picture of disappointment. "Second of all," he sits up straight and addresses the camera full on, "have you all actually been thinking I've been spurting real webs out of my hands at everything for the past few years?!" After a beat he processes what he has just said and facepalms while mumbling, "Spurting, oh God I regret my word choice."

The video cuts to the text being backspaced as Spider-Man narrates offscreen, "This is incorrect, let's delete it!"

The video cuts back to Spider-Man reaching below the table, leaning slightly to the left to dig something out of his right pants pocket, sighing heavily. He pulls out two simple black bracelets which he pointedly holds up for the camera before slipping them on. "Web shooters: 101," he says before deliberately knocking his wrists together so the bracelets make contact and activate. "Now obviously Tony Stark has gotten his hands on these and they are a little different than the originals, as you can tell by the nano technology," he explains, black colored metal creeping up his forearms to encase them in a type of bracer, "but the base mechanism is still the same as what I designed from the beginning." The nano technology finishes covering his forearms, the device quite noticeable with the stark black of the metal covering the majority of his pale exposed forearms. He flicks his hands back, palms facing upwards to show the camera, as the motion triggers a small device to deploy in the center of his palms. He reaches into his pocket once more and retrieves a couple small cylindrical cartridges filled with a milky fluid which he then deftly loads into the devices at his wrists.

"In a nutshell: web shooter," he holds up his left forearm to present the whole device to the audience. "The trigger," he presents the small button resting in his palm, "and web fluid," he continues, indicating the cartridge now inserted below his wrist. He points to a spot at the base of his palm, "They got the location of the dispenser right, I guess, but it's not coming out of a gland of any kind!" He aims carefully just past the camera and shoots a quick burst by depressing the button at his palm that makes the viewer feel as though he is shooting it at them. "I developed this formula myself, in a lab, with chemicals!" He emphasizes. "It's completely synthetic, not biological by any means, and nobody had to milk me for it." He pauses, staring at the camera for a moment before looking down at the table and murmuring uncomfortably while shaking his head, "That was a strange sentence I never want to repeat." He huffs a quiet laugh.

"Quora!" Spider-Man says as the onscreen graphic shows Spider-Man logging into the website with his fake email. "What the heck is Quora? I have no idea but let's get into it.

"'How is Spider-Man such a darling? He's so sweet and wholesome and is a big, soft, cinnamon roll'," he narrates as the question displays on screen. He shifts around awkwardly and scratches the side of his head, "Aw, I dunno! But thanks Quora, you're my new favorite website.

"'How many people has Spider-Man killed?'" He narrates as the question displays on screen. "Wow guys, that's dark!" He leans forward and clasps his hands together to convey the seriousness of his response. "The answer is none. I haven't killed anyone nor do I intend to. Spider-Man is strictly nonlethal. I only use webs to detain, I don't use blades or guns of any kind. Except these guns." He lightens the mood by flexing his right arm and kissing his bicep. He holds it together for approximately two seconds before exploding in laughter. "Oh God, how do I have friends?" He mutters to himself.

"Next!" He exclaims, searching for the next question. "'Does Spider-Man wear a mask because he's disfigured?'" The question displays for the viewer to see. "Hmm, okay well the short answer is no. That's not why I wear a mask. I don't really know how to quantify my own attractiveness, that's just awkward. I think I'm perfectly average, though I've had people tell me I'm handsome. They were all terribly biased though, so take that with a grain of salt." Spider-Man's grin can be seen in the crinkling of the fabric around his mouth. "I have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and completely normal teeth. No extra eyes or mandibles or anything. That may sound like a strange thing to say but you'd be surprised how many times I have to clarify that," He snorts. "I cover my face because dealing with so many street-level criminals puts me on the radar of a lot of people who want revenge against me and anybody I care about. So if my identity was known I'd have to constantly watch my back, and my loved ones would be in danger. Of course there are contingencies for if that happens but in the meantime I want as normal a life as possible for me and mine."

Spider-Man clicks away on the laptop until the next question displays on screen. "'Does Spider-Man give autographs and selfies?'" He narrates. "I do, but all I ask is that if you catch me out in the wild and I look busy or distracted, to please not bother me. Most times the people I save are a bit too traumatized to be thinking about getting my autograph at the moment, but if the night is slow or I'm taking a break I'm happy to give an autograph or take a photo with you if you ask. Your best bet is probably at fundraisers and charity events, if I am in attendance, since I'm not focused on crime fighting and am just interacting with people."

The next question displays on screen, "'Is Spider-Man single?'" The video cuts to Spider-Man shifting uncomfortably. "Uh, I'm not comfortable confirming that sort of thing. Like I said, people in my orbit are in danger so I don't want to bring any kind of attention to who I surround myself with, even if their names are as yet unknown. The less information going around about that the better. So all I'll say is that at the very least I am not looking for a relationship." He awkwardly clears his throat before moving on.

