#so youre into astro now? what is the now youre taling about

[mooninagust]

.

[astroboyanalysis]

9. Robot Land

Hello again. I still don't know how frequent these will be but I have not abandoned this, I just had a big preparation for a performance assessment that took a long time.

Ochanomizu so sillies for this visual gag. Actually, there have been a lot of visual gags I didn't note, like Ochanomizu and Dr. Haido licking each other while greeting. Y'know, normal stuff.

It's interesting that Atom got as far as the room of monsters to have this qualm, although he did seem a little preoccupied before this point

I assume by "suffer" he does not mean directly Feel Pain, rather that they won't be able to live a normal life. We saw that he mentioned something similar in the plant people liveblog. It's very possible it's just me, but this seems like an outdated sentiment that would easily be co-opted into euthanasia, although obviously that was not Tezuka's intent.

He's right, but it's tricky.

When we think of robots in Astro Boy, a lot of the time they're very locked into the thing they were made for. A plumber robot will plumb, a doctor robot will practice medicine, a robot meant to act a role will act that role. The two roles I just mentioned were necessary for society, and generally those robots are shaped in a way that would let them live a normal life outside of their job.

These robots are functionally actors, but they're actors of a single role. It isn't really that they're created for an express purpose that's a problem, it's that that purpose isn't really necessary. A consciousness is being brought into the world for amusement only, and many of them are stuck in those shapes of monsters or trees that are alive or whatever.

But here we run into an issue that is common in Astro Boy, even newer Astro Boy up to 2003 (I am not as familiar with things like Atom: The Beginning), and it's that everything that has new technology in it must be a sentient robot. A major part of me thinks this is kind of silly - What is the point of putting a consciousness into a car? The car is still following your orders. The car could just as well be operated by a robot that can exit the car and live normally outside of the car, or remotely piloted by an AI as more of a tool than its own living (ish) thing. What is the point of putting a consciousness into what is functionally a puppet for children's entertainment, when this could be controlled by a "puppet master" AI somewhere and save a ton on computers and parts.

(TANGENT: Alternatively, what's the point that a robot deserves rights? If I make a robotic bug, and its sentience is very similar to that of a real bug - It seeks out dark places, it may be a little curious about if something is desirable to it or if its a foe, and that's about it- Is that bug a sentient robot? Is the role of a bug not worthwhile for a robot if that robot isn't aware of any further parts of life, and can't be by the limitations of its hardware? What if I extend it up to a robotic cat or dog? It can be clever, it can make decisions independently, it can want and it can probably, to some extent, love. Is that cruel? Why is this admittedly silly fairy-tale ecosystem not composed of a variety of levels of sentience instead of a bunch of robots capable of understanding what they don't have, that are actors playing a role instead of the role itself? Where does sentience start and end? This is a question Astro Boy doesn't evaluate, as far as I remember. But an automated traffic light is taking in information and making "decisions" based on that information. Is it a robot (in Astro Boy's definition, which is more like "AI" or "sentient")? Okay, I'm ending the tangent here.)

So, there's the major part of me that thinks everything being a robot is silly. And then there's a part of me that sees what we're doing with "AI" right now and modern technology in general (I don't think it's actually AI, by my own definition, anyway. It is not thinking, and we don't expect it to. Society's goal with current AI is not anything independent, but rather seems to be to automate jobs that people do not want to pay humans for.) and it looks pretty similar. Why does this app need AI? Why does this refrigerator need wifi to function? The answer is, they really don't. We toss extra "new" things into them so that they're more appealing as purchases, so they seem more Modern.

I suppose, to some extent, we can read this story similarly, although the issue of sentience and consciousness being involved makes it very different.

But basically. It's a silly story, it has that same silly issue a lot of Astro Boy has where everything is a robot (although in this case it's being brought into question - it just doesn't work for me because I know of many instances where it is NOT brought into question), and a much more effective way to accomplish the idea of a theme park like this would be to have individual "puppet" animatronics that are all operated by a "puppet master" AI that is located elsewhere in the park (and the part of me that likes more horror-based takes on Astro Boy likes that idea too, hehe)

Well this just seems like it might make for an unfriendly work environment full of hierarchies, doesn't it? That doesn't bode well for the theme park that's already been framed as amoral, huh?

wow yea this guys fucking wild. "kinda hard" might be an understatement though he immediately put his hands on Atom for, uh. Unclear what he did wrong actually. Saying his name too firmly, maybe?

Atom I need you to focus. That is not the most important question right now.

I can't help but think there are less cruel ways to do this.

It's a product of its time, I think, that the law and ownership are seen as so fundamental that they aren't questioned at all. Personally, I really dislike seeing Ochanomizu presented this way instead of as an idealist who does what's right, not someone so preoccupied with the law that he tells Atom, who is crying at the cruelty on display, to hurry it up and go get that woman who came to him begging for safety, and hand her right back to the robot that was terrorizing her. Also, silly little gag with Ochanomizu's nose getting bigger. Hehe awesome.

This confirms, to me, that property laws are stronger than robotic rights laws in the setting. Atom directly says they were torturing her, that she's alive, and Ochanomizu does not deny any of that, but continues to press that she is property, and Atom "stole" her, even though she independently ran away and came to him.

At the very least, I can appreciate that Atom's dad gives an "I know how you feel, but there's nothing we can do." I suppose part of Ochanomizu's transition into a more paternal character is tied with the transition away from giving Atom a nuclear family (heh. get it.) to begin with - That gentle parenting is the current norm helps too.

The manga doesn't seem to acknowledge this, but isn't this also theft by the same definition? Atom willingly went into Robot Land and they have him and they haven't given him back. This is precisely what happened with Princess Odette in reverse, but Ochanomizu doesn't bring up any argument about that (Atom) being his property.

He did do that. That was like, the main thing he came there to do.

Well, to be fair, your "property" also snuck onto someone else's property and smashed things and we thought nothing of it.

Anyway, more legality here: Ochanomizu seems scared that jail time is a real outcome, although I'm not sure if he's scared for himself or for Atom. If he's scared for himself, that tells us that a robot's actions are the express responsibility of their owner, or of their creator (I imagine the owner first and if the owner pushes the legality up the chain it goes to the creator or the manufacturer or distributor). If he's scared for Atom, it indicates that property can be tried as a human and given jail time, which sounds not very correct. So I think Ochanomizu is the one being threatened here, really. I still believe in 2003's (I can't recall if it comes up in Astro Boy media before the finale episodes of 2003) concept that if a flaw is found with a robot that causes it to commit a crime (in the case of 2003, harming a human, which makes more sense to be treated so harshly) it would be decommissioned and destroyed, and if the flaw is significant enough, all robots of that design would be decommissioned and destroyed.

Yeah this is kind of how my students are.

You simply hate to see it.

That is actually the end of Omnibus 1, so we're finally making some progress! As a reminder, there are 7 Dark Horse Omnibuses. Omnibus 2 has 300 pages of "Once Upon A Time" which is some of my favorite content from the original run of Astro Boy.

Sorry, again, for how long the gap was there. I can't promise it'll never happen again. We come back next time with Ivan the Fool!

[lizadale]

Miss, idk how far your in your adventure but i got to tell you the:

Neskdor Tales

Or Blu and O'Chunks babysitting adventure. Whichever you prefer.

Not much happened either way.

Mimi had taken the two of them to Karaoke when God brought them to Miitopia. It was Mimi's turn to sing and she somehow brought the microphone with her. Chunky found a rusty sword at the back of a blacksmith, who let him have it when he saw him disarmed. Blu got higher education (because scientists kinda have a monocle, that's literally the only reason c;)

I've made the math and someone had to be axed. So Bowser is the Genie, because he's like one of the biggest characters. To be extra nice to him, all the Neskdor villagers are goombas, I'd like to think that there's more of the village in the foreground so the rest of his army is there. (I can't do Koopas in the 3ds version I've tried t-t)

Mimi and Lena the cartoon duck the imp clicked almost instantly. Lena gave Mimi a scenic photo one time. Mimi never gave anything back :V

Later Mimi put on a Wig to show off to Lena and they cleaned the room and sang together.

One time O'Chunks and the Count where exercising together and Blu's quote was "To protect my loved one!" the two times that happened.

He gave Chunks two presents but i forgot what it was.

Lena and Mimi where the one who found all the levers and hidden passages there's to find in the region. Although Blu was the one to astro-project.

Poor guys were apparently running after those two.

Two inns before the got snatched Lena told Mimi some Gossip about Blu and their reaction were basically "OMG that's so sad t-t" and i sincerely don't know what to say.

Anyway when i got the chance I'm Making Timpani a Tank, for funzies :D

I am in the process of saving my wayward party members >:0

i'm glad we both agreed that Mimi should be a popstar (and, really, O'Chunks is just obvious). (also you were right, Dimentio really does enjoy drinking the tears of his enemies)

now as is proper i must give you a summary of my own (mis)adventures so far

so i started with a party of me (cautious thief), O'Chunks (stubborn warrior), Mimi (energetic popstar), & Timpani (stubborn cleric). as you might expect, O'Chunks and Timpani were sometimes fighting because O'Chunks kept refusing heals and throwing away all of our potions. And Mimi wasn't a great singer. She was always the one riding the horse though.

But we generally all got along great. Mimi and I bonded over our agreement that wandering mage Blumiere was a pretty cool dude

Then once my team got yoinked I switched to an aggressive cook (highly inaccurate, i can barely use the microwave) and brought in reserve members Dimentio (cool imp), Nastasia (airheaded mage), and Mr L (laid-back scientist). Nastasia isn't a fan of spicy meals, so I frequently made her resent me. Mr L proved suspiciously competent. He carried the entire battle to rescue genie!King Boo's face. Dimentio spent 90% of all battles stabbing me in the ass with a pitchfork. I'm trying to NOT rescue him.

Most recently, I ran with a crowd of Mario (energetic cat), Peach (kind princess), and Luigi (airheaded flower). Luigi refused for most of his time on the team to upgrade his weapon, so he was doing 1 damage to enemies up until the Shadow Queen stole him away. Mario and Peach bonded quickly over hating my guts, as i was a tank and enjoyed launching them face-first into golems. It's a miracle we made up as many times as we did. u_u

[aseuki]

Data Sheet

Tagged by: @humming-fly hii bestie :p

Last Song: well I've been listening to a Playlist while I've been Working on this so I'll hand you Two: started writing to Sleep Walking Orchestra (Bump of Chicken) and ended on Nonsense Bungaku (Eve)! Both are solid imho hahaha. The first is the opening to the Dungeon Meshi anime (very solid and fun show. Oooo you want to watch it so bad) and the 2nd is the Result of me going on an Eve deep dive a couple months back lol

Favorite Color: I'm fond of actually. A Lot of shades of blue tbh! Aquamarine, Peacock Green/Teal, and Indigo are some particular shades that come to mind. I also love Raspberry/Wine red!

Last Book: hmmm let's see the last time I read A Book was Little Thieves by Margaret Owen! It's a retelling of the fairy tale The Goose Girl from the perspective of the maid who stole the princess's identity and its hella good if you like that good good folk fantasy magic!

Last Movie: uhhhHHHHH I Think??? It was Your Name? No wait it was Astro Boy (2009) with a friend of mine because we were reminiscing about nostalgia and realised we both remembered watching and enjoying it but not remembering Anything about the plot lmao. The pacing was like 500 mph but the animation aged pretty darn well! Storywise Defo had potential and I'm always a sucker for taking the sand a story was made of and seeing what kinds of castles could have been built

Last TV Show: Pluto on Netflix. Oh my god. Just watched Ep 6 last night and I'm ready to Not Be Normal (have not been normal since ep 1 but that's besides the point). Defo the kind of show that is to be Savored I Don't recommend binge watching it space out those 8 1 hr long eps so you can properly appreciate and process it. It's good I highly recommend it if you're into a good sci fi fantasy! How many sad dads can a singular mini series have. The answer is Yes

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: I tend to prefer Sweet>Savory>Spicy! I Do have A Spice Tolerance to some extent, but if given the choice I tend to prefer it light! (My Sweet tolerance is actually pretty pitiful but that doesn't stop me from eyeing all the pretty cakes and candies LMAO)

Relationship Status: I have Two Hands and I'm using them both for tax fraud >:'D

Last Thing I Googled: 'Shinji in Chair Meme' (searching for a reaction pic to send to a friend wrt ^Pluto)

Current Obsession: in case you haven't guessed already. Not being Normal about Pluto ncsvdjf. I'm also super into Kirby and the My OCs fandom (always rotating my and my buddies' OCs in the cranium condominium all the time all the time)

Looking Forward to: finally digging into and clearing out the sheer Mountain of WIPs I have accumulated :') holiday stressors are now over which means I can get working! (I am sincerely excited bc I've been looking forward to seeing some of them completed for a long long time hahaha) also got some future cosplans in the works! We'll see what comes out of it! 👀

Tagging: well Fly already tagged like 99% of my Tumblr Directory AFSNFDF so if you see this and want to feel included/give it a shot, then go for it and give me an @! I'd love seeing where this goes!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

All the books I reviewed in 2022 (Part I: Fiction)

Every year around this time, I round up all the books I reviewed in the previous 12 months; both as a convenience for readers and to remind myself that I don't need to feel quite so horribly guilty about all the books I *didn't* review (to those authors: rest assured, I still feel horribly guilty).

