#it probably took me longer to make that meme in google drawings than it did for that fic to be 'written' & posted which is Saying Something

[wymgreenteam]

head in fucking hands.

[fahbev]

@whumper-in-training

ok I don’t know how long my caption is allowed to be, but here it is! The promised fan art! I REFUSE to be self-deprecating here because I actually do like these a lot. Basically, I read this amazing story called ACP- The Agency for Cryptids and the Paranormal, (https://whumper-in-training.tumblr.com/post/673130936584568832/acp-the-agency-for-cryptids-and-the) and I totally fell in love with the character of Zak. This STORY MAN! It broke my heart in half and then lovingly stitched it back together, like multiple times, and I think that’s the ESSENCE of a good story. So yeah I made fan art. 

I was in the car on a fairly long trip, and I had my sketchbook, and I was like, hey, what should I draw? Fuck it i’m drawing Zak. So I drew Zak. I originally didn’t want to deal with how the hoodie would work with all the weird perspective and just gave him a tee-shirt, but then I yelled at myself: “COWARD! Draw the hoodie!” And so I erased the shirt and drew a hoodie. I figure that the hoodie in the picrew isn’t how the hoodie actually looks, it’s just the closest approximation you can get with a picrew, so I put an alien on it because yes. While I was drawing it though, I hit a fork in the road with the pose. I was going to draw him with his hand clawed and the other on his hip, but then I was like “what if he had his arm up instead?” And so I made two versions.

I drew werewolf Zak hell ya! I spent FOREVER inking this. Okay if was only like two hours, but inking is kinda boring and thus I procrastinated, and so it took me like three days to ink it. It took much longer than usual Bc I went over each line a bunch of times to make it look like fur/hair/eyelashes, but you can’t even see it Bc the colors are so dark! Argh! Usually color more than doubles the amount of time I spend on a drawing, but this time I just quickly threw down some color in only like an hour! I was so sure I was gonna say, “it’ll be quick” and then spend another six hours on it, because that ALWAYS happens, but it actually WAS quick so yes.

Last but not least, I drew the gang all together! Technically I drew this second, and colored it first, but you get the idea! This drawing filled me with all the happy chemicals the whole time making it y’all. After several hours it kinda wore off, but every time I zoomed in on Max’s face I got a fresh rush of serotonin. I decided to draw that one scene where they all fall asleep together because it was SO WHOLESOME! I wanted to draw the whole group, but didn’t know what kind of context to do. Then I scrolled through the blog, found that scene, reread it and was like “yes! That’s the one!”. And so I drew it. I did have to look up “do Muslim women sleep with their hijabs on?” And i’m glad it was a google search and not asking a real person Bc the response I found was basically: “No, you dumbass! Why would we do that? That makes no sense-” and several sarcastic responses to the same question on Quora and i’m just like: “:’D” I did look into it a bit more and realized the hijab has to stay on Bc while they are like family, they’re still not her mahrams. Also I figure that if I was gonna post this, even if she was alone, drawing her without it would kinda be violating her privacy yk? Like i’m exposing her for the whole internet to see. Kinda like drawing her naked would be. Anyway, I love this drawing, hope you love it too!

Ok, still keep your expectations to an army crawl because I never finish stuff, but fanfic is in the works. I am probably gonna wait until it’s finished to post it though, that way I can edit things and change earlier chapters. Also! I’m a total novice writer! So it’s probably crap! I don’t care! I have this policy that I would always rather make the cringe fanfic, wear the ugly clothing, make the stupid drawings, the cursed memes, shout all the embarrassing shit, do all the dumb things that teenagers do (as long as it’s not harmful or permanent obvi), sing all the bad karaoke, embarrass myself a TON, etc, and regret it later, cringe so hard in ten years, than to never let myself do anything, constantly hold back, never reach my full potential and regret THAT in ten years. Thank you for listening to my TED Talk. I still might very well be too shy to post it though ahhhhh. For some reason i’m WAY more shy online than irl, that makes no sense. Like I can walk up to a random person and talk to them no prob, but I get super anxious going in someone’s ask box. Maybe Bc I can’t read their body and face language like that? Idk. Like I said, just don’t expect anything.

[kari-a-la-tari]

The (Unneccessary) Lore of the WG Spanish Dubs

Aka me being like this meme for an entire post

OKAY so a couple of weeks ago I had just learned that there existed a Spanish version of Wordgirl called “La Chica Supersabia” which is honestly super cool cause who doesn’t wanna hear their show in a different language?

But alas, this ended up taking me into a much deeper rabbit hole than I was expecting and it’s honestly pretty interesting so I thought I’d share it with y’all!

DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert by any means nor do I intend to come off as one, this is simply an elaborate essay of what I’ve found through my informal research. I will also be translating anything in Spanish to the best of my extent, so I apologize if I mess up a bit with the wording since it’s not my native language.

So then *places a baseball cap with glued lightbulb on my head* let’s get started shall we?

Okay so first things first, there are a couple of select episodes of La Chica Supersabia (I’ll use LCS from here on) available on the internet. The most reliable source that I’ve found is on an old Facebook account here where a fan would upload LCS episodes based on when they aired. However, the only episodes available are a select few from season one.

Now this got my mind thinking “Hey, what if there’s more episodes?” So naturally, I started scoundering on Google (like the rat I am) to see if there was indeed more. And according to this one site there are only two seasons of LCS that were dubbed.

Translation: In Latin America, the first season premiered on Discovery Kids August 3, 2009, while the second season premiered on the same channel January 11, 2010, being the only two seasons issued. (Source)

However, later on I discovered that there was some mislead in that info because someone else found a Spanish episode that was from season 3, which doesn’t make sense because why would there be another season available when it clearly says that they technically shouldn’t exist? (Btw I tried finding it myself cause I did see that episode before but for some reason now I can’t find it dhdvvdbdvd 😭)

At first I thought maybe this is just some info added from a fan. After all, that statement was posted on a Spanish Wikipedia page so it is possible. So I began looking for other articles that talked about the Spanish dubs, but they all said the same thing. Well, until I came up with this site that said two very intriguing things:

Translation: The series actually had 3 seasons and is dubbed in Caracas, Venezuela. On May 2012 the series stopped running on daytime hours and was removed from the programming one year later, on June 17, 2012. It is unknowns if it will be aired by another channel or come back to the Discovery Kids programming, besides only the two first seasons were dubbed in Spanish. (Source)

I was a little bit confused here with the wording because it still didn’t confirm my original questions; if anything it left me with more. But then I read the next section below which got me completely off track.

Translation: The series received negative critics and complains on behalf of parents of families in Latin America that claimed that it wasn’t appropriate for the objective public of Discovery Kids. Without doubt in the U.S. the series had been well received and even won an Emmy award for Jack D. Ferraiola, writer and coproductor of the series together with the creator of the same show, Dorothea Gillim, who declared the following in respective to the series: (Source)

Now this one took me by a whirlwind: WTH why was this version hated by people in Latin America while it’s adored by everyone in the U.S.?? And I watched some episodes of LCS and while the dubbing is pretty funny (lol) there wasn’t anything inappropriate about it. For the most part they stuck on script with the original episode they had to dub.