"'How strong are Spider-Man's webs?' Strong enough to restrain the Hulk. Seriously," he nods at the camera, "I know this for a fact. We, and by we I mean the Avengers and I, had a code green sometime last year and out of sheer desperation I let the webs fly. By the time I was done he was basically in a cocoon but hey, it worked! Hulk looked pretty cozy actually." His eye lenses squint in amusement.

"Now let's go to Facebook," he says as the video shows him logging into Facebook and selecting a new profile picture, a closeup of Spider-Man shooting the camera finger guns.

"'Who would win in a race between Spider-Man and Captain America?'" He claps his hands together once in excitement, "Me! Because I'm obviously superior to Cap in every way!" He barks out a laugh and mumbles, "He'll let me have it for that comment! No I'm joking, Cap is awesome. I'm actually not lying though. We had a race, because science, and I clocked in at about two hundred miles per hour while Steve maxed at about seventy. Nothing to sneeze at of course, but not quite up to Spidey's par!" He gives another cheesy arm flex, this time with both arms. The video cuts to Spider-Man typing out the last of his answer and finishes it with two flex emojis before submitting it.

"'Do you think Spider-Man has any hidden talents?'" He looks seriously into the camera. "Well if I told you, they wouldn't be secret talents anymore, now would they Gerald?" He cocks his head to the side in thought. "I guess I can tell you that I can dance? I took dance and gymnastics for awhile when I was a kid, which is probably why I'm so agile and acrobatic now. My enhancement made me even more agile and acrobatic, but it was already there to some degree to begin with." He gives a careless shrug.

"'Coffee or tea?' Well I try not to drink either of them to be honest. Caffeine and spiders don't mix! Sometimes I can't avoid it though, lots of late nights being Spider-Man, so in those cases I drink coffee. Funny trivia for you, but I used to love lemonade. I must have inherited some spidery traits because lemon is a deterrent and I can't tolerate it now. I mean it won't kill me, I just find it unpleasant. Don't want criminals thinking they can spray me with lemon juice or something. I'll just be annoyed and smell funky fresh while I kick your ass." His eye lenses squint as his mask crinkles around the mouth. "My beverage of choice is actually apple juice, because I'm twelve years old." He snickers and hits the submit button to post his answer, complete with a baby emoji.

"'How are you doing? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you need a hug?'" He shifts forward to prop his chin on his hand. "I'm doing good, thank you for asking. I am absolutely not getting enough sleep, but neither is anyone else I know so I'm in good company. And I absolutely need a hug. I love giving people hugs and will one hundred percent hug you if you ask me to and I'm not busy. There's lots of Spidey to go around, I love each and every one of you."

He reads the next question silently first and barks a laugh before narrating, "'What even is your life?' Dude, I have no idea. If you had told young Spidey that one day he'd be flipping all over the city fighting crime and battling aliens with a superpowered team of highly skilled famous individuals he'd probably check you for fever and then back away slowly.

"Up next, Instagram! I know all about Instagram, I use it all the time." The video shows him once again logging into the website

"'Does anyone else desperately want a reality TV show with Spidey and the other Avengers? I would kill to watch hours of Spidey being a sarcastic little shit to bank robbers and Tony Stark just being a mess.'" Spider-Man laughs. "Wellllll," he hedges, "you might not have to wait that long. I've been toying with the idea of creating a YouTube channel and posting some shenanigans on there. Now, mind you, it won't be expertly edited or anything, I really don't have the time for that, but it would be something. Keep an eye out for that soon."

The video next displays a picture on Instagram that a fan had posted of a young Spider-Man from his early days coming out of a porta-potty with a string of toilet paper streaming off the bottom of his boot. The comment reads, "'Check out this disaster. What is going on here?'" Spider-Man looks straight at the camera, unimpressed, and deadpans, "Everybody poops, Deborah."

He navigates to the next picture, which is of a kneeling Spider-Man getting mauled by an enthusiastic, fluffy golden retriever. "'Was he a good doggo?'" He reads aloud. "He was best boy. What a good doggo!" He grins big through his mask.

"Now here we go to Twitter," he says as he logs in and selects a profile picture. "This is probably the social media I use the most. I'm thinking about deleting the app off my phone for a little while though, it's starting to consume my life. It's nice being able to connect to the public with it but I'm starting to find it difficult because people get so disappointed when I have to step away. Saying no to people is hard! And I have an extremely busy life so I can't keep this up forever. I've got cats to cuddle and lives to save! Gonna have to dial it back a bit I think."

The screen displays a tweet from user EmmaRox as Spider-Man reads it aloud, "'Do you think the abs are real or does he pad his suit?'" Spider-Man snorts and slaps his chest in mirth. "Well I would think that the fact I can lift a bus is proof enough, but here you go," he says and lifts his shirt to expose his impressively sculpted abs for just a moment before dropping his shirt and shaking his head in embarrassment. "Not padded."

