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vindelllas · 4 years

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the beauty of uttara ashadha 🌞🐘:

🐘 naomi campbell: uttara ashadha lagna

*MAJOR TW// i discuss a lot of potentially triggering topics, i.e. abuse and racism. some of the uttara ashadha natives i exhibit and talk about are known for their terrible behavior and scandals. i do not condone their offensive and ignorant behavior. they are simply being shown to solidify my opinions on the nature of this nakshatra*

as you read this post, please listen to this uttara ashadha playlist i made for the full experience: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/207xxveKWd1TlN12Sr5GAW?si=G5F-Hd3_SHui2PYViP8hkQ

🌞 in the krittika nakshatra, we saw the fiery combination of kuja’s rashi and surya’s vimshottari rulership. krittika represents the cosmic fire of purification, as kuja is the planet of leadership, chandra is the planet denoting our mental state, and surya is the embodiment of the true yang path. in the uttara phalguni nakshatra, we saw the giving and serving nature of surya shine through the solar embodiment of aryaman and the leo rashi. buddha bestowed this nakshstra with the ability to sense areas of need within others and find the best ways to solve others’ issues and realign them with their dharma path. in uttara ashadha, we see these natives embody the cosmic fire we once witnessed in krittika and eventually learn to master the importance of finding yourself in your soul. as compared to looking to the accomplishments you have helped others succeed in for personal reaffirmation (a problem uttara phalguni natives struggle with). uttara ashadha’s ruling deities will serve as their cosmic guides through these deeply purifying solar states.

🌌 the deities of uttara ashadha are the ten vishvadevas, the ten universal gods. in sanskrit, vishvadevas translates to “all-knowing or omniscient”. these ten gods represent the evolution of uttara ashadha natives’ lives: vasu (meaning brilliance or wealth-giver), satya (being truthful in one's thought, speech, and action), kratu (strength and willpower), daksha (rituals and people), kala (time and death), kama (cosmic desire and creative impulse), dhriti (steadiness and retention), kuru (ancestors), pururavas (abundance, surya, brightness), and madravas (zenith of joy). let’s take a closer look at a few of these deities to examine the path of uttara ashadhas.

✨ satya, loosely translating to "truth/essence", is equated with and considered necessary to the concept of rta. rta means order, rule, and truth. rta is the principle of natural order which regulates and binds the collective universe and all of it’s inhabitants. in the hymns of the vedas, rta is said to be what is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning of the natural, moral, and sacrificial union of life. due to this, rta is said to uphold dharma. satya gives birth to the possibility of rta, due to satya’s regulatory and binding nature. truth (satya) is considered to be essential and without it the universe and reality falls apart and, therefore, can longer function. this is why satya is also considered to be our essence, the core of our being. truth is considered to be a form of alignment with the divine. the whole foundation of christianity, and most prominent religions, stress abiding in your cosmic truth. in the book of james 1:18, it reads “of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”. when we welcome the essence of satya, we flourish in internal beauty and the truth blooms and beams on our physical surface.

👠 this internal radiance of satya is the reason the solar nakshstras, primarily uttara ashadha, are one of the top placements for prominent models like victoria’s secret angels. such as, stella maxwell (krittika surya and uttara ashadha chandra), behati prinsloo (krittika surya and uttara phalguni chandra), chanel iman (krittika chandra), doutzen kroes (uttara ashadha surya), marth hunt (uttara ashadha chandra), josephine skriver (uttara ashadha chandra), karolina kurkova (uttara ashadha chandra), jac jagaciak (uttara ashadha surya), erin heatherton (uttara ashadha chandra), etc.. solar beauty radiates like the sun illuminating drops of midnight dew on crisp greenery or radiating and reflecting the vast sky on to the indigo crests of waves. solar beauty is a beauty that often goes unnoticed for a long time, only to be rediscovered for it’s rich depths. it is like when one is too focused on looking downward at the earth’s greenery and ocean, only to forget the beautiful light that illuminates these beautiful forms of nature. solar beauty radiates and encompasses the native as a whole. it gleams and shines like the bright surya. this is why we see uttara ashadha natives brimming with warm and olive undertones, freckles or beauty marks, and shiny hair. they embody the cosmic youth and the truth that nourishes “the firstfruits of creatures”. this is why solar women are so aesthetically pleasing to the eye, as they cause sensory overload, modeling the act of one’s eyes hurting from looking at the sun for too long.

👁 according to the rigveda, the antithesis of rta and surya are anrita and asatya, meaning falsehood. falsehood is considered to be a form of misconduct. satya includes factuality, reality, truth and reverence. satya is our past, current and future. it is considered to be the functioning of our world. the falsehood of anrita and asatya are reflected in surya’s association with the right eye. in the christian religion, the right eye signifies the evil from which is falsity and the left eye is the falsity through which is evil. in zechariah 11:17, it states “woe to the worthless shepherd that deserteth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye; his arm withering shall wither, and his right eye darkening shall be darkened”. in this scripture, the arm is said to denote the power of truth applied to confirm evil (satya). the right eye symbolizes the memory and knowledge of good applied to confirm falsity. the shepherd represents one who teaches truths, leading others along the path of dharma. in matthew 5:29-30, jesus spoke, “if thy right eye hath caused thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. and if thy right hand hath caused thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee; it is better for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into gehenna”. surya’s rulership of the right eye is why uttara ashadha natives frequently struggle with eye issues. because of this, uttara ashadha natives usually wear glasses or contacts and become associated with/profit off of their glasses. for example, george clooney (uttara ashadha chandra) has several articles written about his persol glasses. cary grant’s (uttara ashadha surya and chandra) estate collaborated with the brand “olivers people” to create a line of successful eyewear. the sunglasses grant wore in the 1959 hollywood classic north by northwest is characterized as a sunglasses design that is the epitome of classic style. dave bautista (uttara ashadha surya and chandra) once said he often wears sunglasses because it helps him to cope with his social anxiety disorder. bautista once said, “i would rather wear sunglasses than stand on the red carpet.”. actors like zooey deschanel (uttara ashadha surya, chandra and lagna) and jane levy (uttara ashadha chandra) are known for playing roles that involve their characters wearing glasses. many articles have been written about zooey deschanel’s glasses on the television show “new girl” and jane levy’s glasses on the sitcom “suburgatory”. glasses act as a sharpening tool that allows to better see our environment, our truth. glasses reflect our surroundings onto the eyes of those who look through the pair of sunglasses on another person. they serve as objects cycling the truth of the wearer and beholder, in a way, it rejects the falsity of illusion and completely embraces realignment with truth, while serving as a protective medium between the native and others. believing that we have the lenses of reality within each of us. what you see is what you get or what you see is what you are, as far as eternity is concerned, abiding in satya. it is believed that our beliefs are the lenses through which one sees the world. what one believes determines your focus (kratu) and in turn your actions. one sees things as they believe they are, not as things really are, but rather as one is. if one’s beliefs are based on truth, your figurative glasses will allow you to see eternity from the rta/satya perspective. however, if your belief lenses are made from anrita and asatya, you will see illusions and falsehood reflective of the state of your soul.

☀️ there is a particular effect called photo-bleaching. photo-bleaching happens to the cells in your retina in the back of your eye. these cells are called rods and cones, and these cells are full of light sensitive pigments. light comes in the form of particles, called photons, in your eye; these stimulate the cells by changing this light sensitive pigment, which is called retinal, into a different form and they stimulate the cells to send electrical impulses to your brain. if you look at the sun for a long period of time, this sends the cells into overdrive and it takes them time to calm down. after you finish looking at the sun and you look at a normal level of light, like a plant, you get black spots where you've been looking at light where the cells have been over stimulated. this is the essence of solar beauty. it leaves a lasting impact on the eyes of others and it is hard to forget their presence. their warmth lingers, stays, and satiates others like the deity kama.

🐘 kate moss: uttara ashadha surya

🐾 uttara ashadha’s yoni is the male mongoose. the male mongoose are sometimes solitary, but most live in colonies. the average colony is made up of roughly twenty mongooses. those who live in these colonies will take turns being sentinels. sentinels stand on their hind legs on higher ground, looking all around them for danger. if they spot a potential threat, they will let out a loud scream that acts as an alarm call that lets the rest of the colony members know they should retreat to safety. when operating in their light state, uttara ashadhas act as the male mongoose by being the sentinel of their surroundings. they act as a guide to those around them and try to ensure the safety of others. they stand tall like the symbolic mongoose, mirroring the phallic force, and usher those into the light of achievement. this is why we see so many uttara ashadha natives appear in musical groups, as they are the glue that binds their surroundings together. but this intense binding begins to darken, it is often people will become obsessed with their great achievements and warmth and try to bring the native down with jealousy and harm. zayn malik (uttara ashadha) was known to be a part of a popular musical group, “one direction” and reportedly left the group in 2015, due to him feeling left out by the group and not liking the music they created. jennie (uttara ashadha surya) from “blackpink” was the main rapper of the group and was the first one to debut a solo single. nicki minaj (uttara ashadha lagna) was once apart of the popular rap group “young money”, but decided to further pursue her career as a solo artist. baby spice (uttara ashadha surya) was in the famous 90s girl group “spice girls”. a common theme amongst these natives is maintaining peace and upholding an image. uttara ashadhas are determined to succeed at any cost and many individuals subconsciously sense this and abuse their power. they view uttara ashadha as a never-ending vessel of determination and willpower and abuse this by treating these natives poorly, as they know the native will do anything to maintain peace for prosperity.

🐢 this foundation of determination and willpower is correlated to the auspicious elephant. the elephant itself is quite common in most religious traditions and mythologies. elephants are widely considered to be a positive omen and are sometimes revered as deities, symbolizing strength and wisdom. there is an ancient hindu belief of “world elephants”. the amarakosha states the names of eight male elephants who bare the world (in addition to eight unnamed female elephants). the names of the male elephants are airavata, pundarika, vamana, kumunda, anjana, pushpa-danta, sarva-bhauma, and supratika. there are four elephants that are believed to support the earth from the four different directions. in the ramayana, they are listed as the viroopaaksha (supporting the east), mahaapadma (supporting the south), saumanasa (supporting the west), and bhadra (supporting the north). while the knowledge on this subject is very limited, chukwa, the tortoise, is said to support the elephant mahaapadma which in turn supports the world. chukwa’s tortoise translation is not set in stone and can also be interpreted as a water snake (rahu), denoting the foundation of earthly desires is rahu. chukwa (rahu, earthly foundation/desires) cannot exist without mahaapadma (ketu, spiritual liberation), as a head may not exist without a body. it was once said: “on the wondrous dais rose a throne, and he its pedestal whose lotus hood with ominous beauty crowns his horrible sleek folds, great mahapudma; high displayed he bears the throne of death. there sat supreme with those compassionate and lethal eyes, who many names, who many natures holds; yama, the strong pure hades sad and subtle, dharma, who keeps the laws of old untouched.”.

🐘 wisdom is said to be represented by the elephant in the form of lord ganesha, one of the most popular gods in hindu mythology. lord ganesha is said to have the head of an elephant which was put on after the human head was either cut off or burned. lord ganesha is associated with new beginnings, success, and the removing of obstacles (as the act of removing one’s head is symbolic of removing rahu, essentially one’s desires). lord ganesha is said to be the deity of ketu, due to ketu being the moksha karaka and our source of liberation. ketu is said to bestow immense knowledge, spirituality, and luxury, when properly placed. if a native has an inauspiciously placed ketu in their natal chart, it is said praying to lord ganesha may aid the native. the smoky and prosperous nature of ganesha is exhibited in many rituals involving the symbolism of the elephant, in particular, the cameroonian practice of the bamiléké tribesmen. the bamiléké are often known for their intricately beaded masquerades, including the impressive elephant mask.

🎭 masquerades are considered to be a very integral part of the bamiléké culture. these masquerades take place during special events such as funerals, palace festivals, and other royal ceremonies. the masks are performed by men and aim to support and enforce royal authority (assuming the natural masculine leadership and dictation of surya). the power of the bamiléké king, the fon, is primarily represented by the elephant. the fon may transform into either an elephant or leopard whenever he chooses. their elephant mask, called a “mbap mtengis” a mask, has protruding circular ears, a human like face, decorative panels on the front and back that hang down to the knees and are covered in deeply intricate, geometric beadwork including much triangular imagery (symbolic of the solar force that is the triangular-like formation of an elephant’s large ears and protruding trunk, mirroring the phallic pyramid). occasionally, the fon may allow members of the community to perform with an elephant mask along with a leopard skin, conveying wealth, status and power by shielding one’s face. this act of covering one’s face is symbolic of sacrificing one’s identity (rahu) for the purpose of attaining moksha karaka (ketu). by the bamiléké fons covering their face with an elephant mask, they bring an association and representation of power, strength and prosperity (lord ganesha).

🌟 this sacrifice of self association and identity and the smoky nature of the bamiléké tribe represents the nature of uttara ashadha. it is often wondered why uttara ashadhas have such a dark and vampiric aesthetic, as this is the nature of sacrificing one’s identity. the spiritually devoting nature of these natives causes a detachment from their identity to embrace their higher power. beyoncé (an uttara ashadha ketu native) was once famous for her shiny, flashy, and glamorous y2k aesthetic. in the recent years, we have seen beyoncé move towards a less flashy, but equally captivating and prosperous, lifestyle. in a way, she sacrificed her y2k/flashy identity and received more prosperity and healing in return. in her latest visual album “black is king”, we saw her collaborate with numerous placements of uttara ashadha, such as wizkid (uttara ashadha shani atmakaraka) and jessie reyez (uttara ashadha rahu), to illustrate the importance of coming back to your familial routes and finding identity within your ancestors (it is important to note, out of my survey of fifty contributors and artists on the album, uttara ashadha was by far the most prominent atmakaraka placement). in this visual album, we see numerous african masks that call to mind the smoky, spiritual nature of ketu and the self-sacrificing and giving qualities of surya in his highest state (uttara ashadha).

🐘 christie brinkley: uttara ashadha chandra

🥘 the mahavidya associated with surya is matangi. she is the tantric goddess known for her wisdom, knowledge, and bestowing power. according to the shaktisamgama-tantra, the birth of ucchishta-matangini is as follows: the god vishnu and his wife lakshmi visited shiva and his second wife parvati and gave them a banquet of fine foods. while eating the banquet, the deities dropped some food on the ground, from which created a beautiful maiden who asked for their leftovers. vishnu, lakshmi, shiva, and parvati granted the maiden their left over food as prasad (meaning food made sacred by having been first consumed by a deity). this act can be interpreted as the ucchishta of the deity, it is important to note that due to the negative connotation the word ucchishta, it is never explicitly used in connection to prasad. shiva then stated that those who repeat mantangi’s mantra and worship her will have their material desires satisfied and gain control over foes, declaring her the giver of boons. from that day on, the maiden was referred to as ucchishta-matangini. because of matangi’s humble origin, she is often described as an outcast and impure. she is often associated with pollution, due to her relation to outcast communities. the humble mantangi is regarded as a tantric form of the goddess saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and the arts of mainstream hinduism. matangi and saraswati share many traits in that regard. both goddesses embody music and are depicted playing the veena. both are said to be the nada (sound or energy) that flows through the nadi channels in the body through which prana flows. these goddesses are related to rain clouds, thunder, and rivers. by both governing learning and speech, saraswati embodies the orthodox knowledge of the brahmins, whereas matangi, the humble, wild, and ecstatic outcast, embodies the knowledge within that transcends the boundaries of mainstream society (hence, her associations with social pariahs).

🏆 whereas, uttara ashadha (उत्तराषाढ़ा) comes from the sanskrit words उत्तर (latter) and अषाढ (invincible). the meanings of uttara ashadha are said to be “the latter invincible one”, “latter victory”, or “the latter undefeated”. the term “latter” is derived from the latin word lætra, meaning slow or deliberate, this juxtaposition with invincibility, denotes resilience, power, and prosperity. the journey of uttara ashadhas are said to bevslow and lengthy (lætra), but in then end, they reach true success by embodying the humility and skillfulness of matangi. this correlates to uttara ashadha being the top placements for athletes, as the practice of exercising and bodily discipline requires a deep understanding of prana, the source of life (matangi). athletes must be able to control their breathing and abide in a clean environment to maintain proper focus and health. this is why prana is said to permeate reality on all levels, aligning our inner selves with the cosmic truth (surya/rta). indian philosophy describes prana as flowing in the nadis throughout the body. the number of nadis varies according to different texts and philosophies, but the three principal nadis run from the base of the spine to the head (areas traditionally associated with surya and the vimshottari-ruled surya nakshatras). they are the ida on the left, the sushumna in the center, and the pingala on the right. the nadis are said to play a role in many yogic practices, like shatkarmas, mudras, and pranayama. these practices are intended to open and unblock the nadis to allow life force to be abundant within all of us. the ultimate aim of some yogic practices are to direct prana into the sushumna nadi, enabling the kundalini to rise, and thus bring about moksha karaka, our liberation. in both the subtle and the causal body, the nadis are channels for our cosmic, vital, seminal, mental, and intellectual energies (our prana). this is why they are considered to be important for sensations, consciousness and the spiritual aura.

🥇 ida is traditionally associated with lunar energy. the word ida means "comfort" in sanskrit. ida possesses a moonlike nature and a distinct feminine energy with a cooling/yin effect. whereas, pingala is associated with solar energy. the word pingala means "orange" or "tawny" in sanskrit. pingala possesses a sunlike nature and masculine energy. pingala is warm/yang and courses throughout the right side of the body, whereas ida courses through the left side of the body. these nadis are often representative of the two hemispheres of the brain. pingala is the extroverted, solar nadi, and corresponds to left hemisphere of the brain. ida is the introverted, lunar nadi, and refers to the right hemisphere of the brain. this is due to the left hemisphere controlling the muscles on the right side of the body and the right hemisphere controlling those on the left, symbolic of the dualism of nature and our bodies. the ida nadi regulates all the mental, lunar processes while the pingala nadi regulates all the vital, solar processes. examples of uttara ashadha athlete natives who learned to balance the inner matangi and nadis within is the famous professional boxer muhammad ali (uttara ashadha surya) who was nicknamed “the greatest”. the olympic athlete marion jones (uttara ashadha chandra) who is a world champion track and field athlete and previous member of the WNBA. we also see a great abundance of athletes specifically having an uttara ashadha surya, such as matthias ginter, malek jaziri, claudio marchisio, tyler breeze, davie selke, pierre webó, and ehsan haddadi. as surya feels at home and comfortable in expressing it’s dualistic nature in this nakshatra. athletes and uttara ashadha natives are said to operate in the pingala mental state, but understand the importance of matangi and the balance of prana. as prana is considered to unite all elements and directions (recall the directional nature of the world elephants) within the body by aligning the ether element within, as how brihaspati and shani are both of the ether/air element and are crucial in reaching balance in our souls.

🐘 sasha pivovarova: uttara ashadha surya and chandra

🔥 uttara ashadha lies in the padas of sagittarius and capricorn. like all the surya-ruled nakshatras, vimshottari-wise, it bridges the nature of the fire element and the earth element. this denotes the karmic association of peak masculinity (fire) and the grounding femininity (earth). the elemental nature of earth represents the body. it is the densest element and creates the most heaviest psychological influence. it represents the practicalness and sensuality of nature, as a mongoose simply intuitively knows when to alert his group of danger or a goat knows which step to climb on a mountain. fire is the focus that lies within us and it corresponds to the digestion of life. fire is said to digest sensory impressions (water) and turn them into purposeful thoughts and ideas. as surya is said to calm the waters of the mind (chandra).

🌬 whereas, the air element correlates to intelligence and the movement within, essentially our prana. this deep level of intellect is why the elemental air/shani/brihaspati signs are seen in politics, as they know how to relate to others and appeal to society. these natives are highly social, conscientious, and understand the principles they abide by, hence their prevalence in politics. the element of ether is not to be confused with the principality of air. like air, ether is associated with conscientious but it is also the state of pure consciousness itself. ether transcends the physical elements (this is why rahu is said to be capable of air, as when rahu in his dark, illusionary state, he cannot transcend). ether is the witnessing of consciousness. it is the ability to perceive the process of intellect (air) and remain unidentified with it. it is our freedom and the closest to our state of satya. it serves as the freedom from the mind and body. it is detachment from our physical state of determination (fire), intellect (air), thoughts (water), and the sensuality of earth to go beyond our physical karma. as the ether knows detachment is the embodiment of true spiritual knowledge. this is why shani is said to both rule the ether element and be the higher state of rahu, as shani understands the power of going without for the purpose of the greater good.

🌳 both sagittarius and capricorn embody the final installment of the earth and fire rashis. sagittarius is the natural ninth house of higher education, wisdom, and spirituality. capricorn is the natural tenth house of power, ambition, and work. these houses are bridged under the leadership and guiding qualities of surya to create a distinct amount of material and mental wealth. this is why we see uttara ashadha natives feel called to work in areas such as politics, law, and economics, due to their spiritual and societal knowledge. the fall of uttara ashadha lies within the elemental composition of this nakshatra. too much fire leads to exaggerated levels of aggression. too much air causes sterility, dryness, and an ungrounded sense of life. too much earth brings stagnation and clinging. for example, george washington (uttara ashadha chandra) was known for his sex scandals, killings, and perpetuation of slavery. pope saint john xxiii (uttara ashadha chandra) was known for bending the rules in order to be ordained as the pope. jeb bush (uttara ashadha chandra) was known to be associated with high class drug dealers and lawsuits. abraham lincoln (uttara ashadha chandra) was known for his disagreement of slavery, despite being quite racist himself. these men operated in the stagnation, sterility, and energetic dullness that lied within their souls. they embraced the corrosive flames of fire and figuratively burned down what they did not respect. corazon aquino (uttara ashadha chandra) was regarded with high respect for combining traditional femininity with politics and her advocation for human rights and restoration of political power to civilians. aquino* (please see my note below) is an example of uttara ashadhas using their fiery determination to bring equality and justice to people, no matter the cost. they relate to the earthly parallels of society and know in order to gain equality, sacrifices of the self must be made. thus, they are the embodiment of yang.

💥 no matter the morals and principles of uttara ashadhas, we see uttara ashadha men being idolized and followed by the collective. the media is entranced by their yang embodiment and their negative behaviors are frequently ignored for the purpose of remaining idolized. consider uttara ashadha natives like russell crowe, bruce willis, george clooney, and matt damon. they have arose to great fame due to films like “die hard” or “ocean’s eleven”, because men idolize their pingala, tough, solitary, and strong exteriors and often try to imitate their actions. men subconsciously acknowledge the cosmic interplay of the masculine shani (capricorn), brihaspati (sagittarius), and surya, as they idolize the solitary state of the uttara ashadha mongoose: the one who has no yoni consort.

🪴 it is important to understand that capricorn itself is not a masculine sign. it is indeed the most feminine sign of the zodiac, due to it embodying the earthly nature of clinging to the tree as leaves do or grounding to the earth as clay. the over-ruler of capricorn, the planet shani, is often considered to be gender-neutral as the ether element itself transcends gender. shani simply molds the earthly, feminine clays of capricorn into greatness and abundance. examine the abundance of uttara ashadha, shravana, and dhanishta (whom all lie in the capricorn rashi). all of these nakshatras are famed for their looks, auras, and wealth.

* the lovely @/sakkurareadnt on twitter has brought to my attention that while aquino was the first president of the philippines to be a woman, she was not the one to solely change the power civilians have. it was the people of the philippines themselves who organized the revolution. aquino did believe in human rights and did well during her presidency, but the restoration of power to the people was primarily due to the movement of the citizens of philippines. i sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused 💗

🐘 fka twigs: uttara ashadha surya

☀️ due to surya being the fiery path within, the element fire is said to connects us to the sense of sight. ayurveda states anything we can see is touched by fire, as we abide in the state of solar satya. the element fire is called “tejas” in sanskrit and it is the third of the pancha mahabhutus (the five great elements). it is the third element because it evolves from the states of ether and air, containing the essence of these elements within it. ether energizes fire with the ability to find space to exist within. air bestows fire with the capacity of prana to burn. it is due to the element air, that fire will never be able to still within us. fire is said to represent the capacity for heat and light. it is the generator of energy in the body, modeling the behavior of how surya is the generator of energy for the entire solar system. it is said that fire is the process of liberating energy from its source.

⭐️ the tanmatra of vision, rupa, is the origin of the purifying fires. rupa means to form or color. the forms and colors of life are a direct result from our perception. rupa serves as the tanmatra, our unmanifested form of perception, light, and vision. fire binds with the sense of vision, as fire provides light for perception. the eyes serve as the channel through which light is digested and perception takes place. think of it this way, you cannot see what is ahead of you, if you simply have no light to illuminate your path. with uttara ashadha women specifically, we tend to see this struggle with male attention. women are naturally quite yin, but the peak pingala energy of uttara ashadha alters the manifestation of these natives. people are confused by these natives’ balanced and equalizing energy and flock to their perceived light like moths to a flame. in many cases, people are also insecure about the uttara ashadha native’s inner elemental balance and will choose to leave them. this is because uttara ashadha illuminates everything within their environment, including the vampiric energies of others.