I should probably mention here that I had a book of my own come out in 2022:

Chokepoint Capitalism (co-authored with Rebecca Giblin)

A solutions-oriented look at how concentration in the tech and culture industries screws over creative workers, filled with detailed proposals for unrigging these markets and getting artists *paid*:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

Before I get to this year's books, here are links to previous editions. These are also good books and deserving of your attention!

* All the books I reviewed in 2021: https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/08/required-ish-reading/#bibliography

* All the books I reviewed in 2020: https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/08/required-reading/#recommended-reading

Now, on to 2022!

NOVELS:

I. Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

An ambitious, sprawling tale of an eccentric Texas truck-stop magnate who unilaterally begins a program of geoengineering in a bid to cool the Earth by doping the stratosphere with sulfur. A great look at the social and technical dimensions of geoengineering, filled with Stephensonian grace-notes, from superb use of language to delightful, idiosyncratic characters.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/04/general-ludd/#geoengineering

II. Dark Factory by Kathe Koja

Koja – an incredible, versatile writer who has pioneered multiple genres of fiction – presents an "immersive novel," about a high-stakes Bohemian party scene of mixed-reality artists, wealthy dilettantes, weird theorists and the very serious business of fun.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/20/a-walk-in-the-park/#all-night-party-people

III. Aspects by John M Ford

The long-awaited, unfinished first volume of a steampunk fantasy series, with an introduction by Neil Gaiman; "what Game of Thrones might have been, if the author had been fascinated by trains…communication and politics, magic, redemption, and the forms that love can take." A book of quiet – but stunning – erudition. Every aspect of Ford's world – its politics, its history, its geography, its magic, its technology, its economics, its mythos – rings true. What's more, every part of it fits together with the rest of it in a way that is so believable that it feels realer than our own world at times.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/09/john-m-ford/#aspects

IV. Up Against It by Laura J Mixon

The cracking first volume of WAVE, a space-opera series that manages to be both original — full of smart new ways of looking at science fiction ideas — and old fashioned — full of the kind of whiz-bang action-adventure that made so many of us fall in love with the field in the first place, about high-stakes administration of a space colony, where being good at your job is the utmost praxis. Republished as part of the Tor Essentials line.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/25/mj-locke-rides-again/#two-fisted-astro-bureaucrats

V. The Animals In That Country by Laura Jean McKay

An extraordinary debut novel, about a plague of understanding that sweeps across Australia, leaving the infected cursed with the ability to communicate with animals. It's an inversion of the standard trope of people and animals communicating with one another and finding mutual understanding and peace as a result. McKay sets herself the (seemingly) impossible of dramatizing human-animal communication without anthropomorphizing the animals, and then pulls it off – brilliantly.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/27/im-a-backdoor-man/#doolittle

VI. Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

A gothic horror/haunted house novel that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It's a spooky tale of body-horror and homecoming that's full of twists and turns and unexpected villains and heroes. Vera's father Francis Crowder was a serial killer, but he loved her. He built the house she grew up in with his own hands, including the soundproofed basement. He did bad things, and he went to prison for them, and Vera never saw him again.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#crowder-house

VII. A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys

A spectacular first-contact novel about complicated utopias and networked conflict – it's a wild ride, where the protagonist is a perfect match for the world, where a century of incredibly hard, smart work has carried us through the climate emergency, to the point where it's possible to believe that, over time, we will stabilize our relationship with the only known planet in the known universe capable of sustaining our species.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/26/aislands/#dead-ringers

VIII. When Franny Stands Up by Eden Robins

Here's the McGuffin of this debut novel: The advent of World War II and the rise of woman comedians (filling in the vacuum left by the departure of all the men) reveals the existence of Showstoppers: involuntary psychic reactions that woman comedians can induce in female audience members when they're really cooking. A book that feels simultaneously  utterly contemporary and like an old, beloved classic.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/01/eden-robins/#alt-history-comedy

Next up: Kids books!

https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/post/702452328987508736/all-the-books-i-reviewed-in-2022-part-ii-books

Image: Matthew Petroff https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George-peabody-library.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[Image ID: Interior of the George Peabody Library in Baltimore.]

[soft-uwu-hourss]

hiii

hello world! i've had this blog for a while now but have never really posted anything. i guess this is the first of my future blog!

a lil introduction about me! i am 23 female living in canada currently continuing my post-graduate degree, so i will definitely not be too active on here. however, this space is mostly just a safe space for me to come back to when i am feeling down and need a pick me up.

my current favs include:

seventeen (my bias changes all the time don't ask but i have to give some credit to my birthday twin hoshi 💕)

one direction (bias lol: louis!! just what a precious gem he is)

other kpop favs: astro, yena

other music favs: conan gray (fan since 2016), maisie peters (fan since 2016/17), dodie (fan since 2015), 5sos, avril lavigne

tv shows: schitts creek (canadian), bad buddy (thai), tale of a thousand stars (thai),

film: princess diaries (anything with anne hathaway), how to train your dragon, rise of the guardians, barbie (yes i still love em)

hobbies: painting, drawing, anything to do with art, (i might start posting fan art in the future!), reading all types of books (historical fiction, ya, etc), bullet journaling

that's just a lil bit about me! hope you all are having a fantastic week so far and hope the next year goes by well for everyone! 💕

Twitter: softie sam (@soft_uwu_hourss)

[sixthwater]

Hiii! I followed your personal account, had no idea that you had a tarot & astro blog ahahah

Anyways, I saw you're using the tarot of the divine deck and I had a weird question about it… I got that deck about two or three months ago because I saw it on a youtube pac and I fell in love with it but I have a bit of an issue with it because I feel like it gives me answers that are complete gibberish lol.

I may not be the best reader but when I use different decks, I often see that there is something to the cards I draw (like the theme or similarities between the cards etc), even if I'm having hard time interpreting it. But with this deck it's different, it feels super random. And it doesn't help that some of the imaginery is very extreme (like 10 of swords in this deck, I just cannot read it in a positive or neutral way… and I had it come up as a positive thing)

So my question kind of is, how do you find this deck? And did ever had issues like that with other decks?

Ok I'm now gonna binge-read your pacs haha, loved the last one btw

Hi!!! Really quickly I really enjoy your astrology posts but I'm pretty sure you've figured that out by now but also my bad,,,,,sometimes I treat notifs here like my phone notifs and I forget to check back in fjkdl;sajifeja

So the Tarot of the Divine is actually one of my strongest decks, but I don't use it a lot because it likes romance, and I don't do a lot of romance readings unless it's for my friends or it happens to want to be picked up. I actually didn't believe in the whole deck personality thing until I got three decks and they answered my daily pulls very differently and I started to pick up on it so glad I figured it out before I got this one. (I'm gonna give like two examples)

The thing with this deck is that, for it, it kind of relies on the stories associated with it, to the point that it can slightly change the strength or interpretation of the cards (realizing my horror deck does this too, sorting these under dramatic decks). The 10 of Swords is one of my favorite actually. There's a lot to her but this went with the one involving her father. There's a range of different reasons leading up to why her father took her out to sea to push her off the boat, cutting off her fingers to ensure she drowns, but it always ends the same: in one way or another she is able to grow into something that gives back in a way (she becomes the goddess of the sea, her limbs become animals that the Inuit can then hunt, etc). So it's a betrayal that can give way to a mindset of revenge, but subconsciously along the way the person will have paths open up along the way that can help others along the way or they'll grow significantly from it, yet their mindset is currently clouded until they can heal, but it's not as blunt as most 10 of Swords are.

3 of Swords is another one of my favorite cards because it doesn't directly mean heartbreak but more trust broken between lovers or people. It's a really sad beautiful Japanese tale (The Crane Wife) that relies on someone trusting their spouse who disappears for long bouts of time in order to make something that they can sell for stability, but his curiosity / paranoia gets the best of him, he breaks his promise, and then she has to leave.

9 of Swords is the funniest to me bc it's associated with when Oedipus finds out about his son (so overthinking leading directly to your downfall), 8 of Cups is associated with Moses so it has a more spiritual undertone, 10 of Wands is bittersweet because its about a father who searched for his missing daughter alone until he died and a tree grew from his bones (so I associate that more with family or people who rely on you), 7 of Wands associated with John Henry so pretty almost on point, 9 of Cups I no longer can find romantic when using this deck because it's about a guy basically becoming what the woman wants (because she does not like men) in order to connect with her (so....wish fulfillment? but I used it for a first date reading and it was very insightful), and 3 of Wands is actually one of the cutest cards in this deck because it's about a girl who gets her husband taken so she sets out on a journey to get him back no matter the obstacles in front of her because of the deadline (I think three days or smth)

I actually have way more problems with the original Rider-Waite deck. I haven't wanted to get it until recently so I can go general spreads for wider audiences so they can pick up messages they might need themselves, but it feels like A House in astrology, whereas other tarot decks feel like The Signs. I can get my messages from Rider-Waite but it like...ends there LMAO meanwhile I can get a whole painted story in different ways from my other decks, so I usually try and use my rider deck alongside something else

Also thnk u thnk u thnk u thnk u

[chell10xo]

Well it’s been a while since I posted so I thought I’d go all out on this blog. I’m going to discuss, soul connections, astrology, inner work and the 7 chakras and a little bit of tarot.

In 2018 I began going through another spiritual awakening, I stumbled across the term twin flames and I was quite taken back by it. I always grew up thinking we all had one soul mate and it was a fairytale kind of love but the deeper I dove into spirituality my beliefs began to change.

We can have several soul mates but only one twin flame. The common theory for twin flames is that the soul splits and reincarnations into two different bodies for soul evolution. A twin flame is a mirror soul, a reflection of you , the good and the bad. Your twin will shed light on everything that you need to heal and what you try to run from and eventually they will help you to ascend. There is no other connection like it. They usually come in and out your life triggering different stages of spiritual awakenings and to ensure you continue doing the work you signed up before reincarnating on Earth.

The twin flame journey isn’t easy, there are many different stages and there is usually a runner and chaser dynamic going on. One of the main lessons is to learn that twin flames will always be connected it’s only their ego that separates them from each other.

🖤A soul mate is usually a relatively easy relationship, you grow together and are able to overcome challenges, the relationship brings stability, peace and love they are usually a life partner that you settle down with.

-

-🖤Karmic people are the ones you will meet through out your life, the union between karmic people can often be intense and short lived. The reason being is that they cross your path to teach you something valuable and it is up to you whether you want to learn the lesson. Sometimes we keep meeting the same people in different bodies so that we are forced  to pay attention to what they are trying to teach us.

-

🖤Catalyst twin flames A catalyst twin flame is a term used for someone who may be very similar to your twin flame, they may belong in the same soul group or share the same vibrational energy. They also trigger inner work

- You may find yourself meeting karmic people during retrograde seasons.

- South node in astrology represents our past lives, where we came from and where our souls last resided. I would look at personal planets, moon, mars, mercury and Venus aspecting South node to see what karma you have to unravel. I would look at harsh aspects usually squares, oppositions or conjunctions to the south node.

- Venus square south node would be a good indicator that you shared an emotional bond with this person in a previous life time.

🖤Megan fox and machine GK synastry 🖤

An article published on 22nd July 2020 - the date is definitely a synchronicity since 22 22 is considered a twin flame number, In the article Megan claims that MGK is her twin flame. She recalled feeling an instant connection with him.

“I went deep right away. I knew before I even did his chart, I said to him, he has a Pisces moon. I could tell by his energy,” she said.”

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/entertainment/megan-fox-connection-machine-gun-kelly-immediate-twin-flame-194629807.html

MGK also captioned a picture of them both on Instagram as

“waited for eternity to find you again... 🔪 💫❤️ 🔪 “

So let’s look into this magical connection they share.

With MF and MGK both having Taurus sun’s, they will share similar personality traits which will bring harmony. However their rising signs are quite different since Megan has Capricorn rising and MGK has Gemini, the Gemini energy and sun in his 11 denfentily gives MGK more an edgy style.

When have a soul tie with someone we are able to communicate with them telepathically but between twin flames the telepathic connection is very powerful.

Mental connection -

🌚Sun conjunct telephus - in 11th & 3rd house - telepathic connection, understanding, knowing

🌚Mercury conjunct mercury in 12th &4th house - psychic connection , mental connection, depth , understanding

🌚Both have mercury in Taurus , creating a conjunction this means similar ways of thinking / communicating

🌚Neptune in 8th trine mercury in 4th- telepathy, imagination, romance, dreamy , depth

Physical connection

⚡️Sun in 11th opposite Pluto in 5th

Electrical, life changing, obsessive, fated , magnetic , explosive

⚡️Megan’s mars falls into MGK 8th house

Sexual chemistry, exploring taboos, depth, intensity, reading the subconscious mind, sharing secrets , sexual tension

⚡️MGK Mars in Pisces is trine MF Pluto in Scorpio

Satisfying each other’s desires, intimacy, power games

⚡️Mars in 11th - squaring Pluto in 8th composite chart - experimenting, powerful emotions, bringing out each other’s shadow/ darker side, knowing what triggers one and other

connection -

🖤 Megan’s Leo moon is conjunct MGF south node - 3rd house of communication .Any personal planets aspecting the south node can indicate past life encounters. The moon represents our emotions and connections we have with others and since it’s touching his south node this can indicate an instant connection, familiarity and deep bond.