The video cuts to the next question as he reads, "'What do you do in your free time?'" He looks at the camera and his left eye lens shifts as though he has furrowed his eye brow. "Free time? What's that?" He snorts, "No seriously, there's not much of that to go around. If I'm not on patrol or sleeping or training, I'm trying to keep up with my personal relationships and trying not to spend all my remaining time in the lab, with or without Tony. Like I said before, I'm a scientist, so a lot of my downtime is devoted to developing better tech, and to research to advance in these areas." He dramatically sweeps his hand across the top of his head as though he is a diva flipping long hair over his shoulder as he announces, "I'm not just a pretty face, you know." The video cuts to Spidey typing out the end of his answer, finishing it off with a queen emoji.

"'What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?'" Displays the next question from user, David P. "That's a good question, David. Hmm," he strokes his chin thoughtfully, "I would have to say 'With great power, comes great responsibility'. It was advice given to me by one of the two most important people in my life, and I have carried that motto in my heart ever since. It was advice that ultimately lead to the creation of Spider-Man, actually. I have these fantastic powers, so I consider it my responsibility to do something good with them." He wrings his hands together at what looks to be an uncomfortable topic for him to speak about. After a beat he continues his answer, "The second best advice I've ever gotten, however, was 'It is better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring', which you'll also notice I take very seriously in that I am incredibly ridiculous. I mean if there's a person out there who spouts more bad puns in the face of danger than me, I haven't heard of them." He quietly snickers to himself.

"'If you had to choose three adjectives to describe yourself what would they be?'" He doesn't hesitate when he rattles off, "Genius, witty, humble." He stares at the camera seriously for a moment before he cracks and laughs. "No seriously, uh, probably awkward, smartass, and nerdy." He shrugs for lack of a better answer.

"Reddit!" He says as he logs into the page and selects a display picture of Spider-Man facepalming.

"'Do you have any pets?'" Spider-Man reads. "No. My apartment doesn't allow pets, sadly, but I love animals. And actually I do hang out with Tony a lot and I have to constantly make sure he's fed and watered because he forgets, so I feel like that's close enough." He covers his mouth with a hand to hold in his snort but a strangled one escapes anyway.

The next post shows a piece of fan artwork that is poor quality and is obviously from an inexperienced child. It depicts a heroically posed Spider-Man saving a young boy from a burning apartment complex window. The young artist in question posted the caption, "'I know it's not any good but spiderman saved me and my mom from a fire. I really want to say thank you so I drew him this picture. If anyone gets the chance to talk to spiderman can you please show him this and tell him I love him?'" Spider-Man looks at the picture on the laptop for a long moment and audibly takes several loud swallows. He looks at the camera and says hoarsely, "I love you too, bud. And I'm glad you're doing okay. It was my absolute pleasure to help you that day and I'm so glad I was there. I love your drawing and I think you're so very talented. I'm going to print this out and post it on my fridge so I can see it everyday and think of you. Study hard in school and be good for your mom!" He looks down at his lap and clears his throat, filling with emotion. After a moment he looks up and clasps his hands.

"That's it! We're done!" He says as he shuts the laptop with a snap and his eye lenses squint in a smile. "I hope you enjoyed watching and learning a little bit about me. See you around!"

The video fades to the GQ logo before ending.

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Comments: ----------------

magicalbluecookies omg that last one killed me. Spidey got all choked up Friedfishcat I live for Spidey telling us he loves us. I stan a Spiderboi not afraid of his emotions. kitty22803 Am I the only one who took a screenshot of his abs? TeamIronDad Bahahaha subtly roasting cap and iron man. I wanna be a fly on the wall of their common room, I bet they're all hilarious to watch together lovelyjourneys Does this cinnamon roll ever rest? He needs a nap! And some milk or something! saucysquatch "Everybody poops, Deborah." Dumbledork I will die if he actually makes a youtube channel, please actually make this a thing! enchanted_nightingale Nooooooo dont delete twitter! kim_cc I once got a hug from spidey!! I was crying after he saved me from almost getting hit by a car and he asked if i needed a hug. It was the best hug of my life. Isi1dur Spidey is 12 years old confirmed, someone call the press xoxheartErin Spidey, post a video of you dancing!!! Proof or it didn't happen! Slyrocker Spiderman is asked how's he's such a soft cinnamon roll, proceeds to then prove he's a soft cinnamon roll Hi NOBODY HAD TO MILK ME FOR IT UselessDiamond19 Holy crap his web shooters are so cool! chrissyglikesbooks 250?! His IQ is 250?! Einstein was 160!!!! I feel faint. amillionmiles Spidey eating that billboard is about how my week is going honestly Mira Spidey is such a smart boi! He's going to make a great husband when I marry him.

TotallyNotDeadpool Well I guess this is all we have to live for now that you're out of the MCU

[cosplayinamerica]

COSPLAY THEME PAGE : ShareMyCosplay.com

Tell us about ShareMyCosplay, what was the genesis of the ShareMyCosplay? 