So I dove even deeper...

And o h m y g o d there is an answer to this.

Translation: The program premiered in Latin America on August 2009 on the Discover Kids channel, aiming at pre schoolers. Although the channel gave a lot of promotion for the show during the final months of 2009 and the majority of 2010, at the end of the year they decided to change the programming to nighttime hours because the show received a lot of critics from parents saying that the show was too “violent” and that it encouraged kids to lie to their parents (due to the obvious fact that Becky had to give an excuse everytime she had to leave to turn into WordGirl and save the day), and they complained constantly on the message boards now deleted of the channel. The program was eliminated completely on June 2012, without doubt, PBS maintained the Spanish dubs so that they would use for SAP (Second Audio Program) in the U.S. in a different studio (Dubbing House in Mexico and later Lorry Post in Miami, FL), but the program no longer returned to Discovery Kids until August 2014. (Source)

And DUDE no y’all this was just a complete hilarious yet ridiculous slap to the face. I mean..what the, why was that the reasoning as to why it was hated so much? Just cause of some literal PG kid friendly cartoon violence? And what do parents mean when they say it teaches them to lie to their parents?? I mean with all due respect, who was Discovery Kids target audience they had in mind vs. what it actually was? Because if there actual audience was very very young kids, they okay sure I can understand the need to point fingers at them in that sense. But if it was for slightly older kids (8-10 years old), then I think that parents can probably show kids at that age the reasoning behind why Becky lied in the show (not to mention that most kids at that age can understand what’s going on for the most part).

“Now is this actually true?” some of you may ask, which is understandable since this is coming from a wiki page. Well, I think it’s about time I put another disclaimer: sadly for the most part, the majority of these sources that I’ve attached have broken links when it comes to their references. And the ones that aren’t broken don’t mention anything about the topics that have been discussed here. But there are some smaller sources I’ve found here (look at the last three comments) and here that do indeed confirm that the show was canceled due to the force of parents.

However, the current grey area I’m in still is on the Spanish dubbing listing. See, I originally thought that there were three different dubbings according to this one post below (M&M Studios, Dubbing House and Lorry Post). I even thought I cracked it since according to this chart below the rest of the seasons were under the Dubbing House studios! However, it turns out that one of the studios Lorry Post doesn’t actually exist. Like nothing related to dubbing came up at all when I searched it up.

Translation: Dubbing Studio 1 - M&M Studios (Seasons 1-2). Dubbing Studio 2 - Dubbing House (Seasons 3-8). Dubbing Studio 3 - Lorry Post (Season 8 - final episodes). (Source)

And then that’s when I took a harder look at this website and realized that it’s part of a Spanish Wiki page called “Propuestas de Fans de Doblaje” (Fan Proposals for Dubs). *insert facepalm emoji* And just...I honestly feel so dumb that I didn’t notice that detail when I did my initial research cause that would’ve saved me a lot of time 😤. Anywho so that explains the Lorry Post mystery, but then lies the other question: do the other dubs exist?

Well, this is where I draw the line. See, on that same wikipage, it mentions that LCS had completely different voice actors for each of the dubbings. The first dub (M&M) is from Venezuela and after looking at the VA’s, they can be traced back to LCS. But after looking at the VA’s for the second dub (Dubbing House) in Mexico, there is nothing related to them and LCS or WG. Not even on movie databases.

“Now are you gonna give up on this idea?” you may ask. And the answer is......

No.

Why? Well, it’s mainly because there is a compellingly set of evidence that proves that the first two dubs do actually exist, which is...

undefined

THIS VIDEO, which shows that there were not one, but two variations of the LCS Spanish theme song. The first one is the Spanish version, and the second one that plays is the Venezuela version. And if you can remember, there were 2 dubbings of LCS; one located in Mexico (Dubbing House) and another In Venezuela (M&M Studios)!

Anywhosole, that is where I conclude this elaborate essay of mine. There are still a couple of loose strings here and there that I wanna check out myself but I’ve already tired myself out with this essay. I hoped you liked seeing me lose my mind speculate on the LCS episodes! This was honestly pretty fun ngl, maybe I’ll try doing this again in the future if something else interesting pops up! If you have anything you wanna add or maybe point out something that I may have forgotten, please by all means bring it up!

[dvp95]

creator tag meme 2019!

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2019. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

thanks for the tag @obsessivelymoody & @waveydnp !!!

this is the first year since 2013 that i’ve felt in any way confident and motivated in my writing. a lot happened in my personal life in the years between then and now, and i don’t want to get into that. let’s just say that this is the first year i’ve felt safe and generally happy in a long, long time. i either haven’t written at all in those years or i’ve focused on one project for so long that it morphs into something else entirely (looking at you, don’t complicate it, which i started in early january of 2017 and didn’t post until june, and you can see me trying to catch up with their move and other aspects of their life as i desperately wanted to keep it canon compliant) but something about dnp being open with us and the community i found here really revved my engine (maybe too much? we know how close i got to actual burnout). i wouldn’t change it for the world.

boring intro over! let’s talk about the things i’m fucking proud of creating!

1. still the best, more or less

come on, you knew i’d say this. even though i’m taking a break from even thinking about amnesia au until it no longer makes me want to scream into a pillow, i can’t deny that this is the easiest decision on the list. i am so extremely happy with the way i took a trope that’s often overdramatized and turned it into something bittersweet and domestic, based in reality, and extremely personal to me. i really pride myself on writing complicated subjects in small, simple chunks, like hacking away at some marble until you as a reader can understand exactly what i’m conveying, and i think amnesia verse is the best example of that.

2. can’t breathe when you touch my sleeve

this is the longest thing i’ve ever written, and the speed that i wrote it is actually terrifying in retrospect (for me! i’m NOT a quick writer, usually!), but that’s not the only reason i’m so happy with this lil monster. what started as a really simple concept of, “hey, i bet that phil would have just posted that five second coming out video ages ago in a different timeline”, turned into something extremely sweet and surprisingly funny! i’m happy with the original characters i included and so thrilled with the pacing of how i handled dan’s acceptance of himself. it’s just.... my baby. this is my baby.

3. good for you, good for you

stepping outside my comfort zone for this one. i needed a lot of reassurance that i could do something shamelessly kinky, and i don’t really think i managed that - it’s absolutely smut, no question about it, and it’s shameless, but shameless in the way that things become when you trust your partner with everything about yourself. the give and take of control is so interesting to me in terms of dnp, and i would absolutely love to talk about it a bunch more!! i think i probably spent more time making this comfortable and full of communication than i spent making it sexy, but i’m happy with that breakdown. i don’t believe kink can exist without trust and communication, and i’m happy that it resonated with so many of you!

4. giving you my forever

this is probably the fluffiest of fluff, for me. obviously i had to be a little funny as well, because that’s where i’m most comfortable right now, but all the proposal fics from japhan content were making me so soft-hearted and i absolutely needed to get my own take in a google doc as soon as i possibly could. i had this whole concept in my head where phil was right, but then all the logistics came crashing down around my ears and i was like, y’know what would make even more sense? i don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t read it. give it a shot!