✨ in the show “euphoria”, cassie (played by an uttara ashadha chandra native sydney sweeney), we see this internal dichotomy around male attention. cassie is described as a sweet and popular person, but has difficulty with navigating relationships. she grew up with an emotionally unavailable and irresponsible father who grew to only care for money. men are entranced by her energy and solely view her as a means of sexual pleasure. boys treat her as this shiny jewel, until she rejects or accepts their sexual advances, then she is viewed as promiscuous. the problem here is men become obsessed with uttara ashadha women, as they are obsessed with uttara ashadha men in film. they seek these natives’ fire and become disappointed when they come to find these natives have emotions and needs like any other person.

🌥 the movie “gone girl” is about a former writer and his glamorous wife amy (played by uttara ashadha chandra rosamund pike). they try to present a portrait of a blissful marriage to the public. when amy goes missing on the couple's fifth wedding anniversary, the writer becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance. the police pressure and media frenzy causes the couple's image of a happy union to crumble, leading to tantalizing questions about who they really are. throughout their relationship, amy tried to be the perfect girl who was the best wife she could be, but she felt she was never good enough. she changed her entire personality to conform to the wants of her husband. in the movie, she states (WARNING: THIS DOES CONTAIN GRAPHIC LANGUAGE): “men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? she’s a cool girl. being the cool girl means i am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and ***l sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary **** bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because cool girls are above all hot. hot and understanding. cool girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. go ahead, sh*t on me, i don’t mind, i’m the cool girl. men actually think this girl exists. maybe they’re fooled because so many women are willing to pretend to be this girl. for a long time cool girl offended me. i used to see men – friends, coworkers, strangers – giddy over these awful pretender women, and i’d want to sit these men down and calmly say: you are not dating a woman, you are dating a woman who has watched too many movies written by socially awkward men who’d like to believe that this kind of woman exists and might kiss them. i’d want to grab the poor guy by his lapels or messenger bag and say: the b*tch doesn’t really love chili dogs that much – no one loves chili dogs that much! and the cool girls are even more pathetic: they’re not even pretending to be the woman they want to be, they’re pretending to be the woman a man wants them to be. oh, and if you’re not a cool girl, i beg you not to believe that your man doesn’t want the cool girl. it may be a slightly different version – maybe he’s a vegetarian, so cool girl loves seitan and is great with dogs; or maybe he’s a hipster artist, so cool girl is a tattooed, bespectacled nerd who loves comics. there are variations to the window dressing, but believe me, he wants cool girl, who is basically the girl who likes every thing he likes and doesn’t ever complain. (how do you know you’re not cool girl? because he says things like: “i like strong women.” if he says that to you, he will at some point **** someone else. because “i like strong women” is code for “i hate strong women.”)”.

⛅️ men view uttara ashadhas as this immovable and illustrious force of light. they assume they behave as uttara ashadha men do in their violent, “fight club”-esc films. this deep desire often leads to many uttara ashadha natives feeling the need to embrace a lifestyle of hyper-masculinity to compensate for their natural and human emotions. people crave these natives to be the hot, light, dry, rough, and sharp nature of fire itself. the people in these natives’ lives expect for themselves to be the inherent air that is within the nature of fire. after all, it is the element air that provides fire with its mobile quality. although the truest state of uttara ashadha is the subtle fire, their effects are the most prominent. when you approach fire, what do you feel first? the heat of the flames. this is why we associate the element fire with the fires we can see. as fire represents light, heat, luster, energy, understanding, and the power of transformation.

🌤 examine uttara ashadha natives like issa rae in “insecure”, jane levy in “zoey’s extraordinary playlist”, zooey deschanel in “new girl”, or the aforementioned women above. these natives will be repeatedly shunned for their emotional nature and sensitivities because we expect surya to be the silent source of satiability. to see this source of sustenance have feelings and needs, shocks the moth who was once attracted to the flame. the moth realizes that not everything is about their deepest carnal desires.

🐘 nina simone: uttara ashadha chandra

💪🏽 these natives are no stranger to standing up for the injustices of their era. while surya natives do struggle with unwanted expectations and internal dichotomies, this does not discredit the common belief that these natives serve as the celestial father who provides the vital force behind creation and its sustenance. surya natives’ strong will and individuality, coupled with their boldness and ambition, creates a wonderful passion for advocating for what they believe in. think of uttara ashadha native nina simone who was both musically talented and an advocate for civil rights. she used her talents and fame to shed light on a greater cause. simone once stated, “i had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.”. nicki minaj, another uttara ashadha native, is often regarded as the queen of rap and is known for advocacy for women’s rights and power. in an interview minaj said, “when you’re a girl you have to be everything… you have to be sexy, and you have to be this and you have to be that, and you have to be nice. it’s like, i can’t be all those things at once. i’m a human being.”. joan jett (an uttara ashadha native) stated: “i figured out it was a social thing, what women were allowed to do. at a very young age, i decided i was not going to follow women's rules.”.

🍯 this behavior correlates to one of the ten vishvadevas: kratu. kratu is the deity representative of strength. rishi kratu appeared in two different ages. kratu is one of the seven great sages (the saptarishis). these sages are said to have originated from the consciousness of brahma. kratu is sometimes even believed to have been born from his father's left eye. kratu was married to sannathi and it is believed the couple had sixty thousand children, which are referred to as balakhilyas. the balakhilyas were said to be the size of a thumb and lived alongside the bank of rivers. the balakhilyas were once insulted by deity indra, the king of celestial deities. by the power generated by their penance, they were able to please shiva. in turn, shiva gave him a boon that they would be able to produce a bird who could pull out the cosmic nectar from indra.

🪓 the story goes that prajapati daksha was the head of sacrifice. prajapati daksha held a grudge against rudra or (depending on the story) for his daughter sati marrying shiva against his wishes. prajapati daksha did not send even an invitation to shiva for the sacrifice. sati went to the sacrifice alone and was terribly insulted for marrying shiva by her family. sati then k*lled herself by by jumping into the sacrificial fire. upon hearing the news of sati, lord shiva became madden with rage. shiva pulled out a lock of hair from his head and threw it down, invoking the spirit of veerabhadra (or bhairava) shiva ordered veerabhadra to go with his followers and destroy everybody who attended the sacrifice, including prajapati daksha himself.

⚔️ veerabhadra and shiva’s followers then went and beheaded daksha. they began to punish each and every god who attended the holy sacrifice. they knocked out the teeth of pushan, removed the eyes of bhaga, and severed the two testicles of kratu. soon after, the gods went to shiva and begged for his mercy. shiva said that they should all serve under him as animals for a period of time; only then would they will regain their original status. all of the gods agreed to this. shiva then restored the teeth, eyes, and testicles of the different gods. daksha was also revived by placing the head of a goat on his neck (more on this in a later post). after kratu’s testicles were restored, he married sannati, the daughter of daksha. they were all described as small sages no bigger than the joint of the thumb and said to be chaste and pious.

⚱️ later on, rishi kratu was again born in the vaivasvata manvantara (seventh and current manvantara), due to lord shiva’s boon. in this cyclic period of time, kratu had no family. it is reported that kratu was born from the hand of lord bharma, whereas the other rishis are said to have been born from other parts of the body of brahma. because kratu had no family and no children, he adopted agastya’s son: idhvaaha.

⚒ uttara ashadha natives understand that sacrifices have to be made for the betterment of society, as the many gods were sacrificed by participating in the harmful behavior that caused sati to jump into the deadly fire. specifically, these natives understand the sacrifice of career and monetary stability for this cause. these natives learn to reject traditional associations of femininity and masculinity and learn the essence of all life is an equilibrium of both (symbolic of kratu being castrated, thus having the phallic force being altered). uttara ashadhas act as brahma’s hand in which birthed the deity of strength (kratu), by lending a helping hand to those in need and never forgeting the importance of where they come from. famous singers like nicki minaj, joan jett, and nina simone understood this and frequently put their careers on the line to ensure they were treated with the utmost respect. modeling the sacrificial sati, nina simone sacrificed her career in singing to devote her entire life to advocating for civil rights and joan jett devoted her entire career to breaking gender norms and stereotypes. what people fail to understand is the integrity these women have. whatever surya women choose to do, they will stand by their decision and suffer the consequences. they understand in order to command respect, you must garner accountability. the act of activism arguably runs much deeper than jupitarian women. as kratu was once said to have no family and be alone, surya natives feel the need to guide others as they wish they could have been guided at a young age. these natives choose to adopt the burdens of the collective masses (as kratu with idhvaaha). they struggled with jealousy and male dichotomies and fantasies. they endured years of abandonment, loss, and energetic vampires sucking the light from them. only to shine like the bright stars they truly are, reaching their latter victory and choosing to never leave anyone behind or forgotten.

i highly encourage you to watch the clip below because it perfectly illustrates hows surya-ruled women understand the inadequacies and injustices of this world and decide to use their platform to speak on it:

https://youtu.be/PzGZamtlRP0

🐘 sza: uttara ashadha lagna

🎖the latter victory is quintessential, yet individualistic, to uttara ashadhas. throughout all areas of the life, these natives succeed in unimaginable ways. from sports, modeling, singing to activism and acting, they reach the highest possible success. once these natives have mastered the lessons of the planets shani, brihaspati, and surya, they have to learn from one more deity: yama. recall the foundational essence of yama reoccurring throughout this post, the elephant, bhairavi, and yama’s correlation to mahapudma. it is said that in order to examine the polarity of a nakshatra, you must examine the opposing nakshatra as well. the opposite of uttara ashadha is pushya (and punarvasu). both punarvasu and pushya are considered to be highly auspicious nakshatras. punarvasu is able to encapsulate the transition from destruction (ardra) and nourishment (pushya) with blessings of the motherly aditi and the supervision of brihaspati, but what happens when pushya is also into the darker elements of life?

🎯 both punarvasu and pushya are linked to brihaspati, due to punarvasu being ruled by brihaspati (via vimshottari dasha) and pushya being under the deity rulership of brihaspati. as i discussed on twitter recently, pushya is directly linked to funerals and morticians. the fourth house of cancer is said to be eight houses away from the twelfth house. thus, denoting one finding home, roots, or comfort in times of death or misfortune. the deities associated with shani are yama and prajapati. yama represents death, dharma, and the underworld and prajapati represents rebirth and creation (modeling the transformative themes of punarvasu as well). the deity of pushya, brihaspati, is said to be a sage born from the first great light, as punarvasu’s meaning is said to be “prosperous again” or “return of the light”. brihaspati is said to be the one who drives away darkness. pushya natives embody brihaspati by bringing great healing and comfort to those in terrible times. or they may embody yama and become hyperfixated with the themes of death. recall how angelina jolie (pushya lagna) stated she wanted to be a mortician when she grew up. a famous funeral director, marshall white, is likely a pushya chandra. a convicted m*rderer & mortician, bernie tiede, is a pushya surya.

🪦 uttara ashadhas marry and reflect the saturnian and jupitarian in a differing, but similar, way. throughout this post, dharma has been mentioned frequently. it is difficult to exactly provide a single definition for dharma, as the word has a long history and it’s interpretations vary throughout hinduism, buddhism, sikhism, and jainism. there is actually no equivalent synonym for dharma in english. the root of the word dharma is "dhri", meaning “to support, hold, or bear". dhri is what regulates the course of change by consistently abstaining from change. however, most can agree dharma means the “right way of living" and "path of rightness". this also depends on the context and the meaning of dharma, as it has evolved as ideas of hinduism have evolved through history. in the earliest texts and ancient myths of hinduism, dharma meant cosmic law, the rules that created the universe from chaos and rituals. after time, the meaning became more complex, it is said to designate human behaviors considered necessary for the order of things in the universe; principles that prevent chaos; and behaviors and actions necessary to all life in nature, society, and family.

🔪 whereas, yama is considered to have been the first mortal who died and saw the way to the celestial abodes. due to this, he became the lord of the departed. yama's name can also mean "twin", and in some myths he is paired with a twin sister names yamī. yama is assisted by chitragupta who is assigned with the task of keeping complete records of the actions of human beings on earth. upon the death of humans, yama decides if they shall reincarnate as a superior or inferior organism, depending on their actions on earth (karma). this is why yama is considered to be the lord of justice and is sometimes referred to as dharma, referring to yama’s unwavering dedication to maintaining order and his adherence to harmony.

🏹 like punarvasu and pushya, uttara ashadhas wish to guide others through their path of dharma, as the bow of brihaspati navigates through the winds, but they also struggle with neglecting themselves. they are so giving with their fruitful bounty, they often forget to spend time within. their inclination for guiding, giving, and dying unto oneself often becomes a fixation that eventually leads to burn out and tiredness. this is why uttara ashadha natives must study the nature of yama and learn when to set healthy boundaries. i will not be including the hymn of yama and yamī (the children of the sun god: surya) as to not trigger others with it’s inc*stuous nature, but it is an example of how those with saturnian/jupitarian influences must learn to set boundaries, even with those they love. sza’s (uttara ashadha lagna) “ctrl” album is a perfect example of the potential for vulnerability, imperfectness, and the deep capability of love these natives exhibit. i highly recommend listening to her songs “love galore”, “normal girl”, and “garden”, as they directly reflect the topics i have discussed in this post. learning to set boundaries will be difficult, as many of the times this creates a need to have difficult conversations with those we love. but when we align ourselves under the eyes of surya, we learn it is the key to flourishing into the tree of life.

🐘 sade adu: uttara ashadha surya

🌲 the movie “the tree of life”, stars multiple surya natives (including uttara ashadha chandra brad pitt). the movie tells an impressionistic story of a texan family in the 1950s. the film follows the life journey of the eldest son, jack (played by leo chandra sean penn and an uttara phalguni native and uttara ashadha atmakaraka hunter mccracken), through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (brad pitt). jack finds himself to be a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the true existence of faith.

🪵 the tree of life emblem is a popular, universal symbol that represents differing meanings across all cultures and religions. the symbol does not originate from one specific culture as it has been used all over the world for centuries. the tree of life is said to commonly represent the interconnectedness and intertwining of everything within the universe. it is symbolic of togetherness and serves as a reminder that you are never alone or isolated, but rather that you are connected to all beings in existence. the roots of the tree of life are deeply grounded and spread into the core of earth. by accepting the nourishment from mother earth, the tree’s branches reach up into the sky, accepting energy from the lights of both the surya and chandra. this correlates to the goddess matangi (who is the tantric form of saraswati). saraswati is the mother goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and the arts. one cannot grow solid roots without the foundational knowledge of life and nourishment (saraswati). with a solid foundation in place, the tree of life symbolizes the connection to one’s family and ancestors (ketu). the tree has an intricate network of branches that represent how our lineage grows and expands over time. trees will always find a way to keep growing, through seeds or new saplings, and is lush with greenery, which signifies its ancient fertility.

🌧 all trees are unique and special. by their branches sprouting at different points and in different directions, they symbolize a person's personal growth into a unique human being as different experiences shape them into who they are destined to be. as time passes, both trees and ourselves gain more unique characteristics, as branches may break off, new ones grow, and as the weather takes its toll. during these alterations and changes, the tree remains steadfast and sturdy. as shani brings about trials and tribulations, people grow and change throughout their lifetime and their unique experiences mold and enhance their individuality. the tree of life loses it’s leaves and appears to be dead during winter, but after this trialing period of winter, new buds appear and fresh leaves unfurl to reveal their emerald-like beauty (matangi). this cyclical nature represents the beginning of a new life and a dawn of anew. in a way, the tree (our souls) is immortal. even though the tree may grow old or slightly wither, it still produces seeds that carry its essence through the figurative winds of prana. as the tree within us may never die, it shall only transform and be reborn.

🌊 at the end of the movie, “the tree of life”, the now adult jack wanders through a wasteland, as yama once died and symbolizes the purgatory state of the wasteland. jack goes through a doorway and finds himself on a beach. there he shares the screen with his father and mother who concedes her son to the higher power. jack realigned himself with his solar power and gleamed in the light of his mother and father, like the tree of life gleams in both the sunlight and moonlight. jack received the blessing of his mother, symbolic of the goddess saraswati, who offered him into the unknown light of yama. the truth is, most of us do not know what truly happens after we step into the final light, thus ending our earthly presence and accepting the unknown of the future. recall from earlier, fire is said to digest sensory impressions (water) and turn them into purposeful thoughts and ideas. as surya is said to calm the waters of the mind (chandra). jack’s alignment from the beach to heavenly light symbolizes he has finally digested and successfully pondered on his actions throughout his existence. he has calmed both the waters and fires within and is granted the true passage to afterlife.

🐘 nicki minaj: uttara ashadha lagna

⛰ it is now the native has returned to the peak pyramids of life. they have reached the zenith of their soul and look down from the symbolic pyramid to see the differing trees of life. they examine the highs and lows, sadness and happiness, and the polarities between chandra and surya. prana enshrouds the pyramid and blows the luscious, warm leaves of the trees around in the autumnal season. it is only the uttara ashadha native that will be left to see how far along they have come. in the beginning, uttara ashadhas were the lonely mongoose who simultaneously felt they belonged to everyone and no one. they tried to embody the personal surya to others and learned the error in their ways. these natives were there to lend a helping hand to others, no matter what that sacrifice entails. they have worn the masks of ketu, travelled as the head elephant leads his group, and now stand before the cosmic fire. the mongoose is no longer sad in his sedentary ways, he is fearless, in the sense his open to all feelings from deep love to intense sorrows. may you uttara ashadhas abide in your satya and may the strength of the vishvadevas guide you further into the unknown.

🐘 aaliyah: uttara ashadha surya

💋 as always, i am open to any constructive criticism! i tried to touch on the deities’ involvement in the appearances, manifestations, and symbolism of uttara ashadha. like the endangered elephant and the elusive mongoose, uttara ashadhas are a rare kind. they embody the true abundance of yang that is secure in their solar nature and path. people will latch on to their brihaspati, shani, and surya qualities, as they understand that these energies guide their environment to follow the behavior of the native (as a male elephant leads his family unit to safety and prosperity). uttara ashadhas are so kind, warm, and giving and you guys truly do not get the love you deserve. boundaries will be very important to these natives, as they are so giving (solar) with their knowledge and wealth (brihaspati), they must learn to set healthy boundaries (shani) to avoid burn out. if you are looking for more information about uttara ashadha, get to know the overrulers and supreme deities of surya, agni (fire god) and shiva (supreme god); brihaspati, indra (king of the gods) and brahma (law giver); and shani, yama (the god of death) and prajapati (the creator). also—and i cannot stress this enough—familiarize yourself with the deities of this nakshatra: the vishvadevas. if any of my placements or information are incorrect please feel free to let me know! also, i am fully aware of the origins of vedic astrology and if i was in anyway disrespectful to hindu culture, i will take down this post immediately. i am incredibly honored to know such lovely vedic astrology enthusiasts. you all mean so much to me xx

**all of these placements were found using astrotheme/.com and/or astro-charts/.com. it is important to note that some chandra (moon) placements may be off by up to 6 degrees and lagnas (risings) as well, due to the fact that many websites do not have 100% accurate birth times for the given celebrities.

**i take absolutely no credit for the invention of vedic astrology-based appearance profiles. please watch claire nakti on youtube or look into @/cn0bles, @/lovejustlied, @/dh4nishta, and @/vanillemercure on twitter for more in-depth analysis on vedic astrology xx

“i’ll tell you what freedom is to me, no fear.” - nina simone (uttara ashadha chandra)

xoxo, angel <3

#vedicastrology #astrology #nakshatras #capricorn #sagittarius #sagittarius aesthetic #capricorn aesthetic #capricorn moon #sagittarius moon #uttara ashadha nakshatra #the sun #lord shani #brihaspati #saturn #jupiter

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anonil88 · 4 years

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Malcolm and Marie live blog

I don't usually do liveblogs for movies but yea.

Spoilers ahead!!

I love that its modern timed but very 70s stylized.

A tune indeed.

When you are high and drunk on success and

How the white critic reacts is why I feel like gatekeeping my scripts. At the same time some things I do make are about race or involve.

Marie sitting on the patio smoking is a mood whenever men are talking.

So he's pretentious and unaware.

Whoever chose the music for this, I feel like we would be Spotify mutuals.

Can this nigga stop pacing.

Also can he stop talking;

Marie is so tired and unimpressed.

Also little booties matter and are to be bitten.

Oooo the tension and the jazz.

Title Card over mac and cheese.

Shitty boxes mac and cheese but still mac and cheese.

Tbh i always wonder if spouses/significant others get upset when their spouses don't acknowledge them during speeches.

John sounds so much like his dad but I really hope his acting style differs from his dad a lot.

Guilty confession?

He did not profit off of his partners backstory and then not even acknowledge her.....I.....

If that ever happened to me catch me cussing my partner out during the beginning credits, the end credits, in the car, and at home.

GASLIGHTER!

The way I'm excited for Zendaya to give me some, oooo can she work with Regina King. Please on my knees I pray.

Um no that's not your job to coddle your lead.

He's a dick and the type of dick who makes himself look like a good person around other people.

If Sam Levinson is trying to make his viewers more of misandrist, it's working.

I feel like Marie has her flaws probably a lot of them and we will surely see as this continues, but Malcolm needs to learn how to apologize sincerely.

70s vibes! 70s vibes!

Them kissing and talking about criticism and dreams makes me miss a partner. A partner that I've had and haven't had.

Women really are behind every great man.

Yea sir you fucked a happy moment.

Oh visual allegories for looking in from the outside and cat and mouse chasing and looking from the outside in.

She's saying she doesn't feel noticed by you.

Gas lighter :0 he called her an emotional support dog, bruh.

I would LOVE to co-write or take a writing class held by Sam Levinson. The fights i write are very much in this same realm of reflection and anger and monologue.

Sam.....sam.....are all the sides inside of you doing okay sir?

The ugly side of dating and being in a relationship with someone who struggles with their own demons.

Honestly I could close my eyes and listen to this script being read without seeing these characters visually. Just close my eyes and get a sense of these characters like it was a radio story.

Oh. Oh this is a new wheelhouse of Zendaya acting; a different voice is like breaking through here and her expressions aren't the same we are used to. You can literally hear another character in there....hmm.

Mans is outside really fighting with his invisible demons lmfao.

Selfish ass, how after everything she said you came out of it thinking about your own craft and self instead of how you hurt her.

So she's conditional.

Me: did sam (a white man) say nigga this many times in his script or are the actors adding their own inflections. Not just the lingo used but the topic of race and directing etc. being written by a white writer about black characters is always gonna be a critique when you're writer is a white person.

Alexa play Broken Girls by Saba

He is so hurtful.

A clown nigga a clown look in the fucking mirror you bozo head ass looking like you need some Mehron clown white and a size 16 in clown shoes.

John is doing a really swell performance and reading of these lines.

He is reading her for her insecurities by bringing up his experiences with other women and that.....is yikes.

Arguments can get messy like this in real life but it takes a lot of maturity and control to either not let it get to this point or have a healthy conversation afterwards.

This film is really shot on some very crisp lenses.

They sitting there like 🚬🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️.

Leftover Mac and Cheese and unfinished cigarettes.

The nyt etc. pay walls are so annoying, but there is a work around look at the articles on incognito or add a period at the end of the url.

He sounds like his daddy so much here, weird, this is the only part I'm eh on the dialogue it feels real but a bit out of pace in how they are bouncing off one another.

Nail scissors? So the end is not the only part he based off of Marie. 🙄

ITS A GOOD REVIEW YOU DINGUS but also its a full review they are going to critique things. She isn't wrong though he did profit off of a woman's story that was not his own to profit from.

Yes Malcolm because unfortunately all marginalized people look through a lens of life that is inherently political because of the world they live in.

He is so mad and upset and had a lot on his chest. But I think he Malcolm and Sam are talking about something thats an issue and a non issue. Being critiqued for you art is hard but also Malcolm is not super self aware. He's like a stand in figure of for example rich depop sellers who wanna be oppressed so badly they yell at others instead of examining their own personal behaviors and ethics.

Oh Marie, when you know the spark is gone and you pick fights because.

He ain't even ask her to read?

One critic I have for most of hollywood actors is they learn their cry and that is it. A change from this is Margot Robbie, I adore her fluctuations of crying being similar but the crying is carried differently for each character. If I had to say any actor that does a cry scene amazing its this woman right here (Amy Adams)

You stole her story from her and gave it away, she has a right to be upset and angry and a rubber band ball of emotions.