Share My Cosplay has gone through quite the journey to get to what you see today. I can still remember the day that I came up with the idea that would eventually lead to Share My Cosplay. I was eating lunch with a few friends at my day job. A friend of mine showed me a cosplay of Jessica Nigri as Pikachu, and because I worked in IT,  for some reason had an idea of doing a website related to cosplay. The actual website took a while to set up, but I started off slowly, with an initial launch on social media. We launched with Tumblr and Twitter, slowly building an audience. Then eventually a little bit later adding Facebook, and eventually much later introducing Instagram into the “family’. Eventually we added the website and have been going strong since then. We’ve of course made tons of adjustments over the years, and most recently started adding content on YouTube. It’s been a great ride so far, and hopefully it will continue.

What was your first experience with cosplay as well as the convention scene?

Like a lot of people who are into gaming and comic books, I was aware of cosplay, but didn’t really know much about it. It was only after looking into the idea of starting a site that I really got to know what goes on behind the scenes. It was meeting and talking to people in the scene that made me realize what an amazing community of people are involved. That is why I have continued the site for so long. As our social media following grew, I got to know more and more of the cosplayers, and was so happy I was able to use what I had created to help them gain more exposure. Share My Cosplay exists as a place where all cosplayers can have their work properly showcased.

As for conventions. While I live in the capital city of Canada, Ottawa is a relatively small city of one million people. Conventions have only really made it big in the last 5 years or so and before that were never a really big thing. I had travelled to other cities within Canada for some conventions, but those were mainly toy based conventions, so there would just be a handful of devoted cosplayers hanging out. It wasn’t until much later, when conventions started to take off, that our city got it’s own “Comic-con”. Then things exploded quickly. When our first Ottawa Comic-con launched, I was there day one, and the lineup was out of the building and wrapped around the whole building. I think it took a couple of hours to actually get into the convention floor. I could only assume it was similar to something like entering SDCC, but on a much smaller scale.

So while that has been a staple in our city for the last 10 years, I’ve also been traveling to Montreal Comic-con, which is a little bigger. Since there are maybe fewer conventions in Canada, people seem to come from great distances to show off the cosplays they had worked out. The dream has always been to try and get to SDCC, but that hasn’t happened yet. Travel is so expensive from Canada.

So for the short term I had set my sights on visiting NYCC, which is a “quick” drive from my area of Canada. However like all plans, they fell through. I had plans to go to NYCC and E3 in 2020, but of course those fell through because of what happened around the world. I miss conventions. One because they are such a great way to meet and interact with the cosplayers, and two, it’s one of the primary places we get content to share on our site and pages. So that has been lacking for us recently. Fingers crossed things will get back to normal soon.

How has cosplay changed over the years in your perspective?

Like everything you get to know, it evolves and grows over time. Being knee deep in cosplay all the time (my inbox once had 100+gb of cosplay submissions), I have certainly seen it change over the years. Obviously cosplays have become more elaborate in construction. Things like LEDs are so cheap now, I always find it amazing when people incorporate them into a costume. So the cosplay builds just get bigger and better every year. Also I find the resources on the internet have gotten better. Cosplayers are now able to find more detailed pictures of what they want to create, giving them a way better idea of what and how they will do it for a certain character.

Another thing that has changed, are the absolutely stunning Cosplay edits you’ll see on social media. So why the cosplay photographers have always been an integral part of the equation (we try hard to tag them when people include their details on submissions), the level that the editing on pictures has changed over the years is dramatic. You’ll often see the time-lapsed photo creations on Social, and they are just mesmerizing to watch. People put so much time into creating these worlds to help elevate the cosplay to the next level. That has certainly changed over the years. That being said, we still love regular shots of cosplay too, the amount of photographers that specialize in cosplay has jumped a lot too.

In general, it seems cosplay has evolved from a simple hobby where you could throw something together to wear to a weekend convention, to a full time gig where people spend months on at a time for each one of their creations.

How has ShareMyCosplay changed over the years?

In my eyes SMC has evolved greatly over the years. As the editor there have been two major changes, and I think it has improved the way we do things. The first thing would be, when we first started I used to go “collect” the cosplay that we shared. So I had to either go find it, or reach out to people. I spent a lot of time tracking down cosplay to share, that I personally thought was cool or very creative. As you can imagine this took a lot of time. So this has changed dramatically over the past 3 -  5 years. Now I’m happy to say that we are 99.9% based on submissions from users. So while there is less than 1% of content that we do go out and ask for, it is basically all based on what people send us to share. So that is why you see such a great variety of cosplay content on our pages. There is a downside to this in a way, as compared to some other pages out there that only feature certain types of cosplayers, some people enjoy that a bit more and those pages can have more of a following then we do. However we are really happy with the content we put out. 