5. Memories (co-written with @intoapuddle)

i love puddle, i love working with puddle, and i love this story we crafted together in like three hours. reading it back, i’m really really happy with the way our styles work together. i don’t think it’s obvious when one of us started writing and when the other stopped, and honestly we barely edited it. i told puddle we were drift-compatible after this, and i think our affection for dnp and their nostalgia and banter was really able to shine through our styles complementing each other so well. ferris wheels, jokes you can���t help making, an undercurrent of Love in every action - this is good. we did good. you should read it.

thank you, if you read any of these or even read this far in the list, haha. i hope to make 2020 a more well-rounded year in terms of self care and balance, but i also hope to keep pushing myself outside of my comfort zone with things like collabs and kinks and multi-chapter slow burns. i hope you’ll stick around for it <3

i’d like to tag @karcathy, @chickenfreeblog, @intoapuddle, @jestbee, @judearaya, @throwing-roses-into-the-abyss, @blue-draws-dnp, @cactilads, @watergator, and @calvinahobbes!!!

[michelles-garden-of-evil]

Episode 25 Review: The No-No Generation

{ YouTube: 1 | 2 }

{ Full Synopses/Recaps: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }

{ Screencaps }

Welcome back to my Garden of Evil, where I analyze and snark on Strange Paradise for fun and...well, just fun, really. This week, we will conclude our deep dive into Week 5 with a review of Friday’s episode, in which THE DEVIL JACQUES ELOI DES MONDES continues his seduction of Elizabeth Marshall while inside the body of Jean Paul Desmond.

Night on Maljardin. As Jean Paul drinks in the Great Hall and lightning flashes outside, Raxl draws tarot cards in the Not-So-Hidden Temple of the Serpent.

Here are the cards that she pulls, flipped upside-down to show them from her perspective:

We know from previous episodes that the Knight of Coins/Pentacles is Dan and the Queen of Cups represents one of the women on Maljardin (Matt believes it to be Holly, but he could be wrong). We have also seen the King of Wands used to represent Jean Paul before, but King of Cups arguably fits him better because his constant wallowing in self-pity is a negative water/cups trait. The Queen of Wands represents a woman who plays a supporting, managerial role (sounds like Alison). The Page of Coins is a young person who is observing and learning how to make it in the world (could be Tim or Holly).

The rest probably don't represent specific characters, but instead relate to the situation. The Justice card means exactly what its name implies. Ten of Wands "represents an all-out effort, an obsessive commitment to a task which demands everything you've got.” The Seven of Wands normally refers to a situation where confrontation and daring are necessary, but it is reversed here, suggesting failure, defeat, and even scandal; this seems to imply that Jean Paul will be defeated and/or that his activities on Maljardin will cause the scandal that he fears. The Eight of Coins is about workaholism and may have to do with anyone currently working on Maljardin (Raxl, Quito, Alison, Tim, or Matt).

The Five of Cups is an interesting card: it might refer to the impending losses on Maljardin or to any variety of negative emotions, but it is also associated with "Inheritance, suggesting the cross-generational legacy of such tragedies." This reminds me of the parallels between the events so far and what we know of the Maljardin of the 17th century: the deaths of Jean Paul's and Jacques' wives, the seduction of their wives' sisters, the priestess resembling Elizabeth who sacrifices Holly in her dream. In early Maljardin and in the Lost Episodes, Ian Martin consistently drew parallels between the events of 1689 and 1969, so the intended meaning of "cross-generational legacy" seems highly likely.

Also, for those of you wondering, Vangie’s tarot cards in the next scene appear to be the same, just arranged in a different spread. I say “appear” because it’s hard to tell with the lighting and video quality if they are the same cards, although logically they should be.

"If my father's gift is strong in me and if the Great Serpent so wills it," she prays, "may I be lifted to the ancient temple to help in the fight against evil." She lies down in her bed to attempt to teleport herself there and we cut back to the Great Hall.

In the Great Hall, Jean Paul argues with Jacques. Their dialogue somehow sounds even more forced than Jacques’ line about the time clock two episodes ago:

Jacques: "You're very quiet tonight, but not Mother Nature. I wonder what's disturbing her so?" Jean Paul: "Maybe you are. Maybe she's declaring war on all demons." Jacques: "Wooing and warring, a family heritage." [An odd thing to say in this context.] Jean Paul: "I could do without the family heritages and ancestors like you!" [And an equally odd response.] Jacques: "Do without me and you may be doing without yourself. Who knows? You and I could well be one and the same." Jean Paul: "I am NOT a devil!"

Jacques: "Self-declaration, self-incrimination--and don't drink so much. It dulls the senses."

Backacting with the portrait again, I see.

So we get another hint that Jean Paul and Jacques may be the same man, with a very forced-sounding exchange leading up to it that Martin definitely could have written better. Jean Paul gets ready to throw his glass at the portrait (as one does), but can’t because Quito enters with some ice for the next six gin and tonics that he probably originally planned on downing that night.

*Jacques voice* Jean Paul Desmond, has no one ever taught you that people in stone houses shouldn't throw glass? Tsk, tsk…

And now that plan is ruined, too, because Holly comes down the steps and complains to him that she can’t sleep because she keeps having nightmares. (She doesn’t say what about, so I’m going to assume they have to do with either her father or Tarasca again.) Jean Paul offers her some sherry “to sleep and not to dream,” and she responds that the line was one of her father’s favorites from Shakespeare. No, Holly. It’s “to sleep, perchance to dream” not “to sleep and not to dream,” but you were close.

Jean Paul reveals that he, too, couldn’t sleep because of nightmares. “I guess even possessions don’t make a man sleep easy,” Holly replies and, without warning, the portrait disappears and Jacques enters the chat:

Look! The crew actually remembered to remove the portrait this time!

He’s giving her the poison Jean Paul took from the lab!

Holly tells him about how her mother wants to steal her inheritance, and how she intends on taking as much as she can from her in return. (Does that mean you want Jean Paul, too, Holly? Never mind, of course you do.)

Would that be with a W or with a B?

I suspect that Holly wouldn’t know any different.

Meanwhile, on the stairs above, Elizabeth silently observes. But she doesn’t just observe. She observes while wearing a fur-trimmed velvet nightgown and striking a dramatic evil diva pose. As one does.

Wah-wah-WAH-wah-wah...*fade to black*

After the commercial break, Elizabeth overhears Jacques telling Holly that she may learn to love her, because “one who hates can also love.” (Take it from Jacques Eloi des Mondes, murderer and lover extraordinaire.)

“I'm sure my daughter will make an army of fortune-hunters very happy when she does learn,” she, a fortune-hunter herself, interjects. Looking thrilled to see the lovely Tarasca, Jacques welcomes her and offers her a drink:

Jacques: “Some cyanide, perhaps, fresh from the lab?”

Just kidding. It isn’t cyanide; Mrs. Marshall is too much fun for Jacques to kill off, especially this early on. Holly leaves to drink alone in her room and Jacques and Elizabeth get ready to drink to the fact that they’re no longer children, when Holly freaks out over Quito. It turns out he was trying to guard her from the Devil, which amuses dear Jacquet immensely.

You’re so vain, you probably make toasts about you.