Citizen Kane, not the cinematography, but the story is it even that good? (Unpopular opinion but meh, maybe in my rewatch it will be better.)

But that is what people want authenticity and whatever authenticity means to them. What is real for one is false for another.

To be honest look at the criticism of Euphoria, well earned, but a lot of people were like this isn't real even though he literally wrote about his own life. People said it was inauthentic like....wtf.

Ahh the smoking is just a habit, he quit and she didn't.

CAST ZENDAYA IN A HORROR MOVIE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING. Get Lupita and Zendaya and some more black actors preferably less known ones in a horror movie. One with a interesting script and story, directed by Regina King. Please and thankyou.

I love Marie yep that was amazing.

Behind every great man is a greater woman, one that deserves her credit for how she has stood behind. I wonder the stories of those women, what they have sacrificed or not sacrificed. Their thoughts and feelings when the world is surrounding their partner and views them as a plus one. (I'd write a short script about this but I think do I have the time, can I, or am I equipped ?)

He is a shitty person for bringing up his exes, like she even said I don't wanna know any of that.

Imagine being on anti depressents and rarely having a sex drive and then when you do your partner starts talking about their exes and tearing you apart for all your faults.

I love when you see peaks of Zendaya's cadence in roles.

Tension, what if's and he didn't even bring her up in his speech.

Marie to herself and the audience:

He is not afraid that he will loose her but as my character says in my unreleased story, "i can't wait til you give me a fucking reason to leave your ass." Malcolm expects everything in order for not even doing the bare minimum and she is only asking him for something as simple as consideration. She just wants him to be considerate. He wants to get married and considers their relationship like rolling down a hill at full speed and he cannot apologize, he cannot be considerate, and he cannot admit his wrongs. He can only offer her I love yous that he probably does mean but he does not back up outside of what he's done for her in the past. The past which was more of her experience than his and he sees his part in it as a burden. He doesn't use his own vantage point of the past to further his career he uses her. He does all of these things without a real apology or thankyou because he is not afraid to loose her.

The restrictions of quarantine and the panorama have made Sam's writing very no frills. I wonder how other films from other directors and writers that are filmed in small contained crews like this will be structured. But this was a very good movie gonna add to my letter box 3.3-3.5

Oh shit this is my song,

Ratings/overall thoughts:

Script is like a C+, B- : I could go into my heavier big brain thoughts on the script but I don't feel like it. You catch hints of it above it centers conversation on race and privilege, mainly the writers and questions i have that won't be answered but Sam did make me grow disdain for Malcolm over a short time. Which is sometimes hard to do because im one sympathetic person but the sympathy i have for Malcolm is at 0. Maybe a 2 at some scenes but then it quickly goes back to 0. Some parts of the dialogue miss the mark or hit the are off balanced. While some of it like Malcolm's bathroom speech albeit mean is really strong or their conversation when he comes back from peeing really shines for me.

Performances: B+ to A- because they carried the script further than it could of gone with less talented actors. The monologues do well to showcase their current skill levels which are already high af and leave room for anticipation in where these actors go next.

Zendaya holding a knife: A+ with a gold star. That switch on and off and on is delectable.

John being a shitty boyfriend but following Marie like a lost puppy: B+ with a good job written at the bottom of the paper, Malcolm being nervous a frantic dialed up with more realistic nervousness would have sold me completely on Malcolm's anxious waiting.

Cinematography: A and a participation award.

The mac and cheese: A+ for the easy mac. Wish it was like Annie's or Velveeta.

Cigarettes: Participation award and their picture hung up for student of the month. Why the grill lighter? Everytime Malcolm opened up his mouth Marie was like sparks fly.

The music: A++ with a prize. Whoever picked the music probably makes good Spotify playlists.

#Malcolm & Marie #malcolm and marie #zendaya coleman #zendaya #john david washington #liveblog #mine

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deus-ex-mona · 3 years

Text

The Case of Yamamoto Kodai

Happy Birthday Kodai!

This is one of the stories from the Koiiro ni Sake novel, namely Kodai’s one moment of fame!

pdf version

Yamamoto Kodai was unable to forget that incident, which had happened in Middle School.

“Yamamoto-kun, lend me your glasses!”

Before he could respond, fingers much thinner than his reached out and grabbed his glasses. Despite Kodai’s confusion, the girl put on his glasses.

“Whoa! Everything’s so blurry…”

“I would think so. The lenses have a degree.”

“Hmm, I guess I really shouldn’t mess around with glasses,” the girl had said, quickly returning the glasses to Kodai. He wondered why she had even decided to try on his glasses.

“Truth is…” the girl continued, as if she had noticed Kodai tilting his head in confusion. “I was just curious about how the world looks like to you, Yamamoto-kun! Just kidding.”

“...I think it’s rather normal, though.”

“That’s not true. You’re a bookworm, and you always pay attention to the people around you, Yamamoto-kun! That’s why I wanna figure out how to reach the heart of a casual bystander like you.��

Kodai had been stunned into silence. The “Yamamoto Kodai” that the girl had spoken of did not seem to resemble him in the slightest. Reading certainly was a hobby of his, though he did not think it gave him any useful skills thus far. And while paying attention to others around him did sound like a good thing, he really just liked to observe people. A “casual bystander” was just a term that she had used for the fun of it.

(And you can just say words to reach another person’s heart, anyway…)

But, if the girl had said so, it must have been so. After all, her words had the power to bring smiles to the people around her, so Kodai was inclined to believe in those words of hers.

“The world I see is always changing around me.”

“Eh, really? Why? And how?”

The person who had changed Kodai’s world was completely oblivious to it.

Kodai just laughed ambiguously in response to the girl’s questions.

“It wouldn’t hurt to tell me,” she had puffed her cheeks, before laughing as well.

She had a dazzling smile, just like the midsummer Sun.

~✿~

After school, a fragrant scent filled the Japanese Language department room, the source of which seeming to be a silver mass atop the stove.

Kodai snorted, and Akechi-sensei, who was checking a draft, looked up at him. “Yamamoto, do you like roasted sweet potatoes?”

“I don’t hate them, but…”

“But?”

“I’m wondering why roasted sweet potatoes are being cooked in the department room.”

“It’s fine, I’m keeping the room well-ventilated.”

No, that was not the problem at hand.

Kodai wondered if he should respond with a punchline, before eventually nodding hesitantly with a sigh. “Haah.”

(Akechi-sensei really is a free-spirited person as always, huh?)

Even though he taught Classical Literature, he wore a lab coat for some reason. He was able to gain the support of his students, regardless of their genders, because he did not act like the other teachers, as seen from his casual words and mannerisms.

When Kodai thought about it, Akechi-sensei’s trivia-based lessons had a reputation for being easy to understand and not boring to sit through.

Kodai wondered if the phrase “hard to comprehend” was the best way to describe Akechi-sensei as a person. In that regard, Akechi-sensei was similar to Shibasaki Ken, also known as “Shibaken”, who was Kodai’s acquaintance from Middle School.

(Well, in Shibaken’s case, it’s easy to understand him if I hang around him for a bit.)

“By the way, about this article,” Akechi-sensei put the draft on the desk, seemingly having finished checking it over. He had written some comments on it with a red pen, though there did not seem to be any major corrections to be made.

“Thank you for your hard work.” Akechi-sensei’s facial expression had relaxed. “Only a few details need to be fine-tuned after this, so I’ll take it from here.”

“I’ll leave it to you. Thank you,” Kodai had responded formally, though he was secretly relieved in his heart.

The draft Akechi-sensei had been checking was the draft of the school newspaper, which was scheduled to be published the next week. It would not be published without the approval of the club advisor, so the publication must be revised repeatedly to prevent blank spaces throughout the issue. Worst case scenario, the blank spaces would be filled in with photographs and drawings.

Though, to be honest, there were cases when they had no other choice due to time constraints, but Kodai had no such excuse this time. It was due to the fact that the people that Kodai had interviewed were First Year students of different clubs, including Kotaro and the others.

(If that article gets published, I’m sure that the seniors will…)

“Ah! It’s Nacchan-senpai and friends!”

“Senpai, please drop by the club later.”

Kodai suddenly heard cheers from outside the room. Although they would not normally be audible, the windows of the room were opened slightly for ventilation, as Akechi-sensei had said earlier.

“Are Enomoto and her group still there?” Akechi-sensei, who had stood up from his chair without Kodai realising it, looked out of the window.

To put it simply, Third Year students were supposed to have returned home after their morning classes had ended. The only times when they would stay back after school would be to take elective lessons, or to attend either club activities or committee meetings.

“Oi, you Third Years over there!” Akechi-sensei opened the window before leaning out of it.

As a cold breeze blew in, Kodai escaped to the front of the stove in the centre of the room. Meanwhile, Akechi-sensei was conversing with the students outside.

“If you have some free time, why not stop by?”

“Huh? Why should we?”

(Ah. That voice sounded like Serizawa-senpai.)

The names Kodai had heard earlier were “Nacchan-senpai” and “Enomoto”, so he had assumed that Enomoto-senpai was with her close friends, Aida-senpai and Hayasaka-senpai.

However, if Serizawa-senpai was there, all of the members of their group were probably there as well.

There were many ways to refer to them, such as “The Year of Success”, or the “Golden Generation”. But in any case, the six of them were definitely a group of stars in Sakuragaoka High School.

Simply put, in terms of name recognition and general fame, no one could compete with Narumi Sena, who actively modelled for magazines, as well as appeared in television commercials. However, Enomoto-senpai, who was an “ordinary person” also had something that attracted others to her.

All six members of the group had such characteristics as well.

The first one that would come to mind was probably Serizawa Haruki-senpai. It was said that if he filmed a movie, he would definitely win an award for it. He was also called a “competition troll” by some groups. In addition, he was good at taking care of others, having the temperament of a big brother. He was also known to be popular amongst his juniors, especially the boys.

Hayasaka Akari-senpai, the Club President of the Art Club, as well as Aida Miou-senpai, the Vice-President, were both regular participants in art contests. They seemed to be commended at every school-wide assembly, and their works were often displayed on the walls in front of the art room and the reception office throughout the year.

Enomoto Natsuki-senpai, who was in the Art Club as well, had received fewer awards than the two of them. However, she was a mood maker, no matter where she went, and she had many fans amongst her juniors, regardless of their gender. She was also the older sister of Kotaro, Kodai’s friend since Middle School.

There was also the person who was rumoured to be dating Enomoto-senpai, Setoguchi Yu-senpai. Setoguchi-senpai excelled in both sports and studies, and was tall in height, so he was known to be a prince-like character amongst the girls. He was also selected as Mr. Sakuragaoka High School that year, as well as the year before that. Just like Enomoto-senpai, Kodai knew him to be the older brother of Hina, whom he called “Setoguchi-san”.

And the sixth member of the group was Mochizuki Sota-senpai. He had started the Movie Research Club with Serizawa-senpai and Setoguchi-senpai, and was the Vice-President of it. Along with Enomoto-senpai, the four of them were childhood friends, and Mochizuki-senpai was called “Mochita” by them. He was also known to be an easy person to talk to.

(But the truth is, Mochizuki-senpai is the one who maintains the balance of the group.)

At least, that was how it looked to Kodai. Mochizuki-senpai and his group of four childhood friends had attended the same Middle School as Kodai. He was two grades apart from them, so he had only attended school together with them for one year. Even so, they had left a strong impression on him.

“So anyway, please keep the roasted sweet potatoes a secret,” Akechi-sensei looked back, closing the window in order to leave just a small gap open. Since Kodai was in the same room as him, he had probably thought that Kodai was listening in on the conversation.

However, as Kodai had shut out external information when he was lost in his thoughts, he had no idea as to what Akechi-sensei had been talking about earlier. He briefly wondered how he should reply to Akechi-sensei, before ultimately deciding to just be honest with him.

“I’m sorry, I spaced out.”

“Ah, you didn’t hear me earlier? The Third Years are on their way over now, but I’m wondering when I should start to divide the roasted sweet potatoes into eight equal parts.”

What he had missed was more ridiculous than he had expected… Well, it seemed to have been a pointless conversation to begin with.

“Haah,” Kodai replied with a sigh, before beginning to point out the facts. “But, even if I’m silent, I think you’ll be able to tell based on the smell.”

“...Right, that’s how it is, right? Whoa, what should I do?!”

Whether he was being serious or if he was joking, Akechi-sensei raised his hands and flailed them around, as though he was performing a strange dance. As Kodai watched him blankly, he heard the sound of footsteps along the corridor.

“Oi Saku-nii, we’re here.”

“Pardon my intrusion! Ah, it smells good.”

“There are roasted sweet potatoes? Right?”

“What’s the fuss about roasted sweet potatoes these days?”

The moment the door opened, the seniors began talking all at once. In order of speaking were Serizawa-senpai, Enomoto-senpai, Mochizuki-senpai, and Setoguchi-senpai, namely the group of four childhood friends. Hayasaka-senpai and Aida-senpai were watching the fast-paced conversation with smiles on their faces.

(The seniors look like they’re on good terms as always…)

Such a scene, which he usually saw from a distance, was now happening right in front of him. Kodai felt a little strange about it.

“Ahem! Unfortunately for you guys, these roasted sweet potatoes belong to the Newspaper Club,” Akechi-sensei cleared his throat as he stood between the seniors and the stove. He wore work gloves on his hands as he removed the roasted sweet potatoes, which were wrapped in aluminum foil.

(I see, so that was the matter with his hands.)

Although he had his strange moments, Akechi-sensei was an adult after all.

“Eh!” Enomoto-senpai shouted, unable to come up with a good rebuttal.

“Then, sensei, what is the ‘good thing’ you were talking about?”

“Wait, Saku-nii, you said that these belong to the Newspaper Club. So why are you holding on to it?”

(Hm? Did Serizawa-senpai just say “Saku-nii”...?)

Kodai thought that he had misheard the first time, but he was now certain that Serizawa-senpai had called Akechi-sensei “Saku-nii”.

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to call me “sensei” when we’re at school?” Akechi-sensei smiled in exasperation at Serizawa-senpai’s sassy remark.

Kodai wondered what the kind of relationship that the two of them had with each other was. As he pondered over it, his shoulder was grabbed by a hand that had extended out from the side.

“The only people of the Newspaper Club that are here right now are Yamamoto, a member, and me, the advisor. Got it?”

“Saku-nii is the advisor?! Is this for real, Kodai?”

“Yes. The teacher who was in charge of the club till last year was transferred out.”

“See, I told you so. Wait, the two of you get along with each other?” Akechi-sensei had a rather smug expression on his face for a bit, before his eyes began to sparkle in curiosity the next moment. Unlike Kodai, he seemed to be well-versed in managing his facial expressions.

“It’s cuz Kodai’s friends with Natsuki’s younger brother, Kotaro.”

“Natsuki and Yu are next-door neighbours, so we occasionally meet face-to-face,” Mochizuki-senpai added as a supplement to Serizawa-senpai’s words.

“I see,” the corners of Akechi-sensei’s mouth lifted as he listened to their explanation. “So is it similar to what it’s like between Haruki and me?”

“When you put it that way, the relations between me and Kotaro, as well as Hina, would be something like that, huh.”

(So that means that Serizawa-senpai’s sibling was friends with Akechi-sensei.)

Kodai was surprised, but he found that they had a pretty nice relationship. As he thought about that, he suddenly found Serizawa-senpai glancing at him.

“I don’t see Kodai that often, but he’s kinda like a nephew to me, right?”

“Huh, well.”

When Serizawa-senpai gave a lively reply to Akechi-sensei, Mochizuki-senpai huffed from his spot next to him. “A nephew…! Wouldn’t it be better to say that he’s like a younger brother?”

“Right? I’d rather be a big sister to him than my actual little brother,” Enomoto-senpai nodded enthusiastically, the bun atop her head shaking along with her movements.

“Speaking of that, shouldn’t you be more disciplined, like an older sister should be?”

“Hey, Yu, don’t say things like that even if you do think that way!” Enomoto-senpai whacked the shoulder of Setoguchi-senpai, who had poked fun at her with a serious expression on his face. That was a familiar sight to see as well.

“By the way, Akechi-sensei, what’s the ‘good thing’ you had mentioned?” Mochizuki-senpai asked, suppressing his laughter.

“Ah, right. Actually, the draft for the next issue of the school newspaper is ready.”

“Eh,” Kodai involuntarily blurted out. He was surprised to hear that the draft he had written was the ‘good thing’ Akechi-sensei had mentioned.

“This next issue will have lots of literary masterpieces. I have high standards as an advisor, you know?”

Ignoring the stunned students, Akechi-sensei hummed as he arranged the draft on his desk. When he placed a printed out photo next to the draft, Hayasaka-senpai gasped. “Wow!”

“Nacchan, your brother’s featured in this! Look, here.”

“Where, where? Ah, it’s true! And the photo’s really big too?”

“He’s the rising star, he’s amazing, isn’t he?”

“Right, right?” Enomoto-senpai nodded enthusiastically at Aida-senpai’s words.

(I’m glad. Enomoto-senpai looks so happy…)

“Yamamoto was the one who was in charge of this special feature.”

“Hey, Akechi-sensei…”

The eyes of the seniors all suddenly honed in on him.

“Amazing! So you’re the one who wrote this, Yamamoto-kun.”

“...It’s only because it’s my turn to do so this time around,” Kodai immediately looked down to the floor, blinded by Enomoto-senpai’s dazzling face.

Around the same time, he heard a mystified voice from Serizawa-senpai. “But it’s pretty unusual. Aren’t Third Year students usually featured in the school newspaper at this time of year every year?”

“Ah, that’s… Something like a parting gift, of sorts…”

“Parting gift? Wait, then what’s up with this special feature?” he had asked in confusion, though he received no response.

When Kodai looked up, he saw Enomoto-senpai and the other seniors looking at each other in wonder.

“Aah!” Mochizuki-senpai’s voice rang out, echoing through Kodai’s blank mind. “The special feature’s our juniors’ way of reassuring us that they’ve learned from us properly.”

“I see, that makes sense,” Serizawa-senpai agreed, him and the other seniors having been convinced by Mochizuki-senpai’s words, judging from the expressions on their faces.

When Kodai finally felt relieved that the awkward air had cleared, Setoguchi-senpai suddenly opened his mouth.

“Hmm, that’s pretty good! Ah, but this is also a secret from the Third Years in the Newspaper Club, right?” Setoguchi-senpai asked, speaking with confidence.

(They’re amazing, how did they find out?)

Kodai bowed his head to his seniors, as he tried to seek a favour from them. “Y-yes. So I’d appreciate it if you kept it a secret until it’s published…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on someone over here to ensure that she doesn’t accidentally let the information slip.”

“...Yu, why’re you looking at me? It’s rude!” Enomoto-senpai raised both of her hands in protest.

Without taking a step towards her, Setoguchi-senpai smiled as he spoke. “The day before yesterday, I wanted to surprise Hina and her friends, so I remember asking you to keep it a secret that I bought pudding from the Haniwa Store. Though, who was the one who blabbed about it to Kotaro?”

“People tend to let stuff slip when they panic. You have to be careful too!”

(I haven’t seen the seniors interact like this before.)

Speaking of which, Kodai was unable to feel the sweet atmosphere that tended to surround lovers from the two of them, who were bickering away like that. He wondered if it was because they were childhood friends, who had already known each other for a long time.

“Natsuki and Yu, that’s enough from you both.”

“If you want to continue to go at it, do it when you’re alone with each other.”

Serizawa-senpai and Mochizuki-senpai seemed to be mocking the two of them. However, even though Kodai noted that they “seemed to be” mocking them, as far as their facial expressions were concerned, they were only half-teasing them.

Though, at the next moment, Setoguchi-senpai and Enomoto-senpai started talking at the same time again. Heaving a sigh at the sight, Serizawa-senpai and Mochizuki-senpai began to snicker. Aida-senpai and Hayasaka-senpai also joined in, their bright laughter echoing around the room.

(...I wonder if I should get going soon.)

Kodai shifted his gaze around as he searched for the person he was looking for. Akechi-sensei had already moved from where he had been standing next to Kodai, having returned to sitting at his desk.

“Sensei,” Kodai called out softly, amidst the excited chatter of the seniors, who had already moved on to a different conversational topic.

Akechi-sensei looked up with a mildly surprised expression, though it quickly turned into his usual smile. “What’s wrong? Wait, is this about the roasted sweet potatoes?! Give me a sec, okay?”

“Ah, no…” Kodai paused as a roasted sweet potato was cleanly cut in half before his eyes. He accepted the roasted sweet potato, unable to correct Akechi-sensei in time, before returning to the main subject again. “I need to report to my seniors that my draft has your approval, so I’m done here.”

“I see. Ah, be sure to ask Takai-kun if he has edited the postscript.”

“Got it.”

Bowing a little, Kodai quietly left the Japanese Language department room. As soon as he closed the door, he heard a burst of laughter from within.

(Th-that surprised me…)

He pressed a hand to his shirt, where he could feel his rapidly beating heart beneath his palm, as he walked down the corridor. The lively area from earlier seemed like a lie, considering how quiet it now was.

(Ah. I wasn’t able to ask Mochizuki-senpai about his screenplay.)

~✿~

“By the way, guess what I heard from the class next door.”

The next day, as the three of them headed towards the school cafeteria, Shibaken spoke up as though he remembered something. Kodai wondered just what he was talking about. When he glanced at Kotaro, he was looking at Shibaken with a similarly suspicious expression.

“You heard something. So what?”

“There’s a queue to confess. You know, to that Third Year girl Hayasaka Akari-senpai.”

“A-a queue to confess? What the hell is that?” Kotaro’s eyes widened.

“Huh, you really don’t know about it?” Shibaken replied with a question.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it too. People who want to at least confess to Hayasaka-senpai before she graduates are lining up to do so… or something like that, right?”

“Kodai-kun, full marks to you!”

“So there’s such a thing. Hayasaka-senpai is crazy popular, huh,” Kotaro sighed.

Kodai nodded. “Well, it would be more troublesome if they ran up to her to confess.”

Unlike Enomoto-senpai, Kodai had not talked much with Hayasaka-senpai and Aida-senpai. He happened to meet them several times face to face, just like they had the previous day, though the only times when he made conversation with them had been when he was interviewing them for the school newspaper. But even so, those interactions were enough for him to know that the two of them were nice people.

He figured that having to turn down confessions would be a considerable burden on her.

“I wish Hayasaka-senpai would just accept someone’s confession already.”

“She’s not like you, Shibaken,” Kodai reflexively responded, before frowning in remorse.

Up till then, Shibaken had never refused being asked out by someone else, but he had become rather inactive in the dating scene as of late. Kodai did not know what had caused the change in him, but he knew that he should not have said that to Shibaken, who was known to be a playboy.

“Um, sor…”

“H-hey,” Kotaro opened his mouth, his words drowning out Kodai’s apology.

“What’s up?”

Turning around, Kodai saw that Kotaro had seemed to have stopped walking a while ago, as he was standing a distance behind them. His face was pale, as if he had suddenly fallen ill.

“Oi, Kotaro? Can you hear me?” Shibaken stopped walking as well, waving a hand at Kotaro.

However, Kotaro did not react to him, pointing towards the end of the corridor with a trembling finger instead. “Th-there’s something over there…?!”

“Where? Do you get him, Kodai?”

“Hmm, I don’t see anything…”

“There is, behind the pillar by the boys’ bathroom!”

“Ah! Whoa!” Kodai and Shibaken instinctively blurted out in unison.

The tip of Kotaro’s finger was pointed at Mochizuki-senpai, who was leaning against a pillar. He seemed to be muttering and mumbling to himself, as though his soul had left his body. His strength seemed to have been sapped out of him, and the thick brown envelope he held in his hand looked as though it was about to drop to the floor.

(Mochizuki-senpai never changes.)

It was the second time that Kodai had seen Mochizuki-senpai in such a state.

The first time that Kodai had seen it was before Golden Week, when he had been interviewing the Art Club for the school newspaper. As he left the art room after the interview, he had casually looked around, feeling a gaze from somewhere. Then he saw Mochizuki-senpai peeking from around a pillar in the corridor, much like he was doing at that present moment.

(It definitely has something to do with Hayasaka-senpai.)

“Sorry. I just remembered that I have something to do, so the two of you can go on ahead first,” Kodai said, immediately rushing over towards the pillar.

As he got closer, he could hear the words that Mochizuki-senpai was muttering.

“Confessions to Akarin? What’s more, they’re queuing up to do it…?”

“Did you not realise it? Aren’t the two of you classmates?”

Despite talking to him out of the blue, Mochizuki-senpai did not have any particular reaction. On the contrary, he had replied naturally, as though nothing had happened at all.