Then the second big change, that has certainly led to better content for our pages, is the introduction of automation. When SMC first started, I had to do everything manually. Like I would be on Twitter or my phone doing everything live, and sharing items. It took up a lot of my time, and greatly affected my personal life. At times I think I must have been crazy, as this is a free service that we provide, and I was putting hours into each day. Now of course things have changed and the Social Media aspect of SMC is way easier to manage. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have official tools available that allow you to schedule your posts. So you can easily take an hour or 2 and work on several days of a week at the same time, or if you were really organized, schedule the whole week. So I’ve learned to embrace this a bit more and learn the ins and outs of it. This leads to a more constant stream of content that our followers seem to enjoy. Which seems to lead to more engagement from our followers.

What’s the best part / worst part of running a cosplay theme page? 

The best part has obviously been meeting & interacting with the community throughout the years. We do our best to present a positive place where everyone can share their cosplay creations. We’ve been invited to some really cool events over the years, and our team has been able to go to a lot of conventions all over the world. It’s been a fun ride.

The worst part for me personally, is that while our team has grown and shrank over the years, I do most of the work by myself. Sharemycosplay.com is run by a single person, me. Also for the most part there is a single person doing all of the social media. So I do my best to have content up all of the time, but sometimes life gets in the way. We’ve put a few calls out for people that might want to help with content creation for the site, but sometimes it’s hard to attract people interested in helping. Right now I’d love a few writers that could write articles that I could wrap around cosplay posts for the page. We will have to see how that turns out.

What future plans do you have for ShareMyCosplay?

I’m always looking to expand Sharemycosplay.com with new content. During the pandemic I’ve been off my normal schedule so unfortunately updates have been a bit slow, but hoping to get back to things. With conventions off the table for now for the most part, I’m trying to move in different directions. I’ve recently tried to put more effort into YouTube, but even that has been impacted by the Pandemic, so I’ve leaned more on gaming content. That is going to change as I’ve started a new initiative that I just launched on our page a few days ago called “CosplaySELF''. Basically we are looking to have cosplayers interview themselves, and us edit the footage into the “episodes' ' featuring 3 cosplayers. Hopefully those will start to be live very soon. We are already into the editing phase and hope to have the first episode live soon, over on our YouTube page. Keep your eyes peeled. Hopefully, as long as people show interest, this is something we will continue to create and upload on a regular schedule.

Is there anything that wasn’t covered you like to talk about?

 Lastly I want to thank you for taking the time to include Share My Cosplay in this interview. It really means a lot when someone else in the community that you respect, takes a moment out of their busy life to recognize the work you’ve done. There have been times in the past where I have considered possibly giving up doing SMC, but getting some recognition really helps put things in perspective and allows me to continue on. Hopefully Share My Cosplay will continue to grow over the coming years, and continue as a great tool for all cosplayers to use.

https://www.sharemycosplay.com/

[anikkis-fantasirealities]

“Misty Meets, the Valued Rocks and Seas”

② Travelogue ┊ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ʷʰᵒ ᵃʳᵉ ᵗʳᵉᵃᵗᵉᵈ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵗʳᵃᵍᵉᵈʸ ᵃˢ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ ᵗʳᶦᶜᵏˡᵉˢ··· ᵗʳᶦᵖ ᵇᵘᵗ ᵇᵉᶜᵒᵐᵉ ᵗᵃᶜᵗᶠᵘˡ ᵗʳᵉᵃˢᵘʳᵉˢ ᵒᶠ ᵗᶦᵗˡᵉᵈ ᵗᵉˢᵗᶦᵐᵒⁿᶦᵉˢ·

꒰⁺˚₊·₍₍loading...₎₎ ✎...۪۫❁ཻུ۪۪ -ˏˋ 🗺 ˊˎ- ༘✶ ㊉ ㈦〘 ⅯⅯ 〙⋆｡˚𓆟 ༉ ║ Posted : ０６/１５/２１° ｡༄ ‧₊˚ ๑ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ •ଓ.° ｡❍ ㈩ ㊇

- - ——— ꒰ An article by Nicole “Nikki” Elaine S. Chua ꒱

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳❥ ࿐ྂ—͙❬₊° ᶦ ᵃᵐ ᵃ ᵇˡᵒᵍᵍᵉʳ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ᵃˡˡ·“= ‹⸙͎

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ❐ · ⸰ㅤ ㅤ ⋇ · ◦ ㅤ ㅤ ⁕⸰ ㅤ ㅤ ☁

⊹ ㅤ ㅤ ⋇ ㅤ ㅤ ·⁕ ㅤ ㅤ ◦ ❏ ⋇

ㅤ ㅤ ◦ ⸰ ㅤ ㅤ ◍ ㅤ ㅤ ⊹ ⁺

· ㅤ · ⊹ㅤ ㅤ ⋇ · ◦ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ · ❏

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ · ⁕ ㅤ ㅤ ⋇ ⸰ㅤ ㅤ ❐ ⊹

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ❐ ⊹ ·

ㅤ ㅤ ❐ ⊹

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ · ⊹ ⋇ · ◦

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ · ❏

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ· ㅤ ㅤㅤ⁕ ⸰ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ⊹ · ⁕

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ❐ ⊹

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ.ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ .

