#world building june 2017

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #24

June 21-28 2024

The US Surgeon General declared for the first time ever, firearm violence a public health crisis. The nation's top doctor recommended the banning of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, the introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns, regulate the industry, pass laws that would restrict their use in public spaces and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons. President Trump dismissed Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in 2017 in part for his criticism of guns before his time in government, he was renominated for his post by President Biden in 2021. While the Surgeon General's reconstructions aren't binding a similar report on the risks of smoking in 1964 was the start of a national shift toward regulation of tobacco.

Vice-President Harris announced the first grants to be awarded through a ground breaking program to remove barriers to building more housing. Under President Biden more housing units are under construction than at any time in the last 50 years. Vice President Harris was announcing 85 million dollars in grants giving to communities in 21 states through the  Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO) program. The administration plans another 100 million in PRO grants at the end of the summer and has requested 100 million more for next year. The Treasury also announced it'll moved 100 million of left over Covid funds toward housing. All of this is part of plans to build 2 million affordable housing units and invest $258 billion in housing overall.

President Biden pardoned all former US service members convicted under the US Military's ban on gay sex. The pardon is believed to cover 2,000 veterans convicted of "consensual sodomy". Consensual sodomy was banned and a felony offense under the Uniform Code of Justice from 1951 till 2013. The Pardon will wipe clean those felony records and allow veterans to apply to change their discharge status.

The Department of Transportation announced $1.8 Billion in new infrastructure building across all 50 states, 4 territories and Washington DC. The program focuses on smaller, often community-oriented projects that span jurisdictions. This award saw a number of projects focused on climate and energy, like $25 million to help repair damage caused by permafrost melting amid higher temperatures in Alaska, or $23 million to help electrify the Downeast bus fleet in Maine.

The Department of Energy announced $2.7 billion to support domestic sources of nuclear fuel. The Biden administration hopes to build up America's domestic nuclear fuel to allow for greater stability and lower costs. Currently Russia is the world's top exporter of enriched uranium, supplying 24% of US nuclear fuel.

The Department of Interior awarded $127 million to 6 states to help clean up legacy pollution from orphaned oil and gas wells. The funding will help cap 600 wells in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, New York and Ohio. So far thanks to administration efforts over 7,000 orphaned wells across the country have been capped, reduced approximately 11,530 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions

HUD announced $469 million to help remove dangerous lead from older homes. This program will focus on helping homeowners particularly low income ones remove lead paint and replace lead pipes in homes built before 1978. This represents one of the largest investments by the federal government to help private homeowners deal with a health and safety hazard.

Bonus: President Biden's efforts to forgive more student debt through his administration's SAVE plan hit a snag this week when federal courts in Kansas and Missouri blocked elements the Administration also suffered a set back at the Supreme Court as its efforts to regular smog causing pollution was rejected by the conservative majority in a 5-4 ruling that saw Amy Coney Barrett join the 3 liberals against the conservatives. This week's legal setbacks underline the importance of courts and the ability to nominate judges and Justices over the next 4 years.

[reasonsforhope]

The Surucuá community in the state of Pará is the first to receive an Amazonian Creative Laboratory, a compact mobile biofactory designed to help kick-start the Amazon’s bioeconomy.

Instead of simply harvesting forest-grown crops, traditional communities in the Amazon Rainforest can use the biofactories to process, package and sell bean-to-bar chocolate and similar products at premium prices.

Having a livelihood coming directly from the forest encourages communities to stay there and protect it rather than engaging in harmful economic activities in the Amazon.

The project is in its early stages, but it demonstrates what the Amazon’s bioeconomy could look like: an economic engine that experts estimate could generate at least $8 billion per year.

In a tent in the Surucuá community in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Pará, Jhanne Franco teaches 15 local adults how to make chocolate from scratch using small-scale machines instead of grinding the cacao beans by hand. As a chocolatier from another Amazonian state, Rondônia, Franco isn’t just an expert in cocoa production, but proof that the bean-to-bar concept can work in the Amazon Rainforest.

“[Here] is where we develop students’ ideas,” she says, gesturing to the classroom set up in a clearing in the world’s greatest rainforest. “I’m not here to give them a prescription. I want to teach them why things happen in chocolate making, so they can create their own recipes,” Franco tells Mongabay.

The training program is part of a concept developed by the nonprofit Amazônia 4.0 Institute, designed to protect the Amazon Rainforest. It was conceived in 2017 when two Brazilian scientists, brothers Carlos and Ismael Nobre, started thinking of ways to prevent the Amazon from reaching its impending “tipping point,” when deforestation turns the rainforest into a dry savanna.

Their solution is to build a decentralized bioeconomy rather than seeing the Amazon as a commodity provider for industries elsewhere. Investments would be made in sustainable, forest-grown crops such as cacao, cupuaçu and açaí, rather than cattle and soy, for which vast swaths of the forest have already been cleared. The profits would stay within local communities.

A study by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the New Climate Economy, published in June 2023, analyzed 13 primary products from the Amazon, including cacao and cupuaçu, and concluded that even this small sample of products could grow the bioeconomy’s GDP by at least $8 billion per year.

To add value to these forest-grown raw materials requires some industrialization, leading to the creation of the Amazonian Creative Laboratories (LCA). These are compact, mobile and sustainable biofactories that incorporate industrial automation and artificial intelligence into the chocolate production process, allowing traditional communities to not only harvest crops, but also process, package and sell the finished products at premium prices.

The logic is simple: without an attractive income, people may be forced to sell or use their land for cattle ranching, soy plantations, or mining. On the other hand, if they can make a living from the forest, they have an incentive to stay there and protect it, becoming the Amazon’s guardians.

“The idea is to translate this biological and cultural wealth into economic activity that’s not exploitative or harmful,” Ismael Nobre tells Mongabay."

-via Mongabay News, January 2, 2024

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Emil Ferris’s long-awaited “My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two”

NEXT WEEKEND (June 7–9), I'm in AMHERST, NEW YORK to keynote the 25th Annual Media Ecology Association Convention and accept the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.

Seven years ago, I was absolutely floored by My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, a wildly original, stunningly gorgeous, haunting and brilliant debut graphic novel from Emil Ferris. Every single thing about this book was amazing:

https://memex.craphound.com/2017/06/20/my-favorite-thing-is-monsters-a-haunting-diary-of-a-young-girl-as-a-dazzling-graphic-novel/

The more I found out about the book, the more amazed I became. I met Ferris at that summer's San Diego Comic Con, where I learned that she had drawn it over a while recovering from paralysis of her right – dominant – hand after a West Nile Virus infection. Each meticulously drawn and cross-hatched page had taken days of work with a pen duct-taped to her hand, a project of seven years.

The wild backstory of the book's creation was matched with a wild production story: first, Ferris's initial publisher bailed on her because the book was too long; then her new publisher's first shipment of the book was seized by the South Korean state bank, from the Panama Canal, when the shipper went bankrupt and its creditors held all its cargo to ransom.

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters told the story of Karen Reyes, a 10 year old, monster-obsessed queer girl in 1968 Chicago who lives with her working-class single mother and her older brother, Deeze, in an apartment house full of mysterious, haunted adults. There's the landlord – a gangster and his girlfriend – the one-eyed ventriloquist, and the beautiful Holocaust survivor and her jazz-drummer husband.

Karen narrates and draws the story, depicting herself as a werewolf in a detective's trenchcoat and fedora, as she tries to unravel the secrets kept by the grownups around her. Karen's life is filled with mysteries, from the identity of her father (her brother, a talented illustrator, has removed him from all the family photos and redrawn him as the Invisible Man) to the purpose of a mysterious locked door in the building's cellar.

But the most pressing mystery of all is the death of her upstairs neighbor, the beautiful Annika Silverberg, a troubled Holocaust survivor whose alleged suicide just doesn't add up, and Karen – who loved and worshiped Annika – is determined to get to the bottom of it.

Karen is tormented by the adults in her life keeping too much from her – and by their failure to shield her from life's hardest truths. The flip side of Karen's frustration with adult secrecy is her exposure to adult activity she's too young to understand. From Annika's cassette-taped oral history of her girlhood in an Weimar brothel and her escape from a Nazi concentration camp, to the sex workers she sees turning tricks in cars and alleys in her neighborhood, to the horrors of the Vietnam war, Karen's struggle to understand is characterized by too much information, and too little.

Ferris's storytelling style is dazzling, and it's matched and exceeded by her illustration style, which is grounded in the classic horror comics of the 1950s and 1960s. Characters in Karen's life – including Karen herself – are sometimes depicted in the EC horror style, and that same sinister darkness crowds around the edges of her depictions of real-world Chicago.

These monster-comic throwbacks are absolute catnip for me. I, too, was a monster-obsessed kid, and spent endless hours watching, drawing, and dreaming about this kind of monster.

But Ferris isn't just a monster-obsessive; she's also a formally trained fine artist, and she infuses her love of great painters into Deeze, Karen's womanizing petty criminal of an older brother. Deeze and Karen's visits to the Art Institute of Chicago are commemorated with loving recreations of famous paintings, which are skillfully connected to pulp monster art with a combination of Deeze's commentary and Ferris's meticulous pen-strokes.

Seven years ago, Book One of My Favorite Thing Is Monsters absolutely floored me, and I early anticipated Book Two, which was meant to conclude the story, picking up from Book One's cliff-hanger ending. Originally, that second volume was scheduled for just a few months after Book One's publication (the original manuscript for Book One ran to 700 pages, and the book had been chopped down for publication, with the intention of concluding the story in another volume).