“I didn’t think much of it when she would leave the classroom for a short while when it was break time, but…”

“No, that’s not the point. You’re looking really suspicious now, you know,” Kodai rebutted mercilessly, as though he had been dealing with Kotaro or Shibaken instead. However, Mochizuki-senpai did not get angry with him, beginning to growl while clutching his own head instead.

(This happens as soon as Hayasaka-senpai gets involved.)

However, the moment Mochizuki-senpai picked up a pen, he would write stories that would amaze his readers. Kodai had realised this during an interview for the school newspaper.

The first issue of the school newspaper in September, following the Summer vacation, had a section that introduced each club activity in a relay format, including the Movie Research Club.

Basic information, such as the number of members and the schedule of the club activities, was written by Setoguchi-senpai, the Club President.

Other in-depth questions, such as “When did you first start to make movies?” and “Why did you decide to make movies?” were addressed to Serizawa-senpai.

(However, Serizawa-senpai’s answers were rather abstract and all over the place…)

The intentions behind Serizawa-senpai’s answers were conveyed, though it had been difficult to string them together into a coherent newspaper article. Even so, when Kodai managed to write it all down and went over to ask for a check, an “incident” occurred.

“Is it okay for me to make a few changes to this?”

“Ah, yes, it’d help.”

In truth, Kodai had been grateful for Mochizuki-senpai’s offer. He thought that, as an outsider, he would not be able to pick up on the detailed nuances in the answers given in the questionnaire, and that by having Mochizuki-senpai fix them, the number of checks required after that would be reduced.

Mochizuki-senpai rushed through the draft with a red ballpoint pen, and was done with the changes in less than ten minutes. Kodai had thanked him and received the modified draft, before starting to read it on the spot.

However, before he had even read it to the end, Kodai raised his face in amazement. The modifications to the draft were clearly written at a completely different standard from the original.

Mochizuki-senpai had seemed to be worried about Kodai’s reaction.

“I-I’m sorry! Was it really that strange? Should I undo my edits?”

“...No, I want to use this version.”

“Really? I’m rather concerned because I’m your senior…”

“You’re worried about such a thing?! Ah, there’s definitely nothing wrong with it, though,” Kodai had instinctively yelled, before mumbling his following words. Even so, his words seemed to have reached Mochizuki-senpai properly, which he was relieved about.

Ever since that day, Kodai had kept the red pen-modified draft with him in his bag. Whenever he lost his motivation to keep writing an article, or whenever it was difficult to get the approval from either the Club President or Akechi-sensei, he would reread the “model” of Mochizuki-senpai’s work. Of course, his own sentences would not improve suddenly, but his mood would change.

Kodai learned that Mochizuki-senpai, who had written such a “model” work, had been studying screenplays when they had met in the library by coincidence.

Kodai, who had run out of books to read on his way home, had dropped by the library after his club activities had ended. There had been few people in the library, as it had been a short while before the last of the students were supposed to leave the school.

Amidst the relative silence of the library, a chair suddenly fell down with a loud noise. Then, a mysterious loud voice suddenly rang out. “I’ve got it!”

When Kodai instinctively turned around, he saw Mochizuki-senpai standing there with a bright red face.

“Um, I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet now…” Mochizuki-senpai had apologised softly, sitting down in a chair and visibly wilting. However, at the next moment, he was writing with a mechanical pencil with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm.

Kodai was unable to keep up with the series of events. The stunned gazes of the surrounding people continued to look at Mochizuki-senpai, but he did not seem to care at all. Kodai was impressed by how focused he was.

However, a piece of paper fell off the desk when Mochizuki-senpai’s elbow hit it. He seemed to have been oblivious to it, and, in the worst case scenario, it may have been left as-is.

After a beat of hesitation, Kodai quietly walked over. He picked up the piece of paper from the floor and slipped it onto the edge of the desk.

“Ah, there’s a typo.”

“Eh? Where, where? Wait, whoaaaa!” Mochizuki-senpai shouted in surprise.

As it was the second time Mochizuki-senpai had yelled, the surrounding gazes, as well as the eyes of the librarian, hardened, and Kodai found himself being forced out of the library with him.

“I’m sorry, it’s because I suddenly called out to you.”

“It’s not your fault at all, Yamamoto-kun! If only I’d looked around more… Ah, right, thank you for picking it up. I didn’t notice it at all. It was a great help.”

“Not really… I only took a glance at it earlier, but are you writing a novel or something?”

“So you really saw it after all? This is actually a screenplay. It’s still just a draft, though.”

In truth, Kodai knew that it would have been better if he had pretended that he had not seen it. It may have been a topic that Mochizuki-senpai did not want to talk about, and he was not as close to the seniors as Kotaro was.

However, Kodai lost out to his curiosity, and he found himself bowing down before he knew it. “Please let me read it!”

As he had expected, the screenplay that Mochizuki-senpai had written was interesting. As it was romance-themed, Kodai had had his doubts before he had started reading it, but he could not stop turning the pages, as though he was reading his favourite mystery novel.

However, the screenplay was unfortunately incomplete. Therefore, Kodai had asked if he could be the first one to read it once it was completed, and he had been waiting ever since.

Judging from its thickness, the brown envelope that Mochizuki-senpai was holding probably contained a bunch of screenplays.

Kodai wanted to read it soon. He wanted to continue to read it.

Kodai gently called out, all while suppressing his urge to scream. “Um, Mochizuki-senpai.”

“Akarin really is cute, regardless of who’s the one looking at her, right?”

“Right? Aah, of course.”

“Y-you agreeeeed! Yamamoto-kun, I didn’t know that the feelings you felt for Akarin were l-lo-lo---”

“No, I just have respect for her. By the way, Mochizuki-senpai, have you completed the screenplay?”

“Eh? Huh, Yamamoto-kun…” Mochizuki-senpai blinked. He was probably thinking “Just when did you get here?”. It seemed that his amazing concentration was at play, even on an occasion like this.

“Kotaro spotted you, that’s about it,” Kodai said without further explanation, but it seemed to have satisfied Mochizuki-senpai.

“A-aah, so that’s how it is. I needed to find you anyway, Yamamoto-kun…”

“Is the script inside that brown envelope?”

“Yup, yup. I finally finished it last night, so I printed it out and brought it along. I’m sorry that it’s so bulky, but I’d be happy if you could read it when you have the time.”

“Thank you, very much…”

The envelope Kodai received from Mochizuki-senpai was heavier than it had looked. Its heavy weight spread across the palm of his hand, and his heart pounded in anticipation.

“I’ll be sure to read this immediately after.”

“I’m happy about it, but don’t you have to eat lunch first?”

“Then, I’ll read it as soon as I’m done with eating.”

“Ah, be sure to pay attention to your lessons as well.”

“...The moment school ends, I’ll read it all at once.”

“Ahaha! Yeah, please do.”

“I’ll be seeing you, then!” Mochizuki-senpai laughed shyly and began to walk, waving his hand. He was heading for the school cafeteria on the same floor.

(...I wonder if he’s looking for Hayasaka-senpai.)

To Kodai, the human heart, much less the feelings of love, was an unanalysable black box. He had always thought as such, which was why he tried not to show unnecessary interest in it. However, for some reason, he found himself concerned about such a thing at that time.

~✿~

On that day, Kodai hurried to the library the moment the bell that announced the end of the school day had rang. He secured the seat by the window, which was as close to the back of the library as possible, and opened the brown envelope to take out the screenplay.

“The Answer to Jealousy”

That was the only thing that had been printed onto the first sheet of paper.

They were the first words that he saw.

It seemed that the title was decided upon after the screenplay had been written to completion.

With bated breath, Kodai turned the page.

~✿~

When Kodai finished reading the last line, the fluorescent lights above were beaming down on him. Looking out of the window while rubbing his stiff neck, he saw that the evening Sun had already set, and the moon was drifting about the deep blue sky.

“I’m so happy that you’re already reading it.”

The moment Kodai took a breath, he heard a voice from his immediate vicinity. Still basking in the afterglow of the story he had just read, he turned around after a beat.

“...Mochizuki-senpai?! Ah, ow.”

Kodai’s neck cracked loudly, and pain began to spread along the area, though that was not the issue at hand.

“I’m sorry, I called out to you without warning…”

“No, it’s fine. Anyway, how long have you been there?”

Kodai wondered if Mochizuki-senpai had seen him reading the screenplay. He was struck by a strong, uncomfortable feeling of awkwardness, though fortunately, Mochizuki-senpai laughed it off.

“Just a while ago. I remembered that the deadline for returning my reference books was today, so I rushed over.”

“Is that so?” Kodai nodded. As if that was a signal, the conversation was cut off then. Mochizuki-senpai, who was sitting on a chair with a vacant chair between them, was staring at his hands with his head lowered miserably.

(One of the characters in the screenplay also had such a habit…)

Kodai slowly opened his mouth, feeling a little closer to solving the mystery. “I’ve already read the screenplay to the end.”

“Ah, yeah, thank you.”

“Senpai… Why did you write such a story?”

That question was the first thing that had come to Kodai’s mind once he had finished reading the screenplay. The screenplay that Mochizuki-senpai had written was a romance story set in a modern High School. On the other hand, it could also be read as a coming-of-age story of six boys and girls passing by each other, colliding with each other, all while coming to terms with their own feelings.

If Kodai had to give an overview for it, he’d describe it as a “common story”. However, he felt as though the screenplay had its own unique brilliance. All of the characters were realistic, and it felt as though they lived in the same world that he did. He really felt as though the characters physically existed close to him.

“The reason why I wrote this story, huh…” Mochizuki-senpai looked around as he groaned in thought. “Hmm.”

Before long, Mochizuki-senpai seemed to find his answer, and he spoke while scratching his cheek with his finger. “I think I was trying to project what I was feeling at the moment into the text. To be honest, I didn’t want to show it to anyone at first.”

“Eh…!”

It was the first time that Kodai had heard of this. As he was stunned speechless, Mochizuki-senpai continued.

“Haruki’s the movie director and Yu’s kind of the producer. They both have their own specialties, but I’ve always just been the odd-job guy! I didn’t have anything to call my own,” Mochizuki-senpai said, taking a clear file out from his bag. There were a few memos inside the file. The words on the printouts had been written over and over again with red, blue, and green ballpoint pens.

“But when I wrote my feelings into the script in front of me, I found it to be a lot of fun. That’s why I wanted to write even more…” Mochizuki-senpai muttered softly, tracing the words he had written with his ballpoint pens.

Having nothing to say in response, Kodai just nodded in silence.

“I wrote it however I liked for a while, but you told me that you wanted to read it, right, Yamamoto-kun? I was so happy about it. From then on, I became more aware of the readers, and changed the outcome and the plot of the story.”

(Aah, so that’s how it was…)

Kodai felt as though it was a work that could be read like an I-novel, but he was convinced by the spoken words all the same. It was as though Mochizuki-senpai had written himself into a character in the screenplay.

That was why Kodai dared to ask a follow-up question. “Senpai, would you confess to the person that you love?”

“Yeah. I’ve done it.”

“...Is that so?”

“But things like this are on a case-by-case basis,” Mochizuki-senpai huffed a laugh and extended his fingers out, as though he was counting something off. “Like practising confessing with the person one loves, and because they know that they have no hope, they do not confess for real so as to not burden the other person…”

Kodai had no idea as to who Mochizuki-senpai was thinking of. However, from the gentle expression on Mochizuki-senpai’s face, Kodai could tell that that person was important to him.

“It’s different for each and every person, and I think that they’re all handling it in the right way,” Mochizuki-senpai said in a clear voice. It sounded as though he was reassuring himself of such as well. “...Yamamoto-kun, somehow I feel as though you’re kind of like me.”

“Huh,” Kodai nodded semi-reflexively at the sudden change in topic.

“You like observing people, and you have the tendency to be a bystander as a result of that, right?”

“!”

“Huh, did that hit the mark?” Mochizuki-senpai grinned.

Kodai smiled awkwardly.

He had always been just a bystander. Reading was his hobby, he liked observing people, and he always spoke his mind. He also had a person who helped him to realise that he was also a person of value in this world. There was no other way to describe him other than a “complete bystander”, though there were people who joked that he was the main character in his own life.

Kodai wondered what he would be like two years from then.

He wondered what kind of person he wanted to become.

Kodai clenched his fists tightly.

~✿~

On the day of the graduation ceremony of the seniors, a pleasant blue sky extended across the horizon.

When Kodai was packing up the chairs in the gymnasium after the ceremony had ended, his phone vibrated in the pocket of his blazer. He had received a call from Mochizuki-senpai.

“Yamamoto-kun, bring your camera and meet us on the roof!”

Having said that, he hung up the phone.

Kodai wondered if they wanted him to take a group photo for them, though he then wondered why they had chosen him to take it out of all the people who could have done so. His curiosity getting the better of him, Kodai hurried to his club room to retrieve the camera he used for interviews.

When he got to the roof, Kodai found the usual six people there. Enomoto-senpai and Hayasaka-senpai had reddened eyes, but they immediately smiled when their gazes landed on the camera.

“Pardon me, but what kind of poses are you planning on making?”

“I want to link arms with Nacchan…”

“Geez, you’re so cute, Akari! Sure, sure, we’ll link arms as much as you want.”

As the girls loudly fussed over each other, Mochizuki-senpai had a depressed expression on his face. Without needing to ask him, Kodai could tell that he was envying Enomoto-senpai.

Setoguchi-senpai smiled awkwardly as he watched the different interactions before him.

“You have it easy, Yu. You have some leeway there. You can hold hands with Natsuki all you want.”

“No, that’s not…”

“What? Mochita, are you envious?” Enomoto-senpai laughed with a smirk.

Hayasaka-senpai clapped her hands as though she had just thought of something. “Why don’t Mochizuki-kun and Setoguchi-kun hold hands, then?”

The next moment, silence fell.

Enomoto-senpai clutched her stomach as she laughed, and Mochizuki-senpai looked up at the sky without uttering a word.

“W-why?” Setoguchi-senpai asked Hayasaka-senpai with a forced smile on his face.

“I think it’ll be difficult for all six of us to line up in a row due to the camera frame. I think we’ll bend down a little in the front, while you and the others stand behind us, Setoguchi-kun.”

(I-I see. So she had a reason for it after all…)

Kodai secretly smiled to himself as he adjusted the lens of his camera.

When he was searching for a subject to match the exposure, he saw Serizawa-senpai and Aida-senpai, who were standing at a small distance away, reflected in the frame, though they were standing too far away for their voices to be audible. However, Kodai could see gentle expressions on their faces, and he naturally began to smile as well.

“Okay, let’s gather, everyone! It’s time to take the picture!” Enomoto-senpai called out, marking the start of the photography session.

Enomoto-senpai, Hayasaka-senpai, and Aida-senpai were lined up in the front row with their arms linked and their hands held. Setoguchi-senpai, Mochizuki-senpai, and Serizawa-senpai stood in the back row.

One picture, two pictures, three pictures…

The last picture was taken with Mochizuki-senpai’s phone, which thus concluded the photography session.

The seniors still seemed to be a little reluctant as they looked down at the schoolyard, and at the pictures they had taken.

Kodai had intended to pack up and leave without saying anything, but he noticed “something” that was left in the inner pockets of his bag and paused.

“Enomoto-senpai, may I have a moment? Please take this, if you’d like.”

“Wow, thanks! Is this an album?”

“Yes. It’s the one that was taken by the Newspaper Club.”

“Amazing, there’s so many…” Enomoto-senpai’s eyes sparkled as she looked through the album. Eventually, her hands stopped turning the pages. “Is this…”

“It’s you, Enomoto-senpai, and Setoguchi-senpai,” Kodai described the picture in front of him.

Enomoto-senpai huffed a laugh. “Pfft. Yamamoto-kun, that can’t be it~.”

“Yes. This is what I see. This is how you two always are when you’re together.”

“...I didn’t know that Yu and I looked like this.”

Kodai had brought a smile to her face with the picture he had taken, as well as with the words he had spoken. He thought that that was enough for him to be happy.

But, the truth was…

There were a lot of other things he wanted to say. Things that he had yet to tell her.

Kodai spoke in a loud voice, afraid of voicing his own thoughts. “Senpai, congratulations on your graduation.”

#honeyworks #yamamoto koudai #enomoto natsuki #akechi saku #mochizuki souta #setoguchi yuu #hayasaka akari #serizawa haruki #enomoto kotarou #shibasaki ken #koiiro ni sake novel #instant ramen instructions comprehensions

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subbing-for-clones · 4 years

Text

The New Apprentice Part 4

Maul x sith!reader

Word Count: 3k

WARNINGS: Fear, graphic depictions of death and fire, slight gore. Mentions of slavery again, being tortured. Thoughts of suicide. But I promise it's also fluffy.

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Without a sun to draw you from your slumber this ‘morning’ you were not the first one to wake. When you opened your eyes there was a dim light from a data pad a few inches from your face. Headlining something about a new attack against the Duchess of Mandalore by a terrorist group. Your head was too fuzzy to make the words out so you simply closed them again. Bringing you back into the world were two realizations. One, your head was gently rising and falling. Two, you felt warm fingers drawing light, rhythmic circles on your lower back. If you weren't slightly hung over you would have sworn that you heard a gentle purr beneath your ear.

You caressed your cheek on whatever you were laying on. "Are you awake dear?" That low velvety voice you recognized asked you. Opening your eyes again, fighting through the daze you took in the details around you. Your arm was wrapped around Maul’s waist while your leg lay over the top of his thighs supporting the back of the data-pad. His lovely red and tattooed fingers brushed against your thigh as he held the device in place and slowly scrolled through the article. You tilted your head up to your master quickly realizing how close your faces were. He smirked down at your heavily lidded eyes. "How's your head?"

"Not as bad as I would've guessed if I'm being honest."

"Good." He stated turning his attention back to the news article. "I would've made some caf but as you can see you've kept me pinned to this spot all morning." Redirecting your eyes to the story he was reading you stated simply, "eh I'm not sorry. If you wanted your caf that bad you would have just moved me or woken me up for that matter." You felt the rumble in his chest as he chuckled.

"You're not wrong."

A few more minutes passed in a comfortable silence; you hadn't moved. Maul made a mental note of your comfortability as well as his own. You didn't know this but you were the first living thing to touch him so gently and for so long. Every time your skin came into contact with his made him feel like it was a first and every time you parted, he feared it would be the last. You yourself hadn't been touched kindly in quite a long time either and relished in the contact. Grateful for now that it wasn't talked about. It just happened.

"Do you think this Mandalorian Duchess will be assassinated?" You asked.

"Not if the Death Watch wish to seize power. The people of the planet wouldn't support them. She has the love of her citizens for now and that I believe is what's keeping her in her station." You hummed in agreement at his statement.

Maul sighed and put the data-pad on the table next to the bed and ran his fingers through your hair absent-mindedly. You looked up at him. He ran his thumb across your cheek and gazed into the eclipse of your eyes. His own pupils dilated just slightly before he blinked and looked away.

"Come, as comfortable as this is, we should both get some food in our systems." Your stomach rumbled just as he said this causing him to smirk. "It seems as though my timing, as usual, is perfect."

Reluctantly you rolled over and stretched, causing the tunic you wore to rise dangerously high. Maul noticed this. The two of you made your way to the common area. He made the caf and you fried up some large mystery eggs you found in the cooler after verifying with him that they were in fact food.

"So master, what's on the schedule today?" You asked before stuffing your mouth greedily with the hot breakfast.

"You're going to practice your patience. Meditation. I was lax with you yesterday but were going to be traveling quite a bit and we can't play sabacc constantly."

"Anything I should focus on?"

"Well albeit odd, you made quite the connection with that rancor. See if you can't reach out and keep tabs on him. Or something else of your choosing. Try to reach out as far as you possibly can. I'm interested in your limits." You nodded your head and drank your caf.

You spent some time stretching before sitting down back-to-back with your master on the floor. You closed your eyes and allowed the heavy blanket of the force to swallow you up until you no longer felt the metal floor beneath you.

Images of the forest on Dathomir became clear. The swaying of the surroundings as if you were looking through Angel's eyes. You were glad he was okay. Then something else tried to take over. You let it happen. The old man who taught you sabacc appeared. "There's no need to hide little one. I won't sell you off or hurt you. You look hungry. Here.... where are your parents?"

The vision changed and you were standing in the center of your village. The jedi that came to test you spoke without feeling, without caring, "no we can't take her. She’s far too emotional, chaotic even. If we teach her to use the force she will only be consumed by hatred, evil and darkness." Tears fell from your small eyes, only three or four years old. "I'm not evil..." Then everything was burning, your friends were screaming and you ran. You ran to your home which was overwhelmed by the inferno. Your mother was crawling out of the front door on her belly completely engulfed in the flames. Her skin half burned away and eyes melting. She tried to say something to you but the only sound she could muster was a throaty gurgle of blood before her life rattled away.

You turned to run, your mother's gurgling screaming in your ears. You kept sprinting until you were older, chasing a small prey animal in the wilds of an unknown planet you had traveled to while stowed away on a transport. Catching it in your hands, you were so hungry you tore into the crying creature, blood dripping down your chin.

More fire blazed around you. Mountains of scrap. Again, you were eating live vermin but your legs didn't feel like yours. You couldn't feel them at all. Eight spindly legs of scrap clumsily carried you down a hole. You screamed a name that felt foreign on your tongue until your throat burned.

Your arms were chained to a ceiling, dangling you so your toes just brushed the dirt floor. You won't submit. He whipped you until you were drenched in your own blood, convulsing from the electricity but you didn't scream. You didn't cry. You felt your savior's presence like the shadow on a wall. You knew he'd come for you... eventually. All you had to do was hold on. To wait for him.

There he knelt in front of you. While you were bound in the market place. The Zygerrian removed your blindfold, your eyes cold as he looked into them but your mind screaming "PLEASE. PLEASE TAKE ME. GET ME OUT OF HERE. I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE. I DONT WANT TO BE ANYMORE! IT’D NOT FUCKING WORTH IT!”

Your eyes shot open. Utterly blown in fear, in rage, in torment. Once again, your master knelt in front of you but it was different this time. His eyes were soft, worried. He wanted to touch you; his hand outstretched but he didn't know if you wanted to be touched. Instinct made you shrink away and bare your teeth, eyes darting rapidly around the ship. Quickly accounting every detail to ensure this wasn't a vision. Once you were almost convinced you crawled back to your master and with a shaky hand you reached and touched his face. You felt him, he was real. Only then did you settle, pushing the beast back down inside you.

Maul's nails dug into his thighs as he went over in his mind everything he had seen. He looked to you again, you wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Please know I didn't try to go inside your mind Y/N.." he used your name and spoke softly.

"A door appeared in front of me, I didn't know what lay beyond so I opened it and I saw... everything, felt what you felt." He paused "I know you saw one of my memories, before Savage found me."

Only then did you look at him, apologetically. "I'm sorry master I don't know what happened."

"Were you going to kill yourself if I didn't take you from that slaving scum?" Genuine concern shown in his eyes and shame flickered across yours. You sighed a single "yes." He nodded in understanding. He inched a little closer to you. "Do you still think about doing that?"

"Master... it's been 20 years since I lost my family, my village.. and 15 years since that man taught me to play the cards... it had been 15 years since someone cared that I ate or didn't outright try to harm me or kill me. Until you and Savage came along. No, I don't want that anymore." He lunged towards to and pulled you tightly into a fierce embrace. One hand gripping your back and the other woven in your hair.

"Please know my life is better with you in it little one." You inhaled deeply with your face nestled in his neck. Taking in his scent like you'd never smell him again, your arms firm around him as well.

Without thinking you glanced at the chronometer within your view. "Thirteen hours?!" You exclaimed. "It felt like ten minutes." Maul pulled away from you. "Nothing kills time like sleep or meditation."

"Well now I feel like I need the former." You pinched the bridge of your nose and rubbed one of your temples.

"That’s fine but.... I'm not going to dance around it tonight. You're coming with me again."

"Oh you'll find no argument here." You tried to smile but it twitched.

You opted to shower before going to sleep. Clean body clean mind, or so you tried to convince yourself. Maul was waiting for you in his bed, chest bare to you and his back leaning up against the wall. The reflection of the data-pad shining across the lenses of his reading glasses. It would have been a sinful sight if your mind hadn’t been otherwise occupied. He looked up at you, sheepishly standing at the foot of his bed. Setting the device down on his bedside table along with his glasses he leaned forward and stretched his hand out to you. Slowly you crawled up and over to him. He pulled you onto his chest and wrapped you up tightly with the soft fabric. Thrumming of his twin hearts easing the anxiety in your belly.

"We will reach our destination tomorrow."

"I've never been to Corellia before. What’s it like.”