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ. ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ.

ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ.

“Wait, it’s about to rain?” I can vaguely remember saying something similar to those impulsive thoughts, as I look up into the gray skies and those monotoned clouds steadily sailing in mid-air. I felt the raindrops on my face—the mix of awe and worry from my father, mother, and sister who were about to trek on those rocky grounded fields of the wild Yehliu. The other visitors, whose language I could not understand, fiddled through their belongings. They opened umbrellas and covered themselves in pastel-like colored jackets, transparent in design, as I observed their casual clothing for a supposed sunny adventure. This was about to be one of the greatest family travels out of the thousand places I’ve visited—one that was like no other.

Welcome to 𝙔𝙚𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙪 𝙂𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙞, 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙬𝙖𝙣! For this article, I’d like to tour you around one of the most memorable and breathtaking travel destinations that my family and I visited during our second vacation in Taiwan. To be honest, the Chuas loves to stroll around new locations together—whether we linger the Pearl of the East, or the rest in the Heart of Asia. Whenever there is time to escape from the world of academics, we break out from that comfortable 3D box to walk to the outskirts of recreations, entertainment, and sights to behold. Dad, who was always our captain on the steering wheel of our adventures, would schedule the perfect itineraries during our summers. Mom tends to take pictures and post mementos of our times together on Facebook—as my sister and I enjoy the blissful moments noted in our own book of life.

This geopark, however, gave a different kind of atmosphere to our typical visits. The humidity has been thickening and the cold crisp air swept through the open area. A geopark is molded by nature’s wonders. There are no futuristic buildings, leaning towers, nor brilliant inventions of men standing uproot, rather, jaggy rocks and murky land persists in this long-cape landscape. It has 1,700 meters of earth carved from top to bottom—shaded by bland hues of brown and green. However, such a scenery cannot be underestimated just because there is nothing but bumpy stones, flimsy pathways, and barren holes on the crust. This is the sole reason why it is visited, for Yehliu Geopark is not only a tourist attraction, but also a habitat for rich ecological resources and thriving fishing communities. The entirety of Yehliu’s cape runs through a sea—yes, you read it right, a 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙚 of soothing waves that compliment the greenery of the mountains above.

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ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ❝dissolve into seafoam. ❞

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Do you know the story of how Yehliu Geopark became to be in its present form? Each rock and stone structure in this site has its own character, as if they are interacting with one another. The locals here in Yehliu witnessed how nature refined itself with its own miracles. Hence, they are also the ones who shared the geopark’s origins to tourists like us. The landscape was crafted by marine erosion, because it so happened that the seashore’s layer is made out of limestone. Because of the scientific method of weathering and movement by the Earth, the limestone crumbled over time—dissolving slowly by the seawater bashing itself into land. It resulted into those eerie, yet interesting sea-water eroded holes on the ground. What’s even more amazing is the fact that because of the flurry winds, blinding sunrays, salty water, harsh rains, and dreadful northeastern monsoon paths, the rocks gained identity and almost became celebrities due to their unique figures.

It is truly a work of God, that these elements who continuously burdened stones to rapidly change and adapt to the impact they cause, made them into what they are today. It is like humans, who also tolerate, endure, and persevere from pain to transform into better people—tested by time, yet surviving with resolve. The day my family and I visited the geopark, the rain drizzled from the heavens. There was the thought that I could slip over wet ground and plunge into the sea if I was not careful, but looking around, I figured that this peaceful nature will not allow anyone to be taken by its mystical works. It embraces you, like there’s nothing to be scared about. Instead, it greets you hello with open arms—wanting us to continue our plans despite the misty dewdrops.

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ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ❝ bridge to terabithia. ❞

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The chilly atmosphere was actually quite relaxing, especially when nature desires its visitors to breathe for a while after an industrious environment in the urban society. My family and I walked with our umbrellas on our heads with smiles on our faces—the waves from the sea yearning to approach us, only being stopped by the sturdy ground that we walked on. If ever you visit Yehliu Geopark, you must get ready to meet some of the rocks in this travel destination! There are candles, mushrooms, a cute princess, that arch-shaped gorilla, some kind of marine bird, ice cream, tofu, and the main attraction: the Queen’s head. Just like the other tourists, we did not hesistate to take home souveniers of our adventures from the unwinding views we’ve seen. Even though more than 1,000 meters is a big horizon to explore, we walked around—hoping to spot more rock formations.

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ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ❝ uniting the cynosure’s roads. ❞

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Imagination is what created those rock formations’ attributes and parts in this still story of Yehliu. If you have tons of imagination of both the possible and impossible, then your sightseeing will be plenty of fun to commit to! The 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨 are like little children sitting on the seashore, except they were not just two but 180 of them all together in one area. After stepping with caution across the slippery rocks, you will notice a familiar figure that looks like a woman with a large headdress. She wears it with all honor and responsibility as the star of Yehliu. Oh! You guessed it, we found the 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙! We captured a shot with her hazel beauty which you can see in my cover edit. Mission accomplished, now let’s look for the other rock characters, shall we?