🖤 Jupiter expands and blesses everything it touches, if aspected positively. MGK Venus in Pisces is exactly conjunct MF’s Jupiter in Pisces - this aspect would give a dreamy, fairy tale kind of love and with a dash of Jupiter for sure it would be expand their love for each other.

🖤 MGK Alma which is another term for soul is conjunct MF’s Neptune in Capricorn in her 12th house. As mentioned earlier the 12th house is known as the karmic house. Capricorn’s ruler is Saturn which also known for representing karma in astrology. Now let’s switch it round. Their Neptune conjunct Alma also falls into MF’s 7th house. Now taking in both placements, I would say this is a spiritual connection.

Fate, destiny and karma

The vertex is used in astrology to identify fated events, karma and destiny. Scorpio is considered the most interned sign of the zodiac because of the powerful energy Pluto carries.

Her Pluto is conjunct his vertex in his 5th house of fun, dating and romance. This is likely to be a life changing relationship filled with passion and. They will be strongly drawn to each other and with this conjunction also falling into MF 9th house, this union would more than likely transform her beliefs and lead her to search for spirtual guidance to make sense of their connection.

-South node conjunct union in Libra (spiritual reunion)

-Venus square Chiron (deep healing)

Elements

Fixed - Taurus , Scorpio , Leo , Aquarius

Mutable - Pisces , Virgo , Sagittarius, Gemini

Cardinal - Cancer , Aquarius, libra , Aries

🌚Feminine signs - Earth + water

💥Masculine signs -Air + fire

Usually with twin flames you will notice similarities or oppositions within the chart.

Both sun signs are in a fixed sign

🌙 Megan’s moon is in her 7th house which is a cardinal house

🌙 MGK Moon falls in his 10th house which is also cardinal house

🌪MF Venus is in Pisces & MGK Venus is in Gemini both are mutable signs

💥Megan’s mars falls Into her 1st house & MGK mars falls into his 10th both cardinal houses.

💥Megan’s mars is in Capricorn MGK mars falls into his 10th house which is the house of Capricorn.

🌙Mercury in Taurus are both in water houses 12 & 4

🌙Ruler of Megan’s DC is in cancer and her moon is in her 7th house.

🌙Ruler of MGK 7 house is in Jupiter which is in his 1st house

Alma means soul in Spanish it also considered the second moon in astrology.

🌙Megan’s Alma is in her 1st house

🌙And MGK Alma is in his 7th house

It is not clear whether they are actually twin flames but they are likely to share a soul connection. It will be interesting to see how this relationship plays out in the future as no twin flame journey is a walk in the park.

Astrology can not determine who your twin is.

Every twins journey is different, some are meant to be together in this life and some are not it all depends on the soul contract, all twins will have different strengths, weaknesses and connections which will show up differently in each individual chart. I found some asteroids which seem pretty interesting. You can go over to Astro. Com (extended chart) and calculate synastry between you and whoever. Asteroids should be in conjunction, opposition or squaring personal planets.

💫 Telephus 5264 - what a magical asteroid, it represents intuition, telepathy your inner voice.

💫 Psyche 16 - the Greek translation of soul. This asteroid can also indicate shadow work that one is yet to do.

💫 Juno- your ideal mate, a soul mate, a life partner, the one you’re likely to marry.

💫 Moria 638 - associated with destiny, fate synchronicities and karma

💫 Alma 390 another term for soul, connected with the heart , it can reveal information about your recent past life.

💫Urda 167 is similar to the south node as it is connected to past lives

💫 Child 4580 , child can represent our inner child and how to nurture , heal & connect with our inner child.

💫DNA 55555 , shows genetic information

💫Memoria 1247 - this is an astroid that holds memories of your past life

💫Union 1585 , reunion , being drawn to another , fate

💫193 Ambrosia , associated with healing, Devine masculine and feminine energy , eternity

💫ALTJIRA 148780 ,Shananic journeys , visions

🪄Numerology / synchronicities / dreams

-Some are born on the same day

-same life path numbers (this isn’t always) try calculating the numbers also

-Seeing repetitive numbers what are associated with twin flames - 1111/111/1212/1221/1313/2222/

-Reunion on the 11th month or 11th day etc

-months or days calculated between birth date may be meaningful

-having visions / dreams

-astral projection

-meeting/ unions during astrological events - new moons / full moons / portals

Dealing with separation / dark night of the soul

Energy work is a vital part of your spiritual journey. For those who feel they are on a twin flame journey then it is important that you balance your chakras especially if you are hoping for a reunion after separation or going through ‘the dark night of the soul’ or if you want to ascend high enough to meet a soul mate.

Everybody has 7 energy points in the body which is known as the chakras.

💜The crown chakra is associated with the planets Jupiter and the sun (Neutral)

👁The third eye chakra is connected with the moon and and Jupiter (feminine)

💙The throat chakra is associated with mercury (masculine)

💚The heart chakra is connected to the moon and Venus (feminine)

💛The solar plexus chakra represents the sun and mars (masculine)

🧡The sacral chakra is associated with Venus and the moon (feminine)

❤️The root chakra is connected with Saturn (masculine)

Use your astrology chart to connect with your chakras and find out identify your strengths and weaknesses. A person who has Neptune positively aspecting their personal planets may have an active third eye chakra which makes them in intuitive , spiritual and psychic. But they may have harsh aspects to their moon where they may shy away from emotionally intimacy, be guarded or have conflict feelings. They will need to do more work on their heart / sacral chakra through out their life time for spiritual healing.

An example of this would be moon square Saturn as it can indicate mother wounds, if you don’t heal then over time you can create and an emotional wall , this where the heart chakra becomes unbalanced or blocked. By observing where your moon is in your chart you can find where you will find comfort in life and what makes you feel content.

Your birth chart is a guide of what you need to heal, the more healing you do the less likely you are to keep recycling your experiences as you will raise your vibrations you will attract your soul family, be able to manifest the life you desire and ascend higher.

I’ve written a list of how the planets can relate to our shadow side.

🪐Pluto - what we desire, obsessions , secrets

🪐Lilith - Lilith is the wildness that resides within all of us, she holds the key to the closet that holds all your skeletons. She appears as taboos, addictions, obsessions, lust, and desires

🪐Chiron -the teacher and also the healer

🪐Saturn - what we fear , what we resent , karmic patterns

🪐Venus- What and how we love

🪐Mars - our drive , aggression

🪐Mercury - our mind

🪐Neptune - how we escape

🪐Squares and oppositions - challenges , work that we need to do -

🪐8th / 12th house

Shadow work

Our shadow side is the darkenss that lies with in us. It’s something that karmic partners usually trigger with in us and our twin reflects our dark parts which helps us to ascend. In astrology we could look at the astroid Lilith sign and placement to understand our darkest parts and what triggers us , or we can look at Pluto or even the more harsh challenging aspects such as squares which sometimes makes it difficult for others to understand us or even for us to understand our selves and why be behave in certain ways.

Shadow work usually rocks up as

-healing childhood trauma/ wounds

-recognising toxic patterns , how we self sabotage ie

-acknowledging

-facing our ego

-embracing our wild side

-Devine masculine / feminine work

-Taboos sexual desires

Tarot cards I Associate with twinflames/soulmates /karmic

-Queen of wands and king of wands / devil (twin flame energy )

-The emperor (Devine masculine)

-The empress (Devine feminine)

-2 of wands / 3 of cups / 10 of cups for reunion

-Judgment -karmic

-The lovers /2of cups / ace of cups - soulmate

-Dark night of the soul / the tower

-separation 8 of cups , death

Happy new moon guys, thanks for reading. Please feel free to share your experiences/ thoughts 🖤🪐⚡️.

[malleux]

☆ Day 4 - Prince Diluc ☆

-> diluc x fem!reader | royalty!au

-> fluff, crack (diluc actually loosens up)

-> warnings: dead parents

-> “pick a prince” masterlist

a/n: i’ve got nothing to say. diluc is ooc but i wanted him to talk through his trauma and loosen up for a goddamn second yk

You were known to be a rather reckless individual. You didn’t think much of your actions, nor how they would affect you. Your entire life consisted of lessons on how to put others first, so it made sense that you would hide your pain, putting on a smile that only a princess could possess as you went about your day.

The bandage on your hand caused too much attention. People were worried- what happened to their princess?

“Your form is atrocious.”

You lifted your head away from the practice dummy, wiping the sweat off of your forehead and turning to the doorway. “Well I’m sorry, why don’t you show me how it’s done?”

Diluc huffed and moved behind you, gently adjusting your arms until the sword was pointed correctly.

“Now, do an overhand swing at that dummy.”

You subtly winced at the idea. The leather grip of the sword was practically searing into your hand, still sore from yesterday’s injury. Maybe taking the bandage off wasn’t a good idea.

Nonetheless, you swung. Your blade sliced the wooden arm, leaving a substantial mark and even more pain in your hand.

“Underhand.”

“Stab.”

“Backhand.”

“Stop!”

You dropped the sword, unconsciously clenching your hand as Diluc stepped towards you. With a firm grip, he grabbed at your hand and lifted it to his face, inspecting the reddened and irritated skin.

“What happened?”

“Just a burn when I was with Prince Albedo, no worries-“

“An experiment, I presume? He’s always getting people into problems with his little fixations. You shouldn’t be practicing if you’re injured, it won’t heal.”

You scoffed. “Didn’t know you were my mom.”

If Diluc heard you, he did a good job of ignoring it. Instead, he moved to the side of the training area where you had a cup of water. He handed it to you and sat down on the ground as you drank.

You took your time with your sips, choosing to subtly watch as Diluc tied his hair up into a high ponytail. His fingers threaded through his fluffy hair and you couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel beneath your own. You sat down next to him.

“You don’t seem like the type to be into marriages.” You began.

“I’m not.”

You quirked an eyebrow, silently waiting for him to continue.

“When my parents were alive, they’d always talked about me finding someone and having some fairy tale wedding. Something straight out of the books they’d read to my-“ He coughed “-brother and I. When your father wrote to our kingdom, asking if there were any eligible bachelors, I decided to come. Maybe my parents can see my fairy tale wedding from up in the sky.”

“Oh, Diluc-“

“I don’t want your pity.”

You furrowed your brows. “I wasn’t going to pity you. If you would have let me finished, I was going to say that I think it’s very nice that you want to honor their wishes. They must have meant a lot to you.”

Diluc shrugged, his gaze fixated somewhere far from where you were in the present. “It’s not something I share, but I figure that I need to be more open if I wish for you to pick me.”

You nodded. “Tell me about your brother.”

“He’s here.”

“What?”

“Prince Kaeya.” Saying his name seemed to send a shudder through the prince, “He’s my adoptive brother. After the death of our father, our relationship has been incredibly... strained. And yet, as much as I want to absolutely despise him, he’s still my brother.”

“So you love him?”

“As much as one could love an awful brother - wait, wait, why are you standing up?”

You giggled and began backing away as Diluc stood up with you. “I’ve got to find Prince Kaeya. I’m gonna tell him you love him and wanna be his friend again~”

“Y/N, that’s childish- GET BACK HERE!”

Cackling, you ran back inside the castle with Diluc hot on your heels. You didn’t even really remember what Kaeya looked like, it was just fun to make the stoic, calm, and collected prince chase you through the halls to stop you from calling his estranged brother’s name.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s all the noise for princess?”

“Kaeya, right?”

“Yes?”

“Diluc said- mmph!”

An arm wrapped around your waist while a hand covered your mouth, preventing you from talking to Kaeya any further. Diluc breathed heavily behind you and you tried not to flush as you felt his chest press against your back. Kaeya looked at Diluc questionably, but the red-head only glared at him and pulled you away.

“You’re ridiculous. That was incredibly childish of you- how old are you again? Seven? That sounds about right.”

You gave him an answer to your age, but your sounds were still muffled by his hand.

“What pleasure did it bring you, making me chase you around the castle? Is this what it would be like if I married you as well? I don’t think- Stop licking my hand!”

He pushed you away and you giggled once more, wiping your mouth as he did the same to his hand.

“It’s going to be exactly like this if we get married, Prince Diluc. You need to lighten up a little!” You stood up on your tip-toes and pressed a featherlight kiss to his cheek, winking at him and walking away.

Diluc watched you go, his face growing to match his hair color. And he couldn’t help but think that a future like that wouldn’t be half bad.

taglist #1: @xenia-cenia @murder-and-mistflowers @osmiumtrash @rebeljustforkicks137 @heisenwurst @writingmi @dilucs-thighs @wiseeggspickleslime @cotton—candy1709 @emerald-smile @luckymuddypaw @mercurysmaiden @Violeteyesofevergarden @darthsokaaa @aaaaalona @lehra @peepeles @hopeless-path @chaiteabeebee @murderisfantastic @janieatlanta @naritecs @a-cutiecatie @hanniejji @optimestick @trashy-mctrash @9ineine @akatherinque @spqcebun @milkxteaa @spooderkat @4everanimesimp @asheseiler @hnpriscilla @m0na-l0ver @welcometomypersonalhell098 @simplysm1le @lumi-ying @y2ndere @2-player-game @craptainlou @myheadcanonz @Piprapie @calicolaaaa @Traveler-Lumine @starrysurprise @anime-read-write-repeat @mercuryxx257 @kiitsumi @mochidabells @thefoxsleeps @josmottt @justrandomselfships @fanfictwarrior @dai-tsukki-desu @hugthesnail @astro-anomaly @liyue-harbor @genshincharactersmaid @katkrusade @chiliboba

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[lycheesqueeze]

6 History Related KDramas You Need to Watch

I am a huge fan of historical Dramas. But I believe it is rather hard to find one that fits your watchlist. There are political dramas, romantic comedies and Dramas based on true Stories. Whether you like classic KDrama Plotlines or not so typically Stories I am sure you will find something on this list.