“The inhabitants of Corellia have always been known for an insatiable wanderlust which led to a booming ship building economy. It exports talented pilots and ships while importing just about everything. As far as core worlds go, they don’t ask questions other than ‘what are you buying’.”

You replied with a hum and closed your eyes, allowing his hearts beats to lull you to sleep.

Thinking for just a moment before stifling his worry, Maul brushed his lips lightly to the temple you had rubbed earlier. Feeling a deeper kinship with you after what he had seen and realizing you had a past that wasn’t unlike him own in many ways. He wondered if you found these tender moments with him as intoxicating as he found them? Nothing you had faced in your life stopped you from having fun, finding amusement, allowing yourself to be soft when the opportunity arose. You were stronger than he was in that regard and he admired you for that. He only wanted you to feel kindness from him. He wondered what further depths he would've sunk to if Savage hadn't revived him. He wouldn't have ever known moments like these, where you clung to him in your sleep. He decided he would thank his brother again later.

Corellia was like nothing you had ever seen before. Tall towers reached for the atmosphere itself but without the insufferable heat and dryness of Zygerria. Beings of every species chattered happily in the streets. The city of Coronet 'the Jewel of Corellia' as many of the lit signs read, was nestled against an expanse of water. Your master had given you a heavy purse of credits and sent you on your way to shop and enjoy the city. Saying only that'd he'd find you when he was done refueling and stocking up on the more boring items needed for your travels. One of the locals pointed you in the direction of Treasure Ship Row. A bazaar that you could supposedly find anything anyone could ever look for; at least, according to the Twi’lek who pointed you in its direction.

You had never held even a fraction of the money Maul had given you, you felt like a Queen passing through the many shops and held your head high. You had all but forgotten you didn't even have shoes until you found a little shop with lovely dresses in the window.

The shop girl was kind and inviting despite your disheveled appearance. Sure that she had taken note of the large purse that hung from your hip. She aided in your search until you had a nice stack of both appealing and practical clothing.

You allowed yourself to be pampered at a nearby day spa the clerk had recommended to you so that you didn’t get your new clothes and shoes dirty so quickly. Utterly famished after your day you found a relatively clean little bar deeper inside the Blue Sector.

Taking a seat at the counter it didn't take long before a deep voiced Kel Dor took your order. Flashing a grateful smile, you dug into your fried Nuna Legs and sipped from a glass of red wine. A handsome Chiss, you assumed was a mechanic by his dress, took the seat next to you at the counter and gave you a wanting side eye.

"No." You stated curtly not looking up from your glass.

"You don't even know what I was going to ask." He smiled and ordered a malt liquor while the Kel Dor poured you a second.

"The nature of your question doesn't matter. The answer is no." You hadn't turned to him until he chuckled. You raised your brow.

"I was going to ask what a lovely flower like you was doing here. That's not a yes or no question." Sighing you turned to him realizing that you weren't going to get rid of him so easily. You eyed him slowly, he really was handsome despite the streak of grease across his cheek. He flashed you a charming smile you were sure he had rehearsed.

"I can see you've enjoyed the market."

"I have. And although I must say I appreciate the red of your eyes, this lovely flower prefers her companions to have thorns rather than grease stains." You turned back towards your drink sensing your master before you saw him.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" The Chiss asked genuinely confused. You smirked into your drink when you heard Maul clear his throat. The stranger looked back vaguely frustrated and widened his eyes as your master removed his hood revealing his crown of ivory horns.

"Oh, don't be frightened on my account. You're doing wonderfully."

The Chiss quickly left the seat and your master called out to him with a complete lack of tone or emotion. "No, don't go. I'd hate to take your seat."

Both you and the Kel Dorrian bar keep chuckled at his candor as Maul took the newly freed seat swinging back the drink the stranger had left. He smirked at you, noting your black cotton romper, keeping the style of a plunging neckline but now your arms bare and your legs covered. He also noticed your newly painted red nails and ruby studs in your ears.

"Wealth looks good on you."

"Wealth looks good on anyone who knows how to spend it." you quirked the corner of your mouth up and tossed the purse back to your master keeping a small handful.

"Is the ship ready?"

"Ah yes, your destiny awaits little one."

You gestured to the man behind the bar and settled your tab, giving him a generous tip. He flustered at the gesture, only answering him with beaming smile. Maul stood and offered you his elbow which you gladly accepted and the two of you sauntered out of the bar, not before blowing a kiss towards the irritated Chiss.

Maul liked the idea of men trying to woo you only to be met with rejection much more than he thought he would. He liked having the eyes of men who wanted you on him as he led you out of the establishment. He had appreciated your looks before, albeit a wild kind of beauty. He had never imagined you to clean up so well though, adorning his colors of black and red. He allowed his mind to drift to the thought of ruling with you by his side, with your chin held high and the power emanating from your soul, you looked incredibly regal with this newfound confidence. Was this your standard demeanor when you weren’t in the role of a student with her master?

You boarded your ship and sat next to your master in the co-pilot’s chair your eyes lit with excitement. "To Malachor?"

"Yes my dear, to Malachor."

#maul x y/n #maul fluff #star wars maul #darth maul #maul x reader #sith warrior #sith reader #sith apprentice #maul x sith apprentice #swtcw au #star wars #starwars au

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northvieweyecare · 3 years

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When It is all about Vision Don’t Compromise Choose Polarized Sunglasses

Looking for a new pair of quality sunglasses? Confused about whetherto go for the metallic or the plastic ones. More worried about the aesthetic looks? It is therefore advisable not to buy one in a hurry. After all, they are a part of one's personality. Also, many people wait for the weather to change to go for the right sunglasses. Waiting for the bright sunny day and then deciding on the sunglass at the last moment may end in buying cheap flimsy frames as well as non-UV protection lenses.

Many sunglasses have the tag of 100% UV protection lenses, whereas, in reality, they may be plain ones. The critical part is to decide what you want when it comes to protecting yourself from the harmful UV rays. Choosing the right kind of polarized lenses can be overwhelming as a layperson may not be well-versed with different lens technologies.

This article will discuss all that is needed to know about polarized lenses, which will help you to figure out what is best suited for you.

Who should go for polarized sunglasses?

Polarized lenses are mostly used in sunglasses as it contains a special filter that blocks intense reflected light thus reducing glare and protecting the eyes. It is popular with boaters and those who enjoy fishing.These lenses are strategically designed to protect against direct sunlight. Hence, polarized sunglasses can greatly reduce the reflected glare from the water. People who spend time in outdoor waters eventually have discovered the benefits of polarized lenses.

Polarized sunglasses in Orangeville are popularized by outdoor enthusiasts who swear by them. Bikers, skydivers, golfers, and joggers who use polarized sunglasses ensure that they are protected from the glare of the sunlight as their activities require complete focus. Any distraction of sunlight glare may affect their safety and performance.

For drivers, polarized sunglasses are helpful, too, as they reduce glare-causing reflections from flat road's surface. If you have noticed, even people who wear regular powered eyeglasses have anti-glare lenses for safe driving.

Many eye-sensitive people who are continuously exposed to sunlight due to the nature of their job and post-cataract surgery patients also wear polarized sunglasses for protection.

How polarized lenses function?

Going back to the basics of physics, we learned that light usually scatters in all directions. Still, when they fall on flat surfaces and then reflect, they tend to become polarized. This means that light travels in a uniform and usually horizontal direction. This causes the reflected light to have a greater intensity which causes glare and reduces visibility. This effect can be both dangerous and annoying.

To overcome this problem, polarized lenses offer the solution. These lenses ensure that only vertically oriented lights pass through a laminated filter and simultaneously block horizontal-oriented light. This way, the glare is reduced or nearly eliminated.

Polarized lenses come in various shades of colors. These colors vary from light to dark shade depending on the material from which the lenses are made. Darker colors provide greater polarization. Though polarized lenses come in all colors, it is seen that the most common ones use Gray and brown. Other colors such as melanin, yellow or green are also popular.

Not for everyone

Though Polarized sunglasses improve comfort and visibility, they may not benefit certain outdoor activities such as skiing, especially on a downhill slope. In skiing, it is good to have refection from ice patches as it alerts the skier to the approaching hazards.

In case of water, polarized sunglasses work best as it provides superior glare protection.However, it may not work best in certain other applications asit reduces the visibility of images produced by LCDs or LEDs that are usually found on car dashboards, automatic teller machines digital screens, petrol gas pumps, smartphones, or GPS devices.

Many users, such as pilots and boaters, have faced similar problems when viewing LCDs on instrument panels with polarized lenses. This can be dangerous as split-second decisions have to be made based on the information displayed on a panel.

Advantages of using polarized sunglasses

A good quality pair of sunglasses usually have polarized lenses. They offer many benefits such as

Reduces reflections and are anti-glare in nature

Enhances visual comfort

Increases visual clarity and improves contrast

Reduces strain on eyes during any outdoor activity

Disadvantages of using polarized sunglasses

While many people find polarized sunglasses beneficial, certain people may not find them to be comfortable. Some may encounter dizziness or disorientation, and for others, it may give a 3-D effect. Whether this effect is neurological or psychological, it should be taken seriously and not forced upon them. For this category of users, tinted lenses are the best option. Some occupations require workers to read certain digital numbers on an LCD. In this case, a polarized lens can interfere with the visibility of the numbers and should be avoided.

How to know whether the lens is polarized?

For an ordinary user, it is not possible to know whether the sunglasses he is buying have polarized lenses or not. He will go strictly by what the salesman will tell him. To check oneself, the easiest way is to take your sunglass to a drugstore and place it at a 90-degree angle to another pair of sunglasses from the drugstore. If the combined lenses turn darker, it means that your sunglasses have polarized lenses.

Are polarized sunglasses prohibitive?

Sunglasses with the polarized lens are usually more expensive than regular lenses. Polarized sunglasses in Orangeville can start from $25 and go up to $450, depending on the designer label. This additional investment is worth it for those whose activities require protection and safety. However, it can be an unnecessary expenditure for regular users as standard lenses can do the job equally well.

Conclusion

Glare can be dangerous. It can be a nuisance as it impairs visibility, distorts views, and causes temporary blindness leading to accidents. For sportspersons and athletes, the extra cost is worth it as it enhances outdoor experiences, improves performances, and combined functionality ensures protection from accidents.

#Ray Ban sunglasses in Orangeville #Polarized sunglasses in Orangeville

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indianarenew812 · 3 years

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Adobe Lightroom 57 Download Torrent

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6 Torrent

Adobe Lightroom 57 Download Torrent Software

Buying Lightroom used to be simple. All you had to do was buy the full version of the program, and upgrade (if you wished) every time a new version came out. But ever since Adobe announced the Creative Cloud subscription service, photographers have been faced with two choices. You can still go for the standalone version, or you can buy Lightroom as part of a Creative Cloud monthly membership. But how do you know which is the best option for you? Read on to find out.

Photoshop tutorials for beginners to experts. Learn tips and tricks on how to use Photoshop for photo editing, manipulations, designs, and more.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC 2019 This release of Lightroom Classic CC rolls out new features and enhancements such as customization of Develop Panel, Add to Collection option in auto-import settings, Grid Snap option in book module, other enhancements, support for new cameras and lenses, and bug fixes.

Oct 25, 2017 - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC 2018 32bit-64bit torrent. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC is a professional professional photographer who provides a full digital. Download Bittorrent, 33 2 Rating. Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau, 57 West South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ 07079.

View 57 replies. These programs are free, yes, but, they won't install on Apple Mac OS 10.13. CC Adobe Photoshop Lightroom – Keep the full spectrum of light. Create incredible images of complex high-contrast scenes. The new HDR Combine dazvaliae combines more recordedimages with different exposure locations in a high dynamic image of a malicious.

Creative Cloud is announced

Adobe’s initial announcement of the Creative Cloud licensing concept was somewhat controversial as the price for a subscription to Photoshop ran at $20 a month (all prices in this article are in US dollars). For photographers who had already purchased the full version of Photoshop this represented a significant price increase. Not only was subscribing more expensive in the long run, compared to upgrading Photoshop regularly, but the license to use the software expired once monthly payments stopped.

There’s little doubt this was a raw deal, but Adobe listened and introduced a new package for photographers – a subscription to both Lightroom and Photoshop CC for $9.99 a month (or $119.88 per year).

Read about this on forums and photography websites and you will still come across a lot of negativity towards the Creative Cloud subscription model, especially from Photoshop users upset at the loss of a perpetual licence. But today, I aim to cut through this negativity and take an objective look at the differences between the two options.

Two types of Lightroom users

To start, we have to acknowledge that there are two types of Lightroom users.

The first uses Lightroom in conjunction with Photoshop and wants access to both programs. For this user, the Creative Cloud option is the only choice if you want the latest version of Photoshop CC. Alternatively, if you own a version of Photoshop CS and are not bothered about upgrading to Photoshop CC, you can buy the standalone version of Lightroom and use them together.

The second type of user carries out the bulk of their image processing in Lightroom. For tasks Lightroom can’t handle, they may use an older version of Photoshop, a less powerful program like Photoshop Elements, or a plug-in such as the Nik Collection or Perfect Photo Suite 9. These users may be wondering whether to continue using the standalone version of the software or to subscribe.

Financial considerations

If you are on a budget, and don’t need Photoshop CC, then it is definitely less expensive to buy the standalone version of Lightroom. At the moment a new version of Lightroom comes out approximately every 18 months. At $9.99 a month, the subscription service would cost you $179.82 over that period. If you are new to Lightroom, the full version (priced at $149 from the Adobe website) saves you money, and if you already own Lightroom, then the upgrade (priced at $79) is even less, saving you a little over $100 over the same time period.

As a standalone version user you get free upgrades until a full new version comes out. So, if you upgraded to Lightroom 5.0 when it first came out, you can upgrade to the latest version (5.7) for free, taking advantage of new features introduced since then. But when Lightroom 6 comes out, you will need to pay the upgrade fee to use it. Upgrading isn’t compulsory, and you can continue to use your earlier version of Lightroom as long as you want.

Adobe have stressed their commitment to continuing the standalone version of Lightroom for the foreseeable future.

Note:The standalone version of Lightroom is a little hard to find on Adobe’s website. You can get there by going to Adobe’s home page and clicking the Menu option at the top. Click the All Products button at the bottom, scroll down to Lightroom and click Buy. Or you can also find it here on Amazon.

What the Creative Cloud subscription gives you

The Creative Cloud subscription is more expensive, so what do you get for that extra money? The two headline features are Photoshop CC, a powerful image editing program that you are likely familiar with, plus access to Lightroom Mobile, a mobile version of Lightroom that works with iPads and iPhones (but not currently with devices using the Android or Windows operating systems).

There are several additional features that may interest some people, such as 2GB of online storage space, access to Lightroom Web and the ability to use Photoshop CC and Lightroom on multiple machines (although not at the same time).

What happens when the Creative Cloud license ends?

If you stop paying your subscription fee you no longer have the right to use the full versions of Photoshop CC and Lightroom. Photoshop will stop working completely (or at least until you renew the subscription).

But Lightroom is different. Bear in mind that with Lightroom your Raw files are untouched. The edits you make are stored in the Catalog. If you lose access to the Catalog, you lose access to all the edits you have made to your images, including all post-processing.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6 Torrent

Adobe doesn’t want that to happen, so it gives you partial access to Lightroom even if you cancel your Creative Cloud subscription. You have full access to the Library, Book, Print, Slideshow and Web modules. The Develop module is severely restricted (you can’t make any adjustments using the right-hand panels) and there is no access to the Map module.

Your Catalog remains intact, including any Collections you’re created and any changes to metadata, including ratings and keywords. So does your post-processing, and the ability to make basic edits to photo files using the Quick Develop panel. You can also export your photos any time you want.

You need to have Lightroom Version 5.5 or later installed for this to work.

Adobe Lightroom 57 Download Torrent Software

Conclusion

Hopefully you are now clearer about how the two ways of buying Lightroom differ, and which is best for you. If you want to use the most up to date version of Photoshop CC, or Lightroom Mobile, then the Creative Cloud subscription service is the choice for you.

However, if you don’t require the latest version of Photoshop CC, or Lightroom Mobile, then buying the standalone version is the least expensive way to go.

What do you think? Have Adobe got it right with the price and services offered for the Creative Cloud Photography plan? Do you use the Creative Cloud version of Lightroom or the standalone version? Please let us know in the comments.

Mastering Lightroom: Book Five – The Other Modules

My new ebook Mastering Lightroom: Book Five – The Other Modulesshows you how to use Lightroom’s powerful features to create fun and interesting projects using the Map, Book, Slide show, Print and Web modules. Whether it’s geotagging, putting together a photo book, printing your best photos or creating web galleries all the information (and inspiration) you require is right here.

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sunritual · 3 years

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Let’s try this again

They should make a law where if the police don’t read you your Miranda rights you get out of jail free, like if you don’t get your receipt at fast food restaurants you get a mail free

The shaggy law - There should be a law that if you continuously and shamelessly deny doing something, no matter how indisputably obvious it is that you did it, you should get off free for pure savegery.

Confederates as “rebels for tradition” is laughable

Ram rainbow spiral horns profile.

People think grammar rules are etched into the universe — they’re not. When people say AAve is incorrect and ignorant, they say that their conception of how one should speak is inherently correct despite no evidence/truth. Grammar is agreed upon not mandated

Hippie sauce infusion pizza joint

Plain nude balconette with little purple and pink flowers at wiring

How could anyone predict anything happening but how could any be surpised either

Hierarchies - nahhhh

Humans aren’t inherently higher than any other creature or thing, but as humans i don’t think it’s wrong to prioritize other humans. There no better or worse but there is optimal for certain environments and lifestyles.

What differentiates a piece of art from a slightly different replica - when is it an entirely different piece altogether? Moving a figure slightly? Adding a splash of paint ? Changing a color to the point where no one could tell? Is the persons perception the deciding factor or what’s actually on the canvas. If abstract art is about the perception, and the waning behind it - does it change with these things?

An exhibit where people are invited to paint over and destroy or change the art

The differences between us and other. Are feeble - not illusory but

Periwinkle sky blue black and white each of a half circle . Faded out

Uni should be about exploring ideas — new and old famillar and foreign - honeing writing reading reasoning debating listening etc skills.

Umm, Karen were your parents married when you were born?

Ummmm no, umm i mean , uh ,yes —what??

Then why are you policing what other people do?

Dark blue light blue orange lemon circles layer on top of each other, several difffent sizes

Job apps tip!! For every job you apply to , Change your last name on your resume to the last name of the hiring manager and they will think you are related to them and hire you with nepotism. ( then, or coarse, legally when you get the job)

Unpopular opinion: i don’t really mind diarrhea

I for one think it’s incredibly brave of the brats girls to reclaim such a derogatory term

Starting every Describtion of every British show with “its kind of like skins but..”

Beanie baskin took that treat she snatched it - she ain’t even askin

The squad bod - a group of ghost friends share one body in which they have to live their lives -

My playlists are a matter of fact, not opinion. They reveal truths about the human experience

A cats gorilla imeritive of aesthetics.

I don’t chose them, they are not for joy but for truth. They are not intelligible but feel able

📝 narrative - longing

👼 chaotic

🌾 childlike wonder

Things that seem homo and phobic ATST

- Woodstock

- Brown eyed girl

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on ya when you think everything BG a gone wrong and everything bows up in your face

If women can’t do drag because they have an advantage then what is drag? Is it having good looking tits and a waist ? Looking like woman? or is it about having charisma uniqueness nerve and talent?

Examining Tik toks through different philosophical lenses

What makes it so they put parenthesis around lyrics in a song? What intonations and such make it parenthesis worthy

What’s an article of clothing from your childhood that you viscerally remember for seemingly no reason

I feel like the problem with the property brothers is they had too good of a childhood

Do you ever wonder if personality traits would be diffferntnin different cultures? Would a quiet person be even quieter if they were brought up in North Korea? Or the same amount of talkativity? Do we have the traits no matter what, or are we inclined to be more of one way than the others around us. Are personality traits created by comparison to those around?

Maybe the anxiety comes from knowing your not “supposed” to be as quiet as you are. You don’t really want to talk, that’s okay , but it’s expected that you do. So you are anxiety that your not living up

I find happiness every single day

This feeling has made me so appreciative of my mental state usually. How many people feel like this on the regular? How many people have this as their default? I am so lucky. My default is happy. I have my issues, but i need to appreciate the gift i was given. I was given elation. Childlike wonder. Curiosity. Adventurousness. Self completion and fullness. The rest will come.

If you see a celebrity you want to talk to in public but don’t want to bother them, make sure they don’t see that you saw them and start a fake conversation telling a friend that they should buy a product they are a sponsor for, and that they should use their coupon code. When they approach you to thank you for being such a loyal fan, obviously pretend to be shocked that they just so happened to be there

Christianity excuses selfish politics and beliefs

Things i never would’ve noticed if they weren’t pointed out to me:

-Left and right handed ness

Rating sports teams by uniform colors

Balloon animals but make it clothing!

Logics doesn’t care about your feelings, but it certainly cares about your biasees.

He who findeth keepith, whilst he who loosith weepith.

Religious thought often starts at the conclusion they want and attempts to make arguments justifying it.

Jewish debate starts with an agreement that we are going to follow the book, but argues about what the book truly says. Not good enough when you are still just following the book

Why did Jesus need to die for our sins

Dream - swimming in a lake and bump into something you think is a human tying to save to but is it! Oct 29 9:03

Candle company logo etc

I’m sorry for your loss

It’s not oka

If people can accept that stupid bad jokes can be

Is there a reason for each thing existing? Sufficient reason

Understanding if an area is a matter of perspective or fact? Is it Emperical ?

If you assume you have free will you limit your critical thinking ability and therefor stour actual free will - you need to navigate technology such as algorithms that show you why at you want to see or you completely loose free will - you cannot chose when you don’t even know a choice. there is Somthing controlling you

Revelation is within it doesn’t involve others - can happen in a moment

Revolution- requires work and years and years of convincing others m

What counts as a second chance? What counts as a first chance? What does giving someone the benefit of the doubt entail ? Letting them out of jail , or letting them have a 2nd term as president.

**Picture of coke or Pepsi book**

Trump supporters be like: THIS is the BALLOt sleepy crooked joe SEND to MY neighbor. So much FOR democracy

One flew over the coup coups nest

Ashge-nazi = Jewish trump supporter

The heathers of the USA are Cali, New York and Texas. Florida, too

Shape shifting would solve all of this. I could go to Washington DC, pretend to be trump, concede then leave. It would be hilarious, however if me and trump looked identical and had to so the most idiotic crazy shit to prove to America that we indeed are the true DJ.

Coup busting outfit - light cute short sleeve camo shirts , army green super utalitarian cargo pants , double sash belts in leather with grommets studs or spikes (to be decided by team (with democracy) or left up to the individual) leather (vegan available) lace up knee high boots (maybe with spikes if not too 2012) and the pies de resistance two army green denim shoulder high gloves that fold down as far as needed for the comfort of the fighter. Will be adorned with patches decided by the wearer. Edges will be frayed to honor to the coup busting aesthetic and spirit of the endeavor. We can decide on a signature lip color, but spf is required for all fighters. Of coarse we will have those football stripes below the eyes, don’t be stupid.

How far away can something be from a face and still have humans think it’s a face

Senator Portman - i hope you are well, and want to thank you for the hard work you have put in to this election. However, it has become abundantly clear that joe Biden and Kamala Harris have secured more than enough electoral and popular votes to warrant recognition as president and vice elect. Upon reading the transcripts of he hopeless court cases, there is absolutely no evidence of vote measurable fraud. is time you stand up for democracy and face reality by congratulating he pair on their success. Americans and scared and they need a powerful republican voice to demounce the unsubstantiated conspircy theories that attempt to thwart democracy in this beautiful county. Please do the right thing , and stand with sanity, freedom and democracy. History books and citizens will thank you. May god bless you, your staff and loved ones

Could mermaids exist through evolution in the future

Me learning about real us history - all the nations destroyed by the USA—- I’m the baaad Guy

The rest of the world - duh dodododosodo

Print that looks like a page of writing that has been sourced in water so it’s bleeding and darker in speckles

Zamps= examples

Clothes with green screen cut outs

Robots don’t need to be sentient to destroy us.

Navy mock neck long sleeves big orange and little white stripe on tube cage sides

A veritcal line stretch waistband

Cross cross and straps back

Square high neck

Scarlet polka dots around can light blue text and beach image as front

Blue stroke red inside square, blue triangle rainbow with eye and funky font

Y either know a particular topic or not , but it’s hard to pin down intelligence on one category

Cream background , ice cream pink script name kinda bev hills hotel script looking ish

Move your mouth in a differ way

Supersonic vibrating butt cleaner

Half magenta half red violet a blue teacup in the center with white floral frills thick serif font

Pink background am orange flower in a vase white present ribbon n red as a table

An app that familiarizes people with science - through experimental learning ― hands on experiences that make it seem less top down and authoritarian , and more like a set of steps that we take, things that anyone can do to get closer with nature and the world

A social media philosophy app - teaches what others said and gives people a chance to express their views , postulate, argue, etc gadfly? How would be avoid a shit show, how can we make social media more humanitarian. how can we care about people while also expressing deeply held ideas , how can we encourage users to examine their deeply held ideas without alienating them. How can we discourage hatred and abuse and groupthink with design? How do we slow people down and encourage them to recognize the human behind the screen. Street epistemology? Socratic dialogue?