But the book was mysteriously delayed, and then delayed again. Months stretched into years. Stranger rumors swirled about the second volume's status, compounded by the bizarre misfortunes that had befallen book one. Last winter, Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston published an article detailing a messy lawsuit between Ferris and her publishers, Fantagraphics:

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/fantagraphics-sued-emil-ferris-over-my-favorite-thing-is-monsters/

The filings in that case go some ways toward resolve the mystery of Book Two's delay, though the contradictory claims from Ferris and her publisher are harder to sort through than the mysteries at the heart of Monsters. The one sure thing is that writer and publisher eventually settled, paving the way for the publication of the very long-awaited Book Two:

https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/my-favorite-thing-is-monsters-book-two

Book Two picks up from Book One's cliffhanger and then rockets forward. Everything brilliant about One is even better in Two – the illustrations more lush, the fine art analysis more pointed and brilliant, the storytelling more assured and propulsive, the shocks and violence more outrageous, the characters more lovable, complex and grotesque.

Everything about Two is more. The background radiation of the Vietnam War in One takes center stage with Deeze's machinations to beat the draft, and Deeze and Karen being ensnared in the Chicago Police Riots of '68. The allegories, analysis and reproductions of classical art get more pointed, grotesque and lavish. Annika's Nazi concentration camp horrors are more explicit and more explicitly connected to Karen's life. The queerness of the story takes center stage, both through Karen's first love and the introduction of a queer nightclub. The characters are more vivid, as is the racial injustice and the corruption of the adult world.

I've been staring at the spine of My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book One on my bookshelf for seven years. Partly, that's because the book is such a gorgeous thing, truly one of the great publishing packages of the century. But mostly, it's because I couldn't let go of Ferris's story, her characters, and her stupendous art.

After seven years, it would have been hard for Book Two to live up to all that anticipation, but goddammit if Ferris didn't manage to meet and exceed everything I could have hoped for in a conclusion.

There's a lot of people on my Christmas list who'll be getting both volumes of Monsters this year – and that number will only go up if Fantagraphics does some kind of slipcased two-volume set.

In the meantime, we've got more Ferris to look forward to. Last April, she announced that she had sold a prequel to Monsters and a new standalone two-volume noir murder series to Pantheon Books:

https://twitter.com/likaluca/status/1648364225855733769

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/01/the-druid/#oh-my-papa

[3416]

1634 primer (2015-2023)

since my brain refuses to let me think about anything BUT the toronto maple leafs these days, i've decided to compile info/links/photos/videos of the dynamic on the team i personally find most compelling, charming, heartwarming, hilarious: mitch marner and auston matthews (aka 1634 aka the heart and soul of this current leafs team in my humble opinion). this will cover the beginning of their nhl careers to the end of the 22-23 season. for anything from 2023 summer onwards, here’s part 2.

i will be citing my sources, but if any info needs corrected or there are things i've missed, don't be afraid to hmu. i've only been around for a couple months so 🫡 😘 ✌️ this is going to be long-winded (almost 4k kinds of long-winded...) let's DO IT:

2015-2017 (rookie era)

in june 2015, mitch marner is drafted to his hometown team, going 1st round 4th overall in more beginnings of an effort to rebuild the leafs franchise. here are photos from that day. here's an athletic article about why they picked him that makes me cry. 

in april 2016, auston matthews is drafted 1st overall and is basically deemed the savior of the toronto maple leafs from the jump. here are pics from that. (please look at the one below of auston putting on a 16 leaf jersey on draft day and tell me that wasn't fate of SOME sort... i know it's the year but. THE VIBES. the what's-to-come of it all) (here’s a sportsnet documentary on auston/his journey to the nhl).

they played against each other at the 2016 world juniors (dec 2015-jan 2016). here they are on the cover of world hockey news before they had even met... as boys to watch in the hockey world

according to mitch, the first time they actually met was when he said hi to auston in an elevator at world juniors. then mitch says the night auston was drafted, he was at a concert and everyone started an auston matthews chant that he was 100000% in on and excited about. and it was pretty early on in development days that they became instant friends. here's the vid @ ~4:21 and here's a gifset

during their very first day of training camp, auston broke a pane of glass off of a pass from mitch when they were just messing around (again.... fate). here's the vid and here's an article about it

here's them fighting each other for the puck at camp... there's something about it that makes me emotional... their tenacity as rookies...

one of the first ever hangouts recorded on social media... they went to a fair or smth august 2016 (gifs)

at first, they didn't play together very much. in fact, through a lot of the coach mike babcock era (2015-2019), they weren't linemates at all, as auston usually had willy on his right wing. (here's an article justifying that decision from babcock)

that didn't stop them from developing a lot of habits and routines together though. this whole half of a morning skate interview with mitch... "hopefully we're together for a long time and can build up some great chemistry" "that's a big part of what me and matts try to do when we drive together, just keeping it light and have fun with each other" (gifs... it kills me)

"Not only are Matthews and Mitch Marner clicking on their respective forward lines, they are having a good time in the car driving to and from practice and games."

they used to come into the the arena in the same ways on game days (watch any leafs blueprint ep from this time... they’re always getting off the bus together or walking into scotiabank together attached at the hip), went out of their way to greet the doormen and staff, sometimes showed up in matching outfits as evidenced here, here, here, and honestly.. so many more times. it’s about the coordination... the texting each other their fits.

the famous copycat hat moment (gifs).... their goofy responses and getting chirped on twitter about it by everyone and stamkos) (auston’s smile)

they started making sure they were coming out onto the ice together for warmups, always in line toward the back (still the same to this very day). here (x, x, x, x) are just a couple shots of that... they have a handshake they do on their way out (still to this day also), and i think this is the one of the first times it was recorded.

and on the rare occasion they DID get to play together... they were always the Most™ excited and cute about it. here's them talking about playing on the same line, here and here and here are some first moments of cellying that deserve to be looked at for 10000 years... just pure excitement and joy

here's mitch hopping right on into a ridiculous fight on auston's behalf. and here are their responses about it in the media afterward (cute, loyal, grateful).. and here’s auston pissed about an uncalled shove on mitch ... even though they’re not big fighters, they ARE big defenders of one another

2016 centennial classic where they were so cute (x x x x x)

there are lots of practice photos/vids and media of them around or mentioning each other obviously (like this hug at a scrimmage that kills me personally), but anther one of my favorite standout days was this practice when auston had mitch falling on the ground in laughter. gifs: "I think a lot of people don’t understand how big of a jokester he is at times. He’s always pretty serious, but that’s not his kind of personality at all" (pics)

so many bench shenanigans (literally too many to try to round up)

(what i assume is) a broadcast quote i can't seem to track down but so many ppl have used it for edits and gifs that i believe it: “They love him, clearly Auston Matthews loves him.” ... they're always saying the most ridiculous things about them as a pair

case in point.. they also said this: "Matthews and Marner together - their eyes light up […] They've been dying to play together." (basically confirmation vid here from auston.. his hopeful little smile, help)

one of the most iconic moments has to be the time the camera caught them singing 'livin' on a prayer' together on the bench and it became a whole thing in the media. here's the moment, their responses (gifs, gifs), and bon jovi's response too.

they used to play video games as a unit and basically annoy the shit out of everyone. thanks zach hyman for the confirmation: “They have this whole strategy, whenever we play. Auston sits in the back and snipes, and Mitch runs around and looks for you. They have this whole little strategy they put together. And then they laugh. They start dying laughing. They’re clowns.”

they have so many oddball social media interactions and a lot of them are probably lost to time but: here's a meme of mitch being part of both of their twitter profiles, here's some petulant mitch getting clowned on and compared to mickey mouse, here's more auston making fun of him for looking 12, “can’t be a boys week when your gfs are there...... but u look nice :)”, purp.... the joint ootd.. who was doing it like them?, “getty images”, “walking advertisement”

holding bozak’s baby together at the xmas party (gifs)

golfing, hanging out at the mall, shopping

despite their very complimentary talk of each other in media, they're also not afraid to razz each other. "he gets sensitive sometimes", "just kind of get him grinding", auston chirping mitch and the insurance ads he does, mitch making fun of his hair (pre balding era... wonder if that’s off limits now LOL)

here’s a vid of the 2016 leaf rookies at a christmas market... mitch and auston were very cute... mitch uploaded a story of them on the ferris wheel smiling their asses off too

auston recording him on his ig story here and here while they were filming this batting practice vid

here’s a goalie challenge video mitch and auston did with matt martin and barstool back in the day (”don’t take slapshots” “you took seven”)

here are some misc gifsets from this time period: x x x x x x

i'll end this section with a couple of my favorite and the most iconic game pictures from this era... 

if you're curious about more stuff from the rookie days, i highly recommend checking out this initial 1634 primer from @/zoehickel, @/thiccbrock's soft bros tag, and @/mitchski's auston x mitch tag (pro tip: add "/chrono" at the end if you want to see everything chronologically).