After Holly returns to her room, Elizabeth laments the woman “child” Holly become after the death of her father. “Ever since her father died, virtually overnight, she changed from a sweet, shy child into an impossible shrew,” she sneers. “We were really a very happy family before.”

“Holly told me that you did lots of things together, that you traveled a great deal,” says Jacques.

“Yes, of course.” she responds, “Even then, there were signs. The winter before last, she refused to go on vacation with us, wanted to spend Christmas in the cold snow instead of the warm sand. So we went on without her, but, of course, she ruined the trip for us.”

Holly must have had a good reason to stay home in the dreary winter weather rather than go on vacation with her parents; I say that because I, too, am from the north and I, personally, would kill to spend Christmas somewhere warm or at least not snowy. Either that, or Holly is a romantic, holding a sentimentalized view of white Christmases with treetops glistening and children listening to hear sleigh bells in the snow. If that is the case, then...well...I guess it’s nice that she likes snow, because I sure as hell don’t. But really, I’m sure Holly had a damn good reason to avoid Elizabeth.

This is the perfect time to post some photos of Elizabeth’s incredible nightgown. It’s so luxurious, so decadent, so...her.

“How unfortunate,” Jacques responds insincerely.

“Couldn’t we change the topic of conversation from the No-No Generation? I’m very bored with their beads and bells and songs of love.”

The No-No Generation? Now, there’s a name for the Baby Boomers that I’ve never heard elsewhere. Google, too, seems unfamiliar with it: a search for “no-no generation” (with quotes) mostly turns up chemistry papers about nitric oxide. Subtract these and you get only a few more relevant results, one of which is this meme from June 30 of this year. A search for “‘no-no generation’ boomers” yields this cached page mentioning “a vibrant No-No generation in the wake of the 1968 Paris uprising” but that term appears to mostly refer to French rock musicians of the 1960s and 1970s, judging by this other use of the term on the site and this CD listing on another.[1] Considering the dearth of relevant English-language sources using the phrase and considering that Holly isn’t a musician as far as we know, Martin may have come up with the term on his own.

There’s the question of why Elizabeth calls Holly’s generation the “the No-No Generation.” No rules (which, arguably, better describes Generation X)? No interest in the traditions and codes that her and Jean Paul’s generation follow? (Laslo and Irene in the second Desmond Hall arc criticize the Baby Boomers, especially Susan, for that.) No work and no higher education, like the current use of the term in Spain and Brazil? The fact that Holly just didn’t want to go on vacation with her two years earlier? Or, perhaps, all of the above? I’m going to guess all of the above. All the options fit Holly.

So we have learned that Elizabeth disdains Holly’s generation because of their love songs. Even Jacques is taken aback by this, because it implies that she doesn’t believe in love, but she assures him that it’s different because “you and I are old enough to make our own rules.” He gives her a knowing look--as though he knows exactly how old she really is--and places his beringed hand on her shoulder.

That nightgown looks so soft.

Down in the Not-So-Hidden Temple, we pick up right where we left off with Raxl praying to the Serpent for Vangie’s arrival. Before her eyes, the Conjure Woman Chromakeys into the chamber right on top of the Tarot cards, her arms stretching upward:

Weird.

By some miracle, Vangie climbs off the altar without screwing up Raxl’s Tarot spread. But she’s not pleased about arriving on Maljardin where she predicts that she will die, and so she demands to know why Raxl summoned her there. Um, Vangie, don’t you remember earlier in the episode--perhaps minutes before in show time--when you prayed to the Serpent to transport you there? You’re like someone who passes through the turnstile at a metro station, then changes their mind a second later.

While all this is going on, Jacques gleefully drops hint after hint of his true identity:

I’m not sure how much of this is for the audience’s benefit and how much of it is because Jacques thinks everyone else is dumb.

Tarasca: (thinking) “And my name isn’t Elizabeth Marshall.”

We also get this possible shout-out to Dark Shadows:

Back down in the Not-So-Hidden Temple, Vangie helps Raxl interpret the Tarot cards. “Our spirits will be fused through the Tarot cards and the pentagram,” Vangie says. (What was in that tea/potion that Raxl gave her?) Their spirits fused, they try to make sense of the cards’ message:

Raxl: "Do you see what the cards say?" Vangie: "I see two protectors, Matthew Dawson and Dan Forrest."

I assume that the cards she's referencing are the Fool and the Knight of Pentacles, as in previous episodes.

Raxl: *points to Queen of Cups* "But they are not as strong as this one." Vangie: "Who is she?" Raxl: "I cannot tell. Your powers of the cards are much stronger than mine."

They join hands and concentrate on a flame to determine the identity of the Queen of Cups. And then her image appears:

Raxl: "The witch is not..." Vangie: "Yes! The mother of the blonde child, Elizabeth Marshall! Watch her carefully, Raxl. She’s dangerous."

It's odd that Elizabeth of all people should be represented by the upright Queen of Cups, as the descriptions that I’ve read for the card tell of someone with almost the exact opposite personality. According to Tarot.com, this Queen is "a sensitive, vulnerable, omniscient woman who offers unconditional love. She is supremely empathic -- sometimes to a fault. Her caring nature exposes her to everybody else's emotions and needs." Sounds more like Jean Paul’s and Alison’s descriptions of Erica to me, save for the “omniscient” part (which I don’t think is meant to be taken literally).

What’s ironic is that, if the Queen of Cups were reversed, the card would fit Elizabeth well. This page on The Tarot Guide mentions "insecurity, lack of trust…self-centred…smothering, bitter, vengeful, manipulative, spiteful, [and] disloyal” as the reversed Queen’s characteristics. Now that sounds more like the Elizabeth Marshall I know. I suspect that the Queen of Cups was intended to be reversed and its upright position is a blooper.

In the Great Hall, Elizabeth goes to bed and, after some surprisingly not-silly headache faces, Jacques de-possesses Jean Paul. In truth, I’m a little disappointed that he doesn’t clench his teeth or look like he’s about to vomit this time, because I find Colin Fox’s over-the-top headache faces funny. This time, Jean Paul apparently forced him out of his body himself, although how he accomplished this is not explained.

And what exactly did you do, Jean Paul, to force him back into the frame?

Although I know all episodes of this show were rushed to some extent, this one with its abundance of script continuity errors shows more signs of hasty writing than the others. Ironically, they actually remembered to remove Jacques’ portrait from the frame this time when he possesses Jean Paul, which is shocking. Still, despite the rushed-ness of this one, it has provided me with a lot of interesting material to dissect in my deep dive into the bizarre world of Strange Paradise.

Coming up next: Dan and Alison continue their investigation of Erica’s death and Jacques obsesses over a possibly symbolic fish. Also stay tuned for the Bad Subtitle Special for Week 5 next week.

{ <- Previous: Episode 24   ||   Next: Episode 26 -> }

Notes

[1] In France, the term “Génération non non” more often refers to French Millennials of Middle Eastern and African descent who live in the impoverished suburbs or banlieue of French cities. It was popularized in the 2006 song “La Boulette (Génération nan nan)” by French rapper Diam’s.

[greenjeanie]

[Nov. 7 2018]

Emotional intimacy, physical intimacy; where is the middle?