Socrates - asking questions. Breaking it down to bits. Deeply understanding their argument. Asking about different possibilities and circumstances. Take vast assumptions and show scenarios that make go against them.

Build fact checking into apps

Narrative self vs experiential

Walks you through steps of the sciefitifc method and encourages you to explain how you feel each step actually helped you- then walks you through a scientist doing the same for their reasarch

Republicans only want to be free in the specific ways that benefit corporations

Are Christians more willing to support the death pen early because they already believe in the cruel and overstepping punishment of hell?

Where did the idea come from that you need to remain impartial when trying to persuade

The idea that there is someone in a similar but different dwelling, hearing similar but different sounds and feeling similar but different feelings is wild

We synthesize sets of traits, and particular actions in a super biased culturally constructed way

With the way we see things as humans- we categorize things into groups that aren’t really reaaal ― paratheletic groups

I just want the people and jobs that benefit society

Connection to nietzsches Dionysian art and eckheart tolle/Taoism

No matter your personality, there is probably a part of the world that you would fit in with naturally.

An ordinary girl is selected as one of the representatives of earth in the first meeting of various alien species after one advanced planet discovered and United 10. Confused as to why she was chosen, she goes on her journey meeting

Wha ba Bada da da da da dada he’s a wha ba ba dadada as a matter of fact it’s not my fault if you came up here thinking that you would win

Wanting to break boundaries and rules for the sake those who are hurt by the rules

You are imagining the best case scenario of the life you want to have and experience Ming the reality of the life you so have.

Yes her drips cosmetics line to students i. Class

Chez it people can goldfish people

Your personality flows where a system needs it to go to maintain balance

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yurtletheturtlehenderson · 5 years

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ASoUE REWRITE - Season 1; The Miserable Mill - Part i.iv

⇢ Klaus x Reader⇠

[not my gif]

A//n: Thank you all for being so patient and understanding. I'm sorry I couldn't get this to you sooner and that it's so short. I got stuck in one spot and then I began the Eddie Kaspbrak rewrite and it slipped through the cracks. I do hope to continue this series and I have also figured out your special talent! If you previously knew it to be running, I have made changes back under chapter "important" and updated it, feel free to check it out if you'd like! Thank you for taking time to read this authors note and i hope you enjoy this chapter! Love you guys!! ♡♡♡

+++

Klaus sat timidly in the waiting room of Dr. Orwell's office, his fingers absentmindedly twirling the severed left temple of his glasses. His eyes darted around the room worriedly, trying to decipher all the strange shapes he saw. A poor choice of words as he couldn't actually see very well, the lenses of his glasses were hopelessly cracked and it was lucky - a word so rarely used in the lives of the Baudelaires - that the glass lenses hadn't come apart as he wore them.

Phil, who was sat upright next to Klaus, was happily humming a little tune. He was completely oblivious to the boy's troubles, as usual.

In an attempt to calm his racing mind, Klaus turned to the hope of reading, as he always did. He picked up one several magazines, the only choice out of the selection that lay organized on the coffee table, that wasn't some form of optometry piece. He picked it up to examine it, and quickly found his hopes stamped out when he saw the title:

Dreadful Pennies: RARE WORLD COINS and VALUABLE ODD COINS. The article of which I will spare you, advertised an analysis of coin trends, featuring the latest coin prices. Klaus had read hundreds of books in his life, and several of these books were of little interest to him. But this particular issue did not grab his attention so much and perhaps if he were bored, not worried, he would opt to pick it up and give it go, but the time simply wasn't ripe and he discarded the magazine distastefully on the coffee table.

It was at that moment that the dull thud of a pair of three(?) footsteps echoed across the room from the small landing of steps. There stood Dr. Orwell, cane in hand - which had solved the quick mystery of three footsteps - and she gave Klaus a knowing look.

"Klaus Baudelaire," she drawled, and Klaus gulped.

He stood up in her presence, recognizing her as the woman he and his sisters saw pacing in the window when they first arrived.

"You're Dr. Orwell?" He stammered.

She stepped forward into the lobby and nodded.

"Yes, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I was on my lunch hour. Looks like somebody broke their glasses."

Klaus felt a nudge on his shoulder.

"See?" Phil said. "Perfectly friendly."

Klaus removed his glasses and held them in his hands.

"Well, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Dr. Orwell said.

"Actually, you catch the most flies with manure." Klaus pointed out.

"Aren't you smart?" Dr. Owell stated, a twinge in her voice. "It's just an expression. A fancy way of saying you're more likely to get what you want by acting in a sweet way, than in a distasteful way, like vinegar."

Dr. Orwell reached over and grabbed Klaus by the hand suddenly and pulled him away to the stairs.

"Wave goodbye to your friend." She ordered.

Klaus, who had stumbled over the coffee table as he was being so rudely dragged across the room, squinted at the Phil shaped blob in his blurry vision. His head whipped back and forth between the doctor and Phil in panic.

"Goodbye?"

+++

Violet, Sunny, and Y/n sat at the very same table at which they met, waiting for Klaus to return. Night had fallen and their shift was long over, they sat at the table, the room illuminated by candles. Sunny, who had a particularly exhausting day, had fallen asleep on a mess of blankets next to her sister and her friend.

"He should have been back by now," Violet thought aloud.

"The handful of workers I've seen go to the optometrist usually take a while. I'm sure he'll be back any minute," Y/n assured, though her own confidence was beginning to waver.

It had been a little longer than most.

Phil, who also sat at the table with a deck of cards, looked to the young sorrowful girls and gestured to his game of solitaire.

"Why don't you ladies play a game of go fish to pass the time?"

The two girls looked at one another and then at the optimist, shaking their heads.

Violet looked out at the moon, wishing for her brother's safe return.

"Violet?"

In response, she looked to Phil. "Hmm?"

"That's not a window," Phil pointed out gently.

Just as soon as he had said it, Jimmy began drawing more details of the moon in chalk. And Violet saw the illusion disappear before her very eyes.

She turned her attention to the flickering candles that sat on the table and the two friends sighed in worry.

"Lights out," Phil said quietly.

Phil leaned down and blew out the candles, extinguishing all light from the dorms. Violet and Y/n were now feeling as lonesome as ever despite each other's company.

Violet looked to her sleeping sister and smiled weakly. She was still fast asleep on some cushions that Violet had made into a little bed for her. She pulled the blanket up further around her sister and gently stroked Sunny's soft head fondly.

A muffled pair of footsteps captured the attention of the two young ladies. It had come from outside the door and both Y/n and Violet's ears perked up when they heard the wooden door creak open. A phrase which here means, the two girls' attention was brought to the door, eager to see if the person opening it was Klaus Baudelaire. Their ears did not move in any way.

"Klaus!"

The girls rose to their feet when they saw their beloved friend and brother standing in the doorway alive and well. Well, the term "well" is an inadequate word for this situation, meaning it is a poor choice of words for how the only boy Baudelaire was. "Well" would be a good choice of words if you were describing the quality of a good soup, not a fantastic soup but a soup that followed the recipe just enough. The point is the Baudelaire boy was not well, like a good hearty soup, but he was alive and that was what the three girls had been hoping for.

Violet and Y/n rose to their feet and greeted the boy eagerly at the door.

"We were worried. You were gone so long." Violet said.

"Your glasses are gone, are they still being repaired?" Y/n asked.

Klaus didn't utter a word, nor did he ever look the girls directly in the eye, but right past them. Like they weren't there. Naturally, this worried Y/n. In her time at the mill, she had seen several people go into the eye building and come out acting strange. She did not mention this to the Baudelaire sisters because she knew they were already worried and there was no sense in worrying them further unless he showed signs. Unfortunately - a word I'm afraid I will use many more times in the Baudelaire and L/n story - Y/n did see the same signs in Klaus. He kept to himself, and he had the same faraway look that had chilled her to the bone several times.

"What was it like inside the eye? Klaus?" Violet asked.

With the same faraway look, he began walking slowly and sluggishly towards his bed. Violet followed him worriedly, trying desperately to pull any words, any at all, put from her brother. Y/n stayed rooted to the floor, watching sadly as she saw the same patterns emerge in her friend. Klaus finally stopped at the end of his bed and turned around to face the girls. He was smiling.

"You're smiling," Violet said uncertainly.

"I'm happy to be here, sir." He said finally.

Y/n felt the final punch to the gut, and she frowned. Nobody punched Y/n for real of course, but the emotional toll she felt at her friend's condition felt as if someone had. Violet was feeling very similar at that exact moment.

"What? I'm not Sir, I'm your sister. While you were gone, Sunny, Y/n and I heard Sir talking to Charles. He said he made a deal to cover something up." Violet continued even as her brother laid down for the night. "There's something bigger going on here."

Jimmy and Ceasar rolled over in their neighboring bunks and began sushing Violet. Y/n finally left her spot by the front door, timidly she stepped around the bunk to face Violet, who was sitting in the chair that sat up against the wall.

"Violet?"

"What?"

"Maybe we should turn in for the night? I know you must be very tired, and I'm sure Klaus is too. To tell you the truth, this behavior isn't that uncommon from what I've seen here at the mill. But it does always seem to wear off in a day or two, perhaps if we let Klaus get some sleep, and you too, we will all have a clear mind to regroup in the morning. Does that sound okay?"

Violet thought about this for a moment, like she wanted to argue though she knew there was some truth to Y/n words. She looked back to her brother sadly, and she spoke to him soothingly.

"Would you like to do that, Klaus? Would you like to go to sleep for now?" She asked.

"Yes, Sir," Klaus said and closed his eyes as easily as one turns off a light switch.

Both girls frowned and looked to one another curiously.

"I know this must not be easy," Y/n said grabbing Violet's attention. "I am worried for him too, but as I said, I have seen this behavior before around here, and it always goes away at one point. I'm sure it must be something Dr. Orwell prescribes, everyone always seems rather tired after visiting her, I'm sure that must be the case."

"Maybe you're right," Violet sighed, looking anxiously at her brother. "But I can't help but feel like something is wrong. Am I crazy?"

Y/n looked at Violet sympathetically. She shook her head.

"No, Violet, I don't think you're crazy. I must admit, I do not understand why he is calling you Sir, but I'm sure there must be some kind of explanation."

"But what could possibly explain that?"

"I don't know, Violet. I'm sorry, I wish I did."

Violet sighed, and she frowned when she saw Y/n yawn. She stood to her feet.

"I'm sorry I've kept you up all this time, thank you for waiting with me."

"Of course, I was worried about him too and I'd hate to leave you and Sunny by yourselves. And there are no worries, you didn't keep me from anything, I like you guys and while the circumstances are not great, I'm glad I met you guys." Y/n smiled sweetly, and even Violet felt a small smile tug at her own lips at her friend's kindness.

"We like you too, Y/n. Thanks for all your help."

"Of course, what are friends for?" Y/n yawned once more and she turned, eyes on Sunny behind her still curled up on the pillow. "I'm sure Sunny will be happy to hear Klaus is back and to get to bed. I know I'm eager."

Violet nodded, and Y/n stepped aside to let her through. She gently picked up her sister and placed her on the top bunk before climbing up the latter and situating herself. Sunny had been so tired, she had barely noticed she had moved. Y/n took her spot on the bed across from Klaus, and Violet bid her goodnight.

"Goodnight, Violet."

"Goodnight, Y/n. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Violet." She said, her eyelids already growing heavy. "I'm sure tomorrow will be a much better day."

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

#asoue rewrite #klaus baudelaire x you #klaus baudelaire x reader #violet baudelaire #klaus baudelaire #sunny baudelaire #malina weissman #louis hynes #presley smith #asoue #a series of unfortunate events reader insert #a series of unfortunate events imagines #a series of unfortunate events x reader #the miserable mill #part four #the miserable mill part four #dr. orwell #catherine o'hara #asoue y/n l/n

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forunfeltimaginations · 4 years

Text

Let’s try this again

They should make a law where if the police don’t read you your Miranda rights you get out of jail free, like if you don’t get your receipt at fast food restaurants you get a mail free

Confederates as “rebels for tradition” is laughable

Ram rainbow spiral horns profile.

Hippie sauce infusion pizza joint

Plain nude balconette with little purple and pink flowers at wiring

How could anyone predict anything happening but how could any be surpised either

Hierarchies - nahhhh

An exhibit where people are invited to paint over and destroy or change the art

The differences between us and other. Are feeble - not illusory but

Periwinkle sky blue black and white each of a half circle . Faded out

Uni should be about exploring ideas — new and old famillar and foreign - honeing writing reading reasoning debating listening etc skills.

Umm, Karen were your parents married when you were born?

Ummmm no, umm i mean , uh ,yes —what??

Then why are you policing what other people do?

Dark blue light blue orange lemon circles layer on top of each other, several difffent sizes

Unpopular opinion: i don’t really mind diarrhea

I for one think it’s incredibly brave of the brats girls to reclaim such a derogatory term

Starting every Describtion of every British show with “its kind of like skins but..”

Beanie baskin took that treat she snatched it - she ain’t even askin

The squad bod - a group of ghost friends share one body in which they have to live their lives -

My playlists are a matter of fact, not opinion. They reveal truths about the human experience

A cats gorilla imeritive of aesthetics.

I don’t chose them, they are not for joy but for truth. They are not intelligible but feel able

📝 narrative - longing

👼 chaotic

🌾 childlike wonder

Things that seem homo and phobic ATST

- Woodstock

- Brown eyed girl

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on ya when you think everything BG a gone wrong and everything bows up in your face

If women can’t do drag because they have an advantage then what is drag? Is it having good looking tits and a waist ? Looking like woman? or is it about having charisma uniqueness nerve and talent?

Examining Tik toks through different philosophical lenses

What makes it so they put parenthesis around lyrics in a song? What intonations and such make it parenthesis worthy

What’s an article of clothing from your childhood that you viscerally remember for seemingly no reason

I feel like the problem with the property brothers is they had too good of a childhood

I find happiness every single day

Christianity excuses selfish politics and beliefs

Things i never would’ve noticed if they weren’t pointed out to me:

-Left and right handed ness

Rating sports teams by uniform colors

Balloon animals but make it clothing!

Logics doesn’t care about your feelings, but it certainly cares about your biasees.

He who findeth keepith, whilst he who loosith weepith.

Religious thought often starts at the conclusion they want and attempts to make arguments justifying it.

Jewish debate starts with an agreement that we are going to follow the book, but argues about what the book truly says. Not good enough when you are still just following the book

Why did Jesus need to die for our sins

Dream - swimming in a lake and bump into something you think is a human tying to save to but is it! Oct 29 9:03

Candle company logo etc

I’m sorry for your loss

It’s not oka

If people can accept that stupid bad jokes can be

Is there a reason for each thing existing? Sufficient reason

Understanding if an area is a matter of perspective or fact? Is it Emperical ?

Revelation is within it doesn’t involve others - can happen in a moment

Revolution- requires work and years and years of convincing others m

What counts as a second chance? What counts as a first chance? What does giving someone the benefit of the doubt entail ? Letting them out of jail , or letting them have a 2nd term as president.

**Picture of coke or Pepsi book**

Trump supporters be like: THIS is the BALLOt sleepy crooked joe SEND to MY neighbor. So much FOR democracy

One flew over the coup coups nest

Ashge-nazi = Jewish trump supporter

The heathers of the USA are Cali, New York and Texas. Florida, too

How far away can something be from a face and still have humans think it’s a face

Could mermaids exist through evolution in the future

Me learning about real us history - all the nations destroyed by the USA—- I’m the baaad Guy

The rest of the world - duh dodododosodo

Print that looks like a page of writing that has been sourced in water so it’s bleeding and darker in speckles

Zamps= examples

Clothes with green screen cut outs

Robots don’t need to be sentient to destroy us.

Navy mock neck long sleeves big orange and little white stripe on tube cage sides

A veritcal line stretch waistband

Cross cross and straps back

Square high neck

Scarlet polka dots around can light blue text and beach image as front

Blue stroke red inside square, blue triangle rainbow with eye and funky font

Y either know a particular topic or not , but it’s hard to pin down intelligence on one category

Cream background , ice cream pink script name kinda bev hills hotel script looking ish

Move your mouth in a differ way

Supersonic vibrating butt cleaner

Half magenta half red violet a blue teacup in the center with white floral frills thick serif font

Pink background am orange flower in a vase white present ribbon n red as a table

Narrative self vs experiential

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wearejapanese · 5 years

Note

Hi all this talk about Medicare for all has me wondering what is healthcare like in Japan? Obviously I’ve read the wiki page and some other articles but what is it like on a regular basis?

I’m going to divide this into two parts: a discussion of my personal experiences as a Japanese citizen with Japanese nationalized healthcare and an expanded discussion on why Japanese healthcare is the way it is (and how it is different from Medicare For All). The latter will be under the “Keep Reading” portion, if you aren’t interested. If this topic has piqued your interest, particularly given the upcoming American elections and Democrat primaries, I encourage you to watch an old 2008 series by PBS called “Sick Around the World.” The series is outdated in certain respects, but much of the information still holds. PBS takes a great look at Japan and other OECD nations that all do healthcare way better than the US for a fraction of the cost (Though…that is probably every other OECD nation). Japan is unique among OECD countries in that it has some of the best health outcomes at some of the lowest costs, but how feasible the Japan model is for America, I’m not sure.

As a Japanese citizen, the idea that I would avoid seeing the doctor because I can’t afford it is alien to me. When I was in university, I paid 10 USD a month in health insurance for the Japanese government to cover 70% of all of my healthcare costs. 10 USD per month. For 10 USD per month, not only could I see a physician of my choice, but I also had access to the ER, to rehab services, to medicine, and also holistic/ preventative services like acupuncture, Chinese medicine, chiropractic adjustments and so on. I think about healthcare the same way most people in the US think about the cost of the gas they put into their car (or auto insurance, for that matter). It’s an expense, sure, but it’s a part of my life and it’s not one that will ever break the bank even if something serious happens.

My uncle is the primary breadwinner for a family of 4, living at close to the median national income in a comfortable Tokyo suburb. The premiums he pays both to the the national government and as a portion of his income to his employer were easily a quarter of what many similar American families pay for their monthly premiums. Because he has two forms of health insurance (National and private, through his employer), he has access to additional perks like dental and vision, and preferred admission to the hospitals with which his employers’ insurance company had agreements. Within the last two years, he has had two serious surgeries (both requiring several months bed rest), and has made a complete recovery with almost no disruption to his income. Another relative had cancer, and health insurance paid for most of their expenses, chemo, and acupuncture sessions. If they had both been living in the US, I do not think either of them would be in as good health as they are now.

ERs in Japan aren’t as crowded as in the US because few people put off seeing the doctor. Many serious health problems are thus found earlier. Being a walk-in at my physician’s office is a lot like going to Urgent Care in the US, a bit of a wait, but frankly, if I called my doctor the day before, I would likely be able to make an appointment. In rural areas, I suspect the story is very different because there are so few doctors/ nurses/ clinics for very large regions.

The cons: Hospitals have an incentive to keep you hospitalized because they only get paid if they keep beds filled. Oral contraceptives are sometimes hard to access because OB/GYNs rely on abortions for much of their income (Most women in my family choose to give birth via midwife rather than see an OB/GYN, not because there aren’t competent doctors but because most Japanese OB/GYNs are men). Pharmaceutical policy is antiquated: many psychiatric medicines and painkillers widely available in other developed countries are either highly controlled or straight up illegal. Therapists are hard to find. Still, my chances of dying of old age in Japan are much better than in the US. There is simply more affordable access to care. Again, the story changes if you go to more rural parts of Japan where the population skews towards the elderly and healthcare infrastructure is much less available and there are fewer providers, and that remains a big problem that the current government is failing to address.

How Does it All Work?: Japan has a combination of nationalized health insurance and private not-for-profit insurance funds that collectively function to minimize the financial risk of health costs to the individual. To understand the low collective cost of Japanese healthcare, you need to understand the National Health Insurance (国民健康保険 or Kokumin Kenkou Hoken), health funds, and cost regulation.

NHI: The NHI program is mandatory. All legal residents, regardless of citizenship, are obligated to participate for however long they reside in the country. The monthly cost of this insurance is determined by your income. In exchange, the government covers 70% of all costs up to a certain ceiling, but who to see and how you attend to your health is your affair.

Health funds: Health funds are essentially the non-profit health insurance programs ran by employers or chosen by employers to cover any additional, necessary health costs for working individuals and their families not covered by NHI, particularly if the field is known to have any occupational hazards. Any company above a certain size employing salaried/ full-time workers must enroll these employees in such programs. The payments for these programs is usually deducted from your salary every month in conjunction with social security. This amount, again, is scaled according to your income. Japanese companies still are obligated to provide pensions to full-time workers who work at a company for more than 15 years, so I suspect this amount will increase over time for younger workers as companies have to sustain pensions for older employees who don’t pass away until they are in their 80s. In the US, only the government must provide pensions, so most companies use 401ks and Roth IRAs to generate retirement income for their employees instead, that, in theory, would be used to pay for any healthcare costs until they max out on Medicare spending plus assets and have to switch to Medicaid.

Cost Regulation: The Japanese government engages in very rigid and specific cost regulation for almost all aspects of healthcare expense. Everything, from medicine, to outpatient surgery, to preventative and rehab services to specialized therapies has a fixed cost. This final one is a big one, and a big part of why I suspect Medicare For All would be impractical in the US. The only way to get rich in Japan off of healthcare is to create new technologies that can be sold domestically and abroad (Hence why Japan makes specialized, expensive tools like endoscopy camera lenses and portable ultrasounds in addition to many pharmaceutical drugs). Most healthcare providers in Japan are not rich. They are relatively well-off, comfortable and have more stable incomes compared to the rest of the population, but very few doctors are earning salaries in excess of 250,000 USD per year. A PCP might earn between 80,000 and 120,000. A specialist would earn double that, but 250,000 is considered a base salary for many American PCPs (Of course, the cost of educating a doctor in Japan is considerably lower in the US, but the insistence in the US on the reliance of 12 years worth of education for physicians is a separate problem).

Similarly, private hospitals and clinics and very vulnerable to the local economy because they can only charge so much money per bed or per service. Many of the cons I mentioned about Japan’s healthcare stem from this cost regulation. If you (as a healthcare providers) are only allowed to charge so much per patient, you are incentivized to treat as many people as possible for as many conditions as possible. Furthermore, it eventually becomes economically prohibitive to see more than a certain number of patients when you have limited output. More popular hospitals and clinics may have reduced hours because they can only treat a certain number of people given their staff size. It may be impossible to see a very popular healthcare provider if they have a full patient load unless you have a personal connection to them. That said, the Japanese system, on paper, clearly works better. They have much better health outcomes for 11% GDP (it used to be 7.5% GDP in the 2000s, but I suspect much of the current cost is being driven by an aging population that needs regular access to medical services). The US has much worse health outcomes for 18% GDP and how young the country is.

How long the Japanese system will hold in its current form is uncertain because any healthcare system that determines how much you pay by your income needs a healthy middle class and heavy taxation of the wealthy to support the elderly and the poor. There is less social inequity in Japan than in the US, but this is rapidly changing as incomes drop, as life-time employment evaporates and as the wealthy are taxed less. The current government seems to think they can avoid this problem by ignoring it for as long as possible, but unfortunately, this is one of the few aspects of Japan that requires government intervention to thrive.

Is this Medicare For All?: In short, no. Medicare For All would be a single payer health insurance system controlled and ran by the government and funding through income tax. Japan, as you can see, draws money not only from private citizens but also from the private sector, from the companies themselves and, on top of that, heavily controls costs. If I remember correctly, they are allowed to do this because the Japanese Constitution explicitly says that health is a right, thus one that the government can regulate as it pleases. The Medicare For All currently being proposed looks the most like Taiwan’s healthcare system, which also produces excellent outcomes, but by the late 2000s became so expensive that the government had to restrict its access to Taiwanese nationals and permanent residents who had paid into the system for a certain number of years and initiate gatekeeping practices similar to those in the UK and Canada (wherein certain services are off-limits unless you have approval from your PCP). Ultimately, no national health insurance system works without the government stepping in in some way to regulate costs and minimize financial risk. This can be done by:

The government being the only healthcare provider (ex. UK, Canada)

Prohibiting private healthcare providers from making more than a certain amount of money (ex. Japan)

Forcing insurance to be non-profit (ex. Switzerland, Germany)

Mandatory enrollment of all residents into insurance programs to minimize financial risk for the individual (ex. Japan)

Heavy taxation via income to adequately fund all users (Japan, UK, Canada)

Gate-keeping access to services to reduce inefficiencies (UK)

The root problem with healthcare in America is our rules have created a system that not only encourages for-profit business models but discourages healthcare providers from minimizing cost. We also have almost no political will at the national level to regulate private industry. I think most people in Japan would agree that health, like education and public infrastructure, is not something from which people should profit. I am not sure how readily the average American accepts that argument, or if they know that argument is even an option.