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ㅤㅤ ❝ ephemeral angst, nefarious epiphany. ❞

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After walking for a while over bridges and stairways that connect the geopark together, we discovered the 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨. They were soaked in sea-water, so its usual beige color like all the rocks we’ve seen so far has dimmed to pitch black. Though, you will be surprised that they are shaped like short candles—with their wicks sticking out in the middle, as if it has already melted deeper into its center. According to the brochure we held before entering the tourist spot, these rocks were originally ball-like concentrations with softer surfaces, before they were completely scoured off. So, that must be the magic of Yehliu, huh?

Then, we noticed an unique rock formation that was not documented on boards or printed material by the management. It was like an animal, laying down on a rock—resting with pride and confidence. I wanted to call this the 𝙇𝙮𝙣𝙭 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠, because it looks like a feline who is about to hunt, perhaps the marine bird from meters away. It’s not the official name of the rock formation, though, I felt closer to it when I made the connection. I felt chills all over my body when I heard the tiny pitter-patters hit my navy blue umbrella. It was definitely a fateful encounter—the calm rain, the rushing of the sea ridges, and a new found friend. When you come over to Yehliu, do say hello to Lynx for me! I terribly miss her, after all these years that I haven’t picked up my suitcase for another trip.

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ㅤㅤ ❝ the serendipity of tranquil encounters. ❞

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There is apparently an anecdote documented in Yehliu’s history about a certain fisherman, namely “𝙇𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙯𝙝𝙚𝙣.” In 1964, a group of students were visiting the scenic charm of the rocks and sea, when one of them unintentionally fell into the sea. Without thinking twice, Lin Tianzhen showed his courage and jumped into the raging sea to save the helpless pupil. Sadly, none of them were able to come back to shore alive—devoured by the depths of the salt water, unaware of its crime. When the news came to the attention of President Chiang Kai-Shek, the first president of Taiwan, he quickly ordered for a monument of Lin Tianzhen to be built in Yehliu. That’s why if you would see a marble sculpture of a man in baggy pants, that is the heroic fisherman in the stories of the locals here.

Throughout the rest of the adventure we’ve challenged to carry on despite the moist surroundings, we faced the 𝘾𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 and her adorable figure, like she was posing her bent head to the camera. We found the arched-shape 𝙂𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠, who stood still, yet to our surprise, it was a literal arch! You can see the Gorilla in one angle if you do it correctly, though, you could also look at it in another angle to realize that it has a hole through its structure. We raised our peace signs in eagerness of the enticing discovery while the camera flashed. The 𝙄𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠 and 𝙏𝙤𝙛𝙪 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨 made us hungry, because they looked like actual food enlarged and hardened in their positions—though, of course, they never expired! I could imagine that famous Taiwanese ice cream brand scoop on that jar-like rock, and the dream of tofu soup, for the Tofu rocks laid in two rows within the middle of the sea.

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ㅤㅤ ❝ a pluviophile soaked in hyperborean aqua. ❞

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Since we were hungry, we looked for a place to fill our tummies to satisfaction. Thankfully, Yehliu Geopark still has facilities to accommodate tourists’ basic needs. A visitor’s center is established for dining, renting of wheel chairs & baby strollers, and inquiries of guests to the staff of the geopark. You can also ask for assistance from the friendly tour guides of the travel destination—if you are able to speak in Chinese, that is! Don’t worry—they are able to understand and speak basic English. Just make sure to pack your skills in speaking the foreign language if you’d like to talk more with the locals here, then! They also have a nursing station & lost and found section in the center in case of emergency or urgency, which is useful for scenarios such as the unexpected rain when we visited.

Because Yehliu Geopark takes care of the reefs and water ecosystems nurtured in their location, they also have a oceanpark in the geopark! It is called “𝙔𝙚𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙪 𝙊𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙,” though we were not able to spend time taking a peak into the realm of sea creatures and corals freely living in the pictures of exhibits. There are diving performers in the oceanpark, too, that make visitors astounded by their splendid act. Oh, and how can we not forget the souvenier shop for merchandise from Yenliu Geopark? It’s always great to show your loved ones how much you enjoyed Yenliu, its stories, and the sights you’ve seen! It also supports the geopark’s operation, so that it can continue its goal and mission to keep sharing the wonders of this valued scenic area by the Heart of Asia.

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ㅤㅤㅤ❝ iridescently frozen in an ethereal epoch. ❞

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There are also many earthy figures here that were molded by weathering. They are known as “𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨,” that possess an artistic style like that of a solidified sponge. Through these rock structures, Chinese culture is shown—an example being the “𝟮𝟰 -𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙡-𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡” that presents the importance of superiority and inferiority relationships to Chinese people. The hill of rocks have 24 men-like figures standing nearby each other, revealing a picture of hierarchy based on the positions of each men.