Did I meet up with Arthur (it took me a second to remember his name) as a product, partly, of watching nymphomaniac or would have continued to responding to his messages regardless? And he does look a little like shia leboeuf. But i didn’t know that until i met him and he brought up his resemblance to a mix of shia lebeouf and post malone.

People are always talking shit at Lula Bagel!

Bjork is playing. Daisy was posting a Bjork meme earlier, her doppleganger.

I thought about messaging sam about coming up to campus. I think it would be really good to see her and tyler and just be a little more of my former self with them, but i also don’t know if i feel up to going to bronxville. Actually, as i think about it i would be fine with the trip itself. Maybe i just know it would be intense. I don’t really think i feel like talking about myself. The solitude of the past week has been a little anxiety wracking/lonely, but it’s also nice. I was a little too high when i left the apartment so I sat in the park for maybe fifteen minute sitting on a bench and drawing, spacing out, not doing much, but i think that moment of just sitting was helpful. Sometimes my mind is like a stomach that has to digest everything. I knew I was able to sleep with him, and I did. And it went probably about as well as it could have, the whole thing. I enjoyed myself and made a friend and drank two large beers (with some help) and didn’t get sick or even very hungover, and he was fun to be with and came closer to making me come than anyone has in years and was sweet too. On the ferry ride back he patted me on the thigh and said “you’re awkward. I like you.” when I told him people told me my look alike was carrie brownstein, he googled her and said, “oh yeah I see” and “she’s really pretty” and I said “yeah she’s hot”. Before that he told me I kind of looked like a cartoon. Earlier, on the subway, he asked me if I was Italian. I liked feeling interesting looking and having an unplaceable ancestry. His compliments seemed to have a pattern of making me hesitant to accept them as compliments. In bed he told me I was so beautiful. I wonder if he meant it! I don’t know if I feel emotional because of the sex, or just the fact of the sex. It’s a similar feeling to the days after I slept with Jasper in New Orleans. I was feeling weirdly naive? Or that I’d done something a little outrageous and embarrassing. And when I texted Kidd about that she told me that it sounded like a fun fling and not to get down on myself for wanting that and shook me out of my little funk. I guess, it just feels like this happened very quickly. It literally happened from eight last night to around eleven this morning. And now I’m not expecting to see him again. He said he’s trying to stay a week longer at most I think, something like that. But maybe since he’s unemployed I will see him again. Anyways may as well think of it as over.

[ocdaniel]

KILL THE NOISE (WIP)

Concept I’m playing with of something I’ve been thinking about a lot these days. Here are the first few pages:

SOCIAL MEDIA EPIDEMIC

Socrates believed that written word would harm memory. What has the emergence of social media done to our minds and memories? If the mind acts as a hard drive, keeping what is necessary and deleting what is not… What is it doing to those memories that we document with photos and videos? If Socrates believed written word would damage your memory, what would he think about the effects of new media documentation?

I’ve been working in the digital media space for almost 20 years now and have seen the evolution from geocities web pages, xanga, friendster, myspace, facebook, instagram, snapchat, and now tiktok. Since 2003 i’ve had to stay on top of various platforms as they emerged to capitalize on the online trends for my business. I’ve built websites and online marketing campaigns in the entertainment industry for half of my life now and it’s provided quite the incubator for understanding online human behavior. I started as an intern at Interscope records in their new media division. It was the smallest division for that record label at that time. In just a few years, it took over as the main division and ultimately became the go to department for the future of music. I still remember encoding cd’s into mp3’s and sending them off to Apple Computers in Cupertino in 2003 curious why we were mailing these compressed files over to them. A week later, iTunes was launched and the way we consumed music was forever changed. A complete adoption from analog to digital was under way.

I ended up starting my own digital agency while at Interscope Records and built out a ton of web campaigns for them. I built Lady Gaga’s first website, Gwen Stefani’s first website, Pharell Williams first website, and the list goes on. I probably built all these “first websites” because i entered at a time when websites started to explode. Websites became the digital storefront and the main source of content during those years. All of a sudden, Myspace pages became popular and we started developing social media pages for these entertainers. It was still very new at the time but the engagement was incredible. Next came YouTube, then Facebook and the story continues. I got to see how entertainment and social media collided and had front row seats to the show.

Even though i was building all these digital campaigns, i personally didn’t really get involved with marketing myself. I had a myspace page, xanga blog and accounts to the other platforms but it was really just used for personal use. I never viewed it as a resource to market myself or my business. It was just a way to communicate with close friends and keep in touch online. Fast forward to today, and life as we know it is synonymous with social media.

I saw the rise of YouTube stars and eventually started partnering with them very early on and building online businesses for them. Several of them doing millions of dollars in ecommerce sales with us. Business was great and we got in at a time when the era of social influencers started becoming a trend. Looking back, my interest in the social influencer space was probably just a result of working in the entertainment industry and absorbing the trends that were emerging. I don’t think it was a real thought out process but an eventual evolution to the path i was already on.

“Eventual evolution to the path i was already on….” To me that’s an interesting concept. I kinda feel like life is just a sequence of paths that we initiate or transfer onto. A series of choices to put us on a path that will eventually evolve into a new reality for us. Depending on the choices you make, the output will result accordingly. My path had social media written all over it. I just didn’t know it at the time.

I remember in 2010 right after i had my son, a new platform instagram came out. I had a feeling this platform would do well and i remember having a conversation with my wife and i said “I think i gotta really figure this social media thing out for myself. I’m going to force myself to post once per day and see what happens.” That was the beginning of my personal journey into the “Digital Noise.”

I did just that. I posted at least once every day. I thought perhaps i’d do it for a month and see where it would go from there. One month turned into two, two to six, six to a year and kept going and going. I was posting more content than anyone else i knew that was on social media. There were moms using social media as a way to document their kids and family activities but i was documenting EVERYTHING. Because i forced myself to try and post at least once a day, I developed a thought pattern to capture anything that my mind felt interesting. If i saw a cool sticker on the street, i’d take a picture of that. If my son was spacing out on some patterns, i’d snap a photo. It was literally like i was trying to capture what my brain was thinking. “Oooh, my food looks good, imma take a photo of this!” This was before taking pictures of photos was a thing. I literally forced myself to do social media experiments and started making a habit of making consistent posts on social media.

As i would meet people, they would add my on social and engage for a while but i think after a bit, they would stop because i posted so frequently. I think because i wasn’t a celebrity, it would be a bit creepy if someone i met liked EVERY SINGLE posts i made for a month lol. The funny thing is that i wouldn’t see any engagement for years from someone but i’d run into them IRL (In Real Life) and they would know everything i’ve done for the past few years because they were following my social media account. I’d run into people after not seeing them since college and they would see my son for the first time and say “oh man, i feel like i’ve seen you grow up and i finally get to meet you! I’ve seen you on instagram and facebook for years!” If this isn’t a cultural phenomenon, i don’t know what is. I think this particular example of modern engagement is a transformative shift in the way humans are now living. It’s not a small thing nor should it be looked at as casually.