#国民健康保険 #Japan #US #healthcare #Medicare For All #Saitō #long post #anon #asks

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vobiy26565 · 4 years

Text

How to use Binoculars

Things that we do often or regularly become second nature and we do them without even thinking about it. It is because of this that I probably took it for granted that everyone would just know how to use binoculars and so I never really thought about writing an article for BBR about the subject.

However that all changed recently: whilst watching a wildlife show on television, I noticed a clip where a woman lifted a pair of grimy binoculars to her eyes and held them in completely the wrong position and place.Best binoculars

This got me thinking that unless you have been told or shown how to do it correctly, there is no inherited or instinctive way of knowing how to use them correctly. So whilst it is simple, it is an important question to address as you want to spend as much time as possible viewing your chosen subject in the best and most stable way possible, and as little time as absolutely necessary fiddling with your binoculars trying to get it right.

Knowing your Instrument

Like learning anything new, in the beginning it can feel daunting or perhaps in this case not daunting, but just a little strange or awkward at first, depending on just how familiar you are with your binoculars.

First up, you will probably have your binoculars in some sort of carry case. This often has a shoulder strap (that may or may not be already attached) and should be just long enough to sling the case over one shoulder. Inside the bag is the binoculars and usually a small cleaning cloth (to be kept in a sealed plastic bag to keep it as clean and dirt free as possible).

Next, the binoculars. These will almost always have a neck strap, lens caps for the two objective lenses (some remain attached to the instrument even when opened – see image below), and lens caps (rain-guard) for the two eyepiece lenses that can usually be attached or threaded through your neck strap if you wish.

The left side barrel connects to the right one by a single or sometimes in the case of an open hinge body design, two central pivots (as with the example Snypex Knight D-ED binocular above and below). You should adjust the pivot(s) so that the two eyepieces are correctly spaced to match the distance between your eyes (this is known as the IDP or Interpupillary Distance Setting). Starting on the right side of my binoculars in the image above, the usually (but not always) larger objective lenses are at the front (these collect the light), and the eyepiece lenses are at the rear (these are the ones you look through).

Then there is the pivot/hinges and then most often, incorporated in the center of the hinge is the focus dial/wheel (see image below). Turning this moves the mechanism in both of the eyepieces simultaneously and adjusts the focal distance.

Note: Some fixed focus binoculars will not have a central focus wheel at all. Then usually located on the right eyepiece is the diopter dial/ring (shown in image on the right) that is used for calibrating your instrument to match your particular vision (more on this later).

How to Focus Binoculars

You may wonder why I did not put this section first. Now we are familiar with where to find every part of the binoculars, it is much more easy to use them more quickly. It only takes a few steps and with a little practice you will be doing it without so much as a second thought.

The purpose of binoculars is to allow you to see a distance object more clearly by making them look larger, as if you were seeing them from much closer. This is only worthwhile if you can see the image in clear focus.

Take your binoculars out of the case, and put the neck strap on. Remove the lens caps (all four) and if not tethered to your instrument, put them safely into the case. This way, when you put binoculars away, you will know where the lens caps are! Choose a stationary object to focus on and lift the binoculars to your eyes. Bend the central pivot/hinge until it matches the distance between your eyes and you only see a single image.

Then, the first time you use your binoculars, you will want to calibrate it to match any differences in vision between your eyes:

Being careful not to touch the glass, cover the right objective lens with your hand (or close your right eye), and turn the main focus dial until the image you see with your left eyes is sharp Now cover the left lens with your hand (or close your left eye) and this time instead of turning the focus wheel, turn the diopter dial instead (usually located near the right eye-piece and shown on the small image above right) until the image is sharp Finally look through the binoculars with both eyes. The image should be perfectly clear. From now on, all you need to do is turn the central focus wheel to focus on objects at different distances until the image is nice and sharp You can find more information and a more detailed explanation on this in our guide on How to Focus Binoculars & Calibration, which also discusses different types of focus wheels and diopters.

Now we have looked at how to adjust binoculars it is worth noting that once the diopter is correctly adjusted for your eyesight only the focus dial now needs to be used, and you can keep both of your eyes open.

How to hold binoculars

But how should you hold your binoculars? Does it matter? This one is mostly down to what you find most comfortable for you.

I like to hold them two-handed with both hands evenly spaced and wrapped around each barrel, I tuck my elbows in slightly to my body. This provides a fairly stable platform for me. Some people also press their thumbs against the cheekbone, which I find uncomfortable.

Also note that the grip will change a little depending on the exact size and style of your instrument, but in general this principal holds true. For example, in the image below I am only using one hand because I am taking a photo with the other, but the grip is also slightly different because these are more compact binoculars and thus your thumbs and fingers will more easily wrap around the body. Indeed if you have larger hands, you may find it easier to hold small compact bins with just the tips of your fingers rather than wrapping your hand completely around them.

Focus Wheel on the Snypex Knight D-ED 8x32 Binoculars

However, once I had written this, I did a little more research to see if others did things a little differently and came across this article written by Strathspey of Scotland that included a couple of images that illustrate (see below) how they suggest you should hold your bins.

I personally prefer to hold my bins in the way that they deem to be the wrong way (image on the left)! However as everyone is different it may be worth just experimenting a little until you find the position that is most comfortable for you. The most important considerations to keep in mind are that you are comfortable holding them, you can keep the image nice and steady and that it is easy for you to reach and adjust the focus wheel whilst still maintaining a steady view.

Note: Some larger pairs of binoculars are best used on a tripod, as explained in this guide on Binocular Tripod Adapters.

Aiming

A technique I find invaluable, which I learned from an amateur photographer, is how to find your subject. If possible find your subject with your naked eye. While keeping looking at the subject bring the camera (or in our case binoculars) to your eye. This means your subject will already be there and lined up.

If you cannot find your subject this way, then choose something close by – but easier to find. Like the corner of a tower where a peregrine is perched. Once you have the tower in your binoculars it is fairly easy to track to where the bird is.For more details, take a look at this BBR article on Aiming your Binoculars.

What else to consider

If you wear glasses then you may need to consider adjusting the eyecups to alow of the extra space created by the frame and lenses on them. For more, check out the BBR guide on How to use Binoculars with Glasses.

In winter, it is worth considering wearing gloves. Please make sure that you have checked that you can hold and adjust the binoculars while wearing them, as thick gloves that need to be taken off can get in the way more than they help.

The magnification of your binoculars will affect how easy it is to practice how to use your binoculars. It is easier to learn while using less powerful binoculars. If you have yet to buy your binoculars read our guide on What To Look For When Buying Binoculars.

You can learn more about differences in magnification in this guide to How a Binoculars Magnification affects Stability, Field of View & Image Brightness.

Look after your binoculars

Remember how I carefully got my binoculars out of their soft case? Once you have finished using binoculars it is worth replacing all of the lens caps, and stowing them safely in their case. This means that on your next trip you can quickly use them again with no surprises.

Between trips keep your lenses clean. The lady in the television clip should have read our guide on How to Clean Binoculars & Their Lenses for more information click here

#Bestbinoculars

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dearjohnnyflynn · 4 years

Text

https://flaunt.com/content/people/johnny-flynn

AUGUST 9, 2017

ACTOR AND MUSICIAN JOHNNY FLYNN'S VARIED STORYTELLING GIFTS ARE PERFECT FOR NOW

BY CHANTELLE JOHNSON

As I dial the mobile number to speak to folksinger and actor Johnny Flynn, I’m struck by the fact that almost a decade has passed since his debut album, A Larum which established Flynn as a part of the new folk movement alongside Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons. Yet times change, and in the intervening decade, Flynn has returned to his first love: acting.

Before becoming a well-known musician, Flynn attended drama school with intentions of becoming an actor. “I went to acting school after I was recording and making music and I was doing it alongside music. So, I was doing theatre and plays at the Royal Court,” he says, “I made quite an effort to keep the two things separate. It was important to me to make sure that I was taken kind of seriously in both fields, so I didn’t go onstage as a musician and talk about acting projects or vice versa. They’re two quite different universes, even though they’re both performative.”

Having worked on various lo-fi indie films, plays and smaller acting projects, Flynn is now taking on his most challenging role to date, starring as the young Albert Einstein in the ten-part National Geographic series Genius, produced by Ron Howard. The show focuses on Einstein’s progression from an idealistic and rebellious young man just developing his most famous theories through to his later years – played by Geoffrey Rush – as the world-renowned, hyper-famous scientist.

Best known for his mop of shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes, how did Flynn end up in the role of the celebrated physicist with whom he shares no obvious physical similarities? “I just thought it was kind of ridiculous that I would be seen as Einstein and I actually kind of passed up on it,” Flynn admits to me over the phone.

“But I was telling my friend and she was saying, ‘You’re a complete idiot. That sounds amazing.’ She sat down and helped me send off the tape, even though I’d missed the deadline. The next thing I knew, I was speaking with Ron Howard on Skype. He was talking about Einstein in a way that made me feel really excited about being in the project, even though I didn’t think I had the right to portray him. It kind of went from there.”

The physical transformation amounted to an hour in the make-up chair every day: contact lenses, prosthetics, and having his hair dyed black. The show features an all-star cast including Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush as the older Einstein, facing the rise of Nazism in the 1930s. Flynn had the freedom to construct his own version of Einstein – which he describes as quite liberating – since details on the young scientist’s character are sparse, aside from a few anecdotes.

Although they didn’t share the screen, Flynn says that creating the character was a collaborative effort with Rush to allow the two versions of the physicist to blend seamlessly. “We’d send each other references, clips, and people on YouTube and say, ‘this person is quite Einstein,’” he explains. “A broad range of people – like Harpo Marx, Bob Dylan in a press conference in 1964, or some funny clips of owls walking across branches. Or we’d collect adjectives that would sort of pertain to a collective idea of Einstein. It could be quite abstract.”

The program seeks to debunk myths about Einstein. Far from being a poor student, he was a solid scholar as a young man. He also had many complex affairs with various women, explored in the show as it traverses significant personal and historical events during his lifetime.

Aside from Genius, Flynn is filming the third season of the sleeper-hit show Lovesick. The series follows his hapless, romantic character Dylan who must inform his ex-girlfriends that he has an STD, while trying to navigate a quarter-life crisis as he explores his feelings for his best friend Evie, played by actress Antonia Thomas. Flynn has become incredibly close to the other cast members on the intimate shoot. “I’m in my bedroom at the moment and Antonia and Josh who plays Angus are in the living room watching The Night Of,” he says casually, “We’re all living together for these couple of months while we’re filming.”

Although it’s easy to imagine a student experience complete with bad takeaways and wild nights out, Flynn is a family man, married with two small children and he takes fatherhood very seriously. “I’m trying to be a whole person in front of my kids and not just this infallible deity, which was what my dad was to me, and I think that’s what makes for a big let-down when you get to 13 or 14,” he says. “My son is six and he’s super smart. He’s constantly wrenching my heart out of my chest with his observations and how he’s able to see the world. I don’t even want to be any kind of overseer or overlord to his existence. I just want him to flourish and be himself because he’s got such a unique perspective.”

Parenthood aside, Flynn has recently released his fourth studio album, Sillion (via Transgressive Records), a reflective record that explores his relationship with his father, who died when he was 18. It also touches on the current global political situation. “With everything that’s been going on in the world and the complex ideologies that have built up around the human mind and certain individuals and groups of people who are in conflict with one another, it just seems quite resonant to go back to something very simple,” he says, seemingly conscious of not sounding too earnest. “Rather than getting suspicious or insecure, for us all to look to the Earth and – this sounds incredibly hippy or something – but actually it’s just an image. It was for me, kind of a resonant poetic image.”

While he maintains a healthy dose of cynicism when it comes to mainstream politics, he intends to vote for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour in the upcoming UK election. “I’m behind that train but I do think the whole system’s a bit fucked,” he begins, “the answer doesn’t lie in politics and I think it will take a few generations for all this stuff to work its way out.”

When asked where the answer does lie, he suggests reading an article by Robert MacFarlane on the Anthropocene – the term given to the current geological era, which scientists think will be determined primarily by human impact.

“He was saying that there’s a call to arms for writers and artists to come forward with the language to process and understand the new epoch that we’re in. I think that’s why I’m happy to be a storyteller at this point. It reaches into people’s hearts and minds in a way that politics can’t.” Considering his current trajectory – music for the heart, stories for the mind – Flynn seems ready to help us find new dialogues for conversation, and maybe to divine some answers therein.

Written by Chantelle Johnson

Photographer: David Needleman at Jones Management

Stylist: Joshua Liebman at Honey Artists

Groomer: Eloise Cheung at Kate Ryan using Dior Homme

#johnny flynn #johnnyflynn

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sloanerisette · 6 years

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Episodic Worldbuilding Part 3: Objects in ‘Life Is Strange’

The last two times we talked about the worldbuilding in Telltales’ The Walking Dead Season One and SWERY’s D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die. This time, we’re looking at Dontnod’s Life Is Strange.

Now, you all know how I feel about Life Is Strange. If you’ve ever read my first article or seen my Twitter, you’d know I love Life Is Strange. It’s a very special game to me, and I think a big part of that has been the worldbuilding that takes place in the environment. Life Is Strange is a game that centers around a young adult woman, Max Caulfield, who recently comes back to her hometown after a five-year stay in Seattle to attend prestigious Blackwell Academy and become a better photographer thanks to one of her idols, Mark Jefferson.

Unlike Dontnod’s last game, Remember Me, Life Is Strange is very much grounded in comparison. Set in the sleepy (and fictional) Oregon town of Arcadia Bay, things are calm (relatively, at least—not to get into the story) compared to Remember Me’s bustling Neo Paris. And while I did love Neo Paris, there’s something about Arcadia Bay that I can’t help but enjoy. Even as someone who lives in a suburb themselves, Arcadia Bay feels so serene, quiet, and idyllic—a homey place that I wouldn’t mind spending my days writing, making games, and occasionally visiting the local diner for a Belgian waffle.

Also interesting to note: of the three games I looked at, Life Is Strange is the only game that has a fictional setting. The Walking Dead takes place in Georgia, primarily in and around Macon in Episode 1, while D4 takes place in Boston (though, granted, you don’t explore Boston, and Episode 1’s focus is on an airplane).

But, moving on from the setting itself, Life Is Strange goes about worldbuilding through the examinable objects in a way that’s very similar to how Telltale does in The Walking Dead. You walk around the world when going from point A to point B and can look at objects and get some text from them—usually an internal monologue (compared to the spoken words that Lee does)—to get a little flavor behind Max’s thought process, who she is as a person, and what the item is and what she thinks about it. Max is a young high school senior, and like any teen, thinks a lot about anything and everything.

Similar to The Walking Dead, a lot of the game focuses on Max, and by extension, her growth as a person throughout the game. The world is viewed through the lenses of Max Caulfield as a character and her thought processes; what she thinks of the item, her memories or experiences with the item she looks at, her thoughts on a person, or her thoughts when using an item. She’s a never-ending fountain of information, wit, jokes, and sass. Like any young adult on their own, really.

The majority of Arcadia Bay is seen through Max—many items are from other people, in and around the school, or are her classmates and people of the town. It’s similar to the way David Young examines items: they are all, more or less, basic items throughout the environment, but as opposed to the Lee Everett method of “It’s just a desk,” it’s more something like, “I remember when Chloe’s dad built this for her and we painted it this shade of blue because Chloe likes it.” While that’s paraphrased, that’s more or less a line from a single item later on in the first episode.

A lot of items are like this: from posters, to teddy bears, to cameras (especially cameras, gosh), Max has all sorts of thoughts that, even if they are saying what the item is, they go into detail on the item—either specifics that you may not be able to notice, or background on the item. Dontnod really put a lot of effort into making this world feel so alive and full of stuff—just like, well, the real world. It makes sense that something like The Walking Dead doesn’t have a lot to look at—items have been looted by survivors or destroyed by walkers, and people don’t care much about looking at objects in the world, as they’d rather survive instead. While Life Is Strange is a setting a lot of people are more familiar with, it’s just your “average” life in that you’re looking at objects in the world around you, or the people around you, and just thinking about them.

It feels like a relatively realistic—at least using that word in a loose sense—way of approaching worldbuilding. There’s no focus on constantly telling you what to do or where to go, or just saying what an object is when you look at it, because, well, most people, zombie apocalypse or not, don’t just think “Hey, that’s a box” when they see a box. They either would probably disregard it completely or think something of relative substance on that box.

Something else interesting I’ve found is that throughout the episodes, there are places in the world where you can just sit down, the camera will pan around, and Max will think about the situation at hand and/or the environment. It’s a small touch, but one I don’t think I’ve seen in many games—at least, not in this way, of being dedicated moments to sit, take a break from the tasks at hand, and just … think. It really brings out the idea of calm serenity that would be a big flavor and feeling in a sleepy town like Arcadia Bay.

What I find so great is that there’s so much around the world. Posters in classrooms and notices on bulletin boards, decorations in the halls of the girls’ dorms, their slates, the items in their rooms, and everything in the Price household, which is either full of old memories for Max, or her bewilderment at how much her best friend has changed over five years, even if you can’t necessarily interact with it, there’s just so much, though the meat, of course, is what you can interact with, no doubt about that.

As noted before, that’s where you get all the context and information on these characters, and the intersections between Max, the characters, the objects, with her thoughts and views all in the center in a way that’s always explained more than not. Dontnod put just as much effort—dare I say even more—into the worldbuilding than the rest of the game. And as someone who, obviously, loves worldbuilding, the effort they’ve put into each and every episode has been fantastic. There are two particular instances that really struck me, though—and they were with items that we’re actually not able to interact with in the environment, but they ended up being so incredibly egregious that I can’t not bring them up.

The first is an instance where you explore the Girl’s Dormitory when looking for the flash drive you have to give to Warren. There’s a sign up on one of the walls in the hallway that reads “NO BOYS ALLOWED,” which is crossed out with spray paint, and “BOYS” is replaced with “BALLS.” This is the first time I’ve noticed it and honestly, it was more than a little sickening to see something so transphobic, especially in what is sort of set up as a small liberal/progressive private school. Not even a case of “Well, there’s a chance shitty teens would write that,” it doesn’t need to be there, because it’s more harmful to trans women playing the game who see that than it does to actually add anything to the world.

The other big thing is something in the parking lot as you go to meet up with Warren. On one of the parking lots that’s labeled “RESERVED,” the “serv” part of the word is replaced with crude graffiti reading “TARD.” Again, like the graffiti in the girl’s dorms, it’s not needed. It doesn’t add anything besides just being offensive. It adds nothing to the world, besides acknowledging that, yes, there are piece of shit teens everywhere.

Compared to how thoughtful and meaningful the rest of the worldbuilding is in Life Is Strange, these feel like two weirdly egregious errors, especially with how carefully Dontnod has done their best to handle other tough issues like bullying.

I’ve played through Life Is Strange a lot since its release in January: 37 hours in total and about three playthroughs through Episode 3 with two of those going through Episode 4, now 39 hours after going through Episode 1 again for this article. But even with how much I love this game, I haven’t looked through every nook and cranny, I’m sure, and especially haven’t examined it closely like I’ve done with the other games for this type of look at episodic games.

So, to go into the meat of the research, similar to how I quantified with The Walking Dead, I split up the examinable objects and people (anything you can “examine” you do so by the “Look” command, which works on most anything in the world) as best I could into three categories:

Times Max says something is some sort of solution or the opportunity to take a photo.

Times Max says what the object is (I generally extended this to also describe the object in depth, as opposed to Lee’s method of “It’s just a desk” examinations).

Times that Max actually says something of note.

First, I’ll say that there were a whopping 338 objects and people in the world that I looked at. There are a few notes to this, though. One, I didn’t investigate every item; I missed at least one in a sign post, and I might have missed more. Two, after Max first discovers her time powers, I examined everything and everyone I could again, due to the fact that they had changed dialogue. Some of the dialogue changed, but it went into eventually repeating dialogue at one point, though each object in the world had specific dialogue that was changed. Due to the circumstances, I changed this, which may be a reason for the inflated number. Alongside this, all of the Rachel Amber posters gave some different dialogue, again, to similar degrees in the case of when you go down the hall after you rewind time. So, again, this could lead to slightly inflated numbers, but more or less, everything had unique dialogue.

The amount of times that Max said something was a solution, hinted at a solution of some sort, or noted that something was the opportunity to take a photo was only 39 times, the lowest out of any of the categories. Max rarely said what a solution would be, and I did have to stretch a bit for this regarding objects or when she looked at people that seemed to hint more at what to do next, as opposed to outright hints like, “I need to move this desk to get to the door to the pharmacy.”

The amount of times that Max said something of note (aka, something that isn’t a hint or just talking about what an object was) was 127 times. A lot of these times were during the sequence of having to rescue Chloe in the bathroom. This actually surprised me because of how in-depth Max goes with her thoughts in Life Is Strange, I thought this would be the biggest category, but it wasn’t. This was one of the bigger surprises, as I thought it would be more flipped around compared to The Walking Dead.

And, with a whopping 172 times, this was the leading category for Max saying what an object or who a person was. It makes sense thinking about it, because Max starts out with a lot of thoughts when she looks at something by noting what the object is, or who the person is, and then going into detail about the item in particular. Something like saying, “That’s Dana, she’s such an archetypal cheerleader, but she’s always nice to me,” or “That camera is really nice, it must have cost twenty grand and it has these really nice lenses that’s best for these shots.” You really find out about what Max thinks about the people around her and what she knows about her passions like photography and movies. It makes the character you play as and the world she inhabits feel so much more real.

With how much you can examine, it really helps fill in Max’s personality from the get-go that might not be there if you were to just play a straight shot through the first episode, as well as really giving you a sense at what the world around you is like. This makes it seem as though you’re in the same situation as Max: coming back to Arcadia Bay, seeing people and things and places that haven’t changed after five years, and noticing everything that has, for better or worse.

And, finally, for as long as this was, there were a lot of great lines—way more than I could feasibly count or especially write down, but I decided to pick a few choice ones that I really enjoyed.

When you look at a soda machine when going through the halls, Max muses, “They should just call it a ‘sugar machine’ … That would be awesome if you put money in there and a bag of sugar dropped out.” Even as someone who stopped drinking soda over a year ago, I agree. That would be hella awesome.

When you’re running to the bathroom to save the girl, if you examine stuff, Max quickly becomes more and more harried at how much time she’s taking, eventually saying, “Wowser, you are blowing it! Save that girl!” Good to know you have your priorities in check, Max.

When you’re in Chloe’s room catching up and looking for a CD to put on while she “medicates,” you can find pictures of her on her computer, and with one of Chloe at a bong, Max laughs and says, “She looks super stoned.” I never got that line the very first time I played, so the second time I saw it I burst into laughter. The delivery makes it perfect, and it’s just a refreshing little thing to see—Chloe’s change as a person and the calm of it after getting into it with Nathan in the parking lot.

And, finally, what’s probably one of the best lines in a game this year: when you look at Victoria’s fancy television when you sneak into her room, Max says, “That is a tasty plasma. Maybe I could sneak in and watch Final Fantasy: Spirits Within. I don’t care what anybody says, that’s one of the best sci-fi films ever made.” If you say so, Max. This line feels so hilarious because you not only get a taste of Max’s (admittedly bad) tastes in movies, but it’s something cheesy that actually feels natural for a young person to think when they’re still growing and finding their place in the world. Though I really do have to ask at some point why they put that line in.

I’ve already said before how I find Max to be such an interesting, even relatable character, and I feel like what you gleam from her really helps breathe a lot of life and character into what could still be someone not all that defined yet by the end of Episode 1. There’s a lot—maybe even too much to feasibly explore in one look—and some of the stuff you can see in the world, as I noted, does more harm than good. But in all, I think Dontnod handles worldbuilding amazingly well, and have done a great job at bringing Arcadia Bay to life.

That’s the final part of this series, and I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts as a fledgling developer who loves worldbuilding as much as I enjoyed researching and writing.