Please keep in mind that this list is only made in my opinion and from what I truly thought about these Dramas. If you have any recommendations for other dramas that fit in this list, please let me now!

*I only included the directors of the Dramas

- The Last Empress [황후의 품격] // 2018 by Joo Dong-Min

A Drama that plays in our period of time but can nonetheless be called a history drama. It displays how a monarchy would function in modern South Korea. The Story is about an unsuccessful and naive musical actress who marries the Emperor of the Korean Empire. Her character seems clumsy and featherbrained but being the main act in this drama her role is bond to change. This series starts of rather light and comedic however it'll change in later episodes as the Plot develops into an investigation storyline.

Main Actresses and Actors: Jang Na-Ra as Oh Sunny // Choi Jin-Hyuk as Na Wang-Sik // Shin Sung-Rok as Emperor Lee Hyuk

- The Tale of Nokdu [조선로코 - 녹두전] // 2019 by Kim Dong-Hwi

This Drama plays in the Joseon Dynasty and tells the story about Nokdu, a young man who wants to find the truth about his birth. On his way he disguises himself as a woman in order to enter a widow village where the answers to his questions lie. Given that this Story is a romantic comedy we also have our female lead character, a young woman living in a Kisaeng house next to the widow village. As the Plot develops, more and more interesting characters are introduced but the storyline lacks cliffhangers and overall interesting turning points. Nonetheless it's a light and fun to watch Drama.

Main Actresses and Actors: Jang Dong-Yoon as Jeon Nok-Du // Kim So-Hyun as Dong Dong-Joo // Kang Tae-Oh as Prince Neungyang

- My Country: The new Age [나의 나라] // 2019 by Kim Jin-Won

This is by far my favorite History Drama. The story revolves around two good friends but their different ranks in society leads them on two different paths. It's a story about a big revolution but it isn't the outcome that is important. This Plot has everything: Epic fighting scenes, an unbreakable friendship, an interesting plot with excellent cliffhangers and unpredictable turning points. All characters are unique and have their own plotlines which makes you even more anticipated to watch. The lead actors are well known figures and fit the two main characters perfectly.

Main Actresses and Actors: Yang Se-Jong as Seo Hwi // Woo Do-Hwan as Nam Sun-Ho // Kim Seol-Hyun as Han Hee-Jae

- Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung [신입사관 구해령] // 2019 by Kang Il-Soo & Han Hyun-Hee

A romantic drama about a rookie historian and an abandoned prince who secretly works as an author of love novels. Although it doesn't start of very interesting the many small plotlines lining to an connected end make it worth to watch till the last episode. Fans of Astro will definitely have a joy watching this cute drama, with Cha Eun-Woo as the main lead and adorable clumsy prince. But also the historical background is rather interesting as we don't see this kind of topic often. After all it's more a romantic comedy than epic story but still entertaining to watch.

Main Actresses and Actress: Cha Eun-Woo as Yi Rim // Shin Se-Kyung as Goo Hae-Ryung // Park Ki-Woong as Prince Yi Jin

- The King: Eternal Monarch [더 킹: 영원의 군자] // 2020 by Baek Sang-Hoon, Jung Ji-Hyun & Yoo Je-Won

Another modern monarchy story taking place in two parallel worlds which gives this drama fantasy vibes. The drama tells the story of detective Jeong Tae-Eul and the Emperor Lee Gon who meet each other under very interesting circumstances. Because this story takes places in different times and worlds it comes across confusing in the beginning but the heartwarming characters and love story make up for this. This drama has beautiful cinematics and interesting plot twists not to mention great actors like Lee Min-Ho and Woo Do-Hwan. In the end it's a classic romantic love Drama and less a historical piece.

Main Actresses and Actress: Lee Min-Ho as Emperor Lee Gon // Kim Go-Eun as Jeong Tae-Eul & Luna // Woo Do-Hwan as Jo Yeong & Jo Eun-Sup

- Hymn of Death [사의 찬미] // 2018 by Park Soo-Jin

Hymne of Death is based on a true story and takes place in 1920, when Korea was under Japanese Occupation. The Drama tells the tragic love story of Soprano Yun Sim-Deok and playwright Kim Woo-Jin. Going as far as calling it the Korean Romeo and Juliet this short Story is full of dramatic plotting and beautiful poetic scenes. The historical part doesn't come to short and shows us Korea in periods of change but also the harsh reality of the Japanese invasion.

Main Actress and Actor: Shin Hye-Sun as Yun Sim-Deok // Lee Jong-Suk as Kim Woo-Jin

[askmerriauthor]

Star Wars: Visions thoughts and discussion

Been on a bit of a Star Wars binge lately. Getting ready for the Book of Fett and the return of The Mandalorian soon, just finished playing the Jedi: Fallen Order game, and recently "Star Wars: Visions" dropped on Disney+ (not to be confused with the, like, half-dozen other Star Wars properties that use "Visions" as their title). If you've got the streaming service and haven't watched the series yet, I can honestly suggest you should do so. The whole thing is a series of very short episodes and is entirely non-canon to the setting, so you don't even need a hard understanding of Star Wars to enjoy it.

In fact, it's actually better if you don't know anything about Star Wars going in. Spoilers and brief episode discussion after the jump.

Episode 1: The Duel As soon as I saw a lightsaber umbrella and a R2 droid in a hat, I knew this one was going to be a must-watch.

I REPEAT. LIGHTSABER. UMBRELLA.

Solid kick-off for the short series. Dig the aesthetic, dig the classic samurai vibe (even if it's more of an homage than a direct application of the style), dig the simple story. The particular animation style they chose here was a little wonky but I quickly got used to the visuals and loved a bunch of the design choices too much to care. This one was very action/style-focused and clearly chosen as the leading episode for that reason, which I don't fault them at all for.

Episode 2: Tatooine Rhapsody I'm sorry, I don't recall giving Star Wars permission to be this fucking adorable, how dare you.

The tale of a Padawan survivor of Order 66 who makes a new life for himself not with the power of the Force, but with the power of Rock and Roll and Friendship. Bitchin'. Super adorable, semi-chibi art style that's honestly ringing, like, a dozen different bells in my head for trying to figure out all the different styles it's drawing from. Good fun, if a bit bland in the end. The biggest problem is the music. The story relies on "using music to save the day", which is fine. But when you use that trope you need an absolutely face-melting banger of a performance, which this just doesn't have. An enjoyable entry all the same though. Not bad, not great, cute designs; the quirky story of how Jabba the Hutt got a new slave band to play at his den.

Episode 3: The Twins This entire episode is animated by the team who brought us Kill la Kill and that should really tell you everything you need to know.

You know how if you get a bunch of little kids together, they'll start playing make-believe games where they just invent stories and plot twists and super powers like "I have whatever you can do, but infinity plus 1 better!" shit like that? That's what this short is. It has only the vaguest allusions to the setting proper and immediately hurls every semblance of consistency, logic, and sense out the window with both hands. It is 1,000,000% style over substance.

Okay, y'know what, no, that's not enough to describe the utter insanity this episode is. All I can find online is pictures of the main villain character pulling a General Grievous impression or the protag snaring lightsaber whips on his lightsaber, but that is fucking tiddlywinks compared to where this episode goes.

There is a scene in this short where the protag, who is ghost-riding the hood of his X-Wing upside down in space without a space suit, super-charges his lightsaber into a giant rainbow of FUCK YOU GEORGE LUCAS with the power of familial love and fabulousness, using said rainbow super saber to CUT AN ENTIRE STAR DESTROYER IN HALF WHILE ACCELERATING TO HYPERSPEED, all to save his twin sister's life by making her explode in a somehow non-harmful manner.

This short is utterly nonsensical drivel and yes I would like more right the fuck now, please and thank you.

Episode 4: The Village Bride Wait, we're actually trying to tell a reasonable story in this series? Sorry, I was still on a sugar high from the previous episode. Lemme sit down.

The Village Bride is great. Excellent short that's just dripping with atmosphere and a slow, purposeful pace to its writing. It's short and sweet with little focus on the Force-using characters themselves, which actually serves to its credit. Even in the Star Wars universe, the Ainu people can't catch a fucking break. Easily one of my favorites in the whole run.

Episode 5: The Ninth Jedi The fact that two characters in this short have Sasuke's haircut was extremely distracting. But I actually really enjoyed this entry overall.

Despite playing extremely loose with the established lore around how lightsabers work, this episode over all others really embraces the original setting and tells a slow-burn story about the potential revival of the Jedi Order. A little meandering at times, but it's a solid piece and well worth exploring. Of all the shorts in the series, this one has the greatest potential to actually continue on as a standalone series or be folded into the canon franchise. Main protag is an adorable bean and I love her.

Episode 6: T0-B1 This episode is simultaneously a love letter to Astro Boy and a giant middle finger to Star Wars lore purists.

The tale of an imaginative Droid named T0-B1 who dreams of becoming a hero like the Jedi he's heard so many stories of. This short gets extra credit for being so unyieldingly stylish and charming. On the surface of its presentation and story choices it seems like it doesn't know anything about Star Wars lore, but it's actually packed full of some pretty deep cuts that show the folk behind it do know what they're talking about and just don't fucking care what purists have to say. The entire thing is just "Yeah, I'm ignoring your lore, but I'm doing it in a fun way that makes the setting more interesting, and I'm so genuine about it that you can't be mad at me". I can respect that. Plus the old dude in that screenshot is an armless Jedi who's retired to be a botanist and that's just fucking cool.

Episode 7: The Elder I'm Episode 1, but better.

This one. This shit right here. This is the good shit.

I'm sure y'all have heard before that Star Wars is directly inspired by Kurosawa and samurai films in general, but The Elder really digs into that hard. Where Episode 1 styles itself after a samurai tale, Episode 7 is a samurai tale. Subdued, methodical storytelling, slow-burn pace, charming dialogue amid believable characters, and a truly intimidating villain who provokes a brief but striking duel. This is my vibe. I crave more of this. Far and away the best short of the entire series.

Episode 8: Lop and Ocho Oh for fuck's sake, there's going to be so much porn of this bunny girl character, isn't there?

This entry is another that kind of meanders with the story it's trying to tell and plays very loose with the lore. It reimagines a lot of what we know of the Jedi/The Rebels and Sith/The Empire into a feudal faction-based conflict akin to what you'd see in a period samurai drama. Modernization and callous industry crushing the spirit of the people and breaking apart families. A decent work overall, but nothing really all that impressive in the end. It takes too long to get going and then peters out halfway through its pay-off for some reason.

Episode 9: Akakiri The fact that I had to look up this episode's name and scenes online and still could not remember anything about it should tell you a lot.

The series ends on a downer with the dramatic tale of a fallen Jedi who sacrifices himself and succumbs to the Dark Side. Turning evil for... the greater good? Wha? Had some pretty neat visuals, but I genuinely cannot remember a damn thing about this episode or its characters. Big swing and a miss in terms of impact.

[rosie-moons]

Beauty and the Beast 1 {} Tale as Old as Time || myg

~Pairing: worstboyfriendever!yoongi x travelenthusiast!reader

~Genre: Angst with a sprinkle of fluff

~Word Count: 3.4k

~Warnings: yoongi being the worst boyfriend 😥😥😥, reader crying 😔😔😔, very cliche scenes, a breakup (not the major part though), yoongi crying 😢😢😢, yoongi cheating on reader (YOONGI I SWORE IF YOU HURT OUR OC LIKE THIS I WOULD PUNCH YOU TILL YOU BLEED but you’re saved for the sake of this story 😡😡😡), reader being too forgiving, swearing

~A/N: well. i just had to give you guys angst after dp, didn't i? i know yoongi's stupid in here but pls don't get mad at him bc he's my bb and i love him too much 🥺. also HOMOPHOBES STAY AWAY, CHOHEE AND NARI ARE MY BABES AND I'LL PROTECT THEM NO MATTER WHAT!

~''~

In your relationship, Yoongi had always been the beast.

Missing dates, drinking at the bar and getting wasted almost every night, overall just fucking around… it was common sense that this was what boyfriends were supposed to do, right?

“Right.” was what you always thought- that boys were uncaring and stupid and undeserving of any love.

Well, any love except for yours.

Somehow, Yoongi always thought that you didn't deserve him, that you were the ugly, cold-hearted beast, that you were supposed to love him without anything in return.

And you always thought he was right; forgiving him after his sobbing apologies again and again, taking care of him after drunken nights again and again, convincing yourself that he really did love you again and again- until you decided this couldn’t go on.

No, you had a life outside of Yoongi.

You had dreams.

You had friends, a good social life, a whole group of boys who’d give you the universe if it meant you could be with them.

Why did you choose Yoongi though?