Over the last few years, i’ve seen way more studies talking about the effects of social media and the increasing need for digital detoxing. As i said earlier, i was at the forefront of all this emerging so to me, social media is equivalent as living in smog my whole life. You just get used to it. Apple released screen time to help you see how much time your spending on your phone. Viral memes would showcase artists drawing social media logos as drug usage showing the addictive natures of these platforms. Awareness of the habit addiction of social media was starting to get more traction. The problem is that people still couldn’t get off the platforms. It was too late. Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and the other platforms successfully recruited the world’s top talent pool of creative minds and built the most addictive platforms on the planet. If you want to see the most consumed products, just look at the stock market for the highest valuations. Money comes in, talent comes in, brainpower is used to make their products more addictive resulting in a larger customer base and ultimately a change in culture behavior.

Behavior shifts any time culture adopts new norms. Today, new norms are dictated by money. Follow the money and it will lead you to where new norms are being developed. Today, technology dominates the global marketplace with companies like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (FANG) leading the charge. The problem is because these companies are focused on increasing revenue and increasing stock prices, their motivation is singular focused. “How can we get more users and get them spending more time with our product.” Drug dealers ask the exact same question.

DIGITAL ADDICTION

Like and hearts. Today that is our culture. I work with hundreds of social media influencers and one of the questions i like asking is… “Does it get depressing?” I’m shooting 100% with answers of YES! Even though social media influencers are making careers of broadcasting their lives online, the consequence is almost always a loss of self identity. They have to constantly keep up to date with their followers and are no longer on their own schedules. If they miss a day or two posting, followers get impatient and start up a ruckus. I’ve heard influencers tell me, “It’s like i’m not really living my own life anymore because i have to be something my audience wants.” Their social accounts may have started innocent and authentic at the beginning but over time, the pressures to continue momentum takes a toll. I’m not a social influencer and i even had those feelings. I’d get a ton of likes on one post, then another wouldn’t engage. It was make me question, why would one type of post get hearts and likes while the others wouldn’t. It’s human behavior to want to be accepted and held in esteem. Maslow’s third and fourth rung right after your primal survival needs of living and safety.

Physiological needs - food, water, warmth, rest

Safety needs - security, safety, health

Belonging needs - relationships, friends, community

Esteem needs - respect, status, accomplishment

Self actualization - fulfillment of one’s potential

It’s no wonder that as a culture, we’ve flocked to these social platforms to fulfill our belonging and esteem needs. At what cost though?

As a human species, if we’ve sorted out our primal needs to survive by figuring out resources to eat and have shelter, the next eventual stage would be to make friends and get respect among our colleagues. In the past, we would need to go to events, functions and meet with people to do this but with the emergence of online communities, online gaming and general online engagement, we can get the same feeling of fulfillment with social media. While i feel that social media was intended for something very positive and useful, it’s really taken on a new shape with the amount of content that is now being released.

See, social media has now successfully created an online ecosystem of users that engage on a daily basis. This is now a common habit for a majority of the world today. I’m not sure if the originators of the social media platforms had any idea that their creations would have as much content on them as it is today. With more content, comes more moderation, with more moderation come more control and so on. The funny thing is, human behavior has patterns and they continue to emerge over the history of man kind. We love getting more of the things we love. You put a kid in a candy shop and he’ll eat until he gets sick. The good thing for kids is that we have parents and lack of funds that will cut off our supply of candy. Social media is free. You can consume all you want. The genius minds creating these companies are also paid very well to make sure you consume all you want and not only that… they try to make the content even more addictive.

A few years back, i started working on a new mobile app called “Binge Mix” with someone from the entertainment industry. The idea was that finding things on Netflix to watch has become so time consuming that we wanted to make it more “efficient” to binge with your significant other. Looking back on this concept, i’m glad it didn’t work because i don’t know how i would feel today knowing i made binge watching more accessible. Binge watching… when did that become a thing? We have so much disposable time now that we sit and watch addictive shows 4-8 hours at a time now? I’m guilty of this phenomenon myself. When my wife got into the show “Lost” our common phrase was.. “Just one more and then we will sleep.” If you really think about it, the days when we had 13 channels on a tv box to now thousands of shows at your finger tips is a result of blitzscaling media companies that have tapped into an addictive human behavior. Legalized media drugs.

Humans can’t help themselves. It’s our nature to consume more of what we want if it’s available to us. There is a dopamine hit in the brain that rewards us like a pavlovian dog every time it gets a treat. You might feel you have free will but every time you watch another video, click another link, or start another show…. You throw your freedom out the window and have become a slave to that platform. I don’t use that word lightly either. A SLAVE TO THE BINGE. To “binge” is synonymous with “addiction” and that is now the culture we live in today. The era of digital addiction. The question i have, is WHAT IS ALL THIS DOING TO OUR BRAINS?!?!?!

DIGITAL DETOX

Noise. Too much noise.

A few years back, i started a new experiment with my company. My wife would probably consider me a workaholic and i really have a hard time shutting my mind off from work. I get obsessive about things that catch my interest and it’s my nature to work hard. It would be really hard for me to leave my company operations for more than a few days for any time of vacation or time off. Even when i’d leave on vacation, i’d be on my phone checking things, writing new ideas down, taking down pages of notes on strategy and just not being able to relax. I started making it a point to intentionally power down my phone when i’d take a break at a certain point. It would suck going on a vacation, then working on vacation only to come back the same as i left. The hard part was trusting that the business wouldn’t crash and burn without me being there.

I started realizing that it would take me about a week to really disconnect from work. I considered the first week just a work detox to get my brain to settle. So i did my first 2 week vacation and turned my phone off for a week at a time. I would throw my phone into the hotel safe or dresser drawer and shut it off for a week. That to me was insane but i figured, if it takes me a week to decompress.. Perhaps turning it off completely will speed the process up. It did!

It was like a magical antidote for my workaholic pace of entrepreneurship. Turn the phone off, the brain starts forming back into a natural state. It freaked me out a bit but at the end of the week, i’d check in and see what was going on. I’m not going to lie and say everything was perfect. I had several fire drills and tons of anxiety doing this but i kept trying. After doing a week no phone, i tried 2 weeks. I would try these breaks over the next few years and would eventually get to 3-4 weeks without using my phone. Sounds almost impossible with the way the world works today but I was so desperate to recover from my overthinking at work that i made it happen. Well, actually my wife probably made it happen for me! hahah. I think she was getting tired of our vacations getting ruined with emotions and phone calls from work.

I know this isn’t possible for everyone to do right away but to me it was a goal. How long can i be without my phone and just connect with nature. In the 80’s we didn’t have smartphones and survived, we could probably do it today…. It’s just not “normal” anymore. The thing i started realizing when i’d do these digital detoxes, my brain would change. The noise would start to fade and my thoughts would get clearer. My ideas didn’t seem so cluttered and i was able to THINK!

The brain is supposed to be able to retain 7 numbers at a time as our working memory capacity. If this holds true with numbers, what is going on with our brains as we are saturating it with content? Is it deleting old files? Getting rid of old memories? I personally want to keep a lot of good memories and hopefully keep my brain running at top performance for the rest of my life. My instinct tells me that binge watching 4 hours of a Netflix show is definitely going to alter the way my brain works. It’s going to tell my brain… “If your focusing on this for 4 hours of your waking day, it must be important and i need to use processing power for this.” Even though we feel that binge watching helps us to disconnect and zone out, i’m pretty sure the opposite is happening. We are filling our brain hard drive with more stuff to process and it’s probably not good for our overall production as a human being. 