2018-2020 (not-so-rookie era)

nothing extremely important or concrete separates this timeline but mitch and auston clearly started to grow into their roles on the team and were no longer just rookies (altho i compiled some very basic stats from wikipedia and both of them have just been crazy talented and at the top of team goals/assists/stats almost every year since they were drafted.. they’ve never really been ‘just rookies’ but )

from what i gather, early 2018 was one of the first sightings of mitch's drawings on his gloves... a habit that auston had also been into since his rookie year... mitch started doing this toward the tail end of the hardass babcock days as a reminder that hockey is supposed to be about having fun (here's a not-official-seeming article about their clashes w babcock) (here are some pics of the doodled gloves of that era)

here’s an article talking about how much mitch and auston loved playing together and tried to take advantage of it and prove to babcock they should be allowed more often (also includes goofy bts content of them sharing a fantasy football team)

babcock got fired bc of nasty coaching tactics (here’s a story on what he did to mitch as a rookie), and in came sheldon keefe, who is more mild-mannered and is willing to experiment with auston and mitch playing together so they got more time as linemates these years.

auston and mitch developed a warmup routine together before games where they stayed on the ice a bit longer than everyone else and passed the puck back and forth (here are some vids from this time period: x x x x x)

the team did a big nhl video game faceoff early 2018, and mitch was auston's #1 hype man about it: gasin him up, helping him warm up, sittin behind him making commentary, and acting like it was his own personal victory when auston won

instagram teasing for mitch’s 22nd bday... “babe !”

they participated in this ‘need for speed’ challenge video with natalie spooner and laura stacey to promote the canadian women’s hockey league... competitive dorks is all i have to say about that.

at the end of 2018, mitch and auston took part in a real production of the nutcracker as cannon dolls... and it is as absurd and amusing as it sounds. famous quotes from the event include: “he couldn’t let go of me”, “that’s what friends are for”, “mitch could just sit around and pout the whole time which he’s so used to doing”...  here's the vid (gifs) (pics w ballerina) (more goofy pics) (ig story)

some cute practice pics

in 2019, apple had them film a commercial where auston just followed mitch around titled Mitch Marner Shot on iPhone by Auston Matthews... (gifs) (tumblr vid) (more gifs) just any excuse to talk about it forever... it's arguably one of the greatest things they've ever done... pov of dreams tbh. here's another snippet that didn’t make the cut of them laughing... here’s some gifs of ANOTHER snippet.. and here’s an article about auston with some quotes about how he and mitch are great friends and they were just going to “their” favorite places in toronto that day. (also THEIR favorite restaurant being sotto... the exact place mitch/steph go on very special dates apparently according to this pandemic leaf to leaf... food for thought)

another thing about auston and mitch... they WILL be forming unbreakable bonds with people on the team like it's a group activity, and the most formative for them was probably patrick marleau, who basically became their dad for the 2017-2019 seasons. they would always hang out on the road together, watch movies and go to dinner, etc etc. one time mitch n patty when on vaca without auston... ymca in the car with patty and his sons... “he’s obviously old but he acts even younger than me and mitch”... mitch and auston singing happy birthday to him... here’s a christmas party pic of them that kills me... that here's a video where they talk about their relationship... here's another long interview they did together during lockdown... here is an emotional gifset about the three of them, and below are pictures of the family unit (and one rather... interesting... see: the 3rd pic) (here are pics from 2023 when the marleaus came to a leafs game)

morgan rielly on mitch and auston: “[they] are like best friends. they’re different personalities... when you watch the dynamic with the two of them, whether it’s on the road or on a practice day, it’s pretty funny. it changes every year. it’s a unique dynamic for sure.” and him on mitch/auston/patty also

here’s mitch and auston honoring patty with an appearance from the truly wild jumbo

another case of the trio vibes would be freddie andersen, who was on the team 2016-2021. he was basically besties with auston and they spent lockdown together later, but during the 2020 all star game, all three of them attended and freddie, dedicated his goalie helmet to his best friendship w them. "you look cute?" "yeah, i look cute." ..... also here’s some pre-game high five rituals with the three

more all star content: failed attempted at a heart, the blueprint ep (gifs)

the style/clothes content continues... auston was featured in gq mag and here's mitch's giggly reaction to it. "he's a big style guy and i respect it" (gifs)

auston attended a marner assist foundation event in 2018 to support mitch's charity work (some sm pics from here and here)... also went to the marner assist invitational and got dragged for his tape job (here’s a selfie w them)

here’s some intense cellys from this era: like hello? .. SWEET PEAS... this bench moment....... whatever this was

“Marner and Matthews entered the NHL together in 2016-17 and remain good friends and road roommates now. Marner sounded genuinely enthused about his buddy’s new contract, and sent him a text once word broke Tuesday joking that they’re going to have to figure out where to be neighbours once they enter a higher tax bracket next season.” fellas.... is it gay to plan your future in the suburbs of toronto together 

here they are dancing at naz kadri’s wedding ... hand check

which teammate does auston matthews like to watch the most? the answer won’t surprise you!

mitch was planning to stream and play nhl with this random streamer during lockdown and auston literally asked to join and hang... “matts, i’ll talk to you.. in like an hour probably” aka mitch is a constant texter/talker (ALSO here is a twitter thread recounting to the experience since the streams gone forever... rip 2020-2021 mitch the streamer)

here are some of my favorite pictures from this time period:

2021-present (superstar era)

they're both alternate captains, very clearly leaders of this team, and basically recognized as superstars in the league too with continued individual success. they're the last ones out on the ice at warmup still, the first ones to cheer for their teammates milestones, the last ones to give the goalies big hugs after wins. they still don’t always play together 100% of the time, but they individually enhance the players around them and have played career high years when they’re at each other’s sides.

confirmation of their warmup rituals and the fact that it's something they've been doing together, to feel good about themselves, since the very beginning ........ the same as back then .... here’s very recent vid

still doing their little handshake too, with the added bonus of a behind-the-back one too sometimes (mitch does the handshake line for the whole team by this point)

"it really seems like we're not cellying really by ourselves. we're constantly going in to hug each other. i think that just shows the amount of joy and happiness we have going for each other right now."

mitch basically assisted on a large percentage of auston's goals these past few record breaking years that they've been allowed to play together. here's a video after the 21-22 season where mitch talks about how thankful and generous auston has been.

here is a tumblr compilation about their chemistry after they've gotten to play significant stretches as linemates (literally part of the most offensively dangerous line in the 21-22 regular season).

“have you ever had this kind of chemistry with another teammate before in your life?” “no, not really”

they're so silly... so much goofy inconsequential content is out there but: mitch fighting the post that hurt matthews at practice.

here’s mitch checking on auston after he took a puck in the knee at practice

forgotten 2021 christmas vid i can’t track down but. matching mugs and whipped cream mustaches. also just look at them in THIS...

the fashion saga continues.. where here they anecdotally have the same spikey high top/low top shoes (they also have lots of random matching sneakers but i’m not knowledgeable enough to compile those)

this media day fashion trend video... where do you even start with this. “you better put some earrings in here for auston” like auston is the center of his fashion conscience. “i won’t wear one of those.. i don’t think... maybe.. we’ll see” you know DAMn well if auston recommended--- “matts has got those- he’s got a big frame”

they both wear chains with their numbers on them (recent fit pics of auston here and mitch here), and though they’re not exactly matching but the coordination, the knowing they talk about fashion and accessories... them having these chains dates back to 2018 btw

their mutual social media hype for each other's accomplishments never gets old: mitch breaking game point streak in 2022... random overtime winner in 2022... auston hitting 50 goals in 21-22 season... "@austonmatthews what an achievement. proud to be a part of this journey with you"... "congrats to my brother @austonmatthews on his historic night"... “couldn’t have done it without my boys”.... they were so extra just bc of a pic of them hugging... like sure ! ... “my fucking guy is a beast” YOUR guy?? .... mitch basically campaigning for individual awards for auston every time he scored a goal ... “well deserved my dog” “lets go baby” when he finally won them... “new range got that dawg in it”

“[auston’s] always very thankful. he’s done a couple really big thank yous for me already and given me a couple things that i’m just gonna keep between us two... he’s a great guy and obviously deserves what he got.”

in the same way they grow attached to people as a pair, michael bunting joined the team and auston and mitch's top line in 2021 and a best friendship blossomed between the trio.

they went to auston's home in arizona over the 2022 summer to "build chemistry", play golf, play tennis, and just generally hang out

they also potentially celebrated auston’s birthday there because here’s a photo of them at auston’s house with his fav chef and here’s auston with his bday cake in the same outfit ...... best friends

went to a jays game together right at the beginning of the season, this image..... a video of them chatting :’) 

here is bunting talking about what it's like to get to know them

iconic bench moment between the three of them... another cutesy one

the 2022 heritage classic costumes/entry together like usual, plus the new trio, plus practice pic

their 2022-2023 gloves where they are still drawing cute little doodles of hearts and dog initials and smileys to remind themselves to have fun

"i think the sky's the limit for [mitch]. i think he's just unbelievable. i love playing with him. i think after he came back, he was probably the best player in the world for the rest of the year. he's incredible to be out there with and watch."

commentators weighing in on their joint legacy and saying “they’re magic out there together. they are what they are because of each other” 

here are some more quotes about their impact on the franchise and the way their names are basically cemented in history... the modern day odd couple, they say

for auston’s birthday in sep 2022, mitch commissioned a drawing of auston and his dog felix as a gift

speaking of their dogs..... this goofy insta story 

auston feeding mitch a golf club at a charity event? or are they using it as a mic... who can dissect their weird antics

the blueprint episode about mitch has some cute bg stuff of them (gifs), as well as one of my fave little head bonks here

some cellys/bench moments these years too bc they don’t stop: big squeeze... he just lauched himself... i just love them... arms wide open... mitch is a cartoon character... what in the hell is THIS... iconic moment ... 22-23 season cellys so far.... this riveting convo