#my work #repost #femhype #life is strange

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johnboothus · 4 years

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VinePair Podcast: How TikTok Is Changing the Game for Drinks Influencing

VinePair Podcast: How TikTok is Changing the Game for Drinks Influencing

For more stories on TikTok, check out our whole series here.

TikTok’s influence on popular culture continues to grow and change, and these days, the platform is taking the drinks world by storm. While in 2020, some of the biggest trends involved flair bartending and performative pours, 2021 is showing a few different sides of the social media platform. Whether it’s a whimsical snow cocktail made by a world-famous chef, or voices that didn’t break through previously, the drinks space on TikTok is rapidly evolving.

That’s what Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe discuss on this week’s episode of the “VinePair Podcast”: why different styles and voices seem to be flourishing on TikTok, why the cocktail space in particular is so dynamic, and why there’s still incredible untapped potential for beer and wine influencers to find a foothold.

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OR CHECK OUT THE CONVERSATION HERE

Adam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

Adam: And this is the VinePair Podcast. Zach, man, what’s going on? What have you been up to?

Z: Well, you know, it’s been a chaotic-ish week, as always. My wife and I are house hunting, which you know the fun of that.

A: How adult of you.

Z: I know. Well, we have a kid, so we figured we probably should buy a house eventually. Yeah, it sucks. I hate doing this. I mean, I look forward to eventually having a house, but everything else about the process is zero fun. Not zero fun — it’s like 8 percent fun. I think it would be a little more fun if it wasn’t Covid. But it’s like everything about going to look at houses is just so much more complicated, and you’re on like an incredibly tight window. It’s like you have exactly this time, you cannot do this, you have to do that, which is all well and good as it should be. There should be stringent protocols, but it does make it a lot more stressful to just even find time to fit in house visits. Just everything about it is more stressful than I think it would be during other times. But this is when we’re deciding to buy a house, so that’s what we’re stuck with. But it does mean that I’ve been having to drink to deal with the stress.

A: Oh, so what have you drunk?

Z: I’ve actually been weirdly on a beer kick lately, which sometimes happens for me. Caitlin was actually just commenting. She’s like, “You’ve been drinking beer more than wine lately.” I think it’s been a couple of things. We do have wine open a lot because of classes and stuff I teach, but I’ve been more just wanting a beer at like 5 o’clock more than I have necessarily been wanting wine with dinner. We’ve also been having a lot of weird pulled-together meals because Caitlin’s super busy with work. So it’s been like, what can we get quickly? The beer has just been kind of a good fit. There’s a lot of breweries near me, and a couple that I’ve been really enjoying. There’s a brewery called Reuben‘s that I actually just tried last night. Their Secret Crush, which was put out for Valentine’s Day, is the latest they have. They have this whole series of “crush beers,”* which are all kind of the same base beer with slightly different hopping regimens. So, yeah, it’s interesting to try that. The other brewery by me, Lucky Envelope, had a pineapple sour that they put out as part of their Lunar New Year celebration, and that was super tasty. I really enjoyed that beer. What have you been drinking?

A: So it’s interesting you say this. I feel like I do go through phases. So I’ve been doing a few things. One, I have been drinking more beer. I had a pretty good IPA earlier in the week. It was from Tröegs, and I think Tröegs is great. They sent me one of their new releases, and it was really tasty. The other thing I’ve been doing is, I’ll just have a glass of whiskey. He’s gonna love that I’m giving him credit, but Aaron Goldfarb turned me on to this.

Z: Lots of love for Aaron on the podcast lately, from both of us.

A: I’m just hoping his mom sees this because I think she reads everything about him. Anyway, he has these Glencairn glasses, and he drinks a little dram of different things in the evenings. He actually drinks beer out of them too, sometimes, just because he likes the glass. But I’ve been doing a little dram — I’ll pour to the curve, and it’s nice. I’ll either have it before or after dinner because yeah, you’re right, it’s not every night that I want to open a bottle of wine for dinner. I have other shit going on, and like, also the stress of cooking and stuff; it’s not as easy to do. So I have been doing that, and it’s really lovely. I’ve kind of revisited some bourbons that I like, some Scotches that I like, and obviously, I’m always willing to try others (for those of you out there in the podcast land.) The other thing I want to ask you really quickly about drinking is, have you thought about moving out of Seattle? Because, you know, Zach, we have had more positive reaction and more emails to the small town or small city podcast than we ever have before — from somms, chefs, etc., writing in and talking about how they had left New York, Houston, or Denver to go to other places and start restaurants and shops. So I was just curious, has it got you thinking maybe you should leave Seattle?

Z: No, because we’re looking to buy a house in Seattle, so probably not. My wife also works in Seattle. My wife makes more money than I do, so her job takes priority. Even within a city or a broader metro area like Seattle, I do think that what we have seen, along with this possible trend of people moving out of these places in the first place, is that a lot of what’s exciting, potentially, in food and drink is not in the kind of classic downtown cores. You and I will have to do an episode down the road, maybe as things get closer to more fully reopening, when the pandemic has subsided more, about the transformation that’s going to happen in a lot of these downtown cores, because it really is, I think, going to be pretty revolutionary. It’s going to be hard for restaurants that have traditionally relied on a combination of business, travel, and tourism to make a go of it fully. I think some of those things will come back sooner than others. But I do think that it does mean that there is a lot of interest. I have some interest, and I think lots of people do, in saying, “Hey, can I set up a wine shop, a restaurant, a wine bar, a craft beer bar, or something that’s serving a community that is not completely detached from a larger city, but is far enough away from the existing centers, where it’s going to be enticing to that population base to not drive so far to have the same experience?” For me, it might not be moving to places that are significantly outside of Seattle, like Bellingham or Olympia or something like that, but it might just be going 15, 20 miles north of Seattle doing something that’s a little more for those people in those areas who don’t have a lot of other options. So I don’t know, I’ve been thinking about it. But it’s true that the response has been really positive — thank you all for writing in. It’s always [email protected] if you have feedback. We always really do appreciate it and give it a lot of thought.

A: A few people we might have on the podcast, which is cool. What you bring up makes me think about (which we didn’t talk about because it’s not really a small town) how the Charleston scene is booming. When you and I were together and did the live podcast for the Charleston Wine and Food Festival last year, we went to North Charleston, which actually is 15 miles north of Charleston. That really cute little downtown area that has Stems and Skins, which was one of the best wine bars I’ve been to in the country. We were asking, who’s the clientele? Are people driving out of Charleston to come? Just as I know this is for the people who decide to move out here because it’s more affordable and they’re commuting to Charleston for work. I thought that was super interesting that, as you’re saying, it was this little opportunity. There’s a little amazing neck of business; there’s one really good Neapolitan pizza restaurant, another nice restaurant, a coffee shop, that’s just for that community. And I love that. I think what you’re talking about is really interesting and definitely worth thinking about for those entrepreneurial restaurateurs out there and wine shop and spirit shop people.

So we did something crazy here at VinePair. We decided, under the editorial leadership of Joanna Sciarrino, who’s our new executive editor, as well as the rest editorial team: our senior editor, Cat Wolinski, and Katie Brown, our associate editor and assistant editor, and then also Tim McKirdy, senior staff writer. We decided to take on this idea of a massive package of content around TikTok. We have all been talking in editorial meetings about how impactful TikTok has been, and that it really seemed to turn this massive corner in the pandemic. Now you have so many people joining the platform. So we asked not only our in-house team of writers, but also a lot of well-known contributors like Aaron Goldfarb and Dave Infante to examine and write articles about what TikTok looks like right now. The entire package is called Tapping into TikTok, published today on the site at VinePair.com/tapping-into-tiktok. There are like 13 articles, plus this podcast, that all look at the world of TikTok through different lenses. There are some profiles of really interesting people on the platform. There are some business stories, there’s some trend pieces. It’s a really good read that I encourage everyone to take a look at, because I think we’re at a sort of an inflection point here with what’s going to happen with this platform as more and more people join. So if you have ever been wondering what’s going on, or who you should be following, or who some of these people are, you definitely have to read these stories. They’re really, really fun as well. You’ve got amateurs, you’ve got professionals, etc. So Zach, we want to take the fact that this is the week that this entire package publishes, (and we happen to have our podcast debut on the day the package publishes) to talk about a larger theme: What is going viral on TikTok, what is so unique about what is going viral, and what are we seeing that’s so crazy about TikTok? And one of the biggest, most recent trends, obviously, is snow cocktails. Snow cocktails are all the rage, but there’s a lot of stuff on TikTok now that has taken off and had its moment, and we’ll discuss why we think that is. First I’d love to get your reaction — what do you think of the snow cocktail trend? I kind of think it’s awesome.

Z: Yeah, I really enjoyed it. We actually had some decent amount of snow in Seattle this past weekend. I was like, “I’m going to do this.” It seemed like a fun idea. I had a good time. I made myself what I call a “Snow Fashioned,” which is literally just a snow Old Fashioned. I think that the whole snow cocktail trend is like a perfect example of when TikTok really works. The concept is really simple in a lot of ways, and it’s an incredibly broad palate — you could basically do anything with it. It’s not intimidating for most people. It can be as simple as just putting snow in a glass and pouring your favorite liquor over it, if you want to be that simple, or you can make a fancy drink. It was connected with the fact that when most of the country got a lot of snow or at least some snow, it was very easy for people to glom onto it. I think that’s fantastic. What was interesting is that it was almost such a broad palate — and I’d be curious if you felt this, too — it was hard to kind of get a sense of it besides just “it’s cocktails plus snow,” as opposed to, “here’s a specific drink or type of drink that’s going viral.” And that, I think, is what’s interesting about TikTok. For me, with these drink trends, it feels almost like it’s not always really about what’s even in the glass, it’s kind of everything that’s going on around it.

A: Totally. It’s about the vibe. It’s about who the person is. I think that’s what’s so interesting about these trends that we’re seeing. Some of them are obviously more about the drink. I think the snow cocktail was a really good example. At the end of the day, they all kind of look the same, right? It’s snow, and you’re dumping stuff with snow, right? So it’s like, are you dumping a Negroni on top of snow? We’ve written about this to the Togroni trend. Those guys who created the Togroni trend were dumping Togroni in snow and being like “ah, check out the Togroni!” I also think it still looked the same as when José Andrés made his cocktail, if you saw this one, which was amazing. He took mezcal (which he kept calling tequila, and going back and forth) and mixed it with vermouth. José Andrés is a national treasure.

Z: I would say he’s a global treasure.

A: Yeah. He’s the best. So he goes to add vermouth to his cocktail, and his vermouth is empty because he’d been drinking it inside. And he was like, “Oops, finished the bottle.” That was so good. But I think what was awesome about the snow cocktails is because they all look the same (I mean, yes, there is a different color poured over the snow, but they’re very similar, maybe different glassware) it’s about the personality who is fun to watch — who can be self-deprecating, like José Andrés, who is funny, those types of things. Whereas there’s other things that take off on TikTok that are really more about the drink itself or how crazy it is. That is how it really started. I think that we’re evolving to the people. But at the beginning of the pandemic, it was like, how crazy can this shit be? How many insane candy cocktails can you make? Like, can you take gummy worms and infuse them with vodka and get wasted? That’s where it started, and now it’s kind of moving. I love how it’s happened; I think what makes TikTok so compelling is that it’s people copying each other and updating. You even saw that with the snow cocktails. It was like, “Oh, you can do that? I can do a riff on it. Here’s my version of your cocktail.” That’s really fun. I’m really excited to hopefully start seeing that happen more in wine, and beer, too. It’s starting to break out a little bit, but it doesn’t make sense. I feel like the spirits people have discovered this platform and they’re really owning it. And I’m just waiting for wine to get there, and for beer to get there, because bourbon TikTok is nothing besides people sitting around talking about bourbon, and sharing bourbons. Why can’t that be wine TikTok too?

Z: I think what’s really interesting here are two components to it that have struck me lately. One of them is this idea of riffing that you mentioned. To me, it’s like this perfect example of how TikTok is not just recycling trends. It’s doing the past 30, 40 years of cocktail culture, all in a span of a couple of months. You’ve gone from the flair bartending period of the 1980s and early ‘90s. Now we’re in this period where people are doing what was so exciting in craft cocktails in the early to mid-2000s. They are sharing drinks, they are sharing ideas, and the innovation is super fast-paced. Now in 2021, someone can upload a video of a cocktail that they’ve made that you’ve never heard of. You can understand how it’s made and you can go, “Well maybe if I don’t have all those ingredients, I can make a version of that with these ingredients instead, or I can riff on it in this way.” It’s the same kind of process that took months because a cocktail had to travel through a sort of informal whisper network in bars around the country. Now it’s like it can happen in a matter of days, which is super cool.

A: It is really funny. I hadn’t thought about that. That’s a good point. I wonder, too, do you think that is kind of what’s happening with wine right now? What I saw happening on the platform with wine — initially is there were some people who were reviewing wines. The biggest trend in wine right now is people going to their grocery store and saying, “buy this bottle, don’t buy this bottle, buy this bottle, don’t buy this bottle.” A bunch of people have taken this trend and are copying it — I’ve seen a lot recently. So I’m going to walk in the aisle, and I’ll be like, “I love this bottle. It was delicious. I had it with roast chicken. Hated this bottle. It was too big for me, or too high alcohol, or bitter.” A lot of it is amateur wine drinkers, which I love. I don’t mean amateur in that they’re amateurs, but they’re not professionals, which is cool. They’re talking about what they love. That is the way I think you could connect it to what we saw nine months ago with DrinkTok, or BarTok, where basically the first thing you saw was the way that most of us start drinking when we’re close to 21 — it’s basically like dumping everything into a bucket and seeing what happens. The first time I ever bought wine was just by going into my grocery store and being like, “OK, I’m in Georgia, I’m in college. They sell it in Publix. Is this one good, or is that one good?” In Atlanta, I started getting more into wine and would be like, “Now I’m of age. I’m going to go to the wine store. Maybe I’ll talk to somebody because I’m not still intimidated.” I wonder if we’ll see that evolution, and if we’ll also see similar in beer, where we’ll start going through the phases of what you go through as a wine drinker, in the same way we’re seeing the phases of what you go through as a cocktail drinker.

Z: One of the things that I’ve been racking my brain about a little bit is: With Instagram, it was clear what made for compelling-ish wine content initially. But even then, I feel like wine Instagram was very focused around bottle shots. Basically, the innovation is what else is in the picture with the bottle of wine? There was this big trend, I’m sure it’s still going on, where wineries posed the bottle with all these different things, fruits and things like that, that supposedly you would smell or taste in it. It was like a whole visual representation of the experience of drinking the wine, which is very compelling. It’s also an incredible labor to put together. But with TikTok, I would be curious to see if reviews take hold. I think what will be maybe more powerful than that, potentially, is not necessarily “here’s 10 seconds on this wine” or “here’s 10 seconds on why you should drink this wine and not that one” but instead “here’s 20 seconds about a wine that I really like.” Here’s the story of this wine in a really concise format, and maybe it’s cleverly shot or edited. With TikTok you want that pop of information, but you also need to be entertained. I think that one of the challenges that comes with this grocery store format is like, if you’re not in that store or in a similar store, you might not have the same wines on your shelf. I mean, yes, there are wines that are on pretty much every grocery store shelf. But if you’re trying to do something, especially as a professional, that’s a little more insightful than which mass-produced red blend you should be drinking. It is hard to find a purchase with TikTok. I’ve thought about this a lot for myself, personally. It’s hard to know what you would say that is not incredibly glib, but also doesn’t bore people.

A: A few things that you mentioned are really interesting to dig deeper into. The first is obviously Instagram versus TikTok, which we covered in one of the VinePair packages. One of the profiles everyone should read is a profile on the woman behind the account SpiritedLA. What she says is really fascinating. She makes beautiful cocktails. I think she’s probably one of the people making the best cocktails on TikTok. What she said, though, is that when she got on Instagram, she was very methodical about the formula. Like, “this is what you do. This is the lighting, this is how it has to look for it to do well in cocktail Instagram.” Wine people were doing the same thing, like, “This is how you have to talk about it here. These are the hashtags you have to use.” She has around 42,000 followers on Instagram. She said when she joined TikTok early in the pandemic, she was like: “I’m going to make really fun cocktail videos. I love fashion and I love dressing for the party. So I’m just going to wear really cool outfits that match the drink and I’m going to make the same drinks I’m making on Instagram.” She showed herself on Instagram, but not a lot — it was really the drink. She has this great personality that kind of comes off like she’s in the ’50s, almost like she has this really cool, classy air to her. She talks about a bygone era of cocktails, and she gives you the history and all that stuff. She has 243,000 followers on TikTok. She said she didn’t follow a formula or anything, she was just herself. I think that’s what’s been really fun about TikTok — a lot of people are able to be themselves and are just able to say, “This is what we do, and you either like it or you don’t.” One of these other accounts that we profile in the package is the account JonesnMann. And JonesnMann are a duo that are usually on YouTube together reviewing bourbons and other spirits. But on TikTok, only Mann wanted to do it. (And also, they refuse to give their first names. This is part of the characters they play. So it’s not that I don’t know their first names, they actually don’t even give them in the article.) So Mann was like, “We should be on TikTok.” He is super entertaining. His whole tagline is “drinkin’ the comments” and you tell him like a cocktail you’ve made and he’ll make it. He’ll also talk about spirits. If you say, “What do you think about Crown Apple?” He’ll talk about why he likes Crown Apple, or he’ll talk about Blanton’s. He’s this fun person that people like to watch. On the other side, when it comes to wine, I think, one, there hasn’t been a personality that’s burst out yet. I think that that’s going to be what it takes. Two, I think if someone’s going to be really successful as an influencer on tape talking about wine, I think they need to really watch what’s happening in one specific subset of #DrinkTok, which is the bourbon TikTok channel. The communities are similar in the fact that a lot of time they talk about wines, obviously, that you and I will never be able to find or try. They talk about Pappy. I’ve had Pappy once in my life, you and I’ve had 10 year. I’ll probably never have the 23. That is what they all talk about, in the way the wine people talk about DRC or Petrus, or other wines. But then they all love to talk about these finds that they get that are regionally specific. You would be amazed at how many bourbons people have that are regionally specific. They prop each other up, and they have certain people in the community who have become these personalities that are really engaging and fun, and help educate. One of the people — who I’ve just been waiting and waiting and waiting for someone in wine to be like – is this guy, Steve Higdon, who is 60 Second Bourbon Review, and he refers to himself as “the boomer of bourbon TikTok.” I think he’s just so down to earth and funny. People in the bourbon community love him because he feels like their dad. It’s mostly people who obviously are younger, but they have embraced him and he has tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of followers. He’s one of the most popular, if not the most popular, person in the bourbon TikTok community, and everyone kind of defers to him. They’ll be like, “I know Steve said he liked this bourbon, but here’s my notes,” and it’s great. I think there is that opportunity for wine, it’s just figuring out who those personalities are that can feel approachable, and not “somm-y.” You can’t be somm-y, because it won’t work on Tiktok. In Instagram if you had a somm following, you could have other somms and people who want to be like somms following you and that would be fine. But because the algorithm on TikTok is so democratic in the way that it throws out your content and sees what people love, you have to be approachable, and you have to be providing content that people feel they can relate to. Or, you can create content people hate, which I’ve also seen go viral, but you don’t want people in your comments being like, “You’re the worst person. You’re such a jerk. No one wants to follow what you like to drink because you’re a snob about it.” I think that’s also interesting. So who knows, man? It’s a fun platform, for sure.

Z: You make a really good point. I wanted to ask your opinion. With Instagram, it’s always felt to me like one of the things that is rewarded on that platform is a very specific visual aesthetic, right? Yes, we all know it. In the early days, it was the filters. Now, I would say it’s that, but it’s also just you want your pictures to look a certain way, whether you’re in them or not. And I wonder, my sense of TikTok — and you’re deeper in it than I am — is there is less of that, because it’s video, and not static to some extent. It is a thing where — maybe just because it’s newer and there isn’t as clear of a “here is how you get the most interaction on the platform” — I just wonder, does that also create space for drinks that are inherently less visually grabby? We all know that one of the things that’s true about what’s happened in drinks culture because of Instagram is (and in food culture too) is increased emphasis on visual appeal from the get-go. It’s why craft beer labels have moved the directions they’ve moved. All that kind of stuff. On TikTok, yes, the thing has to look good if you’re going to see it, but you’re never going to get the same quality. Most people don’t have the same quality lighting. It’s a video, so things are moving. In most cases, it’s always going to be a little bit less polished. I wonder if it does create space for people who are not going to be able to produce professional-quality photography at their house, and might not be able to produce professional-quality videography, either, but can be a professional-quality personality, I guess.

A: Yeah, I think that it does. Let’s talk spirits, specifically. You have two different kinds of people. You either have the person who has a full set up, almost like they’re standing on a set. They’re making their drinks in a way that feels very polished. They probably went out and bought some equipment to hold the phone steady and things like that. Spirited LA is like that, right? Her setup looks beautiful — she has a beautiful kitchen. You could take her videos and with a little bit more work be like, “I could see this on Food Network or something.” Then there’s Johnny Drinks, which actually is this father and son from Jersey who I think are the most followed account in drinks TikTok. They’re up to almost 800,000 followers. It’s a father and son. They knew not a lot about drinks before they started TikTok. They’re learning about drinks together. They’re just like in the basement of their house in Jersey. I think the son is home from college because of Covid. He started filming with his dad. His dad’s real job is something in insurance, I think. (I haven’t got to read the profile yet. I’m really excited to. We’re recording this prior to all publishing.) They’re in the basement, where the dad has this bar that used to be just for hanging out. There’s a pool table down there, whatever. It’s not set, you know — the camera’s shaky, but they’re just two people trying to learn how to make drinks, and talking about it to people, and showing people how to make drinks. They’re just a good personality. I think people love that it’s a dad and a son. There’s like this connection between the two of them. The son also asks the dad about life advice. These things are resonating with people watching who want to be entertained. People are looking for good entertainment, in the same way they were looking for that on YouTube years ago. Whereas Instagram has more and more and more felt plastic to a lot of people. We’re all sick of the fact that like, that’s not what your family looks like all the time. Come on. You’re not having fun 24/7. These articles are being published about how Instagram specifically is causing people to have massive amounts of anxiety, and to be depressed, because they feel like this friend has a perfect life and they don’t. Meanwhile, you don’t know that the friend also is having issues with their job, or with their health, or any of these things. But when they’re posting on Instagram, it looks like everything’s perfect. I think people like TikTok because there can be those little mistakes. It just feels more real.

Z: You can have already drunk all the vermouth, as it turns out?

A: Exactly! Right. You know, it’s all there. And that’s why people like it. I can’t stress this enough — I think it’s a platform that if you’re in the drinks business, you need to be paying attention to. It’s funny because I feel like there’s been a lot of noise over the last week or so about another platform, Clubhouse. I’ve played around on it. It’s the same people that were on a lot of these different platforms initially. There’s like a group of — I don’t wanna say illuminati, but like, you know — it’s the same wine people that are on Twitter having conversations about wine. They’re not bringing anyone new into the conversation on Clubhouse. I didn’t see anyone new when I jumped into these rooms. This is probably worth a podcast of its own down the road, but I don’t see any new voices on Clubhouse. It’s the same voices I hear on Twitter, whereas TikTok is really new people, or there are people who yes, had some success on Instagram, but not like this. Again, SpiritedLA, she’s the perfect example. Yeah, she had some success on Instagram — 40,000 followers on Instagram for a cocktail account is nothing to sneeze at. There are people who have massive cocktail followings. But she has 200,000-something followers on TikTok. That’s just insane.

Z: Alright, so when are we taking the podcast on TikTok, Adam?

A: The second you can figure out how we can cut these episodes into small bits.

Z: Isn’t that what we have interns for, damn it?

A: I definitely would encourage everyone to read as many articles as you can on the site, if you want to scroll through all of them. Also, a shout out to Josh and Danielle, who built the site for this package. It looks like you’re actually scrolling on a phone on TikTok when you’re scrolling through the stories. It’s super cool. It’s just vinepair.com/tapping-into-tiktok. Hit us back and let us know what you thought of this podcast, what you think of TikTok, and what you think of the package at [email protected]. Again, we’re excited about the platform. We think it’s interesting, and it’s something that everyone should be paying attention to. We’d love to know if you have paid attention to it, or if you just checked it out in passing. Let us know what you think, because I think it’s going to only get bigger. That’s my prediction.

Z: I can’t argue with that.

A: Zach, see you back here next week.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating overview on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or whatever it is you get. It really helps everyone else discover the show. Now for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City, and in Seattle, Washington, by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing and loves to get the credit.

Also, I would love to give a special shout out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tastings director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who are instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

Ed. note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: How TikTok Is Changing the Game for Drinks Influencing appeared first on VinePair.

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