More content makes for more noise. More noise makes it harder to focus. Focus is what helps us achieve great results. Perhaps the reason why we are not getting the progress in life we want is because there has been a massive influx of content that has become way to easy to become addicted to. I think of it like trying to play basketball while drunk. The more you drink, the less effective your body functions perform and the more horrible choices you make on the court. Think of digital content as the alcohol and life as the basketball game. If you want to live more effectively, reduce the noise.

[aceofstars16]

Lots of tags!

So, I was tagged twice for two different meme things so I thought I’d do both of them in the same tag thing haha xD

Tagged by @book-and-comic-fangirl

Birthday: May 16th

Gender: Female

Relationship status: Single

Hogwarts house: Hufflepuff!!!! 

Time right now: 8:20 (guys, it’s 9:03...it took me forty minutes to do this...xD)

Lucky Favorite number: 16

Last thing I Googled: “feel again lyrics” I though it could apply to one of my OCs so I had to look up the lyrics...xD

Nicknames: Ace, Aceo, Swaya, Spammy (though no one has used Aceo or Swaya in YEARS xD)

Siblings: Yup! I’m the youngest of three, four if you include my sister-in-law. It goes my brother, my sister, then my other brother and his wife then me! (we are like the Pevensies in birth order, though not personality as much, though I’ve always related to Lucy...)

Height: Like 5′6 or 5′7, I have 5′7 on my permit so...I go with that xD

Favorite color: BLUE!!!!

Pets: Three cats, Alex, Ginger, and Juliet

Wake up and sleep time: Ha....hahah....ummm...it’s really bad right now...like...it changes every day but usually in between 12-2 am and then I get up like...between 10-12....hehe...*flops*

Average hours of sleep: I try to get at least 8, but I prefer 9 or 10

Love or lust: Love always

Coke or Pepsi: Both are pretty....eh...so Dr. Pepper or Root Beer or Sprite...like any of those, if I have to choose, Pepsi...but eh...not my favorite...xD

Day or night: Night usually, but I do like the daytime a lot too, at least when it’s not like freezing xD (but it’s been pretty warm recently so, both? xD)

Text or call: TEXT, calling is stressful...

Make up or natural: Natural, I only wear makeup on very rare occasions xD

Met a celebrity: Depends on your definition of celebrity? I’ve met Barlowgirl, Coach K, Penny Chennery, Ronnie Turcotte, John Flanagan, and Marissa Meyer...so??? And I’ve seen Rick Riordan, but I didn’t actually get to like...talk to him xD

Smile or eyes: Smile ^^

Light or dark hair: Both, I mean maybe lighter hair? But I don’t mind dark hair either?

Shorter or taller: Taller

Intelligence or attraction: Intelligence 

Chapstick or lipstick: Chapstick, I put on Burt’s Bees every night cause chapped lips are not fun xD

City or country: Hmm, I like both? Like, the city is nice because you are close to things, but I love the calmness of the country...but I also don’t like the bugs so...? Where I live is a good balance cause we live next to a greenbelt but we are like ten minutes away from downtown xD

Blankets I sleep with: Depends on the season, anywhere from one to like four (also depends on the kind of blanket xD)

Last song I listened to: Uhh, well “Live Forever” by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors is playing right now (it’s such a calming song <333)

Favorite bands/artists: I like a looot, NEEDTOBREATHE is one of my faves but recently I’ve been listening to lots of Moana and Hamilton xD

Dream trip: Probably a road trip/just country trip to meet a lot of my friends! Though, I’d also love to go to Iceland, and Argentina, London, Italy, Ireland, and Switzerland...(okay but my list grew from last time because my family was actually talking about going to Europe so...yeah, but I REALLY want to go to Iceland...like...really, AND I want to go to the place where they filmed the last scene in TFA because my brother told me it was like in Scotland and I geeked out a little xD)

Favorite fictional character: HA! One? You want me to pick one??? Haha nah...that’s not happening...I have wayyyyy too many....here’s a few...there are like...a ton more tho...Obi Wan, Kanan, Ezra, Hera, Sabine, Ahsoka, Anakin, Rey, Finn, Jyn, Cassian, Bodhi, Chirrut, Chopper, BB8, Steve Rogers, Scott Lang, Peggy Carter, Edwin Jarvis, Sokka, Bolin, Percy, Leo, Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, pretty much all of the Parks and Rec characters, Cinder, Thorne, Cress, Kai, Halt, Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon, Wally West, Felicity Smoak, Sophie, Dex, Fitz, Kefee, and Biana...Okay I’m stopping now! (okay but Alden too...and Elwin...and like...okay I love a lot of KoltC characters...xD)

What I’m wearing right now: Umm, my church shirt, khaki pants, fuzzy purple socks, and my brown jacket

When I made this blog: October 20th, 2013, I only know cause I made a post the day I made it xD

How many blogs I follow: 132

Posts:....206,009....dude...I don’t even...that’s a lot...xD

What do I post about: Lots of stuffs! Most recently Star Wars, but all of my fandoms really, and then some nature and faith things too ^^

When did your blog reach its peak: *shrugs* a few months ago I was getting like a lot of new followers but I don’t know? xD

Why did you choose your URL: I watched a movie called Ace of Hearts, I thought Aceofstars sounded cool, so that was my username on howrse and mweor. When I joined dA, that username was already taken, I added the 16 cause it’s my favorite number, and now I use it for like...everything...xD

Bonus question: If you are transported to the world of the book you are reading now, where would you be? Keeper of the Lost Cities world yaaass!!!! I mean technically it’s still our world? But with like, lots of cool lost cities and elves with cool powers and HEY I could be friends with Sophie and her friends! Even though I’m older than all of them....I SHALL PROTECT Y’ALL! Even though...they would do a better job of protecting themselves then I could...xD

Okay...that was long....NEXT TAG! xD

Tagged by @buurd

1. How old are you? 20, but I feel like I’m still 16ish...xD

2. What’s your current job? Ummm, student, occasional petsitter and fanfiction writer...even though I don’t get paid for that last one...xD

3. What are you talented at? Drawing and writing? 

4. What is a big goal you are working towards (or have already achieved)? I don’t know, finish school I guess? I also want to finally rework my novel and write a rough draft for it and one day publish it. And I have some longer fanfics I want to write and stuff, and continue to improve my writing and drawing? Also, get my license....you know why I’m adding this Buurd...xD

5. What’s your aesthetic? I love a looot, but my main ones are the stars, the ocean (particularly pictures inside waves as they are starting to fall), autumn, and anything blue, but I like a lot of other things too xD 

6. Do you collect anything? DUDE I collect movie tickets too! (though I may not have a place to keep them if I get a new itouch case cause that’s where I’m keeping them all...or a lot of them atm) And also stickers and socks...xD

7. What’s a topic you always talk about? Star Wars Rebels...and other various fandoms and my OCs

8. What’s a pet peeve of yours? I know one, I thought of another one a while ago...but I can’t remember...so, when people just stand behind me and watch when I’m on the computer...xD