“all of this doesn‘t really happen without him.” okay another unverifiable quote but like. look at those images and tell me it’s not something he’d say... you can‘t

auston asked about mitch trade rumors: "Mitch is an unbelievable player, he's an unbelievable teammate. In this room, everybody loves Mitch; everybody loves everybody. We really have a tight bond. All the noise coming from the outside, you guys have fun with that." 

i’m getting derailed here bc half of these moments are not that significant but i fucking love these pics of yappy auston... like of course he’s talkin to mitch

plenty of ribbing is still going on.... or at least attempts: “those are loud flip flops”... though we have transitioned into blatant confirmation that auston can and will be bossed around by mitch when he says stuff like “mitch will assault me if i don’t pick him [to bring with me to a desert island], but i’d like to have him there too”

team bonding at a lake house but you only tag mitch? that vs the history of mitch complaining about not being included...

the importance of the content we received on the 2021 media day cannot be overstated. here’s 5 questions with auston and mitch, yearbook superlatives, career day (images: x x x), and then 2022′s who’s more likely? (all must-sees, i promise... even confirm themselves as the best bromance... if i spent too long on any single revelations this post would be 500k words more)

also the 2021 leafs call out video and the 2022 leafs call out video absolutely showcase how annoyingly endearing they are about each other... whether they’re trying to harp on one another or give genuine compliments... amazing that a dynamic can be captured so clearly when they’re not even in the room at the same time

“mitchelly marner, i’m grateful for my guy” (gifs) (the new nickname... the incessant use of my guy... mental breakdown inducing)

in november 2022, mitch tied a franchise point streak record (with a very valiant effort from the whole team to get him an empty net goal in the final 2 minutes, i might add) and auston was the first one to scoop him up in celebration and then (where he’s normally :| in media these days) was very :D and proud about it and him afterwards. “i’m so happy he got it” (mitch went on to set the new record at 23 games)

and as for extremely recent, both auston and mitch hit their 500 career points mark within a week of each other (1/3/23 and 1/7/23). here are screencaps, gifs of mitch getting to hit 500 with auston on the ice.. then auston collected the puck and pretending to throw it over the glass and prompting the broadcasters to say: “they’ve celebrated so many milestones together”

here are some teammates and coaches talking about their chemistry together and the fact that they push each other to be better players and enjoy it (tumblr vid)

there’s them being hype about the fact that they were SUPPOSED to go the 2023 all star game together on instagram (auston didn’t end up going bc of injury)

here’s a 2023 athletic article about how different they are in personality but how clear their leadership and friendship is (the athletic... tumblr)

mike johnson went on a podcast pre 22-23 playoffs and said “they like playing here, they like playing with each other, they care about each other, they want to have sex– success together” .... the freudian slip 

toward the end of the 22-23 season, mitch was nearing 100 points (never made it) BUT they kept showing this graphic about how mitch has assisted on 99 of auston’s career 299 goals up to that game (ALL DESPITE THEM NOT PLAYING REGULARLY TOGETHER TIL A COUPLE YRS IN)

mitch being asked if he prefers to drive his own line or play with auston... he says it’s always fun and special to play with auston bc of their chemistry and the way they're not afraid to “give it to each other” about where they need to improve. “that’s the kind of friendship and teammate you want. that’s something we’ve built a bond over” (vid) (gifs)

mitch marner got married on july 29th 2023, and auston came back to canada (after skipping OTHER weddings like his “favorite teammate” alex kerfoot and ex teammate tyson barrie) to be in attendance :’) here’s a video of him watching mitch n steph dance there way into the reception, here’s a picture nazem kadri generously posted, here’s a pic of him with mitch and willy, here’s gifs of mitch and auston singing shirtless at the reception, and most 👀 of them all... here’s a pic of auston watching mitch and steph’s first dance. ..

here are some of my favorite more current pics of them

i also gif or post pretty much every 1634 moment from current leafs content/games, so you can check out my hockeyedit tag for some goofy bench or ice shenanigans that didn't make the cut. or my 1634 tag in general.

TL;DR

mitch marner and auston matthews were basically drafted to the maple leafs to be two of the faces of the franchise, and they share a similar burden in that with the leafs lack of playoff success thus far being leaders on the team. they’ve accomplished so many records at an individual level in tandem because of their talents and their chemistry on the ice, and they play their best and happiest hockey when they’re allowed to play together. despite different backgrounds and personalities, they’ve developed an extremely charming relationship off the ice, one built from years and years of intense mutual support, playful teasing, and a shared vision for the team. they seem to be so much more outwardly excited for each other’s successes; it becomes so easy to root for them...... regardless of what the future holds for the current maple leafs team, the two of them have done enough to have their names in the hockey history books, and we are all so lucky that there’s much more ahead of them and that we get to WATCH.

if a single person made it this far, i love you, lol. i personally will never be getting over them and am always looking for more content or unseen stuff so lmk if i missed something crucial. edit (6/18/23): if you’re looking for more pictures of them, i have removed watermarks of 95% of their images together on getty and organized them by tags on this blog @1634archive​ if you’d like to peruse!

hopefully some people get some sort of joy out of this like i have in compiling it all!! cheers to much much more 1634 in the future too. ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️

last updated: 9/12/23

[eretzyisrael]

by Chaim Lax

A popular adage states that “a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”

In this day and age of social media and up-to-the-minute news, it has never been faster for a lie to travel around the world — and it’s been even harder for the truth to try and catch up.

That was the case last week, when Al Jazeera spread a malicious libel about Israeli soldiers raping Palestinian women in Al-Shifa Hospital during the IDF’s ongoing campaign against entrenched Hamas forces there, before quietly removing the story and trying to silently bury it.

On the morning of March 24, Al Jazeera Arabic’s principal news presenter, Elsy Abi Assi (who is no stranger to antisemitism and denial of Hamas atrocities), interviewed a Gazan woman by the name of Jamila Al-Hessi on live TV. She claimed that Israeli soldiers operating in Al-Shifa Hospital were raping Palestinian women and brutally murdering other Palestinians sheltering in the medical complex.

These allegations soon spread like wildfire on social media, with popular anti-Israel accounts picking up the story and disseminating it to their large English-speaking audiences.

Then, that night, Yasser Abuhilalah, an Al Jazeera columnist and former director, tweeted that a Hamas investigation into these allegations had concluded that they were not true, and that Jamila Al-Hessi had justified her on-air deception by claiming that she had exaggerated her claims in order to “arouse the nation’s fervor and brotherhood.”

According to some analysts, Hamas had decided to issue a rare public denial of these claims since its dissemination among Palestinians in northern Gaza was having the opposite effect than was intended: Instead of producing enmity against Israel, these allegations had caused Palestinians to flee the area in fear for their safety.

By the next day, Al Jazeera had removed references to Al-Hessi’s claims from its online platforms, but never formally retracted these libels, even though it had uncritically aired them in the first place.

However, by that point, it was too late. The damage to Israel’s reputation had already been done.

In less than 24 hours, millions of people had already viewed Jamila Al-Hessi’s lies on social media and, despite the denial by Hamas itself, continue to do so through a variety of anti-Israel accounts.

As of this last Thursday alone, the story had been viewed 2.3 million times on the X (formerly Twitter) account of Middle East Eye, 918,000 times on the X account of “investigative journalist” Sulaiman Ahmed, 405,000 times on the X account of “human rights activist”/Hamas supporter Ramy Abdu, and over 305,000 times on the X account of alternative media outlet The Cradle.

Some (including Sana Saeed, a journalist affiliated with Al Jazeera) have even gone so far as to voice skepticism of Hamas’ discrediting of Al-Hessi’s story.

The allegation of rape by IDF soldiers in Al-Shifa Hospital is not the first lie about Israel and the IDF that has been spread since Hamas’ October 7 terror attack and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza.

However, in this case, it was not spread by a lone social media activist or a fringe news source, but by a news organization that enjoys a veneer of respectability among both news consumers and media outlets around the world.

Despite it serving as an official mouthpiece of the authoritarian Qatari regime, and being accused of echoing Hamas talking points, Al Jazeera is viewed as a trusted source of information about Israel and the Palestinians during the current conflict, as well as over the past several years.

In 2022, HonestReporting uncovered that Al Jazeera had been cited by 16 “top-tier news outlets” 116 times in Israel-related news stories, with most never mentioning the Qatari media organization’s inherent bias.

Also, if not for Hamas deciding that the libel about rapes in Al-Shifa Hospital was not in its best interest and issuing a denial of the allegations, it is highly likely that Al Jazeera would have continued to run with this fabrication as a trusted news story.

In this age of the 24-hour news cycle and instant access to news from around the world, Al Jazeera is serving as a valuable tool in Hamas’ propaganda war, spreading misinformation and sullying Israel’s image around the world at record speeds.

Al Jazeera’s malign influence on the views of social media users is concerning. For mainstream media outlets to rely on it as a source for Israel-related stories is downright journalistic malpractice.

[jokeroutsubs]

[NEW ENG TRANSLATION] I write songs in Serbian so my grandma can understand us too: The Joker Out frontman talks about Eurovision, his origins, and Belgrade Beer Fest

original article Written by Ljubomir Radanov for Kurir.rs english translation by @moonlvster proofread by X @ klámstrákur

Even though this year's Eurovision ended a while ago, some of the participants, like the band Joker Out, are still talked about. We're referring to one of the most popular pop-rock bands in Slovenia, whose frontman, Bojan Cvjetićanin, has become a real music star. It was this great European festival that allowed his popularity to reach beyond the borders of Slovenia. Ahead of their performance at the next Belgrade Beer Fest, which will be held from the 15th until the 18th of June [2023] in Belgrade, the 24 year old of Serbian origin, otherwise a sociology graduate, talks about his Serbian origins and upcoming visit to our capital city.