Additionally, the geopark has fossils scattered across its long cape. We only found this urchin fossil in the picture above, plaqued like a prized possession with the proud mark of Taiwanese tourism. The words, “Tai Power,” reminded me of the rest of the adventures that my family and I had in the warmth of this country. Even though the distress comes, it fades away with the power of bonds to go against the negativity to be refined everyday—that’s Tai Power, the ability to touch hearts wherever you are right now!

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ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ❝ petrichor at selcouth midday. ❞

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Before I forget, if you’re looking for extreme activities, you can try tracking down the caves of Yenliu that were also crafted by nature’s power. They are placed in spots that are hard to reach by visitors—including me and my family who did want to risk getting harmed. Do try it out, however, if you’re looking for the thrill! There are other rock formations to uncover in Yenliu Geopark aside from the ones we were able to locate. You can trace down the footprints of a fairy in the 𝙂𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨 and notice the 𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙮'𝙨 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙚 was left behind before it has taken flight again. The locals here believe in a legend that this fairy sent by the Jade Emperor, from Taoist beliefs, cursed a turtle elf who troubled the seas and caused many shipwrecks back in the day. So, if you see white smoke coming from the mountains, locals will exclaim that the turtle elf is taking its last breath. It’s a motivating tale to conclude this article, and our visit to the geopark.

Most importantly, I’d like to remind everyone who plans to visit Yehliu Geopark to obey and respect the guidelines given by the management of the landscape, as well as the North coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area Administration! If you observe red warning lines on the ground, do not pass that zone—always stay on the path, because it is for our own safety. Let’s 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 these astonishing wonders offered to us by the beloved nature we owe daily. We need nature, but nature does not need us. We should not touch nor damage these creations of Mother Earth. Climbing & tagging on the rock formations, smoking, biking, wading, swimming, fishing, littering, or disturbing the plants in the location is strictly prohibited! Otherwise, you might need to pay for a fine when caught.

Our duty to look after Yehliu Geopark, while saving the environment in our own way, is for the sake of the next generations whose imagination will also be aroused by these treasured beings and narratives of this place. The staff would like more people to enjoy the unique scenery it offers to the world. The rock structures in this geopark are still actively developing and dynamically changing with the tides of our times today. So, it is only rightful if we give them the same amount of growth they need, as much as we do.

At the end of the day, the trip I had in Yehliu wasn’t too bad at all! It was beautiful, stunning scenery to keep in my memories as I move forward to the present. Through my travel to Yehliu Geopark, we were able to unveil the mist and take a glimpse of the true colors of ordinary rocks and common seas. We got to know many stories of still stones, and the amazing people who make the geopark the apple of the eye for more tourists. A part of nature—to witness its ability and wonders through an alleviating journey to find peace—Yehliu Geopark can surely be described that way. If you’re interested in travelling to Taiwan, Yehliu Geopark is a tourist spot that you absolutely must consider in your own bucket lists! Maybe not now while the pandemic is still ongoing, but someday, hopefully! I’d love to hear your own experiences in visiting the geopark in the comments!

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Yehliu Geopark is open from 8 AM to 5 PM. One entry ticket costs 80 NTD or New Taiwan dollars for one adult tourist. On the other hand, kids aged 6 to 12 can avail an entry ticket half its price. In the Philippines, 80 NTD is 139.54 pesos, while 40 NTD is 69.77 pesos, as of June 15, 2021. However, you can get a 20% discounted group ticket if you are a group of 30 or more people. The geopark is located in the Heart of Asia—Taiwan! Its exact address is No. 167-1, Kantung Rd., Yehliu, Wanli, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

If you are already in Taiwan, you can get to Yehliu Geopark either through bus or car. There are four routes that you can choose from if you will ride on a bus. Meanwhile, if you choose to arrive at the geopark by car, there are five dispatch options that are possible to use, depending on your starting point. You can check this link for more information regarding a planned trip. Safe travels, and thank you for reading! Let’s meet again in another blog where my fantasies become realities! A Nikki reminder: find passion in your work, and you’ll never tire from it! See you!

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· * ✫ * ⊹ * ˚ . . 　　· ⋆ * . * . . · . · . * · . · · + . ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ· ** ˚ . . + 　　· ⋆ * . * . . · . · . *

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ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ . · ·

ㅤㅤ﹙dedication. ﹚ ୨˚୧ ˚ ༘♡.↳ ₊˚‧

This blog is dedicated to heroes who stay to be ordinary, because they glisten the most when their humbleness is that of the rocks and seas. You are truly the ones who give Rising Hope to all of us.

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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ﹋﹋﹌﹌﹌「 🌄 」﹌﹌﹌﹋﹋

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ┊彡 Credits

➥ Cover Edit

➫ Pictures captured by my mom, Helen Sy

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➥ Blog Dividers

➫ Pictures captured by my mom, Helen Sy

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➥ Source of Information

➫ Yehliu Geopark Bruisure

➫ Yehliu Geopark’s website

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