9. Good advice to give? Go to sleep when you are tired...like...really, I was exhausted yesterday and I just kept not going to bed...also try your best not to procrastinate, reward yourself when you get something done if you need the motivation (even if it’s something small). I need to like...take my own advice..xD

10. What are three songs you’d recommend? “How Far I’ll Go” by Auli'i Cravalho (because MOANA), “Little Do You Know” by Alex and Sierra (I blame that SWR music video for my love of this song...xD) and “Be Here Long” by NEEDTOBREATHE (or “Great Night” if you want something super upbeat)

[bxnzxmb]

Answer them all :)

1:        When you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?   More Cereal

2:        do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?    No

3:        what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?    Napkins or pencils

4:        how do you take your coffee/tea?    With soy milk

5:        are you self-conscious of your smile?    self conscious about everything tbh

6:        do you keep plants?  only a cactus i’ve had in my back year for about 10 years

7:        do you name your plants?    no

8:        what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?    nothing really I try to write but its usually really bad lol

9:        do you like singing/humming to yourself?  singing, but I usually forget the words but that doesn’t stop me

10:        do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?    back and side but never my stomach that hurts my neck

11:        what's an inner joke you have with your friends?    can’t tell you its an inner joke

12:        what's your favorite planet?   Earth. But also Mars and Jupiter: more so for the mythology.

13:        what's something that made you smile today?   seeing my dog

14:        if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?  a mattress and computer table only surrounded by empty beer bottles 

15:        go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!    99% of our solar system's mass is the sun

16:        what's your favorite pasta dish?    Ravioli

17:        what color do you really want to dye your hair?    I want to bleach my hair but i think my skin is too dark

18:        tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. My best friend had answers for all the tests and she knew I was struggling but didn’t tell me and watched me struggle. Never letting that go

19:        do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?    No

20:        what's your favorite eye color?    It used to be green then blue but now Im in love with brown eyes

21:        talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.    No tengo

22:        are you a morning person?    Only if im still up from last night

23:        what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?    Sleep

24:        is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?    No

25:        what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into?    Some weird place downtown that was filled with Japanese people that didn’t speak any English at all

26:        what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit?    dont have em

27:        what's your favorite bubblegum flavor?    Green- spearmint

28:        sunrise or sunset?  Both are beautiful in their own way 

29:        what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?  Checks my blog daily LOL 

30:        think of it: have you ever been  truly scared?   Yes

31:        what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.    I like black socks and I only throw away my socks when they start to get holes in them. I can’t sleep in socks I feel restricted, kinda like wearing pants when I sleep.

32:        tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.   Nothing good happens after 2AM

33:        what's your fave pastry? Cheese danish   

34:        tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?     I was a pink bunny I used to wrestle with because I used to think wrestling was real

35:        do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?    I like smooth writing black ink pens

36:        which band's sound would fit your mood right now?    Listening to Radiohead rn but more in the mood for some slow classical music rn tbh

37:        do you like keeping your room messy or clean?    Clean but it tends to stay messy

38:        tell us about your pet peeves!    Hippocrates- more so people who tell me they HATE something and then love it soon after, like come on have some values!

39:        what color do you wear the most?  Black/grey 

40:        think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you?    I dont wear jewelry

41:        what's the last book you remember really, really loving?    Killing the Rising Sun

42:        do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!   Coffee shops are too glorified on this website, I like making my own coffee to be completely honest

43:        who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?  Someone no longer in my life

44:        when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?  Only recently, first time in years

45:        do you trust your instincts a lot?    I try not to because I tend to be wrong about people alot

46:        tell us the worst pun you can think of.    Amanda LOL

47:        what food do you think should be banned from the universe? forget that we need to ban fireball   

48:        what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?   As a kid it was death, today its life. Quite the opposite.

49:        do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?    Never bought physical music. ( or digital)

50:        what's an odd thing you collect?  I keep my old chapsticks( the ones I dont lose) because those smells can take me back to moments in my life.

51:        think of a person. what song do you associate with them?    Ophelia

52:        what are your favorite memes of the year so far?    hm, probably the darth kermit that one took my by surprise

53:        have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show?  heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?   Dont understand this, so im guessing no

54:        who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?   My dog when I left this morning ahah

55:        what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point?    Broken up/ blocked someone

56:        what are some things you find endearing in people?    seeing them genuinely care without wanting something in return

57:        go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?    Took me a while to like this song

58:        who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?    Kylie old grandma, vodka is nikki because of her gluten allergy lol

59:        what's your favorite myth?  Can’t pick one

60:        do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?    Very much so, can’t recall on the top of my head

61:        what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?    Hm pretty content with both tbh.

62:        do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?    only coffee

63:        are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?    not really, Ill organize them when im bored

64:        what color is the sky where you are right now?    Dark blue?

65:        is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?    ya

66:        what would your ideal flower crown look like?    idk

67:        how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?    sleepy and horny and lazy

68:        what's winter like where you live?   50 degrees F with chance of rain

69:        what are your favorite board games?    Monopoly

70:        have you ever used a ouija board?    No

71:        what's your favorite kind of tea?    Thai or earl grey

72:        are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it?    Usually I have a pretty good memory

73:        what are some of your worst habits? Thinking of impossible scenarios in my mind   

74:        describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.    caring, loving, protective

75:        tell us about your pets!    I have a 9 month old rottweiler who keeps me very happy and I want to get another dog soon, between a golden retriever, German shepherd or cane corso.

76:        is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't?    Not really, I’ve been very responsible today

77:        pink or yellow lemonade?    yelllow

78:        are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?    Honorary member of the fan club

79:        what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? brought me food when I told them I never want to see them again :D   

80:        what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?    Light green, because I want something to keep me happy and a soothing color. Something that will mellow me out. Yes I chose it.

81:        describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.    Beautiful, like another world

82:        are/were you good in school?  Depends really

83:        what's some of your favorite album art?  Usually Jay-z has artsy stuff. 

84:        are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?    Im torn on this

85:        do you read comics? what are your faves?    I barely started reading books lol

86:        do you like concept albums? which ones?    Prefer them.

87:        what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?   Star Wars (1-3) 

88:        are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?   Love abstract and street art

89:        are you close to your parents?    Yes

90:        talk about your one of you favorite cities.    Apart from my own city, I think I love vegas, It’s filled with all types of people. Everyone is doing whatever they want to try to make themselves happy. Kinda like a heaven and hell mixed together.

91:        where do you plan on traveling this year?    Nothing in mind, maybe to canada or UK

92:        are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?    Drown

93:        what's the hairstyle you wear the most?    The i just woke up one

94:        who was the last person you know to have a birthday?    My cousins birthday is today

95:        what are your plans for this weekend?  hm, nothing really, just get through it.

96:        do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?    Remind me later

97:        myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?    Taurus

98:        when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?    Very much so I went with my friends and we all brought our doggies

99:        list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.    It depends really

100:        if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?    I really want to say forward which is something i’ve never thought I’d even consider. With that being sad, going back is always “easier” due to the fact that you’ve done it before and are familiar with upcoming events.