Why not any of those boys, some of whom were more attractive, more caring, treated you better?

~’’~

“Soulmates,” your best friend Nari huffed, turning her head to look at you. You were having a long-anticipated spa night together, cool cucumber slices resting on your tired eyes and some sort of coconut scented oatmeal mush plastered over your face. “You gotta stop believing in that shit, Y/N.”

You sighed.

“I’m trying, okay? It’s just that… I think… I think believing that one day someone will love you for eternity is better than living every day in heartache. At least it gives you hope, a reason to smile, I guess. Don’t you think so too?”

Nari paused for a minute, nodding subtly as she chowed on a cucumber slice. “Now that I think about it, I guess you’re right…”

You smiled, proud that you’d convinced her.

“...but nah, I still think you should face reality more than your imagination, you really have your head up in the clouds too much. All those fairytales- you know why they’re called fairytales and not realistic tales or something? Because they’re just to lull kids to sleep, all that perfect romance doesn’t exist,” her expression softened. “Hey, I really didn't mean to upset you... I was just- are you thinking about him again?”

You shut your eyes tightly, trying to stop the overflow of tears threatening to spill out. “I… no, I’m not. I just… I don’t…”

“Hey, Y/N, it’s alright…” She immediately scrambled off her massage chair, coming over to yours and pulling you into her arms. “He’s a stupid fucker who doesn’t deserve you. There’s so many good guys who’ll die to be with you, Y/N, I’m sure even Seventeen’s Mingyu would date you if you gave him a chance. Really!”

You sniffled, burying your face in your friend’s chest. “Not everyone’s obsessed with Seventeen like you, Nari.”

“Well,” She hmph’ed. “Are there any K-pop groups you like, then?”

“No.”

“How about TXT? Enhypen? Astro? You like none of them?”

“Enhypen’s okay, I guess…”

“There we go! Okay, okay, who’s your favorite member?”

“The one with the really nice smile.”

“All of them have nice smiles, Y/N. Do you know his name?”

“Uh… Sun-something. I think his last name is Kim.”

“Sunoo? You like Sunoo? OMG! OMG! MY BEST FRIEND LIKES SUNOO!” Nari jumps off the massage chair, making “whoop whoop” noises as she dances across the spa room.

A beautiful raven-haired spa attendant creaks open the door, stepping in. “Hello, ladies. I hope you’re enjoying your evening. I just heard… something, and was wondering if you’re doing okay.”

Nari freezes with her left foot still in the air, arms bent in an awkward position. She coughs, blushing as she scrambled to a standing position. “Yes, um, we’re doing fine. Thank you, er…” Her eyes flicker down to the attendant’s nametag, “Chohee ♥” scribbled in pretty cursive handwriting. “...Chohee.”

You flashed your signature wide smile, giving her a thumbs up. “Yep! Nari just gets excited easily, everything’s okay!”

She smiles back, pretty pink lips devoid of any lip gloss or lipstick. “Alright, then. Call me if you need anything!”

“Wait!” Nari calls after her as she proceeds to shut the door. “How are we supposed to call you if we don’t have your number?”

Chohee laughs awkwardly. “Oh… haha… I meant, like, physically call me, not, like, with a phone… haha… but… I mean… like...” She takes a page from the tiny notebook in her pocket, writing something on it. She hands it over to Nari. “Here’s my number, just don’t… spam me… or anything… um…” She clears her throat. “I hope we can… be… friends… or… something…”

Nari smiles shyly, accepting the paper. “Yeah… thanks, Chohee. Um, it was great meeting you…”

They giggle dumbly together before a shrill “CHOHEE! WE HAVE CUSTOMERS WAITING, YOU KNOW!” interrupts the glassy moment. Chohee immediately jumps back into professionalism, clearing her throat. “Sorry, uh… Nari…? Was that it?”

Nari nods.

“Yeah. Nari. Um, I have to go…”

“Oh, we shouldn’t be interrupting your work, should we?” She laughs. “Thanks for… uh… everything…”

“No problem.” They giggle again. “I really have to get going though… Bye.”

“Bye, Chohee.”

“CHOHEE SEO! IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE NOW YOU’RE FIRED! DO YOU HEAR ME?”

Chohee’s eyes widen. “Oop, gotta go. Bye!” She runs off, Nari yelling one last “BYE!” as she waves.

When she finally closes the door and meets your eyes, she’s practically jumping up and down, heated cheeks glowing a fiery red.

You quirk an eyebrow. “Now do you believe in fairytale love?”

She coughs, picking at a scratchy stud on her arm. “I… no… I mean… maybe…”

You clap your hands once, grinning as you watch your friend’s face burn hotter. “Well, would you look at that! For once, I’m not the one that’s crazily in love and stupidly giddy!”

“Stop, Y/N!” She whines, playfully hitting your arm. “And plus, um, our face masks are hardening. It’s time to wash them off. I’m going to the bathroom. Um. Bye!”

And she’s taking off towards the bathroom, the sound of running water jolting you from your thoughts about… him.

Yoongi.

You bite your lip, wondering how pathetic you could possibly be. He doesn’t love you. He probably has a girlfriend and is about to get engaged. He probably doesn’t even remember you.

You look up at the blinding white ceiling, the soothing forest sounds playing from the speaker you forgot about now your only source of comfort.

Because the last two were “probably”’s, but the first one was a fact- Yoongi didn’t love you, and he never did.

~’’~

“For the last time, Nari, I’m 100% sure she likes you back. Just text her, tell her to meet up with you, confess at some cute caf-”

“No, Y/N! You don’t get it, I’m, like, really, really sure she likes the coffee shop server we met the other day, they were practically making out and- oh god, don’t even remind me about the lovey dovey googly eyes!” Nari stomps her foot childishly as you sigh for the upteenth time.

“Nari, just-” Your eyes widen, a brilliant yet sneaky-ish idea popping into your head. “Actually, it’s okay if you don’t want to just yet. I advise you to go take a shower though, wouldn’t want to be stinky, right?”

“But I’m not going anywhere special-”

“HAHAHAHAHA it doesn’t matter HAHAHAHA just go, go take a shower, go go go right now!”

“You’re acting weird…”

“HAHAHAHA am I now?”

“Um. Yeah. Alright. I’ll go shower. Bye.”

“BYE!”

“You’re being very enthusiastic.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah… bye though.”

It was an ordinary Saturday morning with Nari lounging at your place, complaining that Chohee wasn’t paying attention to her. So you’d tried to convince her to confess- which didn’t work, by the way.

Anyway, with Nari now in the shower and screaming along to “Chandelier” by Sia, you were ready to launch your plan into action.

Swiping her phone off the counter, you typed in the password (which she’d told you, as you told her yours as well) as fast as your glittery fake nailed thumbs could manage, plastic click-clacking against the oil-smudged screen. Nari had a habit of never washing her hands before texting, even after some good ol’ cheetos or fried chicken.

You click on the Textalk app and swipe down until you find Chohee’s contact (written “Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑").

10:42 am

Nari Lee said: hey chohee :) u there? Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑ said: nari Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑ said: r u ok Nari Lee said: of course im ok :D Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑ said: O-o hmm but u never use emoticons Nari Lee said: oh i just found out that i like them haha

10:43 am

Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑ said: *raises eyebrow* Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑ said: ok yeah im here, wassup? Nari Lee said: so… i was just wondering if ur free today for lunch, i have something to say to u Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑ said: oh yeah ofc! where?

10:44 am

Nari Lee said: um how about magnolia cafe? @12? Chohee baby ♥❦✶⭑ said: awesome! ill be there <3 Nari Lee said: sweet!

~’’~

“So…” You say, casually sliding into Nari’s room. She’s in a fluffy white bathrobe, brushing her hair and singing to herself. “What do you say for lunch at the Magnolia Cafe today?”

She shrugs. “Why not? I just showered, anyway.”

You smirk evilly. “Great! Make sure to put on some makeup and wear something nice.”

“Got it!”

~’’~

“Y/N!” Nari whisper-yells to you. “What in the name of my fuckin’ soggy underwear is Chohee doing here?!”

You hum, unbothered, as you skim over the menu. “How should I know? Anyway, I’m going to order some brunch. How about you?”

“Y/N! Ugh, shut the fuck up, I’m having a life threatening crisis right now! And why is she looking at me? And waving?”

You just smirk, shrugging. “Oops, gotta use the toilet. Bye!” You then dash off towards an empty table right behind theirs, wanting to laugh like a commando mad scientist. Your plan was done, and now it’s just time to see if it works.

Chohee walks over to Nari, and you see her visibly gulp. “Hey, Nari! You said there was something important you wanted to say to me?”

“Uh… I don’t… no? I don’t have anything to say?”

“Oh? Ah, I see. You’re making it suspenseful. Haha, I think I’ve had enough suspense. Spill!”

“Um… I like omelets?”

“What?”

“I… I like plants?”

“Excuse me?”

“Uh, I like you- WHAT AM I SAYING?!” Nari’s hand flies up to cover her mouth. Chohee furrows her brows.

“You… like me? Like, like like me? As more than a friend?”

“I-”

Chohee leans over the table and kisses her full on the lips, the sight so endearing you chuck out your phone and snap 18 photos. When they separate, Chohee’s grinning, Nari’s face a dark crimson and her bottom lip trembling. She touches it.

“You… kissed… me…”

“Mhm.”

“So does that mean-”

“I’d love to go out with you, Nari.”

And they’re giggling again.

~’’~

“HAVE A SAFE TRIP!!” Nari and Chohee call after you for the 26th time, waving like maniacs. You smile.

“I WILL!”

This was going to be the most exciting 2 weeks of your lifetime- you were going to Italy.

Italy.

~’’~

The small coffee shop is cute, light Italian jazz music playing in the background. The wooden walls are adorned with pictures of the owner’s family, the sweet smell of coffee beans drifting in the air.

To put it simply, it’s perfect.

Perfect for an exhausted coffee lover like you.

“A latte, please-” You pause when the server furrows his brow.

“You… eh… wan’ coffee wit’ milk, no? Not jus’ milk?”

“I mean, um…” You immediately pull up your phone and type into Google Translate. “... caffe latte.”

He nods. “Non c’e problema!” And a minute later, your latte is in your hands, the delicious smell wafting up your nostrils.

You sit down on a cushioned seat, marveling at the decorations and how cozy and warm it makes you feel. Taking a sip of your drink, you smile.

The moment is peaceful and happy, the chatter of the other customers fading in your ears as you just smile. No one to interrupt your daydreaming, no one to come over and call your name-

“Y/N?”

Your eyes shoot up, a familiar pair of cat-like ones staring at you. His hair is black as night, swept carelessly against his perfect forehead. His cute pink lips are jutted out in a tiny pout, pale moonlight skin practically shining. He’s ethereal, and hasn’t changed one bit.

“Y/N?” He says again, tilting his head slightly.

“O-oh. Um. Hey, Y-Yoongi, um, didn’t expect to see you here…” You laugh nervously, scratching the back of your head.

He laughs too, sitting down in the seat opposite yours with a black espresso in his hands. “Yeah, I found a job here. You?”

“I’m on vacation.”

“Cool.”

You stare at each other, having nothing to say. It’s like you want to stretch this moment out forever, stretch it until it erases all the horrible things he said and did to you.

He speaks again. “How long has it been?”

“What?”

He closes his eyes, clasping the mug between his hands tightly. “How-how long has it been- since I last saw you?”

You look down at your lap. “2 years.”

Silence.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.”

Your eyes start to wet, a lone tear slipping past your eyelids. There was no barrier now, more droplets following the first one’s lead and cascading down your cheek. “Stop.”

He doesn’t stop, instead choosing to nab at your heartstrings with more words. “I’m so sorry, I only realized how bad I fucked up when you left… I never stopped thinking about you, Y/N, I thought about you every fucking day-”

“Stop it now-”

“And I realized that I love you more than anything, that you were the treasure I held onto without even knowing I valued you that much. Why do you think I chose to come to Italy? Because I knew it was always your dream to visit here, and I hoped I would run into you somehow. I lived like that, in heartbreak and hope and desperate love and whatever the fuck else every single day, just praying you’d forgive me, praying that you’d come here and tell me that you still love me-”

“Yoongi.” You stand up, slamming the table. Your chest is heaving, breathing heavily as you try to take in everything that he said. “Stop. It. Stop saying sorry. “Sorry.” So what? Sorry won’t help anything, I don’t love you and we are over. In fact, there is not even a “we” anymore. You are you and I am me, completely separate, all ties cut, whatever you want to call it.”

“Y/N-” Yoongi’s voice is desperate, those forlorn eyes swimming with melancholy. You cut him off.

“Shut up, Yoongi!” His lip trembles, looking up at you. You feel a pang of guilt, but throw it away along with all your other feelings. Everyone at the coffee shop is looking at you two, the server mumbling something.

You don’t care.

No, you don’t care about anything.

Not about how much you missed him, how much your heart ached, how much you wanted to just fling yourself into his arms and kiss him- convinced he was a changed man.

Not about how he was pleading you right now, fat droplets rolling down his blanched cheeks as he whispered “I love you”’s over and over again.

Not about how the coffee shop server was hurriedly jogging towards you, incomprehensible Italian filling the air.

This was supposed to be a safe place.

The sweet scent and lulling conversations you fell in love with just moments ago, replaced with bitter words and the sound of tears.

You don't care.