This is not your first time in Belgrade?

We had our first performance at the MAC event, but this is our first concert.

What do you have planned for it?

We'll perform as long as scheduled, around an hour, plus two songs, just enough to go over the limit (laughing). We are scheduled to play for about an hour, which means we'll be able to play a good percentage of our repertoire. If the audience is quiet, we'll have to talk to them and we'll play more songs (laughing).

Will you have some time to visit Belgrade?

Unfortunately, our plan is to leave immediately, because we are to perform in Slovenia the next day. Last time, we visited commercial places, met lovely people who promised us they will show us the real Belgrade and the places that only the locals know sometime. Ask me in a year and I believe I'm going to give a much better answer.

You attracted a lot of attention with your Eurovision performance.

How satisfied are you?

Eurovision is one of the biggest festivals in Europe, maybe even in the world.

It took six months of our lives and it was like a giant school trip or a travelling circus, carried out on the most professional level. We met a lot of creative people with whom we will be able to build a career abroad. We have gained a huge amount of fans. The only thing that didn't turn out how we imagined was our result, but in the end, that's less important to us than what we achieved with the audience.

Were you pleased with the score from the Serbian jury and the audience?

I thought I was going to burst with happiness when I heard we received 12 points! It was a magical moment.

Have you stayed in contact with the Serbian representative, Luke Black?

Of course. We became friends and we will probably meet at our concert in London in July.

Did you actually lose your phone at Eurovision?

It happened after the final, at an afterparty. I left it somewhere and it ended up with another country's delegation, but I got it back two days later. Still, I enjoyed not having a phone. The day after Eurovision, everyone was writing messages and being active on social media, and I spent that time with my family and friends. It was like I was in a different universe, completely calm and relieved.

How would you explain your music in terms of genre?

In 2017, we called our music 'shagadelic rock 'n' roll', based on the movie 'Austin Powers', which we adore. Our sound is an interesting mix of ex-Yu rock and roll and British pop-rock.

Who are your idols?

The Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, and Slovenian bands such as Siddharta and Big Foot Mama, and the Balkan bands Bijelo dugme, Indexi, Idoli...

What do you listen to in terms of modern sound from these areas?

The bands Buč Kesidi, Keni Nije Mrtav... We haven't had time to listen to music in the past year, we were constantly in some kind of chaos and noise.

Where did the idea of expressing yourself in your mother tongue come from, like, for example, in the songs 'Ona' and 'Demoni', which are in Serbian?

Every time I play our songs to my family, my grandma, who is from Banja Luka, can't understand the lyrics entirely. I wanted her to be able to understand perfectly what the poet wanted to say, and that's how the songs 'Ona' and 'Demoni' came about. With the song 'Ona', we wanted to capture the essence of the band Idoli¹.

¹The band 'Idoli' was one of the most remarkable new wave bands based in Belgrade, active during the early 80's. They are considered one of the most outstanding and influential representatives of the Yugoslav rock music and their album 'Odbrana i poslednji dani' ('Defense and The Last Days') was voted as the greatest Yugoslav rock album of all time.

Your family's origins are interesting.

My mom's side is from Banja Luka and Lebane, and my dad's side is half from Ličko Petrovo Selo, and the other half from Croatia and Slovenia.

You also act and host. Do you have ambitions in acting?

I would love to act more and I would be very happy if I acted in more serious roles. I've always played characters that were similar to me and I couldn't fully surrender to the charms of this profession. In high school, I acted in theatre, and if I get the opportunity to do that again or to film a movie, I wouldn't run away from it.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

I would love for Joker Out to be an established band around Europe, to have two children, and to live a normal life.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Zack Beauchamp at Vox:

When Donald Trump flew to Pennsylvania for a 9/11 anniversary event this week, he brought an unusual companion: a 9/11 conspiracist named Laura Loomer. Loomer has been a quasi-journalist on the fringe right for about a decade, with a penchant for saying things that make even hardened MAGA types recoil. She is a self-described “proud Islamophobe” who has cheered the deaths of migrants and called for Muslims to be banned from driving for ride-hail apps. She ran for Congress twice, in 2020 and 2022, and failed both times. More recently, Loomer has called Kamala Harris a “drug-using prostitute” and warned that, if she wins, “the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center.” Despite all of this, Trump has long displayed a soft spot for Loomer. He endorsed her House bid in 2020 and, in 2023, tried to offer her a spot on his campaign — only to back down after aides revolted. Undeterred, he hosted her at Mar-a-Lago afterward, repeatedly boosted her content on Truth Social, and traveled with her on the 2024 campaign trail.

It’s not clear what Trump gets out of this relationship. But his ties to Loomer have become a major controversy since the 9/11 event, with some of the former president’s closest allies speaking publicly against Loomer. “The history of this person is just really toxic,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told the HuffPost. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — who claimed a Jewish family was using space lasers to start wildfires! — thinks Loomer is a bridge too far, calling Loomer’s tweet about Harris and curry “appalling and extremely racist.” (Loomer responded by accusing Greene of sleeping with a “Zangief cosplayer.”) It’s hard to take these condemnations all that seriously. Trump and his vice presidential pick have spent this week pushing a nasty conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating people’s pets that appears to have inspired real-world hate crimes. If you’re worried about racism and conspiracy theorizing, maybe take a look at the top of the ticket. But what makes Loomer different from Trump is that she has literally no filter. She says the quiet part out loud, every single time. The more time Trump spends with her, the harder it is to deny that his thinly veiled bigotry is anything but the genuine article. And that, for the Republican Party, is a very big problem indeed.

Who is Laura Loomer?

Loomer isn’t a household name for most Americans, but she’s been a presence in the conservative media ecosystem for quite some time. She first attracted attention in 2015 when, as a college senior at Barry University in South Florida, she secretly filmed a meeting with administrators in which she attempted to form a campus club supporting ISIS. The video was released by Project Veritas, the conservative group that specializes in (questionably edited) sting videos. Loomer worked for Project Veritas during the 2016 presidential campaign and learned to build a career out of political stunts. She grabbed the national spotlight in June 2017 when she stormed the stage at a performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in New York that dressed the Roman general like Donald Trump. The disruption earned Loomer a booking on Sean Hannity’s show.

“You were making a very strong point. I applaud you for what you’ve done,” Hannity told her. Loomer parlayed the notoriety from the Julius Caesar incident into a kind of internet celebrity on the pro-Trump right. The problem with celebrity, though, is that it can give you too many opportunities to show yourself. And Loomer proved to be someone with truly out-there opinions. After an ISIS supporter killed eight people with a truck in November 2017, she went on an Islamophobic rant on Twitter, blaming popular ride-hailing apps for employing Muslim drivers. “Someone needs to create a non Islamic form of Uber or Lyft because I never want to support another Islamic immigrant driver,” she wrote. The two services subsequently banned her, the first of many bans from high-profile tech platforms.

[...] This particular cocktail of hate speech and conspiracy theory misinformation became the hallmark of Loomer’s political style, prompting bans from major social media platforms. The straw that broke the camel’s back on Twitter, for example, came in November 2018 when Loomer tweeted that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) supported female genital mutilation because she is Muslim. In response to the ban, which came a year after Twitter stripped her blue check mark (then something given to notable people rather than a badge to be purchased) as punishment for similar false and offensive claims, Loomer physically chained herself to Twitter’s headquarters in New York while wearing a Nazi-style yellow star. It’s worth noting here that Loomer is Jewish but has long had tight links to the white nationalist movement. She is, for example, close with the avowed anti-Semite Nick Fuentes who dined with Trump in 2022, and once broadly boasted that “I’m going to fight for white people.”

Presenting herself as a victim of Big Tech censorship, she found allies in popular far-right publications like Breitbart as well as in Washington. In December 2019, then-President Trump retweeted a Loomer supporter calling for donations to her campaign. In May 2020, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr calling on him to open an investigation into Loomer’s Facebook ban. She was reinstated on Twitter after Elon Musk’s purchase of the site.

[...]

Why Laura Loomer matters

There is a reason that Laura Loomer has even Marjorie Taylor Greene panicking, and it’s not just that the two reportedly have personal beef. It’s that Laura Loomer makes the rest of the Republican Party look terrible. For decades, right-wing flirtation with racism has taken place through dog whistles and coded messages. Ronald Reagan’s attacks on “welfare queens” didn’t involve actual racist slurs but conjured up a mental image for some white voters of a poor lazy Black woman exploiting taxpayer dollars to live comfortably. Liberals would call this rhetoric racism, conservatives would say liberals are just trying to shut down legitimate debate, and round-and-round we went. [...] But after capitulating to Trump, the GOP fell back into its old habits. No matter how outrageous Trump’s rhetoric and even his actions became — from the Muslim ban to family separation — liberal critiques were met with the same kinds of dismissals. Trump’s rhetoric about immigration and crime can’t be racist, they would say; he’s just speaking the language of forgotten Americans left behind by globalization. Liberals, they’d say, are making everything about race when it’s not.

Vox gives an insightful overview into the right-wing MAGA shill that's too toxic for even MTG and virulently anti-Islam hack Laura Loomer.

See Also:

MMFA: Donald Trump and “pro-white nationalism” pundit Laura Loomer: A guide to their relationship

MMFA: Trump amplified Laura Loomer on Truth Social over 20 times in 9 months

[lulu2992]

Exploration of the now-offline Far Cry 5 official websites

Part 2: Game Info 1 (America)

Recovered content

Here are screenshots of what we could find on the official American website on May 27th, 2017, between an invitation to watch the Announce Trailer, some news, and a link to pre-order Far Cry 5 (which, at the time, was scheduled to come out on February 27th, 2018). For the first time, there was information about the game:

THE CULT Whether through coercion, starvation or forced baptisms, this fanatical cult will use every resource available to build a following in preparation of The Collapse.

THE RESISTANCE Committed to restoring freedom to Hope County, The Resistance has rallied together in order to stop the Father and his followers. And they’ll only succeed with your help.

TOYS From shotguns to slingshots, plus a few trusty farm tools, this toy chest is stocked, locked and loaded with every piece of steel you’ll need to take down the Cult.

GAME FEATURES There's no shortage of mayhem to be had in Hope County. Whether taking down the cult solo or with a wingman, you’ll find adventure around every bend – not to mention some seriously boss rides. Build your character and carve your path through the largest, most customizable Far Cry game ever.

Between June 10th and June 17th, 2017, two of the images (for The Cult and Toys) were replaced:

The text, however, stayed the same, and the appearance of the homepage remained unchanged until it was modified sometime between May 1st and June 10th, 2018. The Game Info section then looked like this:

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. EVERYTHING WILL. Game Info: Discover The Weapons, Vehicles, and Features of Far Cry 5. Story & Characters: Hope County has been taken over by a doomsday cult. Join the Resistance and restore freedom to Hope County! Far Cry Arcade: Jump into Far Cry Arcade and enjoy infinite Far Cry experiences built by a robust community of creators. Far Cry 5 Season Pass: Face off against hordes of zombies, ruthless Vietcong soldiers, and Martian Arachnids with the Season Pass.

This is what we got if we clicked “Learn More” for Game Info (I split the page into 4 parts):

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. EVERYTHING WILL. Welcome to Hope County, Montana, land of the free and the brave, but also home to a fanatical doomsday cult—known as The Project at Eden’s Gate—that is threatening the community's freedom. Stand up to the cult’s leaders, Joseph Seed and the Heralds, as you spark the fires of resistance that will liberate the besieged community. Join the Resistance now with Far Cry 5. Available now on PlayStation 4 system, Xbox One, and PC. STORY & CHARACTERS You’re the new Sheriff’s Deputy in town. The only problem is, your badge is pretty much useless. Cut off from the outside world, you’ll need to use your wits, willpower and the helping hands of Hope County’s townsfolk to remove the plague that is The Project at Eden’s Gate. TOYS Your arsenal is vast, and the way you wield it even more so. Throughout your campaign, you’ll gain access to weapons mods based on the folks you meet and progress you make. GAME FEATURES Far Cry 5 is a massive gameplay arena that’s filled with something new around every bend. The enemy AI behavior is more realistic, and the exploration is endless. Even when you feel like taking a break from the campaign, you can take in some leisurely fishing before diving back into your quest. It’s your mission. With it comes to freedom to take on a world that hits back by any means necessary. RALLY THE TROOPS THE RESISTANCE NEEDS YOU There’s no better time than now to start rallying your cult-fighting friends, dialing in your arsenal and planning your strategy to take back Hope County from Eden’s Gate.

What I mostly wanted to “Learn More” about were the Story & Characters, but there was interesting information on the Game Features page as well.

Commentary

The initial description of the cult said the “coercion, starvation or forced baptisms” were ways for them to “build a following in preparation of The Collapse”. This is still close to what we see in Far Cry 5, but they already had a following when the Reaping began and the open violence started. The vast majority of the cultists we encounter in the game joined because they had faith in Joseph, not because they were forced to. NPC dialog from the E3 2017 demo suggests, like this text, that the early version of Eden’s Gate wouldn’t hesitate to literally beat people into following and believing in the Father long before the Reaping began.

Under the cut are all the available source files, saved directly from the website, of the images you see in the screenshots:

[writebackatya]

DuckTales (2017) Discussion Time!

Let’s say one day Disney decided “Hey we should make a video game based off the 2017 reboot of DuckTales!” What type of video game would YOU want that DuckTales video game to be?

Feel free to be in-depth as you want! Or if you want answer along the lines of “Mario Kart but with ducks” that’s also acceptable! Feel free to respond or reblog with your own answers!

If you want my ideas, check below the break!

Aw. How sweet, you wanna hear my ideas

Game Idea 1: Platformer

Well I’m sure all the older fans of DuckTales or anyone who is familiar with retro gaming should already know that the ducks have had plenty of adventures in gaming: Including two NES platformers based of the OG DuckTales as well as a remastered version of the first game!

Fun Fact! The remastered version is where the Gyro’s black licorice oxychew came from!

So I wouldn’t mind if we got a platformer starring the modern cast! Personally I’d love to play more than just Scrooge. The playable characters in my mind would be the main five: Scrooge, Webby, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Oh and instead of a 2D platformer, I think this should be a 3D platformer

Donald has been in one of those before!

Like the NES game there will be different levels and you can select which one you want to go first! The world’s would be pretty big with certain areas only accessible to certain characters through their own respected skills

Game Idea 2: Fighting Game

DuckTales (2017) has the perfect cast of characters for a fighting game! They’re all adventurers that know how to fight! And they have their own distinct costumes, personalities, and fighting styles! Also can you imagine the different fighting stages?! That casino Gladstone got stuck in, Gyro’s lab, Darkwing’s lair, the Cloudslayer/Sunchaser (both the garage and on the plane), the dream world(s), the list goes on! Also Bradford in that armor from the finale in front of the The Solego Vortex would make for a GREAT final boss stage

Also besides the heroes I want the villains to be playable characters, this roster would be stacked! Also characters like Fenton and Drake can switch between their regular identities and their superhero identity

But most importantly, I want more character interactions! One thing I love in modern fighting games is their character specific dialogue between two fighters! It’s always fun and the characters from DuckTales would be perfect for that!

Yo Disney! If you need someone to come up with ideas for that, I’m your guy! I’m already coming up with some in my head

You know what? I want Huey, Dewey, and Louie as a team to count as one playable character kinda like how the Turtles are in Injustice. Same with May and June

Game Idea 3: RPG

I admit I ain’t the biggest RPG guy, the ones I really played through are stuff like the Mario themed ones, Pokémon, and Kingdom Hearts but I really think the DuckTales world would be perfect for this kind of game

I actually talked about this idea with @tokuvivor awhile back. We kinda imagined a turn based RPG with timed hits and party members like you’d see in Super Mario RPG and the early Paper Mario games (also Mario & Luigi but just for timed hits)

Since DuckTales has such a huge cast we thought it’d be fun if in the game you could meet different characters throughout the game and have them join your party. We were thinking about having 3-5 members for the player’s party and the only requirement would be one of the main characters (one of the triplets, Webby, or Scrooge) has to be in that group at all times. Kinda like the Mario ones require Mario to always be present in the team

Like I said about the fighting game, DuckTales has such a wide range of characters with their own unique skills, I think it’d be cool building your team to your liking

Game Idea 4: Mario Kart but with Ducks

Okay. Now I know that there have been a lot of Disney racing games some of which have featured some of these characters already. But come on, a Mario Kart type game in the DuckTales world would be so cool!!

Imagining driving around Scrooge’s Mansion in a go-kart! He’d be pissed but it’d be cool! Or in the streets of St. Canard! Or any of the places where the family has adventured!

But what would be REALLY cool is if Funso’s Fun Zone was a track! Just imagine this! You drive around Funso’s then all of sudden you find path leading down to F.O.WL.’s Lair!! That’d be so cool!

[mydaddywiki]

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Physique: Average Build Height: 6' 0"

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from Elizabeth's accession on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021, making him the longest-serving royal consort in history. He served with distinction in the Royal Navy in the British Mediterranean and Pacific fleets. Philip left active military service when Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952, having reached the rank of commander.

Considered a handsome man in his youth, Philip was a sports enthusiast who helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He was a patron, president, or member of over 780 organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, and served as chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a youth awards programme for people aged 14 to 24.

He married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947 and together they had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Philip is the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. He retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, aged 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements and 5,493 speeches since 1952. Philip died in 2021 at Windsor Castle, at the age of 99.

[wynnerichport]

So... You Wanna Hyperfixate on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As a neurodivergent person, I know what it's like to come across a piece of media and start to obsess over it. To the point where it consumes all of your thoughts and waking hours. One of my personal favorites is the M.C.U., or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

However, there is a lot of incomplete information out there on this franchise, so I've got you covered.

What is the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or M.C.U., is a multi-media franchise adapting characters and storylines from Marvel Comics, and is comprised of films, television series, short films, web series and even, appropriately enough, tie-in comics. Beginning in 2008 with the film "Iron Man", it has continued to flourish and produce new entries until the present day. For the purposes of this post, we will be covering only live-action and animated entries in the franchise, totaling 70 entries as of June 2024.

What is the Marvel Cinematic Universe About?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is divided into two Sagas, both of which are further divided into Phases. Phases are a grouping of projects, while Sagas are a grouping of Phases.