You don't care.

You don't care.

Why are you crying, then? Why are those salty droplets cascading down your face? Why are you fighting so hard between your heart and your brain, trying to decide which to listen to?

Should you take him back, act like nothing has happened like your heart tells you to? Or should you give him the ignorance he deserves, leave the coffee shop and try to forget about this whole catastrophe like your brain says?

"Do you love him? Yes, you do. So choose me, your heart."

"Choose me, Y/N, your brain. I'm telling you to be rational."

You shut your heart out, brain taking over control. Yoongi deserves this. This of indifference, apatheticness, maybe even hatred.

“I don't love you, Yoongi.”

And you were out.

~''~

That night in your hotel room, you cry and cry and cry until the familiar “ding a ling ding a ling ding a ling ding dong” of a Textalk video call wakes you up from your thoughts.

You pick up, wiping all your tears until there is no trace of them left. “H-hey, Nari,” You hiccuped.

“Y/N, what is going on?” Nari’s eyebrows are furrowed as she tries to read your face. “It’s the first day of your dream vacation and you’re crying? Tell me what happened, please.”

“Yeah, you don’t look too good…” Chohee chimes in, sticking her head into the screen. “Don’t tell me you were robbed or something? Oh, no. No no no no. Please let it not be that.”

You smile halfheartedly, trying to change the subject. “Hey, Chohee. Staying the night?”

She nods, concern still painted over her face. “Mhm. But that’s not important, can you please just tell us what happened? It’s okay if it’s something small or stupid, we’re your friends and we’ll be here for you no matter what. We’re just… really concerned, and-”

“Yoongi.” Nari says suddenly, eyes wide.

“W-what? Y-Yoongi? What- what about him? I-I mean, I d-didn’t run into him, I-I’m just a-asking…” Your eyes are wider than cantaloupes, praying she wasn’t some psychic and had mystical powers or whatever.

She sits up from her previous lying-on-her-stomach position abruptly, looking at your stunned state. “Yoongi… do you remember he said he always wanted to visit Italy? He… was he there? Did you run into him?”

You are unable to speak, stuttering as your lip trembles. “Y-yes.”

Chohee and Nari both scream.

“THE WHAT?!”

“YOU RAN INTO YOONGI?!”

“Guys!” You yell, trying to somewhat calm them down (although you needed calming down yourself, too). “Stop! It wasn’t much, okay? Just- just some… talking, and then I left! That’s all!”

They look at each other, not sure whether to believe your explanation or not. Chohee opens her mouth a few times, as though pondering if she should speak or not- and no words come out.

“Really!” You exclaim, trying to convince them. You throw your hands up into the air for exaggeration, trying your hardest to look like you’re telling the truth. “We were like, um, best friends! Like nothing happened! And the coffee server didn’t come and shoo us out! He didn’t! And Yoongi didn’t cry or apologize or anything!”

Nari sighs. “Look, Y/N. I’m only saying I believe you because if I don’t you’ll bug me forever. But seriously, as your best friends, Chohee and I hereby promise to smack Yoongi in the face and shove skunk poop up his pretty nose. Right?” she looks at Chohee expectantly.

Chohee nods. “Yep. And don’t forget about the eating facial cream and drowning in turnip juice part. Y/N, I don’t care who it is, but if they dare to hurt you I will not hesitate to knock their teeth out.”

“If they even dare to insult you in any way, I’ll help Chohee knock their teeth out. I'll do most of the work, obviously, since... actually…” Nari pauses, biting her lip as she thinks. “Maybe, if it’s Mingyu that insults you, I’ll let him go…”

Chohee smacks her arm, rolling her eyes as Nari yelling a loud “what was that for?”. “For heaven’s sake, Nari! That totally ruined the moment.”

Nari shrugs, shooting Chohee a glare. “What, are we shooting a drama or something?”

You smile, looking down into your lap as your two friends bicker and give each other friendly smacks.

Maybe, just maybe, this world wasn’t unfair to you after all- you found happiness outside of Yoongi and the world of romance.

Maybe.

~''~

~''~

~''~

Okay. I did okay with the ending, right???? I did okay with the plot, right???? I didn't make Yoongi too horrible, right????

Right.

Okay.

Welp, anyway, remember to check my blog for updates on when part 2 is coming!

-*+ Rose +*-

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Reviews: How Santa Stole Christmas! or Scrooge is kind of a dick

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody! Christmas begins on this blog with the last new Ducktales of the season! Time to break out some eggnog, presents and warmth of good family, i’ve got a bushel of Christmas reviews planned for the season, and this one is just the start of htem. As you can probably tell by my enthusasim I love this holiday. Oh sure it has it’s bad sides, paticuarlly several jackasses making huge deals out of the fact some people say happy holidays because “there’s a war on christmas” when really their just petty morons who can’t accept theirs more than one holiday in the month and not everyone likes christmas. I do, but I know not everyone does, and that’s fine. But overall it’s a fine holiday with warmth, cheer, family, generosity and of course, what brings us here today, really damn good episodes and specials of television. It’s just a really warm and cheerful time that , whlie it can bring out the absolute worst in people.. can also bring out the best more often than not. And that’s why I love this holiday. If you don’t that’s just fine, but it’s my blog, I can love what I want. And I love this holiday.. and I loved this episode, a good end to a great run of episodes. So let’s rock around the Christmas tree and find out why Scrooge hates santa, this is How Santa Claus Stole Christmas!

We open with the classic night before Christmas poem.. only naturally since Della is reading it to the boys, it’s Scrooge’s version involving barbed wire and calling the man a traitor because what honestly did you expect. Though I find it ironic a man introduced in a Christmas story has a one-sided blood feud with Santa. The boys are annoyed with this and just want free presents and the presecne of a jolly fat man and don’t get why Scrooge hates him. And yeah.. all of that tracks. They were raised by Donald who, while he clearly spent several years at Scrooges tolerating this feud, likely figured the Feud was just some personal gripe of scrooges and that Santa had done nothing that terrible. Which given Scrooge isn’t personable on the best of days and the episode goes out of it’s way to point out Scrooge has no friends, is entirely accurate and Donald was, as always the sane one in this situation. Plus he was already mad at Scrooge, this was just another way to tell him to go fuck himself. 

The boys hear what they think is Santa on the roof but turns out to be Scrooge, in full Scottish war garb manning traps with webby.. in full chimney camo... putting a knife to Dewey’s throat for siding with santa.. well okay pointing at his throat but still god damn. Every now in then i’m reminded how ready Webby is to murder someone. It never gets easier or less disturbing. The boys.. continue to make a good point: Scrooge says he’s the richest duck in the world and can provide them whatever.. but being Scrooge just gives them itchy hats made of cheap fabric, and bemoans them wanting a trampoline, a new electronic game, and a new phone. And while Scrooge can give them whatever he wants, it’s his money, he also could’ve put some actual thought into it and clearly views the holiday more as a transaction and less for hte acutal sentmient. Instead of giving them personal mementos, or making them personal mementos, or even just simply building them a sled or something, a simpler toy than what they want but still something nice that comes from the heart.. he just gave them the cheapest hat he could find and tries to guilt them for not liking his thoughtless present he probably bought in bulk for everyone in the manor and his employ because he’s kind of a dick sometimes. IT’s good storytelling though as it sets up that Scrooge.. can possibly be int he wrong, so when the main plot comes to his front door, quite literally, there’s some doubt as to wither he or santa is in the wrong. Speaking of which Santa is at the door. So cue the credits and cue the cut for the rest of the plot as is usual. Full spoilers, and full plot under the cut. Ho ho ho. 

First a quick comment on the Holiday version of the theme, the same one from Last Christmas! IT’s really good, a really nice frank sinatra style verison of the theme. Good stuff. My only real complaint is like last time.. there’s nothing unique about it, it’s just the normal season 3 intro but with snowflakes. And that’s.. more on Disney than the creators. If Frank and Matt had the option they would likely do an entirely original intro.. it’s just Disney can be cheap when it comes to intros, see how possesed ludo stayed in the star vs intro long after that plot point was resolved, and only affords one a season. That being said they still have one up on most networks, who, with the exception of Netfix with she ra, never really let intros change more than once, if at all. I mean I get it, budgets are higher here than with anime, they can’t do a new song and intro every half a season.. BUUUT it wouldn’t kill more stuidos to do this more often and do a complete intro overhaul, as it adds freshness, and you can still use the same old theme, just over a new set of pretty images. Most just allow a few swap outs, Disney included, and while I get intros are expensive, this is something you can use for a whole season, or more, why are you like this? 

Anyways one theme song and me complaning about an animation trend I don’t like later, we’re inside the Manor with none of the other adults present because this season hates me. I do actually get it this go round: Besides Della, Donald and Launchpad getting a full subplot in the other holiday episode, they aren’t really needed. In fact most of the episode’s present day is a framing device for the tale of how Scrooge and Santa met and why Scrooge hates him, so for once the minmal use of the supporting cast.. is actually done well. The focus is on Scrooge and Santa, a feud that’s had four years build up in real time, and two years in series and a bunch of months. So yeah, i’m okay with sidelining everyone for once, because this story really needed all of the space and there was no real place for them aside from the climax. This is Scrooge and Santa’s story, with Webby there as an impartial-ish observer. We’ll get to that in a moment.  Also if your curious where in the fuck this episode fits on the series massively warped time scale.. i’m going with this and “The Trickining!” taking place before season 3, since “Astro Boyd” takes place in march, and “Forbidden Fountain” takes place in probably late april, huge thanks to a friend on discord for help with the timeline. Otherwise it just makes no sense whatsover and while it dosen’t TECHINCALLY need to, I prefer the series timeline at least making some rational sense. The world dosen’t have to but time still does. So the boys are at least 12, possibly turning 13. Congrats. Or maybe they just don’t age. I dunno. 

Now time and plot concerns aside, Santa gladly gives the boys their gifts which is.. everything they listed: A mini tramp for Dewey, Legends of Legend-Quest 2 for Huey, and another phone for Louie, which Scrooge dosen’t get. But Louie gets it on 2 levels: One, the one he asked for is probably a nicer model and as someone who just got a very marginally nicer model on insurance, I get it, even if like Scrooge i’m fine as long as mine works, it’s still nice to have more space to do shit. And two, he plans to sell the old one and keep the money. So yeah the boys already loved Santa but now they have every reason to since, you know, Santa actually gave them what they asked for and Scrooge gave them itchy hats because he’s cheap not because he put the slighest thought into it. And no i’m ont letting him get away with that: Again, off list, perfectly fine. Right behind me on my sprawl of book shelves is Weird Al’s biography, a really fun, really intresting book with photos on his career. I did not ask for it, but my mom rightly knew I would love it and got it for me for my birthday, which is very close to christmas, the 16th if you were curious, anyway, and I’ve treasured it since.. and really need to re-read it. My point is you CAN get someone something they didn’t ask for and still have it be something they LIKE. I did that for most of my christmas gifts this year. Scrooge just, as I went on about above, didn’t give a shit and was a bit callous about it so yeah, Santa wins this round.  But Santa naturally needs Scrooge’s help to save Christmas because his ankle’s sprained and he’s out of options. Scrooge.. naturally refuses because, as i’ve made clear this and past episodes, he can be kind of a dick and Santa is one of his worst enemies in his mind. Why help him? So Santa, reluctantly, offers Scrooge the one thing you can get for the man who has everything: An agreement to leave his house alone. The boys aren’t happy about it, but Scrooge reluctantly agrees to the deal. They prepare to mount up though the boys aren’t invited, as Scrooge thinks their too far in the Santa camp and Scrooge does not trust him. Which again is both accurate and fair on their parts as again, he gave them things with well meaning and love, he gave them hats he fished out of the dollar store clearance bin. I mean at least go for the dvd’s and blu rays man. Yeesh. Santa does lightly buy them off by offering them another present if their good boys. Though honestly given Santa in this universe, he probably was going to anyway and this is his nice way of getting them to stay behind to make Scrooge happy. 

So as they take off, while Webby is wary of Santa, she is curious what happened, especially since earlier Scrooge actually did finally voice his gripe, if without any full length explination: Santa took Christmas From him. And Della might know that, Scrooge likely didn’t tell her or Donald the full story and Donald rightly didn’t buy it was that one sided. And it isn’t as we’ll see. Since the episodes divided up into two storylines, i’m once again splitting the difference. This time though I would like to mention the story is beautifully woven in, with both complementing each other: there’s some legit suspense as we wonder if Santa did something really that bad or if he’s lying to webby, or if Scrooge being Scrooge was just exaggerating or holding onto a grudge that was partly his fault. It’s genuinely well done to build up the story and helps really flesh Santa out as a character in both stories. i’m only not doing that because my short term memory, while good enough to hold the story for now can be spotty, and this is a lot less taxing on it. Also parts of this segment happen before the boys leave, but it’s easier this way. Sooooo... 

Times Past: Santa’s Worst Christmas Some time ago... seriously I don’t know. Scrooge was born in the 1800′s and Christmas well existed by then, to the point there’s actually a story starring young scrooge published over seas. Granted the Duck’s are no stranger to christmas, as I already covered Christmas on Bear Mountain for Scrooge’s birthday, and will be covering “A Christmas for Shacktown’ sometime this December. It’s just something worth noting. But given this universe can do whatever it wants, having it invited sometime in the early 1900′s or late 1800s is fine just fine. 