The two Sagas of the MCU are the Infinity Saga, comprising of Phases 1, 2 and 3, and the Multiverse Saga, comprising of Phases 4, 5, and 6.

The Infinity Saga revolves around the six building blocks of reality, known as the Infinity Stones, and how they impact the lives of the groups of superheroes known as The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as the quest of the power-hungry alien Thanos to obtain the six Infinity Stones. The Infinity Saga is comprised entirely of movies, specifically the first 23 movies in the franchise, with the 23rd, Spider-Man: Far From Home, serving as an epilogue to the entire Saga.

The Multiverse Saga, currently ongoing and roughly at its midpoint, revolves around the Multiverse, a collection of infinite alternative realities where events unfolded just slightly differently, resulting in vastly different outcomes. The villain of this saga is slated to be the time-traveling, reality-hopping Kang the Conqueror, as well as his Variants, or alternate reality counterparts. The Multiverse Saga is comprised of the 24th film (Black Widow) onwards, as well as the 13th television series (WandaVision) onwards. (See below for full film and series listings.)

There is also an unofficial Saga formally known as The Defenders Saga, comprised of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and The Punisher, culminating in The Defenders. The series Echo has retroactively been added to The Defenders Saga.

What is included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

As mentioned above, we will be tackling everything except the tie-in comics, which results in 70 entries across the following formats; films, television series, short films, web series, animated series and telefilms.

MCU Films (aka Marvel Studios)

Iron Man (2008)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Thor (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

The Avengers (2012)

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Ant-Man (2015)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Doctor Strange (2016)

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Black Panther (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)

Captain Marvel (2019)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Black Widow (2021)

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)

Eternals (2021)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)

Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

The Marvels (2023)

MCU Short Films (aka Marvel One-Shots)

The Consultant (2011)

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer (2011)

Item 47 (2012)

Agent Carter (2013)

All Hail The King (2014)

Team Thor: Part 1 (2016)

Team Thor: Part 2 (2017)

Team Darryl (2018)

Peter's To-Do List (2019)

MCU Television Series (aka Marvel Television and Marvel Spotlight)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-2020)

Agent Carter (2015-2016)

Daredevil (2015-2018)

Jessica Jones (2015-2019)

Luke Cage (2016-2018)

Iron Fist (2017-2018)

The Defenders (2017)

Inhumans (2017)

The Punisher (2017-2019)

Runaways (2017-2019)

Cloak & Dagger (2018-2019)

Helstrom (2020) - [1]

WandaVision (2021)

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (2021)

Loki (2021-2023)

Hawkeye (2021)

Moon Knight (2022)

Ms. Marvel (2022)

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022)

Secret Invasion (2023)

Echo (2024)

MCU Web Series

WHiH Newsfront (2015-2016)

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (2016)

The Daily Bugle (2019-2022) - [2]

I Am Groot (2022-2023)

MCU Animated Series (aka Marvel Animation)

What If...? (2021-2023)

MCU Telefilms (aka Special Presentations)

Werewolf By Night (2022)

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)

[1] While Helstrom was originally meant to tie in with a Ghost Rider tv series, itself a spin-off of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ghost Rider was scrapped and later statements from the show runner and some actors put its connectivity into question. However, the show itself slots in perfectly into the tapestry of the MCU and can be treated as equally as any other part of the franchise.

[2] The Daily Bugle is divided into three "seasons"; one marketing Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019 on YouTube, one marketing Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021 and 2022 on TikTok, and one marketing the movie Morbius (which is NOT in the MCU), also in 2022 and also on TikTok. This third "season" is non-canonical to the MCU and can be disregarded.

What Are Some Storylines To Look Forward To?

Anti-Superhuman Sentiment: A huge undercurrent throughout the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, both films and television series, is an aversion to superhumans, which could eventually evolve into the anti-mutant hysteria of the comics when the X-Men arrive to the MCU.

Gods and Mythology: From the Asgardian pantheon with Thor to the Egyptian pantheon with Bast, Osiris and Khonshu, to the Vodou pantheon such as Papa Legba and Baron Samedi and the Greek pantheon with Zeus and Hercules, gods and mythology and alternate dimensions are present in several series of the MCU.

Demons and Witchcraft: I tried to avoid naming direct entries in this section in order to maximize surprises, but these themes are ones that truly ingrain Helstrom into the rest of franchise, tying into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Runaways, Cloak & Dagger, WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Where Can The Marvel Cinematic Universe Be Watched?

Disney+ has the vast majority of the MCU entries, at 62 of the 70 entries.

Hulu has two of the entries, the television series Cloak & Dagger and Helstrom.

Additionally, if you get a premium subscription to Hulu, you can also watch Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is otherwise unavailable to stream.

The CW App has one of the entries, the television series Runaways, due to being removed from Disney+ in May of 2023 as a result of cost-cutting measures. It can be streamed for free.

YouTube has all three of the web series; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot, WHiH Newsfront and The Daily Bugle. Compilations of all individual episodes are searchable. Though 3 of the 10 WHiH Newsfront episodes are on Disney+ as special features for Ant-Man.

The final entry, the short film Peter's To-Do List, is only available physically on Blu-Ray copies of the Spider-Man: Far From Home film.

If you would like to request the missing entries to show up on Disney+, you can click on this link. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, look for the box labeled "Give Feedback" on the right hand side of the page, click on "Submit Feedback" in blue. A window labeled "Share Your Feedback" will appear with a drop down menu captioned "Select a feedback type". Click on "Request a movie or show" and you will be prompted to type in 3 titles. Be sure to use the official names for the missing entries, which will be listed below. Once you've entered your 3 selections, click "Submit Feedback", and you will receive a quick message that your feedback has been submitted.

WHiH Newsfront

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot

Marvel's Runaways

Marvel's Cloak & Dagger

Peter's To-Do List

The Daily Bugle

Helstrom

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Welcome to the MCU. Hope you survive the experience.

[marielaure]

[large text]

Random Grishaverse Ship Stats on AO3 because my brain and eyes got tired from reading Chaucer:

[Big Text]

I. Publication/Release Dates

[Regular Text]

Shadow and Bone: 5 June 2012

Siege and Storm: 4 June 2013

Ruin and Rising: 17 June 2014

Six of Crows: 29 September 2015

Crooked Kingdom: 20 September 2016

The Other duology series: 2019 & 2021

Shadow and Bone Season 1: 23 April 2021

Shadow and Bone Season 2: 16 March 2023

[Big Text]

II. Canon Ships

[Regular Text]

Kaz/Inej: 5011

1st: 29 December 2015

Latest: 21 August 2024

Alina/Darkling: 4665

1st: 9 August 2013

Latest: 21 August 2024

Jesper/Wylan: 4570

1st: 24 November 2015

Latest: 21 August 2024

Nina/Matthias: 2078

1st: 29 December 2015

Latest: 21 August 2024

Nikolai/Zoya: 1043

1st: 14 February 2016

Latest: 21 August 2024

Alina/Mal: 852

1st: 29 November 2013

Latest: 20 August 2024

Fedyor/Ivan: 553

1st: 24 April 2021

Latest: 19 August 2024

Genya/David: 518

1st: 22 October 2014

Latest: 21 August 2024

Tamar/Nadia: 187

1st: 25 September 2014

Latest: 18 August 2024

Nina/Hanne: 98

Adrik/Leoni: 46

——————————————

[Big Text]

III. Popular Not-Canon Ships

[Regular Text]

Kaz/Jesper: 402

1st: 19 August 2016

Latest: 17 August 2024

Alina/Nikolai: 383

1st: 21 July 2014

Latest: 19 August 2024

Nina/Inej: 189

1st: 24 February 2016

Latest: 29 July 2024

Alina/Zoya: 165

1st: 25 September 2014

Latest: 16 August 2024

Alina/Genya: 149

1st: 20 September 2017

Latest: 14 August 2024

Mal/Nikolai: 79

1st: 8 April 2020

Latest: 14 August 2024

Darkling/Kaz: 43 (why did I think there were more?)

1st: 19 April 2021

Latest: 17 August 2024

Inej/Alina: 31

1st: 16 July 2021

Latest: It’s mine! Did NOT realize that - unintentional.

——————————————

[Big Text]

IV. Miscellaneous/Other/Rare Pairs

[Regular Text]

Kaz/Wylan: 114

1st: 25 April 2021

Latest: 17 August 2024

Jesper/Inej: 69

1st: 16 June 2018

Kuwei/Jesper: 62

1st: 30 Jan. 2017

Latest: 12 August 2024

Kaz/Matthias: 62

1st: 19 April 2017

Latest: 14 August 2024

Kaz/Nina: 46

1st: 28 April 2017

Latest: 30 July 2024

Wylan/Matthias: 30

1st: 4 July 2021

Latest: 25 July 2024

Matthias/Alina: 27

1st: 1 July 2021

Latest: 30 June 2024

Matthias/Inej: 19

1st: 28 August 2019

Latest: 25 July 2024

Tolya/Inej: 11

1st: 19 March 2023

Latest: 29 April 2024

Kaz/Alina: 9 (again, thought there were more of these for some reason)

1st: 26 April 2021

Latest: 27 January 2024

Tolya/Alina: 9

1st: 13 January 2022

Latest: 21 August 2024

Nina/Alina: 7

1st: 9 May of 2021

Latest: 26 March 2023

Zoya/Inej: 5

1st: 18 May 2021

Latest: 4 June 2024

Zoya/Kaz: 5

1st: 18 October 2021

Harshaw & Oncat: 4 (We’re all so lucky, I originally searched with a slash…luckily nothing popped up. But they’re so close buddies that they made this list. Harshaw is an Inferni from the original trilogy and Oncat is his cat)

Jesper/Alina: 2

Alina/Tamar: 2

Jesper/Jordie: 1

Wylan/Alina: 0

Tamar/Inej: 0

Wylan/David: 0

BUT I ended up finding an interesting fic in the process. I read the first chapter, it’s titled “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Republican National Convention” I don’t know it’s one hell of a title given 2024.

——————————————

[Big Text]

V. Notes

[Regular Text]

*I didn’t realize until later Darkling/Alina may not be considered a “canon” ship, but they perform so well I’m not changing it 😊

*I haven’t read the latest duology so that’s why I didn’t do much for Adrik/Leoni and Nina/Hanne. The only reason I know about Zoya/Nikolai is YouTube and its popularity for only having two books setup.

*There’s only 8 fics with “Harij Ghafa” or “Inej Ghafa’s Brother” —I want to know more about this dude! I have so many headcanons and stories bouncing around my head…another time, another time.

*I broke the pattern a bit at the end

*Also, anyone who has read The Wraithling and Her Saints — my sporadic updates tag is living up to its name 😊. This fic I’m messing with the magic system, world building, history, family lineage, and personalities (?) of what feels like everything. It’s so fun, but I’ve just got to be in a very certain mindset and vibe to write it. I’m trying to make it a longer Inej/Alina fic as those are normally shorter.

*Suggestions: Comment below any ships or just platonic pairings you’d love to see more of! I actually have a Jesper & Alina story in mind, will it ever be written? Who knows. But I’d love to hear y’all’s thoughts!

*Stats as of 20 August 2024 and 21 August 2024

[kamehamehamlet]

A teaser for Mayor Lear of Townsville, showcasing a handful of projections which would be used in the show and edited in homage to a then recent trailer for Twin Peaks: The Return.

Play-Dot Archives: Mayor Lear Projections

Early on in development, I knew I wanted to use projections for Mayor Lear and that one of the MN Fringe venues was Intermedia Arts. Intermedia Arts, like many incredible theatre and arts building in the Twin Cities has since shuttered, but in 2017 the theatre's projector could be used to cover the back from floor to ceiling.

In a later scene in the Mayors office, the Townsville Skyline was animated to be on fire. (Emily Rose Duea, Bre'Elle Erickson, Natalie Rae Wass, and Meghan Wolff). Photo by Alex Wohlhueter.

And for the MN Fringe, where all of your props and set needed to be in and out of the theater in a matter of minutes before and after each show, using projections meant we could have near effortless set changes. Well, effortless during the show at least. See on top of writing the script, I also tasked myself with making the projections. Since I was responsible for both, I had no one to blame but myself for needing over 50 projections with a mix of flat images, animations, and one very special video.

A folder containing many of the still images of Mayor Lear of Townsville.

It's also worth noting that many people assumed our images had come from the TV show when in reality they were all created digitally by me. Although many of the popular location were recreated with heavy reference usage. It was really fun to learn the shows art style, and in some cases animation style, and it really can't be overstated how cool it was to be in that theatre with the projections covering the whole wall. Seven years on, it's easy to be nostalgic, having packed the memories of stress at trying to get all of these ready on time somewhere deep deep away.

A longer image which would pan across the backwall, imitating a shot in the TV shows opening. Since this took place years after the show, a few of the villains were aged up and other baddies were added as well. To cap off this longer archival post, I want to share one last stupid choice I made that summer: I became the world's most amateur storm chaser. Throughout June and July, I kept a close eye on the weather and when a Thunderstorm was approaching, I race to a bluff about a 10-minute drive away, trying to catch a recording of lightning alongside the Saint Paul Skyline. All to sell a bit during big Lear storm scene, where the cartoon world would snap away and we see the inner turmoil of The Mayor.

The hills outside of Townsville during the storm, and the opening of Scene Nine. While I did catch the perfect bolt lightning which illuminated the city... my equipment was not made to capture it well. Eventually, I would have to cobble together some of my footage, use some after effects basic vfx, and call it a day. But as meh as I felt my video was, there's a real magic in theatre. After 40 minutes of campy cartoony melodramatic fun, it was absolutely electric watching Natalie shed the hokey outward persona of The Mayor and deliver one of Shakespeare's best monologues. It made every soaking wet, bone chilling minute of my foolish storm chasing task worth it. I had known for years Natalie was an incredible force of nature on stage and we were so lucky to have her as our lead. I choose not to take the easy pun and say as "our Lear" because... did I mention she was double cast?

Come back tomorrow to learn about my other favorite scene in Mayor Lear! Want to see more photos of the projections? Check out yesterday's archival post!

Have questions about Mayor Lear or Kamehamehamlet? Join us during our weekly Rally Stream on YouTube this Saturday.

[disneyparksattractionstournament]

Extinct Disney Parks and Attractions tournament round 3: Bracket AB

Reminder, you don't have had to experience any of the attractions/experiences to vote! Just read in the info and/or watch the vid,then vote for which you wish you would have experienced more/which sounds cooler!

Videos and propaganda/info dumping under cut

Sorcerer's Hat: MGM (2001-2015)

Propaganda:

YES IT WAS CHEESY BUT ONCE AGAIN, ITS FREAKING DISNEY! YOU AREN'T GOING FOR SOPHISTICATION! It was FUN, it takes you from the real world! The whole park had an overall sorcerer's mickey theme going on in that era, so it fit! It was also a perfect icon for the park! I will never forgive them for getting rid of it. Oh and it was a great spot for characters!

Disney Quest: Downtown Disney (1998-2017)

Propaganda:

So this shows just how fast technology progressed in the last 20 years! So as a kid/when it first opened, this place was the coolest thing ever and was ground breaking technology. However, as a teen in 2012, this was a portal into a 90s/early 2000's time capsule! It was charming and amazing in such a different way! I miss it every day. From the build and ride your own virtual rollercoaster (Cyberspace Mountain), tons of arcade games, make your own toy thing, this bumper cars that yeet balls at other cars themed to Buzz Lightyear ride thing, 'virtual' jungle cruise(where you are 'paddling' in a blow up river and it corresponds to the screen/your actions), Pirates of the Caribbean cannon blaster thing, to a virtual reality Aladdin carpet ride game, and so much more! And like I said, depending on when you went, it was either a technological marvel, or a nostalgic blast from the past that had you appreciate how far tech had gone!

[plantcrazy]

School Work has me in a choke hold, send help (mini-update + teaser stuff)

So, turns out writing stories is easier when you don't have deadlines and two weeks to develop one :P

It's not that bad. I came up with a cool idea for a Wish re-write & spy thriller that I've shelved for later. I can't mentally cram out a story in two weeks, so I'm working on re-working Tales Of Stardust (my old Undertale comic) into its own original IP to use for my work, cause fan fiction counts as plagiarism :(

It's surprisingly fun. I'm using TOSD for two classes: One for a 1-min animatic and the other for a pitch deck (like what you'd present to Disney to ask them to fund your project). For the animatic, I'm doing Star!Gaster's story & for the Pitch Deck I'm doing Star & Annabella's.

I miss writing TOSD.

We had to read our treatments (a scene-by-scene telling of the story) to a bunch of second year film students on Tuesday. They really liked Rune's (Star!Gaster) story and the world building. I was very surprised by just HOW much they enjoyed it, and they said they could tell it was a passion project (, which, I'm surprised that came across, but I have been working on TOSD since 2017, so, fair, fair).

I'm looking forward to sharing the story/animatic when I'm done & allowed to (I imagine I have to wait until it's marked before I can upload it, so might be a while).

ANYWAY!

Mostly just came to give an update on how stuff's going. I assume I don't need to spell it out, but just in case: I'm a little limited on time until end of next week (, I've got two assessments due, not these. They're due June).

Also, I bring sneaky peaks. I may have found a little time this week to work on some Lost Children stuff. 0/14 pages done >:)

Spoilery-stuff ⬇️

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Johnlock Omegaverse Fic Help

I need some help finding a Johnlock omegaverse fic or at least remembering the title. This fic was an omegaverse fic with Alpha John and Omega Sherlock. It was set in 1991 (I think) and the basic premise was that John and Sherlock were betrothed and John was the only Alpha that Sherlock was remotely okay with. There was also a bit of an age gap; I think Sherlock was like 14 or 15? I can’t remember how old John was.

I remember the author did some incredible world building and had a really elaborate wedding ceremony wherein Sherlock gave himself up to John and said stuff like “I give you my eyes so that you may guide me” and his eyes were covered and then John and Sherlock were separated until the heat after which john was super sweet and gave Sherlock everything he’d given John in the ceremony back.

The fic was written prior to June 2017 as that is when I made my AO3 to specifically read that fic. It was deleted in or around March 2021. The title was something like “The (blank) of the Wedding Ring/Band” (can’t remember if it was ring of band). I just want to remember the title to try and find out if someone has a PDF or if I could get one from the author. It was genuinely one of my favorite fics and I’d like to read it again.

(submitted by xqueen-in-the-northx)

-------

Hi Lovely!

OMG it’s bugging me because while I haven’t read it, I feel like it’s been recced to me before?? The description sounds vaguely familiar. I did a rough search for similar titles on my offline list and I’m not finding it. Hmm. 

Anyone able to help us out on this one??