Scrooge is a coal salesman, selling people what they need but getting no shelter as he’s, again, an ass. But in the depths he finds Santa, whose having trouble puling his sleigh, and gets them in the previously closed door with kindess and saying he’s with me. We now get an idea of who Santa truly is: a kind, selfless soul who thinks nothing of himself, and is happy to offer a gift in exchange for something, but does so only in the most well meaning, warmest way possible. In short this Santa really is.. what Santa is at his best in stories; a kind, generous man who just wants to make people happy. He just gave a gift not because he wanted to bribe his way in, but because he was genuinely hoping for some shelter and wanted to be greatful. It also shows that clearly, even if something did happen.. Santa probably isn’t evil. A twist still could’ve come.. but spoilers.. it dosen’t. Santa is genuinely this kind and self sacrificing and noble. He’s just a good person.. and that would ultimately be the problem but we’ve got a lot of subplot to cover.  So Santa parties with what are clearly going to be his elves, and turn out indeed to be elves at the end when the fire goes out and Scrooge is suddenly in buisness.. and he and Santa make a great team, as Santa talks him up and says he can deliver a whole year’s worth of coal all over the world by Christmas Morning, so Christmas DOES exist here, it’s just Santa didn’t which kind of tracks. Well played. I’ll keep my earlier mistake in there though. Keeps me fresh. But Santa offers to help.. after all what are friends for? And Scrooge says their not friends.. their partners. 

And Santa says why not both. And a friendship is forged. And it makes sense.. while i’ts not as tight as it will be, Santa is a warm generous guy who helped Scrooge multiple times just to be kind: He helped him find shelter to repay his kindness helping him.. then helped him sell his coal, when he didn’t have to and while he upsold him on what he could do, did so not out of malice, but so his friend could sell MORE and with eveyr intention of helping. And this friend is someone he just met, is kind of cranky and rude.. but as we all know is a good person underneath and to Santa.. that’s what he sees.. the kind young man who helped him pull his sleigh when he didn’t have to and was already cold and miserable. And that.. that just warms my heart a lot.  But Scrooge being Scrooge has a mystic artifact that could help: The Feliz Navidiamond, a mystic artifact that can seemingly control time he got off a  spanish sailor needing coal. The two head in but encounter it’s guardians. The Magic reindeer! And that’s part of what I love about this episode: besides really getting christmas, we’ll get to that, it has a creative and intresting Santa origin baked into the show’s mythology that also shows off an intresting part of Scrooge’s past. Santa manages to pacify them with jingle bells and our heroes head inside.  In the cavern they find a Giant Snowman.. because this show is fucking awesome and Santa’s attempt to be nice bacfires but Scrooge’s natural paranoia and gumption pull through. It shows off why they make a good team: Santa’s niceties helped them with the reindeer, and netted them future transportation, while Scrooge’s natural grumpus tendencies help when nice just won’t do it. They work well together: one’s a showman and the other hasn’t learned how yet, one is nice the other naughty. It’s easy to see why they worked so well together.. in both senses. They make it past the Snowman and find that the diamond slows down time running on “christmas time!”.. seriously a great pun and one of many this episode. This show had a chance to go all out on holiday puns this go round and they did not blow it. 

But... sadly... and obviously the good times can’t roll forever and when we next return to the story it’s a year later. McDuck and Klaus coal is a MASSIVE concern, and Scrooge is eager to get started... but Santa.. wants to just give gifts instead. To do something Generous. Buisness just isn’t in him and he just wants to do something kind. It’s.. not a bad goal.. i’ts just not Scrooge. To Scrooge it’s a betryal of all he stands for: foreswearing profit to give something for nothing for seemingly no reason and to a younger even meaner scrooge.. it’s an utter betryal.. and a breaking point. Either his daft presents idea.. or Scrooge. And why yes this episode is dripping with ho yay and why yes this does resemble his painful breakups with goldie. And why yes is glorious.. Imean I wasn’t shipping Scrooge with santa before but now? Hot damn. But yeah the two have come to a parting of ways, and Scrooge bitterly leaves, while the elves reveal themselves. And my heart hurts “The Empire Builder from Callisota” bad so thank you and fuck you show.  It also probably shows why Scrooge has exactly one friend, who also works with him so it’s complicated, in present day: He just dosen’t want to let people in... and now we know WHY. The first genuine friend he made, the first person he let into his heart.. betrayed him. It’s no wonder it took decades for Beakly, then the kids to get into his heart again: the guy’s been betrayed by goldie, in his mind betrayed by santa and as we’ve seen his own dad turned against him eventually. He had no one for so long, he built a wall all around him but the wall was too tall and it blocked out all the birds and the son. But this .. is a really damn good story that fleshes Scrooge out and explains his hardness. In the comics it was Glomgold.. here.. it’s much more personal and cuts much deeper. And I absolutely love it. This story could’ve neatly fit into life and times if it made any sense in Rosa’s timeline, and it would be just perfect there. 

PRESENT DAY: Concentrated Awwww

The present day plot is a lot simplier but still fantsatic: Webby slowly warms up to Santa depsite herself.. despite Scrooge clealry seeing she is.. she sees the man is just.. nice. He gives her a new crossbow, a really nice one she probably didn’t even expect to get given you know, everything and knowing scrooge, and appricates the sentiment and slowly sees the man isn’t some monster, but just a jolly old fat man who wants to give presents. Even Scrooge seemingly warms up a little.  We also get tons of cameos during delivery, as they visit tons of supporting cast.. sadly no Darkwing.. but this one was clearly meant to go anywhere and is clealry set before “Let’s Get Dangerous”, but tons of other great bits: We get the Drake recidence with Boyd getting a present.. and somehow also doofus whose filled his stocking full of.. something. I don’t want to know and you can’t make me ask. You can make me ask why the fuck Doofus gets a present, but it could be filled with bees or maybe Santa truly thinks theirs good in him.. which .. yeah tracks. I mean not their being good in him.. I think dr. loomis said it best.. I mean it was about micheal meyers but.. same diffrence minus the patricide?

I mean points for trying though Santa, you mean well you loveable bear in both senses of the word you. But anyways other cameos include Fenton, alsleep with his armor strewn about, aww, with the gizmo armor set to hit people with fruit cake. Thought that was against the geneva convetion but alright. Scrooge’s been hit with worse. We also get them visiting the boat and giving Donald and Della presents, awww. And of course I saved the cameo I put up top for last as Webby visits her closest friend and her gilfriend and gives both an adorable cheek kiss. Though only Lena reacts.. probably because this isn’t the first time Webby’s snuck into their bedroom at night but probably the first time it hasn’t been accidently creepy because she’s still learning boundaries. Also i did not realized they shared a room. Aww. Also it’s the first time we’ve seen their room, which as you’d image from a sorceress and a magical researcher/bookworm, it’s a massive sprawling library from what we see with a skull with a candle in it, a picture of a house, and a calender. IN short it’s perfect and i’m glad we finally saw their room. 

So yeah things are going well and Webby finally realizes “Shit Scrooge is the bad guy in this scenario” at the end of the story, realizing Santa was just as hurt by the split as Scrooge was and that he had to make the harder choihce for the right reasons. Unfortunately, as i’ve said a lot this review, SCrooge is a dick and only coperated, as he wasn’t using the magical present sack, but his own filled with Coal to teach people about responsiblity. Thankfully, Scrooge realizes he’s been a dick to the globe when he happens upon little Jeniffer, a small pig girl who mistakes him from santa and takes his coal, meant to warm her fires.. and makes it into a doll. And resists his attempts to take “Coalette away”... Scrooge then rants and .. we actually get a good reason for why he’s being such a douche... as a kid he had nothing, and a gift of coal for his fires would’ve been welcmoed. He simply just.. dosen’t get the frivolity. He gets the warmth and joy of the season but not the gift part. And it’s only seeing this small, innocent child, play with a doll, he realizes “A warm heart can keep you going through the coldest nights”. And it’s then he finally realizes why his old friend did what he did.. because as i’ve been saying the real gift.. is in the giving.. of giving someone something that makes their memories glow and their heart warm. Even a lump of coal can do that in the right hands... a toy can get someone through the roughest times and it’s the WARMTH of the gift you remember, not the gift itself. I remember that book I mentioned proudly.. as do I remmeber the copy of the art of the venture brothers right next to me, or the copy of the people’s doonesbury my best friend mike bought me, and so on.. not because of the book itself... but because of the thought and warmth of someone getitng something for you because they care, not for their own reward, but just to make you feel nice this holiday season. That’s the true spirit of christmas.  Naturally realizing the errror of his ways in true christmas story fashion, Scrooge is devistated by his own actions. And Santa is PISSED.. but Scrooge is now regretful.. if also pissed because Santa stormed in there and it turns out this was all a ploy to get his friend back... which destroys Scrooge’s anger as he realizes just how much his old friend missed him and how many years he wasted lashing out at him when , in the end, Santa was right. So with only so much Diamond power left, and time running out, what can they do to right this? Simple, Scrooge suggests splitting resources. 

So we get a glorious shot of the three boys, and the twins riding  the reindeer. Also we get Launchpad! 

Who naturally wonders if he can crash a reindeer while Beakly thankfully stops him from murdering Dasher. So Christmas is saved and Scrooge and Santa exchange gifts: For Scrooge, a set of bells with their old company name.. and for Santa? a garage door opener. While Santa’s confused turns out.. it’s to turn off the traps. He’s welcome any time.. just use the front door. Cue a big hug, and Webby narrating us out as Scrooge wishes everyone a merry christmas once again letting people into his heart.  I have.. the approirate response to that. 

Final Thoughts: Excellent, easily one of the best of the season, the series and possibly of chirstmas show episodes all together, we shall see when I put together my list. And given how utterly excellent Last Christmas already is, it was hard to top.. but they did it. This was a warm, wonderful special that gets to the heart of christmas.. and really why I LIKE santa so much. For all the comercailsim around him.. he’ s a kind generous man who gets kids to belivie in magic for a while, wants nothing in return , with the offering of cookies just there to be nice and thank him for being a good person, and just wants best for people. He’s what’s best about christmas rolled into a person. And the series gets that and makes him the kindest guy around. It ends up being a story abotu Scrooge learning the meaning of christmas, an irony that’s not lost on me, but in a way that’s diffrent and unique from last time and works just as well. It’s just a warm wonderful epsiode with plenty of great gags and adventure and a beautiful, unique story at it’s core that could only be told here with tihs cast and this version of scrooge and that’s what makes it so damn magical. Easily a fantastic note to go out on.  Next time on Ducktales: I don’t know! Next time this blog covers ducktales: We’re going back a few seasons to the only episode i’ve never seen, not even a little bit. It’s the treacherous summit of mt neverest!  Until then, if you liked this review, reblog and all that good stuff, follow for more ducks, and if there’s an episode of any show you want me to cover, my cyber monday sale is still going till midnight central, and even past that if you get in a liittle past it, so you can comission a review of any episode for just 3 bucks right now, 5 if you get to this review after monday. So spend if you have it.. and if you don’t.. happy holidays to you anyway. Have a wonderful season. 

[travellvogue]

Friend of a Friend

Chapter 2- The Set Up

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet”

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Your body shivered under the friendly stare of the stranger. His piercing blue eyes met with yours for a brief second whilst you tried to absorb as much information about his appearance as you could. He was handsome, of course he was, they all were. The name of such a stranger was already in your mind, remembering the stories Ben had told you about training, how he and… what was it… James! That was it! “Madders” as he was better known. Mixing with his football friends was something you’d never done, throughout the years of your friendship with Chilly you were certain none of them even knew who you were. Appreciating the separation between work and private life. But you were able to recall how you giggled along whilst Ben told you aimless stories of the two of them playing pranks on the Leicster teammates, and of course, the less pleasant ones about the nightclub scenes whilst the two of them were out in LA during the summer. Recoiling away from his arms which were wrapped around you whilst you both laid on his sofa, watching reruns of Gavin and Stacey, finding the tales about the endless parties with random girls uncomfortable to listen to,  

“This is James” Ben smiles, holding an arm out to signal to his best mate, standing with a wide smile, his eyes flicking up and down your body before meeting your own and shooting you a friendly wink. 

You weren’t dumb, you knew what Ben was like. It was so obvious he was trying to set you up with his best friend. Your back grew clammy at the thought of his plan, heat rising through your body in anticipation. 

“I know” you breathe out. Shit, what did you say that for, do you want to let him know you know his birthday and the story about the girl he had to kick out of his hotel room in LA? Your face burnt with embarrassment, stuttering over your neck line to try and cover your mistake. “Not like- in a weird way- uh- I…” you stutter, tongue tied over your own words, “...Ben’s told me about you” your breath out, closing your eyes for a brief second to gather yourself, beyond embarrassed. What a great first impression Y/N, he probably thinks you’re crazy. If your cheeks were to become a deeper shade of red you’d fear you might explode. Ben chuckles beside you, reaching to grab for your hand, pushing his fingers effortlessly through yours, giving it a gentle squeeze, an action that had grown so habitual for him, aware that his palm pressed against yours calms you almost instantly. Yet, right now it didn’t seem to be much help, whether it was the intimidation of James’ beauty or the fear that your hand in Ben’s will make you look weak, ‘baby-like’ even, as though you couldn’t fend for yourself. 

“It’s nice to meet you”. He was handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions of his voice, like it could melt butter. Travelling right to your heart, tightening your airways. Something so innocent was almost lustful if he looked you up and down any longer. His tongue glides to the middle of his lips, dampening them both in the process, an action that no doubt would have your knees buckling if you weren’t still gripping hold of Ben’s hand. 

“You too” you smile weakly, contemplating what else to say, palm growing sweaty under the comfort of  Ben’s.  

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing behind a camera?” he asks, “surely you should be in front of it?”. Those eyes again, surveying your body, taking in every inch of your appearance, from the unflattering photo on your lanyard, the tight fitting jeans you wore, and down to your feet tapping nervously against the floor. 

Please don’t go bright red, please don’t go bright red.

Too late.

You laugh nervously at his compliment, shrugging one shoulder upwards, picking at the sides of your t-shirt, ignoring making eye contact. “You’re better looking than me anyway”. Fucking hell, what did you say that for?! Now he’s really going to think you’re a creep. 

Ben lets go of your hand.

James chuckles politely.

“Why, thank you gorgeous” your eyes flick upwards to him this time, ensuring his response wasn’t one of bitter sarcasm. Nope- he was being serious. A dangerous smirk played on that perfect face, his bone structure was fine and perfectly symmetrical. Very manly, yet not intimidating. His eyes softened the blow of his beauty. The short stumble on his cheeks poking through his skin, dark brown, unlike the thick caramel blonde of his hair. “Show me your skills” a wink, head tilted to where the rest of the boys now walked out to the training pitches. 

And so your job began. The daydream of his eyes seemed to make you forget you were here to work, not flirt with your colleagues. 

The noise of scuffing feet against astroturf is more relaxing then you’d thought it would be, the clicking clatter of metal studs against concrete floor tickling your spine. You breathed in the fresh air, James still playing on your mind, a scenic display of rolling hills in the background of the pitches, tiny humans in blue bibs splashed into what looks like it could pass as a painting, beaming sun making for a hot training session today, the black material of your camera already growing warmer under the touch. 

The bench you sat on was cold, despite the warm weather the chilly plastic stung at your bottom, waiting for the boys to listen to Gareth’s instructions before beginning to take your photos, ensuring the camera isn’t a distraction for them- after all, you knew how vein Ben could be when he made you take pictures of him for his Instagram. 

The familiar snap of your camera leaked gently through the air with each picture you took. This was your comfort zone, not flirting with footballers. Chuckling in enjoyment whilst you watch these multi-millionaires act like normal lads, the ones you’d find back home, it almost slips your mind that they live in mansions, drive expensive cars, own too many Rolex’s and designer items. You clicked away at Harry Kane, the captain getting his shining glory, the ball speeding from his feet to the corner of the net, an echo of applause for his talents. Pride filling you at the impressive shots of the keepers diving from post to post that you’d managed to capture. Panning your camera across the pitch and smiling when Hendo waves to you through the shield of the camera, your own fingers pricking upwards to wave back. Moving on a little further along the astro, quick pictures of James- ensuring you don’t dwell on his hair flopping and his beaming smile. One of Winksy, finding yourself smiling at the cute pattern of freckles across the bridge of his nose. 

Further you go. Someone new. 

There he was. 

Eyes burning straight into yours through the lens of the Canon.

[thefloatingstone]

We’ve gone from Self-Isolation to Quarantine and in some places to gradual relaxation phases, but that doesn’t stop the need for more nonsense you can watch on youtube while you wait for things to get back to normal. And recommending things and making lists are some of my favourite things to do but I have not yet figured out how to start or structure a video myself, you guys get another rambling tumblr post of things you can watch on youtube.

This time I’m once again just gonna recommend individual videos rather than full channels like I did in part 2.

Part 1

Part 2

In no particular order; 

LOCAL58: The Broadcast Station that Manipulates You

I recently started watching the Nexpo channel when I went on a binge of creepy youtube videos. Most of his videos are really good although the ones where he himself goes into theory crafting can be a little asinine. However, this video is REALLY good. And before you get nervous, LOCAL58 is not a real TV station. LOCAL58 is a youtube channel created by the same guy behind the Candle Cove creepypasta. This video by Nexpo covers the various episodes of LOCAL58 and discusses them. Just be aware going in that this is abstract horror, and will probably get under your skin regardless if you’re unaffected by certain topics or not. although cw for suicide mention.

I also recommend most of the rest of this channel, although be careful where you tread. I don’t recommend his series “Disturbing things from around the internet” as it can sometimes include real life crime, abuse and such caught on security cameras. Everything else is really good tho. (although I was really annoyed by his 2 videos on KrainaGrzybowTV)

The Search for D.B. Cooper

LEMMiNO has a new video out covering one of the most unexplained crimes in the past century of the US. LEMMiNO is the guy I’ve recommended before who did videos on the Universal S. He is very down to earth and not someone prone to conspiracy or even really that fanciful of thinking. (He’s like the one person I feel covered the Dyaltov Pass incident and was confused by why this was even a mystery because if you read the Russian Autopsy reports and documents associated with the case it’s all pretty logical and easily explained)

D.B. Cooper is the name given to a man who, in 1971, hijacked an airplane with a bomb, asked for a large sum of money, and after receiving it, parachuted from the plane and was never seen or heard from again.

The Austrian Wine Poisoning | Down the Rabbit Hole

Down the Rabbit Hole also has a new video out, this time covering the Austrian Wine Poisoning event from 1985. A scandal that involved literally the entire country of Austria, affected multiple countries, and forever changed the way wine was made world wide. As someone who is generally pretty allergic to most artificial substances this one made me personally very angry. But luckily, it has a happy ending and a better world for us all... if I could drink wine which I can’t do anyway.

The Turbulent Tale of Yandere Dev - A Six Year Struggle

The Right Opinion is another channel I only recently subbed to after watching his cover on Onion Boy. I put off subbing to him simply because of his channel name and I thought it meant he would come across as smug and elitist. Luckily this seems to merely be one of those “I chose a bad channel name and now I’m stuck with it” type of situations. (IHE has a similar problem).

Anyway, I have a weird interest in bizarre internet personalities, so I’ve been enjoying his channel as he simply discusses and presents a timeline of events of certain individuals. In this video, he covers the developer behind the much maligned Yandere Simulator. It’s a tale of hubris, arrogance, immaturity, and an unwillingness to accept your own shortcomings due to ego.

Oh and there’s a meme game about Japanese school girls with anime tiddies in there as well.

The Most Relaxing Anime Ever Made | Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō

Kenny Lauderdale is a youtube channel which is slowly becoming bigger which I’m very happy to see. He exclusively covers anime and live action Japanese television no younger than the mid 90s (as is the case with YYK) and which usually never saw a release outside of Japanese Laserdisc. I do wish his videos were a little longer, but if nothing else his videos serve as an excellent starting to point to find some older and underappreciated shows... or hot garbage fires. In this episode he talks about the 2 OVA episodes made based on one of my favourite manga, Yokohama Shopping Log. A Post apocalyptic anime about an android who runs a coffee shop outside of her house, and the quiet solitude of living in a world of declining human population, brief encounters with travelers and other people, and just... existing. The anime was never released outside of Japan and is only available on Japanese VHS and laserdisc.... but hey guess what!! Somebody uploaded both episodes, subbed, to Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2HCVOH6DtA

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

YMS’ slow descent into madness as he uncovers just how bullshit the Kimba Conspiracy is

I’m linking a full playlist for this one.

YMS is busy planning his review on the “live action” Lion King remake as the original 1994 movie is probably his favourite movie all time (and also self declared what made him a furry). As part of the 2 hour review, he decided to what all 2000 hours of Kimba the White Lion just to mention how The Lion King potentially stole the idea. ....until he actually watched all 2000 hours of Kimba and realised that if you actually WATCH Kimba, it has VERY little to do with the Lion King at all apart from having the same animals in them because AFRICA. Watch as one man slowly loses his mind as he realises just how stupid this conspiracy theory is, just HOW DECEITFUL and straight up LYING people can be. People who write BOOKS. People who teach LAW AT UNIVERSITIES. Because NOBODY bothered to actually watch the entire show and just parroted the “Disney stole this” lie which got started by like 2 salty fans on the internet.

The man set out to just mention how Disney stole an idea, and uncovered one of the most infuriating rabbit holes on the internet. Screaming for SOMEONE to provide him with sources or evidence.

YMS will be publishing his full Kimba documentary this month which he has said is around 2 hours long before he continues to work on the Lion King one.

Science Stories: Loch Ness eDNA results, Poop Knives, and Skeleton Lovers

TREY the Explainer has a video giving us some updates in Archeology from 2019. In this video he discusses the findings of the eDNA results conducted on the Loch Ness to see what animal DNA the lake contains which will tell us what living animals currently inhabit the lake, ancient knives made of poop and if this is a real thing that could have existed, and a skeleton couple found buried together which were at first thought to be lovers, then revealed to be both male, and then how in this instance we cannot let our modern sensibilities dictate what we WANT this burial find to be, but to look at the evidence as presented to us and place in context finds of this nature. The worst thing an archaeologist can do is look for proof to a theory they already have.

The Bizarre Modern Reality of Sonic the Hedgehog

Super Eyepatch Wolf is back and he’s here to talk to us about the very very strange existence of Sonic. a 90s rebellious “too cool for School” answer to Mario, a lost idea as the world of video games changes and culture shifted, a meme and punching bag amplified by a unique fanbase and poor quality games, a transcendence into a horrific warped  idea of what he once was, and modern day and where Sonic and his fans are now. As usual Super Eyepatch Wolf knocks it out of the park.

Kokoro Wish and the Birth of a Multiverse: A Lecture on the Work of Jennifer Diane Reitz

I don’t even sub to this channel as I’m not entirely sure what Ben’s usual content is about. But every now and then he has a “101″ class, where he explains to a room full of his friends in a classroom setting (complete with Whiteboard) an internet artist and oddity, the timeline, and what it is they have created. (wait... didn’t I say this already?). Unlike TRO however, the 101 classrooms are not a dark look into disturbed individuals (although the CWC 101 is debatable) nor is it a “lol look at this weirdo” dragging. Instead, of the 3 he’s done so far, it’s usually a rather sympathetic look at some of the strange artists on the internet who through some way or another, left a very big cultural impact on the internet space through their art. Sometimes they may not be the best people, but their work is so outside of what we’re used to seeing that just listening to him run you through these people’s internet history is fascinating.

In this episode he talks about Jennifer Diane Reitz. And although it is titled Kokoro Wish, the lecture is more about Jennifer’s larger work back in the early internet when being a weeb was unheard of, how being trans influenced her stories and characters, and her world building that is so rich and in-depth with it’s own ASTRO PHYSICS it puts any modern fictional world found in games or movies to shame.

Jennifer is not exactly a nice person... and in many ways can be seen as dangerously irresponsible, but she created something truly unique in a way that you kinda struggle figuring out if it’s terrible or a work of genius.

Anyway I think that’s enough for now

[spiritofcamelot]

2020 Fic Year In Review

Thank you to @ato-the-bean for the tag.

Total number of completed stories: 48 (one is a round robin)

Total word count: 68,644

Fandoms written in: James Bond, Merlin, The Adventure Zone

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? About what I expected. I think I had aimed for 30 fics in July for Bond, then one fic per month for Merlin. 30+12=42 so that’s the lowest I expected, and then I’m not too surprised its a little higher.

What’s your own favorite story of the year?  An Unusual Adoption is probably my favourite. It was fun to look at the implications of a white lie and see how it impacted other characters. It certainly affected how I wrote the next installment of the main story.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Yes. I made myself attempt to write challenging conversations and I wrote in so many different character povs. But the biggest challenge was writing from the pov of a character who was doing something I personaly find despicable.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? I’d like to finish editing Twin Tales 2, but that seems overly ambitious. I would like to write one original short story though. Maybe find a contest to submit to.

Most popular story of the year? By hits and bookmarks:  A Week in Your Shoes    By kudos: An Unusual Adoption       By comments: Roll of the Dice

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:  Public Knowledge I think is under appreciated, but also I only published it a month ago. But I think it’s a lovely f/f storyand I put a lot of work into the audio version since the whole premise of the fic is that it is a radio broadcast.

Most fun story to write:  A Week in Your Shoes was a blast to write. This was a remix of another fic in which Merlin and Morgana accidentally bodyswap. Now they do it on purpose because they each think the other lives an easier life. Naturally they both learn some interesting things after a week is done. Also Merlin, in Morgana’s body, casting an illusion to look like Merlin, is way too fun and I laughed every time I read it.

Most unintentionally telling story:  Possibly A Week in Your Shoes but I’m not telling you why.

Biggest disappointment:  I’m not really disapointed by anything. Sure there were a couple fics that I didn’t think I pulled off as well as I wanted to, but they are practice. And there is one that I didn’t finish, but I know I’ll get to it.

Biggest surprise: Secrets, Spots, and Spies was a big surprise because I did not think I was going to end up writing a Miraculous Ladybug AU with Bond characters and I certainly didn’t expect there to be a positive enough response for me to end up writing a sequel.

If you want to, I’m tagging: @the-astro-ace @opalescentgold @fervidasaflame and @castillon02